Eclipse Metals confirms rare earths in Greenland, plans drill targets
Eclipse Metals executive chairman Carl Popal said full assays from grab sampling at Ivigtût and Grønnedal-Ika prospects were “very encouraging” with the presence of REE, lithium, and other base, precious and industrial metals.
Eclipse Metals (ASX: EPM) has received final laboratory assays from its 2021 program at the Ivigtut and Gronnedal-Ika in Greenland that confirm the interim results reported two weeks ago.
They include up to 4.66% total rare earth oxide (TREO) in carbonatite samples from the Gronnedal-Ika prospect which is located 10km from Ivigtut.
At Ivigtut and Gronnedal-Ika, assays received from surface samples include one sample returning 0.32% lanthanum, 0.83% cerium, 0.12% praseodymium, 0.43% neodymium, 0.07% samarium, 0.05% gadolinium and 0.06% yttrium.
The same suite of rare earth elements was reported from other grab samples.
Silver, tin, lithium, zinc also found
Another sample assayed as containing 165 grams per tonne silver, 0.15% copper, 3.83% lead and 0.37% zinc from the Ivigtut mine tailings dump.
Other elements found in the sampling were tin, lithium and fluorine.
Located in south-western Greenland, Ivittuut once hosted the world’s largest commercial cryolite mine.
After operating for 120 years, it was closed in 1987 after producing about 3.8 million tonnes of the material.
It is the only known naturally-occurring cryolite deposit in the world.
Eclipse is also testing the rare earth and multi-element potential at Gronnedal-Ika and Ivigtut.
The company says of these final assays that the results indicate three distinct types of rare earth mineralisation.
The company will now use historic data to generate targets at Ivigtut and create a 3D model of historic electromagnetic and radiometric data over Gronnedal-Ika.
Rare earths found 50 years ago but ignored
Last August Eclipse reported that it had discovered from records that drilling done more than 50 years ago at the now mothballed Ivittuut cryolite mine had intersected rare earths — but these elements were not pursued at the time.
Six diamond holes with a combined length of 750m were drilled but, the company says, much of the core remains uncut and untested.
The heavy rare earth element, europium, was present in the cores at several times greater concentration than average in rocks of this type.
Europium is used to provide the colour red in television and other screens and is in short supply worldwide.
Ivittuut is located near Cape Desolation near the southern tip of Greenland.