Olympio Metals Ltd (ASX:OLY, OTC:COPGF) has tasted success in the first phase of aircore drilling on Walloway Prospect within the Eurelia Project in South Australia with elevated rare earth element (REE) levels of up to 5,011 total rare earth oxides (TREO).
The assays from magmatic intrusives W2 and W6 also delivered encouraging niobium results of up to 1,491 parts per million Nb2O5.
Results appear to share characteristics with the nearby Walloway Carbonatite, which Olympio believes may be the source of rare earths mineralisation.
Strong results
Best results are:
- 4 metres at 1,000ppm TREO from 30 metres in WAC09;
- 5 metres at 1,357ppm TREO from 8 metres in WAC11;and
- 3 metres at 2,777ppm TREO from 6 metres in WAC14, including 1 metre at 5,011ppm TREO and 1,491ppm Nb2O5.
Olympio’s managing director Sean Delaney said: “The results of this first-pass shallow aircore drilling program at the Walloway Prospect have been a great success with TREO grades up to 5,011ppm in the drilling.
"The drilling has confirmed for us that carbonatites are the likely source of the rare earth mineralisation.
"We have only just scratched the surface with the shallow aircore drilling to date and look forward to testing these REE targets at depth.”
Other encouraging results are:
- 3 metres at 1,261ppm TREO from 1 metre in WAC17;
- 3 metres at 1,125ppm TREO from 8 metres in WAC17; and
- 3 metres at 1,056ppm TREO from 13 metres in WAC18.
The REE concentrations strongly correlate to magnetic susceptibility, which supports a magmatic origin for the REE mineralisation intersected.
Aircore drilling
This first-pass drilling program was designed to test several high-priority REE targets defined in a recent detailed aeromagnetic survey.
Olympio’s Eurelia Project.
Drilling at Walloway was undertaken in two phases, with 55 holes (WAC01-55) for 1,769 metres.
Results have been returned from WAC01-WAC18 at targets W2 and W6 with assays for a further 37 aircore holes expected in 2-3 weeks.
At Target (NYSE:TGT) W2, a discrete magnetic anomaly on the edge of the Curdimurka Breccia, a variably carbonate-rich, porphyritic mafic intrusive was intersected in the majority of holes.
Petrographic analysis of selected drill samples is underway, however, at this stage a preliminary classification of the W2 intrusive is a calcite-carbonatite.
The best drill intercept from the recent aircore drilling at W2 was 4 metres at 1,000ppm TREO in WAC09.
Target W6 is a similarly discrete magnetic anomaly on the edge of the Curdimurka Breccia and is where soil sampling by Olympio detected an association of elevated TREO (>400ppm).
Aircore drilling revealed a variably iron-silica altered, variably porphyritic intrusive with common country rock xenoliths.
The magnetic susceptibility of the drilled intrusive readily explains the observed magnetic anomaly.
Best intercepts from W6 anomaly include 5 metres at 1,357ppm TREO in WAC11 and 3 metres at 2,777ppm TREO in WAC14.
About Olympio
Olympio Metals has assembled a portfolio of high-quality projects in Australia and Canada.
In Canada, the company has acquired the advanced Cadillac Lithium project in the James Bay region of Quebec.
In Australia, Olympio is focused on exploring for carbonatite-hosted rare earths in South Australia, lithium near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia and gold in the eastern Kimberley region of Western Australia.