Red Mountain Mining begins hunt for heavy rare earths at Mt Mansbridge with soil sampling

Red Mountain Mining (ASX: RMX) is on the hunt for heavy rare earth elements with a soil sampling program now underway at the prospective Mt Mansbridge project in Western Australia’s East Kimberley.

Mt Mansbridge is close to several REE projects in the region and is 40km from Northern Minerals’ (ASX: NTU) Browns Range operation.

The sampling program will focus on three prospects – Killi-Killi, Vader and Kylo.

Work will then progress to second priority targets around the project.

During the program, the team on the ground will use a REE calibrated portable XRF, which will provide daily data and enable any anomalies to be quickly identified and followed up with infill sampling.

The soil sampling program is expected to take 10 days to complete.

Firming up drill targets

Once this campaign has finished, Red Mountain will assess the data and follow up with rock chipping and mapping with the aim of firming up drill targets.

Drilling is planned for later in the year, with Red Mountain noting it had secured $150,000 in government funding to assist with drill testing the REE targets.

Déjà vu prospect

Mt Mansbridge is also believed prospective for nickel-copper-cobalt and platinum group element mineralisation.

Later this month, a moving loop electromagnetic survey will begin at the Déjà vu prospect in an attempt to identify anomalies that may host this mineralisation.

Mt Maitland

While this work is underway at Mt Mansbridge, Red Mountain is also drilling the Mt Maitland gold-copper project in WA’s Murchison region.

The company has identified 19km of highly prospective strike across the project, which hosts historic gold production.

Red Mountain is completing two diamond core holes at Mt Maitland with the first targeting the Jacia volcanogenic massive sulphide prospect.

Another hole will be drilled into the Maitland South gold target. The holes will average about 400m each, with assays anticipated around mid-to-late August.

Mt Maitland is within 50km of major mining operations including Sandfire Resources’ (ASX: SFR) DeGrussa copper-gold mine.