Venture Minerals Limited (ASX:VMS, OTC:VTMLF) has unearthed the highest-grade intersection yet from the clay-hosted Jupiter Rare Earths Project in Western Australia in the latest round of drilling, hitting 80 metres at 1,839 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides (TREO) from just 8 metres below surface.
Consistent high-grade zones were identified, generating grades of more than 2,000 ppm TREO over 20-30 metre widths in several drill holes – the latest results contain six of the 13 best intersections generated at Jupiter to date.
The magnet rare earth oxide (MREO) content of the project’s mineralisation continues to average about 23% in samples above 1,000 ppm TREO, while deleterious thorium and uranium content has remained low – altogether making for a potentially high-value prospect.
Consistent, high-grade results
“The great intersections just keep on coming at Jupiter!” Venture Minerals managing director Philippa Leggat said.
“Another batch of drilling results and another record clay-hosted REE drill intersection. It’s fantastic to see infill drilling continue to deliver such consistent results, with impressively broad zones of high-grade mineralisation confirmed in hole after hole.
“This is the kind of substance that builds a meaningful project.
“We have an incredible team working on Jupiter, led by experienced geologist Dr Stuart Owen. Dr Natalee Bonnici (ex-IGO and Northern Star) is a geo-metallurgist who recently joined our team, bringing her specialist skills to our understanding of the mineralisation at Jupiter.
“Their work is the foundation that means our metallurgical work will be done on representative samples. We are doing the work the right way, because this project is too big and too good to be wasted on short-cuts.
“Jupiter’s scale, grade and tier-1 location all play into the strategic nature of this discovery. They infer the incredible potential which attracted Nick Cernotta and Tim Lindley to join the board.
“This potential is the basis for our vision to restructure the company to become one of the best rare earths and critical minerals companies in Australia, while delivering meaningful shareholder value.”
Full assay results
Venture says its drilling results continue to validate its geophysical modelling, which points to a 40-square-kilometre target at Jupiter.
The latest program tightened up drill spacing over the target to 500-metre by 250-metre spacing, with results from only the first 59 holes of 246 air core drill holes completed.
Highlight results include:
- 42 metres at 1,948 ppm TREO, including 20 metres at 2,411 ppm from 4 metres of depth;
- 39 metres at 1,738 ppm, including 20 metres at 2,127 ppm from 16 metres;
- 40 metres at 1,832 ppm, including 28 metres at 2,138 ppm from 32 metres;
- 58 metres at 1,702 ppm, including 44 metres at 2,002 ppm from 8 metres;
- 80 metres at 1,839 ppm, including 36 metres at 2,503 ppm from 8 metres;
- 80 metres at 1,191 ppm from 16 metres;
- 60 metres at 1,587 ppm, including 20 metres at 2,562 ppm from 12 metres;
- 54 metres at 1,748 ppm, including 16 metres at 3,149 ppm from 8 metres;
- 37 metres at 2,050 ppm, including 8 metres at 4,417 ppm from 32 metres; and
- 66 metres at 1,516 ppm, including 16 metres at 3,407 ppm from 16 metres.
A further 187 assays are still pending from this round of drilling – the results from which will guide the next phase of drilling at Jupiter and across the wider Brothers Project.
Shares have been as much as 13.6% higher in the first hour of ASX trading to A$0.025.