Pioneer Minerals (ASX:PMM) has received approval from the US Forest Service (USFS) to conduct a maiden drilling campaign at the Springfield tungsten-gold-gallium prospect within the greater North Pine Project in Idaho.
The company plans to test a large-scale mineral system at the prospect, which extends beyond the historic Springfield Mine.
Pioneer describes the approval as a “significant milestone” as it transitions Springfield from a historic tungsten producer into an active critical minerals exploration project.
Upcoming work at Springfield includes an airborne electromagnetic survey, a heritage survey, geological mapping, ground-truthing of a magnetic anomaly, and additional sampling ahead of final drill planning.
CEO Michael Beven says the approval for maiden drilling marks the “culmination of an extensive technical review of the Springfield Project”.
“Over the past year Springfield has evolved from a historic tungsten mine into what we believe may be a large-scale tungsten, gold, and gallium system,” Beven says.
“The identification of a 2.9km magnetic anomaly, confirmation of the scheelite-pyrrhotite relationship and the strong tungsten, gold, and gallium results generated to date have significantly increased our confidence in the scale potential of the project.
“Conductive zones associated with the magnetic anomaly are considered high-priority targets due to the known relationship between pyrrhotite and tungsten mineralisation.
“For the first time, Pioneer will be able to directly test this large-scale geophysical system and determine whether the historic Springfield Mine represents only a small part of a much larger critical minerals discovery.”
Earlier this month, Pioneer completed works on the access road to the historical Springfield Mine within the North Pine Project, allowing access for ground-based vehicles, as reported by Mining.com.au.
Located in Valley County, the 18.4km2 North Pine Project sits directly adjacent to Perpetua Resources’ (NASDAQ:PPTA) Stibnite Gold-Antimony Project and is near Resolution Minerals’ (ASX:RML) Horse Heaven Antimony Project and the Johnson Creek Tungsten-Antimony Mill.
Pioneer Minerals is a uranium and lithium explorer with assets in Canada, Namibia, and the US.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Pioneer Minerals
