Castillo Copper (ASX:CCZ) has encountered ‘encouraging’ rare earth element results following preliminary metallurgical testwork undertaken on a 20m composite sample from the Fence Gossan prospect within its Broken Hill Alliance (BHA) Project in New South Wales.
The results, generated by metallurgical testwork conducted on sample FG_003RC, demonstrate 2-3 times REE enrichment from the head grade at up to 70% recovery.
Castillo says these results also confirm REEs can be readily separated from clay within the project’s East Zone and potentially beneficiated to a ‘higher-grade’ concentrate.
In order to acquire a deeper understanding of the potential to extract REE mineralisation from these clays, the board of Castillo is reported to have approved the appointment of a specialist consultancy to conduct an in-depth metallurgy test-work program.
Results from this program (once completed and interpreted) are expected to be vital in securing interest from potential off-take partners and providing a path to market.
Commenting on the results, Castillo Copper Chairman Ged Hall says: “On a holistic basis, the board is delighted with results from the drilling, surface sampling and metallurgical test-work at Broken Hill as they collectively demonstrate the forward value creating potential of the BHA Project’s East Zone. In short, the underlying REE system is shallow, extends over at least 4.5km-square, delivered results up to 3,491ppm TREO and produced up to 38.9% MREO in diamond core.
“…the board is delighted with results from the drilling, surface sampling and metallurgical test-work at Broken Hill as they collectively demonstrate the forward value creating potential of the BHA Project’s East Zone”
Moreover, the metallurgy test-work proves REE mineralisation readily separates from clay and can potentially be beneficial to a higher-grade concentrate. By all accounts, this is an excellent report card ahead of exploratory work ramping up.”
The company also notes it has received 1m re-assays for all 4 drillholes (RT_001-4RC) completed at the Reefs Tank prospect, which have further verified the presence of an ‘extensive’, shallow REE system across the central part of the East Zone.
The best intercept returned from these assays was encountered in hole RT_001RC with 3m @ 2,587 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxide (TREO) from 14m.
In addition, Castillo Copper reports its geology team has created heat maps which have identified zones of high total and magnetic rare earth oxides (TREO/MREO) following the reconciling of all assays from the recent drilling and auger campaigns across the Fence Gossan, Tors, and Reefs Tank prospects.
It is believed these areas will be subject to further surface sampling and geophysical surveys, as well as potential drill-testing in order to extend the known mineralisation.
Castillo Copper is an ASX-listed Australian-based exploration company primarily focused on copper across Australia and Zambia to fuel its strategic transition into a mid-tier copper group underpinned by its core projects. The company’s BHA project is located proximal to Broken Hill’s ‘world-class’ deposit near the border with South Australia and is considered prospective for cobalt-zinc-silver-lead-copper-gold and platinoids.
Other assets included in Castillo’s exploration arsenal include the NWQ Copper Project in Queensland’s Mt Isa copper-belt region, the Cangai Copper Mine in northern NSW, and 4 ‘high quality’ prospective assets across Zambia’s copper-belt, which represent the second largest copper producer in Africa.
Images: iStock
