Lindian Resources continues to deliver extraordinary results from its drill campaign at its Kangankunde rare earths project in the landlocked African nation of Malawi, with assays reading up to a massive 14.9 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO).
The impressive grade was recorded in a 1m section from 79m that formed part of a bigger 85m hit at 3.35 per cent TREO from surface.
Lindian says all results from its latest 16 RC holes end in mineralisation, with consistently wide intercepts of up to 154m. Assay highlights show a 100m hit going 3.39 per cent TREO from surface and 154m grading 2.68 per cent TREO from surface, including 20m at 3 per cent TREO from 20m and 49m reading 3.51 per cent TREO from 105m.
Additional wide results include 150m at 2.63 per cent TREO from surface and 151m going 2.4 per cent TREO from surface. The company has now wrapped up its first phase of drilling at the operation with assays from the remaining 33 holes still pending from 92 holes across 14,312m. It includes 82 RC holes stretching 12,670m and 10 core holes across 1642.7m.
Second-phase depth extension drilling is now continuing, with two diamond holes set to test the Kangankunde hilltop down to about 1km.
Lindian Resources chief executive officer Alistair Stephens said: “Of particular note in these latest results is the very high grades being recorded in the southern part of the central carbonatite, with all three holes in this area having returned long intervals exceeding 3% TREO. Of the 33 holes for which assays are pending, the majority are in the north, where historical grades are the highest.”
The average grade of neodymium-praseodymium recorded in all holes to date sits at a significant 20.4 per cent. In addition to being seen as a key ingredient for electric vehicles, the two elements are also essential components in the manufacture of permanent magnets for wind turbines.
Kangankunde is considered one of the world’s biggest rare earths operations outside China and hosts an outdated resource of 2.53 million tonnes, grading 4.24 per cent TREO for 107,000 tonnes of contained rare earths when using a cut-off grade of 3.5 per cent. It is a carbonatite-hosted system with mineralisation exposed at surface and is still open at depth. Management says it remains on track to deliver a maiden mineral resource update under JORC 2012 guidelines this quarter.
And the 1m hit at 14.9 per cent TREO is not even Lindian’s best grade at Kangankunde. In March, the company recorded a 3m hit at a whopping 15.6 per cent TREO from 69m.
The high-grade intercept is contained within a bigger 26m section grading 6.15 per cent TREO from 58m and includes a 1m segment at a head-turning 18.76 per cent TREO from 71m.
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By Michael Philipps
