Chilwa Minerals (ASX: CHW) has received further REE and Niobium results from the ongoing sonic drill programme at the Mposa deposit, part of the Chilwa Project, in southeast Malawi.
The sonic drill program is predominantly planned for the assessment of the heavy mineral sands potential of the project.
There are approximately 12 known carbonatites within and surrounding the Lake Chilwa Project1, primarily located to the west and south of Lake Chilwa (interpreted to be an endorheic basin, that is, a basin that that does not drain into the ocean). It is postulated that minerals containing REE and Niobium mineralisation may have eroded from the carbonatites and accumulated and concentrated in the basin.
The results in this announcement relate to individual samples of HM concentrates taken from two, high grade holes that were drilled for mineral sands. These results demonstrate that REE and Niobium mineralisation occurs in the HM rich, upper sedimentological unit. Units containing low grade HM mineralisation were not assayed, neither was any material from the clay footwall, as the primary goal of the analysis, was to determine if REE mineralisation is present in the HM bearing units.
“Whilst our focus still remains on the mineral sands potential at Lake Chilwa, these results demonstrate that more work is required to determine if a Rare Earth mineral resource can be determined for Mposa," Managing Director, Cadell Buss, said.
"It further validates our opinion that these are results that cannot be ignored. Additionally, given that these results confirm the original, pathfinder test results, we need to determine if we can find the primary source (s) of the REE mineralisation on the Chilwa property.
“With the impending arrival of the diamond rig and the interpretation of the aeromagnetic and radiometric survey, we can determine the best path forward to commence exploring for this."
Next Steps
The company is expecting the interpretation results of the recently completed aeromagnetic and radiometric survey over the entire project area (EL 0671-21 and EL 0671-22). This interpretation will allow the company to better understand the subsurface geology, particularly as it relates to the presence of potential primary REE and Niobium mineralisation. The results derived from the interpretation of the aeromagnetic and radiometric data, will guide Chilwa in selecting anomalies that will be tested using diamond core drilling.
