MetalsGrove Mining Ltd (ASX:MGA) has set the drill bit spinning as part of a maiden 2,000-metre campaign to test rare earth targets over the Arunta Project’s Bruce prospect in the Northern Territory.
The Aussie explorer is taking the magnifying glass to Bruce’s highest priority carbonatite and rare earth element (REE) targets as it seeks to expand its understanding of the prospect's critical minerals upside.
Following the three-week drilling campaign, first assays are expected within four to six weeks, meaning it won’t be long before the company has more news for the Australian sharemarket.
Soil sampling paves the way
MetalsGrove’s maiden program comes soon after it mapped carbonatite and high-grade REEs over more than 9 kilometres at Bruce, where recent soil sampling confirmed high concentrations of valuable magnetic and heavy rare earth elements (31% and 38%, respectively).
Led by encouraging soil results that revealed up to 1,800 parts per million total rare earth oxides (TREO), MGA has crafted an exploration compass to guide its targeted drilling program.
On top of the newly minted targets, a recent aeromagnetic and surface geochemistry program has defined a 1,000-metre by 600-metre intrusive system — considered highly prospective for REE bounty.
A closer look at Bruce
The Bruce rare earths prospect covers nearly 18,000 hectares in the NT’s Central Desert Region, an area renowned for cattle rearing and gold mining.
Among other priority targets in the region, MGA is particularly excited by a broad conductor along strike from the Plenty River mine, where significant rare earth finds were made in the 1950s.
The Northern Territory Geological Survey has completed geological studies in the Arunta region and identified numerous pegmatites hosting rare earth occurrences, including the Plenty River mica mine area.
As such, MetalsGrove is currently exploring pegmatite, breccia, vein and alteration-hosted rare earth mineralisation at Bruce, and the upcoming drill program will provide detailed insight on the prospectivity of these structures.
“The Arunta region is a world-class mineralised province and MGA has a clear strategy in place to systematically unlock the true underlying potential of its strategic footprint in the area,” managing director Sean Sivasamy said in early May.
“I look forward to providing the market with regular updates on our progress.”
Next up
Beyond the Bruce-centred drilling campaign, MetalsGrove plans to interpret more geophysical data to the Arunta Project’s east and west.
Depending on what it proves up, the explorer will chase results with more follow-up drilling and geochemical analysis.