Mount Ridley Mines (ASX:MRD) has received Program of Works (PoW) approval from the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) for drilling within its namesake REE Project in Western Australia.
The company says the PoW covers drilling up to 9km north and up to 10km south of the central Mia Rare Earth Element (REE) prospect down to the Marvin prospect in the project area. Additionally, the approvals include provisions to progressively infill the drilling grid in areas to a 400m-by-400m density.
Mount Ridley says it is targeting ‘high’ silica-kaolin saprolite that may be amenable to beneficiation through simple screening.
However, the company says while the PoW approvals have been received, the drilling remains subject to heritage and flora surveys.
This news comes after the company announced its first assays from east-west crosslines at the Mia prospect, which confirmed REE mineralisation continuity between sections. The company adds that this prospect is the ‘most advanced’ of its 11 prospects within the Mount Ridley REE Project.
The new intersections from Mia include hole MRAC1380 with 12m @ 1,188 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxide (TREO) with 31% MagREO; and hole MRAC1388 with 22m @ 954ppm TREO with 24% MagREO, including 15m @ 1,148ppm TREO.
Commenting on the results, Mount Ridley Mines Chairman Peter Christie says: “These results provide confidence regarding the continuity of mineralisation between drill sections for the Mia prospect as we progress towards our maiden Mineral Resource Estimate.
“Drilling has outlined mineralisation over a strike length of approximately 16km, and the prospective corridor remains open”
Mount Ridley’s geologists have interpreted Mia mineralisation as structurally controlled within a 3km wide corridor. Drilling has outlined mineralisation over a strike length of approximately 16km, and the prospective corridor remains open.”
The company adds that its beneficiation testwork is progressing ‘well’, with most samples screened and being filtered. Once complete, the company says the line fraction will be tested by ANSTO, IMO, and Simulus laboratories.
Mount Ridley Mines is an ASX-listed explorer targeting demand-driven metals in Western Australia. The company’s namesake Mount Ridley Project is located within a Fraser Range sub-basin and was initially acquired for its nickel and copper sulphides potential. The project is now recognised as being prospective for clay-hosted REE deposits.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Mount Ridley Mines Ltd
