Moho Resources Ltd (ASX:MOH) has completed the first phase of reconnaissance drilling across exploration licence E74/695 at the Peak Charles Project, which it hopes to turn into a multi-commodity asset.
Moho’s 100%-owned Peak Charles Project is an 874-square-kilometre contiguous tenement package about 88 kilometres northwest of Esperance, WA, consisting of three granted exploration licences (E74/695, E63/2162, E63/2163) and one exploration licence application (E74/694).
The Peak Charles Project was acquired through a deal with Whistlepipe Exploration Pty Ltd.
Underexplored for REEs
Historical exploration has focused on gold and uranium and Moho considers the project underexplored for orogenic gold, base metals and rare earth elements (REE).
The tenements adjoin the Grass Patch holdings of OD6 Metals Ltd. Anomalous neodymium and praseodymium results were reported by OD6 from sampling of regional water bores in the region, suggesting enrichment of soluble REE within groundwater.
OD6 Metal’s Belgian Road REE prospect, which has a 5-kilometre-long neodymium-praseodymium soil anomaly in calcrete, is about 15 kilometres from and trending in a northwesterly direction towards the Peak Charles project boundary.
An 81-hole reconnaissance aircore drill program was designed to further understand the geological constraints of the project area, follow up historic surface gold mineralisation and test for clay-hosted REE mineralisation.
The drilling was carried out along existing tracks at a 200-metre hole spacing and drilled to refusal – an average depth of 22.6 metres. Bottom-of-hole multi-geochemical assays will be used to test for potential precious and/or base-metal mineralisation, while the basal saprolite zone will be assessed for ionic clay REE.
Drilling wrapped at the project earlier than anticipated and assays should be in by March.
Airborne geophysical survey
Moho has recently commissioned a geophysical contractor to undertake an airborne magnetic and radiometric survey across the Peak Charles tenement package.
The survey is expected to provide important detailed aeromagnetic data which will be used in conjunction with drilling and assay data to refine geophysical and geochemical targets for future exploration programs.
It will consist of 10,339 line kilometres of gradiometer magnetics and radiometric surveying at 100-metre line spacing, greatly improving the existing aeromagnetic data undertaken at a 400-metre line spacing.
The survey is expected to begin in late December and finish in early January, weather permitting, and pending Christmas shut down.
Subsequent processing and interpretation will assist in defining exploration targets.
Next steps
Once the assays are in, the company will review and assess the data. Datasets will then be integrated and new exploration targets defined – around April in the new year. Moho then plans to undertake geochemical sampling and analysis.
The company will also liaise with private landowners for land access in the new year.
“The company is well placed to capitalise on the strategic location of the Peak Charles Project within this burgeoning Esperance district," said managing director Ralph Winter.
"With gold prices expected to stay strong and the expanding supply shortages for rare earth minerals, Moho has increased opportunities to create value for the company and its shareholders from this multi-commodity project.”