Connected Minerals (ASX:CML) has commenced diamond drilling at the Bailundo Carbonatite Project in Angola, with the reverse circulation (RC) rig on site and expected to begin shortly.
Diamond drilling started on 11 September at the primary niobium target in the Central/Southern zone. Both rigs will run concurrently to maximise metres before the wet season begins in late November.
Bailundo spans a 2,054km2 licence in Huambo Province and centres on a zoned Cretaceous carbonatite-alkaline complex emplaced along the Lucapa Graben in central-western Angola.
Its iron-carbonatite core hosts primary pyrochlore with accessory monazite and rare earth element (REE) fluorocarbonates, while a calcium-carbonatite southern ring carries phoscorite with accessory apatite and REE-bearing phases. A thick weathering profile is developed over the complex.
The company completed 31 line-kilometres of ground penetrating radar (GPR) and seven electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) profiles across the complex, identifying variable weathering depths rather than a uniform layer.
The results refined the drilling program and expanded the initial footprint into new prospective areas.
Several strong conductive zones identified by ERT correspond with areas where the GPR signal weakens, which is interpreted as weathered material sufficiently conductive to reduce radar penetration.
These areas are priority targets for drill verification, with scout holes positioned along ERT and GPR traverses to calibrate the geophysical interpretation against geology.
The program is expected to comprise about 6,000m of RC and diamond drilling. The Central/Southern zone includes 63 planned holes on a 100m by 100m grid, while the Northern REE zone comprises 54 planned holes on a 150m by 200m pattern — the first systematic drill test of that zone.
The diamond component includes a twin of a historical drill hole and twins of selected RC holes.
“This is the first systematic drill testing of the priority targets at the project, across what is a large prospective carbonatite system,” CEO Stephen Wetherall says.
Connected Minerals holds an 80% interest in Bailundo through Frontier Resources Angola. First assay results are expected in the December quarter.
Write to JC Villarba at Mining.com.au
Images: Connected Minerals
