McLaren Minerals (ASX:MML) is conducting a drilling program at its namesake project to support mine planning, as well as confirm high-grade zones.
iDrilling Australia has begun the 6,000m aircore drilling program at the McLaren Titanium Project in Western Australia, which is expected to take six weeks to complete.
Extensional drilling will also be undertaken to follow-up previous mineralised zones not included in the resource, alongside exploring for extensions outside of known mineralisation.
McLaren Minerals says it is anticipated that metallurgical samples will be dispatched for testwork within two weeks, and that analytical samples will be dispatched from site on a weekly basis.
Managing Director Simon Finnis says this drilling program is a significant contributor to the Prefeasibility Study which is already underway.
“Not only will it provide essential material for further metallurgical optimisation and flowsheet validation, but it is designed to increase confidence in the current inferred and indicated resource, and explore potential extensions, ensuring we continue to progress towards commercial production,” Finnis says.
The advanced-stage McLaren Project hosts an indicated and inferred resource of 280 million tonnes @ 4.8% heavy minerals for 13.5 million tonnes of heavy minerals comprising ilmenite, rutile, leucoxene and zircon.
Ilmenite is a titanium-iron oxide mineral and the main source of titanium dioxide, essential for many industrial applications. Titanium is a high-demand metal listed by several countries as a critical mineral because of its importance in aerospace, defence and energy technologies.
McLaren Minerals is an Australian explorer focused on the future development of its namesake project in Western Australia’s Eucla Basin.
The company’s goal is to expand the higher confidence indicated resource to 200 million tonnes of heavy minerals as part of the PFS, which is slated for completion in the second quarter of 2025.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: McLaren Minerals
