Kingfisher Mining Ltd (ASX:KFM) has surged to a new high after uncovering a weighty rare earth element (REE) sample amid an extensive fieldwork campaign over its Gascoyne Mineral Field projects in WA.
A rock chip assay returned 40.2% total rare earth oxides (TREO) including 6.4% neodymium and praseodymium oxide, in outcropping mineralisation at the flagship Mick Well prospect. The results also point to massive monazite — a new style of mineralisation for the project.
More broadly, the strong results extend the outcropping REE strike to more than 2.2 kilometres, while multiple, parallel mineralised lodes have been identified within a 300-metre-wide corridor.
Investors responded positively to the results, sending shares up by 70.38% to $0.46, a new record high for the explorer.
Ahead of a drilling program at the MW2 prospect next quarter, Kingfisher is pushing ahead with ground-proofing activities, wherein it expects to uncover more outcrops across its 54-kilometre REE corridor.
Beyond that, the company hopes to secure assays from its recent Mick Well drilling program and more surface mapping results by September.
"Ecstatic" with monazite find
Speaking to the results today, Kingfisher executive director and CEO James Farrell said: “The ongoing fieldwork from our team continues to identify high-grade zones of outcropping REE mineralisation as we build our knowledge and demonstrate the potential scale of the REE system.
“We are ecstatic with the identification of this new mineralisation, including the 40.02% TREO sample from an outcrop, which consists almost entirely of massive monazite.
“The outcropping mineralisation has now been mapped over a strike length of more than 2.2 kilometres within our 54-kilometre REE target corridor.
“In the lead up to our drilling campaign in quarter four 2022, our on-ground exploration will continue to focus on the large pipeline of high-resolution geophysical targets and in particular those within the 10-kilometre vicinity immediately west of MW2.”
Some of the other strong results from the rock chip program included 21.55% TREO with 3.74% neodymium and praseodymium oxide and 15.19% TREO with 2.56% neodymium and praseodymium oxide.
On the calendar
Kingfisher is making steady progress as it advances its 2022 Gascoyne exploration program, as outlined below:
Next up, the explorer hopes to release more results from its Mick Well and MW2 projects, followed by findings from its ongoing surface mapping, rock chip sampling and drill target definition activity.
In October, Kingfisher will get results from its airborne geophysics surveys before turning its focus to drilling and assays from MW2 in November.