USGS confirm Mountain Pass and Colosseum zircons are “indistinguishable”.
Highlights
• USGS has undertaken zircon aging analysis for Colosseum and Mountain Pass
• The REE concentrations and chondrite-normalised spectra for the “Colosseum zircons are indistinguishable from the Mountain Pass zircons”.
• The Colosseum zircons have much lower U and Th (~20-50 ppm each) than Mountain Pass zircons (~100-800 ppm U, ~100-1,400 ppm Th)
Commenting on the study, Managing Director, Stephen Baghdadi, stated:
“The study by the USGS continues to add weight to the evidence that Colosseum has the potential to host a significant rare earth system with low uranium and thorium content. We have the right geology, the right timing and are in a known and proven rare earth district.”
“Whilst Dateline could have undertaken the age dating work on its own, its reassuring to have these results come from an independent US Federal agency.”
“The immediate focus is on drilling the gold deposit at Colosseum ahead of mine planning for underground mining and a mineral resource update, however we continue to progress planning and studies on the rare earth potential.”
