Lodestar Minerals (ASX:LSR) has mobilised its exploration team to the Virgin Mountain Heavy Rare Earth Element (HREE) Project in Arizona, US, to conduct field operations.
Now at Virgin Mountain and other rare earth element (REE) sites in the US, the team will be led by the company’s US Exploration Manager Finn Hunter to conduct a targeted field review of the project and generative review of critical mineral projects across the US.
Hunter will be supported by recently appointed specialist consultants Robin Wilson and Ross Chandler for the two-part campaign. Mining.com.au reported the appointments in late March, as the company intends to boost its exploration efforts both in the US and in Chile.
The team will focus on evaluating the extent of the 5km structural trend hosted within Paleoproterozoic gneiss at the Virgin Mountain Project, with the program including ground investigation, outcrop mapping and structural interpretation, and ground-based targeted radiometric assessment.
The team will also conduct a generative review of REE projects in the US to complement Virgin Mountain to accelerate Lodestar’s development activities.
Recently appointed CEO Coraline Blaud says having the exploration team on site and across prospective regions is a “major step forward” for the company.
“We have gained strong momentum following the confirmation of xenotime at our Virgin Mountain HREE Project, with our focus now turning to understanding the potential of the 5km trend, which remains largely unexplored,” Blaud says.
“The domestic critical mineral needs in the United States have never been more attractive for the development of exploration projects.
“A team of REE experts in the field allows us to rapidly assess project potential in the field in real time.”
Lodestar Minerals is a gold and base metal explorer focused on developing its portfolio of assets in Australia, Chile, and the US.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Lodestar Minerals
