Dreadnought Resources (ASX:DRE) has confirmed 3km of mineralisation along strike of the Yin resource, part of its 100% owned Mangaroon project in the Gascoyne Region of Western Australia.
The company says wide spaced, first pass, RC drilling is testing the Yin exploration target. Drilling to date (40 holes for 5,697m) has confirmed 3km of mineralisation along strike of the resource, confirmed by portable XRF (pXRF) with assays expected in the June 2023 quarter. These results are expected to grow the resources, which will be upgraded during the quarter.
Dreadnought says a second RC rig and a diamond rig have arrived on site and started drilling. The second RC rig will focus on first pass, wide spaced drilling of the C1-C7 carbonatites. The diamond rig will provide ongoing support for resource upgrades, metallurgical test work and geotechnical studies.
These systematic drill programs have the potential to rapidly add significant resources.
Addressing the results, Dreadnought Managing Director Dean Tuck says: “Identifying 3km of mineralised ironstones along strike from the 3km long Yin resource has certainly got the 2023 drilling program off to a flying start.
These results are expected to grow the Resource in the June 2023 quarter. We are excited to have two RC rigs on site and to be re-commencing our unfinished first pass, wide spaced drilling of the C1-C7 carbonatites. We are now in full swing at Mangaroon.”
“We are now in full swing at Mangaroon”
A wide spaced RC drill program (80 holes for 11,000m) of which 40 holes for 5,697m have been drilled is testing portions of the 40km long ironstone exploration target. As a result of the success of this program, 42 infill RC holes are planned in order convert up to 3km of the exploration target to resource.
The company reports the current program is over areas that are largely devoid of outcrop and has relied on geophysical interpretations of the ironstones’ trends undercover.
Mineralisation at Yin has been extended to the south by 1km and 2 new ironstone lodes have been confirmed to the north of the resource in areas where neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) ratios increase.
Dreadnought says drilling of the ironstones continue to show that the main lode pinches, swells and changes dip and orientation along strike and ranges in thickness from 1-54m. In addition, parallel lodes have been intersected above and below the main lode and often exhibit a similar orientation as the main lode with thicknesses ranging from 1-10m.
The mineralised ironstones consist of goethite and hematite dominated oxide zones near the surface (top 80m) transitioning into a fresh ferrocarbonatite dyke (fresh REE ironstone), comprised of ankerite and siderite below the base of oxidation.
The ironstones are surrounded by a variable zone of fenitised country rock. Both the ironstone and the fenite immediately surrounding the ironstone are mineralised with each ironstone and ferrocarbonatite containing at least one central interval of higher-grade mineralisation.
Oxidised mineralisation contains REE-bearing phosphate monazite and variable amounts of the hydrated rare earth phosphate rhabdophane. Fresh ferrocarbonatite mineralisation contains monazite and variable amounts of REE fluoro-carbonates such as bastnaesite.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: Dreadnought Resources Ltd
