Taruga Minerals reports high rare earth clay hosted grades at Morgans Creek
Latest drilling at Morgans Creek returned a peak 1m interval grading 6,068ppm TREO from 3m.
Perth-based Taruga Minerals (ASX: TAR) has uncovered what it describes as “exceptional” rare earth element (REE) grades from drilling at the Morgans Creek project in South Australia.
The company notes that its ionic clay hosted grades, up to 9,082 parts per million total rare earth oxides (TREO), are the highest seen so far at the project.
Morgans Creek lies with Taruga’s Mt Craig project where some 800 historical copper mines and workings are found and is located on the Adelaide Fold Belt.
Taruga says the new results have seen REE mineralisation from surface to end of hole in multiple holes.
Mineralised strike zone extended by 300m
Taruga reports that the REE clays intersected contain low levels of “deleterious” elements such as uranium, thorium, calcium and aluminium.
There are also reduced levels of the low-value rare earth, cerium.
The results have extended the known mineralised strike zone by 300%, from 1.4km to 4.3km, and it remains open.
A highlight intercept returned 43m at 1,687ppm TREO from surface to end of hole, including 1m at 9,082ppm TREO and 2m at 7,052ppm TREO.
The next hole intersected 40m of mineralisation averaging 1,582ppm TREO, including 17m at 2,636ppm TREO and 1m at 6,234ppm TREO.
High values of magnet REE
Targua chief executive officer Thomas Line describes the results as “remarkable”.
“They are by far the highest grades we have seen at Morgans Creek,” he added.
Mr Line said some of the holes ended in the higher grade category.
The rare earths basket contains a 34% weighting of the key magnet elements: neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium.
The company says this is “significantly” higher than the magnet rare earth oxides (MREO) average of 25% among its peer group.
Previous metallurgical test work by Taruga has shown high MREO recovery rates, which opens up the potential for simple and low-cost production.
The Sydney-based Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation has been engaged to conduct advanced ionic leach test work on clay samples from Mt Morgan.
Results from this work are expected in late November.