Eclipse Metals Ltd (ASX:EPM) has outlined a significant development in its Ivigtût multi-commodity rare earth element (REE) project in southwestern Greenland with access gained to 19,000 metres of historical diamond drill core from the project area.
The 1940s-era archived historical diamond drill core has demonstrated high-grade REE results from initial core samples and includes six holes drilled to a depth of up to 200 metres within Gronnedal carbonatite REE mineralisation.
Core trays carrying about 2,500 metres of the archived drill core from Ivigtût and Gronnedal are now being prepared for export from Greenland for comprehensive analytical assessment by a European Laboratory.
They will undergo hyperspectral scanning for elemental analysis with the aim of enhancing the existing resource and better understanding the deposit at depth.
Minimise costly diamond drilling
Access to this drill core will enable Eclipse to minimise the costly process of extensive diamond drilling to increase the current mineral resource estimate (MRE) within the project’s Gronnedal prospect.
It will also allow the company to better plan future drilling programs focusing on the 3-kilometre by 800-metre section of REE-bearing ferrocarbonatite and the polymetallic Ivigtût pit.
Historical holes at Gronnedal were originally drilled to explore magnetite deposits on contact zones of later intrusive dolerite dykes but also intersected carbonatite carrying light and heavy REE.
Modelling of historical exploration data from the Ivigtût cryolite deposit indicates the presence of a 220-metre-wide and 90-metre-thick cylindrical body of high silica grade, low-impurity quartz below the pit floor as defined by historical drilling.
Previous sampling of historical drill core from Gronnedal carbonatite returned high-grade results of up to 22,695 ppm TREO (total rare earth oxides), with significant europium values.
Assayed samples of drill core from the large quartz target below Ivigtût pit returned silica ranging up to 99.7% silica.
Lab analysis of quartz samples determined it can be further purified with a simple acid wash process to substantially increase the grade to 99.9% silica. Removing impurities has the potential to make this quartz suitable for the high-tech semiconductor industry, further enhancing the value of this industrial mineral project.
Eclipse Metals’ MEL2007-45 tenement, the historical Ivigtût mine and the Gronnedal prospect, and location of three historical drill holes.
Extensive potential for large system
Recent work on Eclipse’s Gronnedal rare earth prospect has demonstrated extensive potential for a large mineralised system. Testing of the large carbonatite deposit with outcropping REE mineralisation has confirmed excellent REE potential from the surface.
The REE prospectivity fits well with Eclipse’s mission to excel in the commercialisation of metals and minerals demanded in the production of green energy and as required by industry to reduce pollutants usage.
Recent findings, including the Gronnedal mineral resource estimate, suggest that rare earth mineralisation extends over a 5-kilometre by 2-kilometre area, with the initial exploration target focused on a 3-kilometre by 800-metre section of ferrocarbonatite.
This mineralisation — with the presence of significant deposits of rare earth elements, including notably high ratios of neodymium and praseodymium — positions the Ivigtût Project as a potentially vital contributor to the global supply chain of these critical elements within the European territory of Greenland.
EU Strategic Project application
Eclipse Metals has also advised that it is preparing an application for funding support under the European Union Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) for Strategic Project development.
This work on its Ivigtût Strategic Project application will continue until August, with the company expecting to receive an outcome from the European Union later in 2024.
The company stated, “The Ivigtût polymetallic critical minerals project is a perfect strategic fit within Greenland and within reach of Europe, providing substance to strengthen Eclipse’s application. The company’s current standing as a member of the European Raw Material Alliance (ERMA) further bolsters Eclipse’s confidence in its potential to secure Strategic Project status.”
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