Investigator Resources finds rare earths mineralisation at Apollo prospect within Paris silver project
Norfolk Metals has applied for ground contiguous to its Orroroo uranium project in South Australia.
Investigator Resources (ASX: IVR) has encountered high-grade rare earth element (REE) mineralisation in drilling at the Apollo prospect within its wholly-owned Peterlumbo tenement and adjacent to its flagship Paris silver deposit in South Australia.
Reverse circulation drilling of 54 holes for a total 7,634 metres was completed in April, with results showing that 80% of holes hit a distinct clay horizon with intersections above the cut-off grade of 1,000 parts per million total rare earth oxides (TREO).
The company reported a best intersection of 15m at 3,221ppm TREO and 1,099ppm MREO (high-value magnet rare earth oxides) from 66m, including 9m at 4,700ppm TREO and 1,772ppm MREO from 72m.
A high percentage of the valuable MREO are believed to be associated with neodymium and praseodymium.
Investigator has long been aware of elevated concentrations of REE, including cerium and lanthanum in the Paris region, which are associated with the Gawler Range Volcanics (GRV).
Adding potential
Managing director Andrew McIlwain said the REE discovery at Apollo could add considerable potential to Investigator’s portfolio.
“The identification of REE mineralisation and the relatively high percentage of MREO is a significant which has expanded the potential for us to identify zones of REE enrichment at shallow depths,” he said.
“Initial drilling results are broad-spaced and display strong consistency and evidence of relative increases in REE content in a number of orientations which remain open.”
Metallurgical properties
Mr McIlwain said the company was keen to expand its knowledge of the elevated REE distribution within Apollo and across Investigator’s regional tenements.
“We look forward to gaining an early understanding of the metallurgical properties of the mineralisation to determine whether the elements are amenable to relatively-simple extractive techniques,” he said.
Investigator is in the process of sampling a series of the holes for analysis using the “lithium borate fusion” technique in order to define the total REE content within the enriched clay zone and in bedrock.
It is considered to be an important next step, which will provide the total REE content with greater accuracy than the current “four acid digest”, which potentially may not completely liberate all REE.