Australia-based explorer Castillo Copper (ASX:CCZ) is working to understand the rare earth element (REE) potential of its Broken Hill Alliance (BHA) Project in New South Wales (NSW).
The company, which has a $10.39 million market capitalisation, says in its latest quarterly report released today (26 June 2023) it is continuing to undertake comprehensive metallurgical testwork on samples gathered from the Fence Gossan, Reefs, and Tors Tanks prospects.
It is Castillo’s belief this work will lead to the understanding of the potential to extract REEs from shallow clay zones.
The company notes the scope of work, which is being overseen by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) as a specialist consultant, will focus on characterising REE leachability from 6 samples that comprise fresh pegmatite to highly weathered clay.
Magnetic rare earth oxide (MREO) grades returned from these samples are reported by Castillo to range from 362-603 parts per million (ppm).
The company also notes this work represents an ‘important’ step towards advancing the viability of the BHA Project’s East Zone REE potential, as well as securing interest from prospective development partners.
On the financial side, Castillo Copper ended the June quarter with $2.9 million cash at hand after posting quarterly net cash outflows of $452,000.
This latest quarterly report comes just 24 hours after the definition of an updated JORC 2012-compliant Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for Castillo’s Cangai Copper Mine in NSW, as announced yesterday (25 July 2023).
Castillo reported the newly updated resource now sits at 4.4 million tonnes (Mt) @ 2.5% copper (Cu) inferred in-situ and 0.2Mt @ 1.35% Cu indicated from historical stockpiles for about 114,000 tonnes of contained copper metal.
Castillo Copper is an ASX-listed explorer primarily focused on copper across Australia and Zambia in order to achieve its dream of transforming into a mid-tier copper group underpinned by its 4 ‘high-quality’ assets.
The company’s BHA Project is located within proximity to Broken Hill’s world-class silver-zinc-lead deposit in NSW and comprises part of its total project portfolio, which is also built up by its wholly owned NSQ Copper Project in Mt Isa, Queensland, Cangai Copper Mine in NSW, and 4 ‘highly prospective’ exploration targets in Zambia.
Write to Adam Drought at Mining.com.au
Images: Castillo Copper Ltd
