Southern Gold (ASX:SAU) is taking on trench sampling and a drone magnetic survey in preparation for drilling over the coming months at its Jangnam Project in South Korea.
The $7.78 million market capitalisation company is planning this fieldwork to better define the geology of the discovery area within the project and locate additional carbonatite subgroups.
Regional fieldwork will be undertaken along the north-northeast Hongcheon Fault zone to search for further carbonatite mineralisation in both outcrop and undercover, including follow-up fieldwork in the northernmost area of stream sediment sampling.
This news comes after Southern Gold reported additional rock chip samples broadened the footprint of Jangnam’s discovery area, with the identification of rare earth element (REE)-enriched ironstones and fenite, typically associated with carbonatite.
Southern Gold reports REE grades of up to 3.27% total rare earth oxide (TREO) from carbonatite were discovered south of the Hongcheon deposit. In addition, 5 other samples returned TREO grades above 1%.
The company adds regional exploration has defined a 21 km-longpprospective corridor for REE carbonatite mineralisation, with anomalous stream-sediment samples reporting up to 0.3% TREO.
Commenting on this discovery, Southern Gold Managing Director Robert Smillie says: “The team have made great progress enhancing our understanding of Jangnam’s geology and REE mineralisation — these efforts are pivotal to help refine our exploration strategy.
Most REE minerals are difficult to process, so we are fortunate to have monazite at Jangnam, which is the key ore mineral in many economic REE deposits. The favourable low levels of thorium and uranium at Jangnam are also noteworthy. Unlike other deposits, where thorium concentrations can reach several weight per cent, Jangnam stands out for its low deleterious values.
“Unlike other deposits, where thorium concentrations can reach several weight per cent, Jangnam stands out for its low deleterious values“
The regional exploration demonstrates the significant wider REE potential of Jangnam, and I look forward to the team defining additional target areas in the months ahead.”
Southern Gold notes that its recently completed fieldwork and mineralogical studies have highlighted the exploration potential of the project.
Further rock chip sampling is now being carried out to gain a better understanding of the carbonatite discovery.
The Jangnam Project area has not been previously explored using modern exploration techniques, according to Southern Gold.
Southern Gold is a mineral exploration and battery technology commercialisation company. The company focused on exploring for rare earths, precious metals, and lithium.
As of 30 June 2023, the company had $4.213 million cash and cash equivalents at hand, according to its latest quarterly report.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Southern Gold
