Castillo Copper Ltd (LSE:CCZ, ASX:CCZ) is preparing to step-up rare earth element (REE) exploration at the Broken Hill Alliance (BHA) Project’s East Zone in Far West New South Wales, having enlisted two contractors to manage a drilling campaign next quarter.
The company has appointed AllState Drilling, a highly experienced and reputable operator, to perform the drilling, including one diamond core and 17 RC drill holes for 2,100 metres, with depths from 100 metres to 160 metres.
In addition, one of CCZ’s regular service providers, FieldCrew, will be on hand to manage the day-to-day aspects of the drilling campaign. FieldCrew has previously worked with Castillo on the NWQ Copper Project in Queensland.
REE potential for US market
On the back of the news that Australia has secured preferred status to supply critical minerals to the US’s electric vehicle battery program, the board acted to deepen its understanding of the REE potential within the East Zone at the Sisters and Iron Blow prospects.
In CCZ’s sights are two drill holes planned for the Sisters prospect, both of which will be assayed for REEs, along with cobalt-copper and gold.
Previous assays of historical drill core have already confirmed that REE mineralisation is present at the Iron Blow prospect, indicating 8 metres at 1,270 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides (TREO) from 150 metres.
Pending approval from the core library, the geology team is testing additional drill core samples from the Iron Blow prospect to determine if there is evidence of extensions to the known REE mineralisation.
Highly reputable contractors
“The board is delighted to have secured AllState and FieldCrew as key contractors for the upcoming drilling campaign,” Castillo Copper managing director Dr Dennis Jensen said.
“Notably, AllState is a highly reputable drilling group, while FieldCrew has done considerable fieldwork across the BHA and NWQ copper projects.
“In addition, with sentiment currently positive towards REEs, the board is interested in boosting its understanding of the potential across the Sisters and Iron Blow prospects.”
Subject to approval from the NSW resources regulator, the board expects the campaign to commence during the fourth quarter of 2022.