Gold Mountain (ASX:GMN) reports rare earth intersections from auger drilling at the Capivara prospect in Bahia, Brazil, with several holes terminating within mineralised intervals.
Assay results from seven auger holes confirm shallow rare earth mineralised profiles within the weathered saprolite zone. Hole CPAD260141 returned 12m @ 1,283 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides (TREO) with a 38.3% magnet rare earth oxides (MREO) to TREO ratio from 10m to 22m.
Within that zone, 8m @ 1,513ppm TREO with 42% MREO/TREO from 14m to 22m included 385ppm neodymium-praseodymium oxides. Hole CPAD260158 returned 7m @ 1,204ppm TREO with 39.9% MREO/TREO from 8m to 15m.
“Several auger holes terminated within or near mineralised intervals, indicating that the vertical extent of the weathered and mineralised profile has not been fully tested,” Executive Director David Evans says.
Drilling intersected chemical index of alteration (CIA) values from 99% to 84% across mineralised intervals exceeding 400ppm TREO, indicating sampling of the upper saprolite profile. Shallow refusal and duricrust development restricted penetration, leaving deeper portions of the saprolite largely untested.
Previous metallurgical testing by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) returned up to 65.9% extraction of total rare earth elements and yttrium excluding cerium, and up to 63.6% extraction of magnet rare earth elements under ammonium sulphate desorption testing.
Gold Mountain is continuing an auger infill drilling program to test areas where previous holes achieved limited penetration. Environmental permitting for diamond drilling is ongoing, with resource drilling planned to test the deeper extent of saprolite-hosted mineralisation.
Additional auger assays are pending, with further metallurgical samples being tested by ANSTO.
Gold Mountain is an Australian rare earths explorer whose flagship asset is the Down Under Project in Brazil’s Jequié Region, alongside niobium and lithium assets in Minas Gerais.
Write to JC Villarba at Mining.com.au
Images: Gold Mountain
