Gold Mountain (ASX:GMN) is set to launch a rare earths mapping and sampling program this month at its Down Under Project in Brazil’s Bahia state.
As a first priority, the Perth-based explorer will target ionic adsorption clay(IAC)-type rare earths mineralisation that, according to Gold Mountain, has “low-cost metallurgy and lox capex costs“.
A secondary priority will be high-grade hard rock rare earths hosted in mafic-ultramafic bodies, plus shear zones potentially hosting ‘exceptionally high’ rare earths grades as well as niobium and scandium.
the program will be guided by a Brazilian consultant experienced in rare earths exploration, along with an in-house expert from Gold Mountain, and will include the assessment of existing radiometric and magnetic data and interpretations of satellite imagery.
“Programs will lead rapidly to areas to be tested with auger drilling in prospective areas, a technique that has been proven to be very effective in this region on the types of weathered profile present,” the company said in an announcement on 2 February.
“The auger drilling program will be used to define areas that will be initially drilled with wide-spaced RC holes, with detailed drilling carried out in areas demonstrated to have potentially economic grades of IAC and or hard rock potential.”
“Programs will lead rapidly to areas to be tested with auger drilling in prospective areas, a technique that has been proven to be very effective in this region on the types of weathered profile present”
Gold Mountain notes the Down Under Project sits along-strike from, and flanks, tenements held by Brazilian Rare Earths (ASX:BRE), which host a mineral resource measuring 510 million tonnes at 1,513 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxide (TREO).
Write to Oliver Gray at Mining.com.au
Images: Gold Mountain
