Lindian Resources has delivered more shallow and high-grade hits from drilling at its Kangankunde rare earths project in Malawi, including a monster 119m section at 3.77 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO) from surface.
It comes after the company recently completed its third-phase infill campaign at the operation, with the aim of defining a significant portion of its inferred mineral resource into an indicated category. The giant Kangankunde project currently holds 261 million tonnes at an impressive grade of 2.19 per cent, including 5.7 million tonnes of contained TREO in the inferred category.
Additional new assay highlights show impressive figures including 120m at 3.66 per cent TREO, 80m going 3.59 per cent and 150m grading 3.38 per cent, with each section starting from surface. Another 100m hit going 3.29 per cent TREO from surface included a 1m segment at an astounding 21.23 per cent TREO from 27m.
Of the 14 recently-assayed intercepts, the lowest grade would still be the envy of many rare earths explorers, with an 80m hit going 2 per cent TREO from surface. Importantly, the average grade of the critical metals neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) made up about 20 per cent of the TREO.
Samples from the final 10 holes drilled during the infill program are currently at the laboratory, with results expected to be released in the coming weeks. Management says an updated mineral resource, including potential upgrades to the indicated category, will be reported as part of the upcoming feasibility study.
Lindian Resources chief executive officer Alistair Stephens said: “The results from this infill drill program further demonstrate Kangankunde’s excellent characteristics – high grade, which is consistent across very broad intersections, a high NDPr ratio, and of course, the material in non-radioactive, a unique feature of the asset.”
Last month, the company revealed high-grade rare earths running up to 7.15 per cent TREO at Kangankunde following a geological mapping and sampling campaign.
Management says its most recent work shows that outcropping carbonatite prospects both north and south of the project are highly-mineralised with rare earths. It says 17 of 21 samples taken from two discrete outcrops in its Malawi project area returned grades ranging from 2.07 per cent TREO to the high 7.15 per cent.
Just this week, metallurgical testing backed up positive recovery results on ore from Kangankunde, with concentrate grades ranging between 55 per cent and 68 per cent TREO. The company says its latest metallurgical test results confirm achievable recoveries of 70 per cent TREO, in line with results delivered in April last year.
Previous metallurgical testwork was based on selective and bulk surface samples. However, during the final stages of a core drilling campaign last year, metallurgical drillhole samples were collected from areas where initial mining is planned.
Lindian says it is now in the final stages of a metallurgical variability testing program, with results set to guide mine planning schedules so that grade, recovery and rock-type variations can be used in association with mine and process plant production predictions.
Once completed, the final testwork results will be used to complete mine design studies and production forecasts in the company’s upcoming feasibility report.
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By Michael Philipps
