Rimfire Pacific Mining (ASX:RIM) has uncovered a new scandium target within its Melrose Nickel Cobalt Scandium prospect as part of the Avondale Joint Venture (JV) Project in New South Wales.
The new target has been identified with broad zones of anomalous scandium with 50 to 92 parts per million (ppm) scandium in underlying serpentinised ultramafic host rocks, which remains ‘largely’ untested.
Rimfire, which has a market capitalisation of $18.94 million, is now planning to conduct a detailed drill out depending on a favourable outcome for a metallurgical testwork program at Melrose.
The aim of this is to deliver a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE). Rimfire says these plans are on track with a drilling program scheduled for Q1 2024.
Rimfire Pacific Mining Managing Director David Hutton says this latest discovery is a ‘significant’ development for its Melrose prospect and with metallurgical testwork nearing completion, Rimfire is preparing for resource drilling.
“To date we have been focused on evaluating the high-grade laterite-hosted mineralisation and these results highlight what could be a whole new additional scandium search space at Melrose that is largely untested.”
The company is also proposing to conduct high-resolution mineralogical studies of the pyroxenite to better understand the geological context of the scandium.
Metallurgy testwork has 3 remaining tests to be completed, which is expected to be finalised in the coming weeks. A final report will be returned by the end of January 2024.
The Melrose prospect lies within the Avondale project — a JV between Rimfire and Golden Plains Resources. The project sits 70km northwest of Parkes in the Lachlan Orogen of central New South Wales.
Rimfire Pacific Mining is an ASX-listed minerals explorer focused on its assets in New South Wales considered prospective for gold, copper, and cobalt.
As of 30 September 2023, the company had $543,000 cash and cash equivalents at hand, according to its latest quarterly report.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Rimfire Pacific Mining
