OD6 Metals Ltd (ASX:OD6) is sharpening its focus on serving a high-quality maiden mineral resource estimate for its Splinter Rock Project near Esperance in Western Australia after a second round of drilling delivered bumper rare earth grades with extensive thickness.
Investors reacted positively to the news, with the company’s shares soaring by as much as 42.38% to $0.42 in mid-morning trading.
OD6 said the 83-hole phase two program achieved a “very high success rate”, with 74 of the holes returning significant grades and thickness which extend over multiple kilometres of drill lines.
Assay results returned grades of up to 6,605 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides (TREO), with extensive clay thickness of between 20 and 80 metres, higher and larger than those observed in the initial drilling program.
The high-value magnet rare earth oxides (MREO) represent an average of about 22% of TREO grade.
Notably, drilling confirmed a new deep channel at the Centre prospect, measuring 1 kilometre wide with mineralisation more than 70 metres thick.
“Globally significant discovery”
OD6 managing director Brett Hazelden said the “exceptional drill results” represented some of the highest rare earth grades over some of the thickest intersections ever seen in an Australian clay-hosted rare earth project.
“With thicknesses of 20 to 80 metres, grades in excess of 1,000 parts per million total rare earths and consistency across several kilometres of width, the Splinter Rock project has emerged as a globally significant discovery.
“The areas targeted in this second phase program align with the metallurgical recoveries recently reported, providing validation and further endorsement of the OD6 exploration approach.
“To have one prospect achieve these results is impressive, for all four of our main prospect areas to return these results is remarkable.”
Results validate exploration design
The drill results correlate with interpreted data from the Airborne Electromagnetic Survey (AEM) over the four main prospect areas, Prop, Flanker, Centre and Scrum, which validates the geological modelling and exploration program design.
Some of the significant high-grade clay-hosted rare earth intersections from the second phase include:
- 69 metres at 1,483 ppm TREO (21.1% magnet REO) from 24 metres;
- 66 metres at 1,516 ppm TREO (20.2% magnet REO) from 15 metres;
- 55 metres at 1,781 ppm TREO (23.2% magnet REO) from 21 metres;
- 71 metres at 1,330 ppm TREO (21.3% magnet REO) from 15 metres;
- 36 metres at 1,615 ppm TREO (21% magnet REO) from 21 metres;
- 29 metres at 1,882 ppm TREO (28.2% magnet REO) from 18 metres;
- 43 metres at 1,217 ppm TREO (20.5% magnet REO) from 12 metres; and
- 27 metres at 1,792 ppm TREO (23.2% magnet REO) from 18 metres.
The explorer will begin a phase three 188-hole, 10,000-metre drill program focused on the Centre and Prop prospects in the current quarter, which will mainly test the length of the areas, plus determine the continuity of grade and thickness of the extensions.
Metallurgical samples will also be selected for further work at ANSTO once assays have been received.
Splinter Rock Project planned drilling locations for Q2 2023.
About Centre and Prop
The Centre Prospect extends for about 5 kilometres along a northwest-southeast drill line and is yet to be constrained to the northeast and southwest, though AEM modelling suggests it may extend as far as 27 kilometres beyond the current drill line.
Clay-hosted rare earths are located in thick areas of the prospect and vary between 10 to 70 metres, with TREO intersections up to 2,029 ppm at a 300 ppm cut-off grade.
Meanwhile, the Prop Prospect extends 3 kilometres to the northwest-southeast and 5 kilometres along the northeast-southwest drill lines.
Similarly, clay-hosted rare earths are located in thick areas of the area and vary between 10 to 80 metres, with TREO assay intersections up to 1,907 ppm at a 300 ppm cut-off grade.
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