25 Mar 2024: St George Mining Limited announced the discovery of further thick and near-surface high-grade REE intercepts confirmed by assays for follow-up drilling at Destiny, supporting the potential for a large, consistent high-grade deposit. Further, St George Mining proudly announces the release of its latest investor presentation to the Future Facing Commodities Conference in Singapore.
The highlights of the announcement are:
· Assays returned for 13 of the 28 drill holes completed to follow-up the high-grade Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO) discovery announced by St George in December 2023
· Assays confirm more high-grade mineralisation with grades up to 3,160ppm TREO, adding to the high-grade 5,125ppm TREO intercept from the maiden drilling
· High-value Magnetic Rare Earth Oxides (MREO) – such as neodymium and praseodymium needed for magnets used in electric vehicle motors – comprise a high percentage of TREO; 19% on average across all drill holes
· Thick, continuous high-grade intervals up to 34m thick in near-surface clay-hosted zones with continuity into basement rocks
· Grades and thicknesses of high-grade intercepts are largely homogenous, indicating the potential for a very large, coherent high-grade rare earths elements (REE) deposit
· Drilling has extended the occurrence of high-grade TREO by 3km to a strike of more than 10km – drilling has not closed-off the deposit which is open in all directions
The follow-up drill programme completed earlier this month has successfully confirmed further continuity of the clay-hosted REE discovery announced by St George in December 2023.
John Prineas, St George Mining’s Executive Chairman, said:
“We are very pleased with the results of our follow-up drilling programme which has significantly expanded the lateral continuity of the rare earths mineralisation footprint at Destiny.
“The latest assay results confirm that the near-surface high-grade mineralisation is widespread and consistent in grades and thickness across the 15 sq km area tested by drilling to date. This is a very large footprint and – impressively – the mineralisation remains open in all directions.
“The attractiveness of the Destiny Project is also underscored by the high proportion of heavy and magnetic rare earths in the mineralisation – with the magnetic rare earths such as neodymium and praseodymium highly sought-after by the clean energy sector.
“St George has also completed a gravity survey over several prominent magnetic features at Destiny that may be carbonatite intrusive and potentially associated with the REE mineralisation. Modelling of the data is in progress and will be fed into our next stage exploration push.
“We look forward to planning the next round of drilling at Destiny with a clear focus on establishing a significant deposit of mineralisation at what is shaping as a highly exciting REE discovery in a prime mining province.”
Most of the completed holes were drilled through the saprolitic layer of clays and terminated in basement rock. High-grade TREO mineralisation (>1,000ppm TREO) continued at the bottom of the hole, indicating that the high-grade mineralisation may not only be hosted in the clay zone but also in the basement rocks.
This is consistent with historical drill results with intercepts that included 84m @ 470ppm Ce+La+Y from 96m (WRC016; no assays for HREO); for further details of historical exploration, see our ASX Release dated 11 September 2023 Exploration Commences at Woolgangie (the prior project name for Destiny).
Deeper drilling will be planned for the next drill programme at Destiny to further investigate the depth extent of the high-grade mineralisation.
New Exploration Targets – Potential Carbonatites
Gravity lines have been completed over six distinctive, circular-shaped magnetic features (named C1-C6) within the Destiny tenure. These large features each have a diameter up to 2.5km.
The geometry and appearance of the circular features have similarities with known mineralised carbonatites, including Mt Weld in WA’s north-eastern Goldfields. The location of the features near the Ida Fault – a major shear zone that could act as a conduit for the late-stage intrusion emplacement into the surrounding rocks – supports this interpretation.
Results from the ground gravity survey will indicate the density of these features, which will assist to determine if they represent carbonatites or other magnetic features such as granitic bodies.
The location of the magnetic features along strike from the REE-rich clay zone at Destiny warrants further investigation to determine if they are associated with the REE mineralisation in the clay zone.
Next Steps
St George’s continued drilling success at Destiny provides a compelling case to progress the REE exploration program at Destiny. Next steps will include:
1. Planning a further follow-up drill program to fully scope out the extent of the REE mineralisation, including deeper reverse circulation (RC) drilling.
2. Detailed metallurgical test work to assess the beneficiation methods most appropriate for the Destiny mineralisation.
3. Modelling and interpretation of the new gravity data, and planning drill testing of any carbonatite targets.
Investor Presentation
St George Mining proudly announces the release of its latest investor presentation to the Future Facing Commodities Conference in Singapore, which covers updates and highlights on the full portfolio of its projects.