With the results received for another two drill holes, Northern Minerals Ltd (ASX:NTU) says mineralisation has been identified below the current resource at its Browns Range project in northern Western Australia.
High-grade orebody
Since March 2023, the company has exploring continuations to mineralisation along strike and down-dip of the project’s Wolverine deposit — thought to be the highest-grade dysprosium and terbium orebody in Australia.
In doing so, Northern Minerals hopes to determine whether the inferred resource extends down-plunge below the current wireframe, and what the possible implications are for the longevity of Browns Range.
Results from the latest two holes — BRWD0068 and BRWD0068W1 — measure up to 17.57 metres at 1.96% total rare earth oxides (TREO) from 589 metres, including 9.94 metres at 3.27% TREO and 5.54 metres at 5.57% TREO.
This suggests that the primary plunge has been intersected, but also that it’s deeper than had originally been thought.
Those two holes followed an earlier two — BRWD0067 and BRWD0067W1 — which showed mineralisation to be increasing as the central portion of the primary plunge is approached.
All up, Northern Minerals has drilled seven diamond drill holes at Wolverine. The final three were completed along a 40-metre step-out to the west, although assay results have not been received.
Additional deep drilling will be carried out at Wolverine in the third quarter of 2023.
About Northern Minerals
Northern Minerals owns 100% of the Browns Range Project in northern WA, which boasts tenements rich in the heavy rare earth elements dysprosium and terbium, two REEs critical to the production of magnets used in clean energy, military, and high technology solutions.
Dysprosium and terbium are sought after for their unique properties, which improve the durability of magnets by increasing their resistance to demagnetisation.
The company is preparing to bring Wolverine into production with the objective of providing a reliable alternative source of dysprosium and terbium to production sourced from China.
Northern Minerals is one of only a few companies outside of China to have produced these heavy rare earth elements.
Written by Oliver Gray.