Key battery elements dominate first assays from Lindian Resources’ Malawi REE project
Lindian chief executive officer Alistair Stephens said “absolutely outstanding” drill intercepts had been returned from Kangankunde.
Lindian Resources (ASX: LIN) reports that the first two batches of assays from its Kangankunde project have shown that critical battery elements neodymium and praseodymium make up 21% of the total rare earths oxides (TREO) so far drilled.
The assays returned from the Malawi-based project are from the first two reverse circulation holes, both of which the company says contain mineralisation with “very high” rare earth grades.
Significantly, there are broad intersections of non-radioactive material over the entire lengths of the holes.
On average the mineralisation is very low on uranium and thorium, says Lindian.
Moreover, both holes ended in mineralisation which will be drilled further later in the program.
Multiple higher-grade intervals in both holes
The first hole returned 110m from surface at an average 2.9% TREO, including four higher grade intervals.
These were: 12m at 4.2% TREO, 25m at 3% TREO, 20m at 3.9 TREO and 8m at 3.9% TREO.
All four of those intervals had even higher 1m sections, ranging from 5.7% to 8.5%.
The second hole returned 250m from surface, also averaging 2.9% TREO, and the higher-grade intervals came back at 16m at 5.7%, 79m at 3.2%, 29m at 3.5% and 66m at 2.5%.
‘Absolutely outstanding’ grades and continuity
Lindian chief executive officer Alistair Stephens said that he is confident more high-grade assays will be delivered from Kangankunde, and in 2023, it will emerge as a standout, globally significant rare earths project.
“These first assay results are absolutely outstanding in terms of grade, distribution and continuity,” he added.
“I am not aware of another deposit anywhere in the world demonstrating such high grades of rare earths mineralisation over these continuous lengths to such depth.”
A maiden resource estimate is expected at some stage in the June quarter this year.
The Kangankunde project was explored by the London-based mining major Lonrho in the 1970s and in the 1990s by the French geoscience organisation Bureau de Recherches Geologiques et Minieres.