MetalsGrove Mining Ltd (ASX:MGA) has added just under A$70,000 to the company coffers to boost rare earths exploration thanks to a Northern Territory Government grant.
The cash injection will support work at the Arunta Project’s Bruce prospect, where an imminent 2,000-metre drilling campaign will test the property’s best-looking targets, including a broad conductor and a substantial intrusive system measuring 1,600 metres by 600 metres.
MetalsGrove managing director Sean Sivasamy said his team was “delighted” to receive the funding and thanked the NT Government for the exploration grant.
“The Arunta region is a world-class mineralised province and we have put in place a clear strategy to fast-track our exploration in the region and unlock value for MGA shareholders,” he stated.
“I look forward to providing the market with regular updates on our progress.”
Resourcing the Territory
MetalsGrove’s A$69,393.40 grant was administered by the Northern Territory Geological Survey (NTGS) as part of the Geophysics and Drilling Collaborations program.
Ultimately, this campaign is just one facet of the larger Resourcing the Territory initiative, which provides all-important capital to stimulate exploration and mineral discovery in the region.
The A$9.5 million funding pool represents the largest and longest-term investment ever made by a NT government to support resources exploration and development, including:
- Near-term resource development through an increased focus on exploration of ‘brownfields’ sites;
- identification and promotion of new areas of the Territory for resource exploration;
- acceleration of geoscience programs to attract and de-risk mineral exploration; and
- studies on the territory’s geological potential for critical commodities to support a low-emissions future.
Located just north of Alice Springs, MGA’s Bruce prospect is at the epicentre of its flagship Arunta camp.
The rare earths target covers roughly 17,722 hectares in the NT’s Central Desert region, where material rare earth discoveries have been staked in the Harts Range and Plenty River mica fields within the Irindina Province.
Interestingly, the NTGS has completed a geological study within the Arunta region and identified numerous pegmatites hosting rare earth occurrences, including the Plenty River mica mine area.
Nearly a year ago, MetalsGrove uncovered a broad conductor near the Plenty River mine, making its discovery next to magnetic features that are likely part of a pegmatite intrusion.
Moreover, previous work at the Arunta project has confirmed that rare earth anomalism is tied to copper, gold and base metal anomalism, putting more minerals on the radar.
This prospectivity ties into MGA’s broader mission: to farm up green metals and meet the growing demand from the battery storage and renewable energy markets in the transition to a de-carbonised world.
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