Askari Metals Limited (ASX: AS2) has unveiled significant and high-grade rare earth element (REE) mineralisation for both "light" and "heavy" Rare Earth Element groups with assay results from its auger drilling campaign completed at the 100%-owned Red Peak project located in the Gascoyne Region of Western Australia.
A total of 801 auger drilling samples were collected on the Red Peak project on a 500m x 500m grid with the assay results demonstrating significant and high-grade Rare Earth Element (REE) mineralisation for both "light" and "heavy" Rare Earth Element groups.
The Red Peak project is located immediately southeast of the Mt Clere REE-Niobium project owned by Krakatoa Resources Limited (ASX. KTA) sharing the same geological features and settings and boasting the same mineralisation potential.
The design basis for the 801-point auger drilling grid was to test the potential of the Red Peak project at a project-wide level with a 500m x 500m sample spacing. The location of the samples were selected based on field activities undertaken by the company during previous exploration campaigns as well as Rare Earth Element results from the WAMEX database. In addition, the company utilised the target generation survey identified by ASTER satellite hyperspectral analysis.
The results from this initial auger drilling campaign has demonstrated the significant exploration upside at the Red Peak project for “light” and “heavy” REE mineralisation as well as the potential for identifying potential Niobium mineralisation utilising similar techniques to those adopted nearby at the Mt Clere project.
The company is now planning to follow up this project-wide campaign with a 250m x 250m infill auger drilling grid. The assay analysis covered the full suite of Rare Earth Elements (REE), and the data was reviewed with reference to Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO), Total Light Rare Earth Oxides (TLREO) and Total Heavy Rare Earth Oxides (THREO).
Significantly, these assay results demonstrate that 381 samples have TREO results above the nominal background value of 255 ppm TREO, and they also show that Light REOs are more prevalent in the data than Heavy REOs, although both are extremely anomalous.
"The results of the auger drilling campaign at Red Peak have provided a significant number of high-grade REE mineralised surface results with notable high maximum results achieved by some metals like Cerium, Samarium, Gadolinium and Europium. This dataset has identified areas to focus on more closely with a follow-up infill auger drilling sampling campaign,” Managing Director, Gino D’Anna, said.
“Rare Earth Element exploration requires an in-depth knowledge of the host lithology and how the REE's can be liberated. The Company is proposing to conduct more detailed work focusing on REE liberation and will engage suitable industry experts to advance the project.”
