Rare earths explorer Meteoric Resources (ASX:MEI) is working its way towards a major aircore (AC) drilling program at the Caldeira Rare Earth Element (REE) Project in Minas Gerais, Brazil.
The company reports the 100,000m AC drilling program aims to improve confidence in the Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) from the inferred category to the measured and indicated categories in preparation for economic studies, as well as to test the true depth of REE mineralisation.
Meteoric says it has recruited experienced drilling manager Rob McGaffin, who recently oversaw the selection of a new multi-purpose AC drill rig which will be shipped to Brazil during May and is expected to be commissioned on the project at the end of June.
This new multi-purpose drill rig is track-mounted and supported by a compressor that is also on tracks, and Meteoric notes it has a small footprint and requires minimal clearing at the drill site, ensuring minimal environmental impact.
The company reports the rig comes with all ‘crucial’ spares and is capable of drilling more than 200m per shift into the target clay zone. Once the drill rig is staffed and running, Meteoric says it will consider increasing the drilling capacity under McGaffin’s supervision to ensure the drilling plans are delivered on time and within budget.
Commenting on the upcoming AC drilling, Meteoric Resources Executive Chairman Dr Andrew Tunks says: “The company will drill 100,000m of aircore drilling into the highest-grade areas of the resource to improve confidence in the resource estimate from inferred category to measured and indicated in preparation for economic studies, as well as testing the true depth of the REE mineralisation.
To ensure these targets are met within a reasonable timeframe and budget, the company will build on its own drilling capacity in-house, purchasing a multi-purpose drill rig which will be set up to drill aircore.
“To enhance our capacity, we have employed a vastly experienced manager of drilling to commission the new rig and mentor the operators and exploration team to ensure our drilling goals are met within budget and on time”
To enhance our capacity, we have employed a vastly experienced manager of drilling to commission the new rig and mentor the operators and exploration team to ensure our drilling goals are met within budget and on time.”
Meteoric also reports 15 diamond drillholes for a total of 457m of a planned 1,250m have been completed, although the initial drilling contractor was plagued by poor drilling productivity. As a result, Willemita Sondagems mobilised to the site on 4 April and achieved planned production through April.
Of the 15 holes completed to date, the company says 12 are twinning historical auger holes. Assays for this drilling are pending and will be released once the proposed 1,250m program is complete.
Meteoric reports a comparison of the depth of clays intercepted in the diamond holes and the historic auger holes highlights that auger drilling did not reach the base of the clays, and a considerable thickness of clay continues beneath the base of auger drilling.
The company says ‘significant’ depth extensions to the clay zone have been logged at the Figueira prospect where historical auger drilling ended between depths of 12m and 14.2m. The most ‘significant’ was in diamond hole FGDD002, where the base of the clay zone was logged at a depth of 50m.
Drilling to date indicates that the increase in the thickness of the clay zone is variable across the MRE areas but clearly highlights the potential for additional resources below the current model in the MRE, assuming a part of these clays contains total rare earth oxide (TREO) mineralisation.
Tunks says the current diamond drill program was designed to test the depth extent of the clay zone beneath historical drilling.
“Previous explorers employed a powered auger drill which only achieved an average depth of 6.9m across the project, with 85% of the historic auger holes finishing in mineralisation above 1,000ppm TREO.
Current drilling indicates an increase in the thickness of the target clay zone up to 45m beneath the historic auger drilling. Clearly, this shows that there remains considerable potential for additional REE mineralisation beneath the historic drilling.”
Meteoric Resources is an ASX-listed rare earth explorer with a portfolio of projects considered prospective for REEs. These projects include the Caldeira Project in Brazil and the Palm Springs Gold Project in Western Australia. Additionally, the company holds a 15% interest in the Webb Diamond Joint Venture Project in Western Australia.
The Caldeira Project is located in Minas Gerais State of Brazil and hosts a JORC-compliant MRE of 409 million tonnes @ 2,626ppm TREO at a 1,000ppm cut-off. At a 2,000ppm cut-off, the MRE is 271 million tonnes @ 3,146ppm TREO.
Images: Meteoric Resources NL
