Castillo Copper (ASX:CCZ) reports that it has encountered ‘exceptional’ magnetic rare earth oxide (MREO) grades up to 38.9% following a diamond drilling (DD) program and re-assaying of samples at the East Zone of its Broken Hill Project in New South Wales.
The company says the results, returned from the Tors Tank and Fence Gossan prospects, collectively increase the confidence in the shallow, clay-hosted, rare earth element (REE) discovery across the central part of the Broken Hill project’s East Zone.
Adding on, Castillo notes re-assaying of 4m composite samples taken from both deposits has provided greater clarity on the underlying geology, and has also delivered further evidence to support the presence of an ‘extensive’ shallow REE mineralisation system.
“The Board is delighted with the latest results, especially the diamond core assay at Tors Tank and exceptional MREO value”
Key intercepts from diamond core TT_005DD include 13m @ 1,550 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxide (TREO) from 5m. It is also reported this diamond core returned ‘high-value’ MREOs of neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium (Nd,Pr,Dy,Tb) at an ‘exceptional’ 38.9% of the TREO grade vs 25% peer average.
Meanwhile, results from re-assaying of the 4m composite samples include FG_003RC with 17m @ 1,605ppm TREO from 2m and 1m @ 3,236ppm TREO from 19m; and TT_003RC with 2m @ 3,491ppm TREO from 7m.
Commenting on the results, Castillo Copper Managing Director Dr Dennis Jensen said: “The Board is delighted with the latest results, especially the diamond core assay at Tors Tank and exceptional MREO value, as it increases confidence in the underlying REE system.
In addition, the hand auger surface sampling campaign is proving to be a treasure trove of insights, with several new targets now on the radar. The Board looks forward to receiving the remaining assays and charting the next phase of the exploration campaign.”
The company also notes assays for about 70% of the recent hand auger surface sampling program across Fence Gossan has delineated a sizable 4.5km-square anomalous area for REE mineralisation.
Preliminary interpretation of this data suggests that several more prime targets require drill-testing, and could potentially extend the known mineralisation between the Fence Gossan and Tors Tank prospects.
With this latest batch of assays now received, Castillo Copper announces a fuller interpretation of the 4.5km-square anomalous area will be released following the return of all assays for the auger sampling program and drillholes RT_002-004RC are received from the laboratory.
Castillo Copper is an ASX-listed Australian exploration company focused on copper across Australia and Zambia. The company’s Broken Hill project is located in New South Wales and represents a ‘large’ tenure footprint proximal to Broken Hill’s ‘world-class’ deposit.
The project is considered prospective for cobalt-zinc-silver-lead-copper-gold and platinoids, and currently consists of 4 tenements covering a total landholding of 801.3km-square.
