Reach gets heritage nod for WA niobium, rare earths drilling

Reach Resources says it has secured the vital heritage clearance that will allow it to launch a drilling program at its Wabli Creek niobium-rare earths project in Western Australia’s Gascoyne region.

After getting the all-clear to begin ground disturbance activities from the local Wajarri people and the Burringurrah Aboriginal Corporation following a heritage survey, the company now plans to target a series of highly-prospective areas at its ground after recently revealing several high-grade assays from rock chips that were taken directly from outcropping granitic bedrock.

The impressive results included one sample returning 17.65 per cent niobium, 10.81 per cent tantalum, 31.39 per cent titanium, 0.37 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO) and 0.15 per cent yttrium. A further sample produced 13.22 per cent niobium, 6.27 per cent tantalum, 18.97 per cent titanium, 1.13 per cent TREO and 0.13 per cent yttrium.

Management says a recently-identified ovoid late-stage intrusive feature at Wabli Creek is considered as the likely source of the fine-grained alkaline igneous rocks it believes is the host for the cross-section of mineralisation that produced the compelling assay results. Further laboratory assessment is underway to determine if there is a carbonatite association with the alkaline igneous rocks after the company previously believing them to be related to pegmatite geology.

Reach Resources chief executive officer Jeremy Bower said: “Obtaining heritage clearance at Wabli Creek is the culmination of a very thorough assessment process starting with soil surveys, rock-chip sampling, geochemical analysis and geophysical assessment to define coherent targets. Planning for drilling has commenced and we are working with the resident pastoralist and the Wajarri, to get on the ground before the extreme heat hits in December.”

The company notes that its geophysical consultant, Southern Geoscience, has identified multiple targets considered to be of high priority for the potential further discovery of niobium-rare earths-enriched intrusive features. Geophysical imagery analysed by Southern shows a strong correlation with geochemical targets previously unveiled by Sudgen Geoscience.

The geophysical imagery involved detailed 50m line-spaced magnetic and radiometric data that had previously been flown across the tenement. The coincident nature of the targets having geophysical and geochemical prospectivity has added additional confidence to the company’s promising collection of drill options.

Reach says the majority of its new niobium and rare earths targets are based in and around the margins of the ovoid intrusive feature, which has been confirmed by high-resolution imagery.

Wabli Creek sits some 780km north of Perth in the Gascoyne region – an area that stretches for about 135,000 square kilometres and consists of the four local government areas of Carnarvon, Exmouth, Shark Bay and Upper Gascoyne.

The company also holds the Primrose gold project in Paynes Find, about 430km north-east of Perth, that contains an inferred mineral resource of 1.035 million tonnes at 3.2 grams per tonne gold for 105,000 ounces. It includes a higher-grade component of 582,000 tonnes at 4.7g/t gold for 87,000 ounces.

There are several gold mills within trucking distance, providing Reach with the opportunity to monetise its asset, especially in view of today’s roaring Australian gold price that has been sitting at more than $3730 an ounce.

But with niobium also all the rage in recent times and magnetic rare earth oxides deemed vital for use in clean-energy magnets, Reach will be eagerly awaiting its upcoming drill results in anticipation of mirroring its recent compelling rock-chip assays.

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