Venus Metals reveals REE-enriched ironstones along 7km trend at Mangaroon North

Rock chip and soil samples taken from Venus Metals’ (ASX: VMC) Mangaroon North rare earth elements (REE) project in Western Australia have suggested the presence of REE-enriched ironstones along a 7km long northwest trend.

The junior explorer today revealed results of recent field work and geochemical sampling comprising 299 soil and 84 rock chip samples, as well as the reanalysis of 66 previous soil samples.

According to the company, REE anomalies associated with ironstone were identified in areas of cover at 1,848 parts per million total rare earth oxides (TREO) with 355ppm neodymium about 1km west of the Edmund fault, and a 7km northwest trend was reanalysed to contain up to 2,136ppm TREO with 232ppm neodymium. Soil samples in Pooranoo metamorphics also contained up to 1,420ppm TREO.

Venus said systematic grid sampling followed by air core and reverse circulation drilling has been planned across selected target areas.

The company confirmed the evaluation of multiple other identified targets is also scheduled to recommence in the coming field season.

Mangaroon North project

The four exploration licences making up Venus’ Mangaroon North project lie adjacent to the Mangaroon-Yangibana REE mineralised zone near tenements owned by Hastings Technology Metals (ASX: HAS), Dreadnought Resources (ASX: DRE) and Lanthanein Resources (ASX: LNR).

According to Venus, the same host lithologies as Dreadnought’s Yin and Hastings’ Yangibana projects are present within the Mangaroon North tenements.

Last September, Venus announced the delineation of multiple priority REE targets based on remote-sensing and radiometric data.

Today’s report confirmed the evaluation of these targets with high-priority areas confirmed in two of the licences, E08/3229 and E09/2422.

An airborne magnetic survey was completed in E09/2422 last month and will now be flown in E09/2541 prior to planned reconnaissance and follow-up work.