Multi-mineral explorer Encounter Resources Ltd (ASX:ENR) has reported the emergence of a large trend of niobium mineralisation at its Green target in Western Australia, with drilling work pulling up grades of up to 4 percent niobium pentoxide (Nb2O5).
A program of first pass aircore drilling was conducted at the target – in WA’s West Arunta region – with carbinatite-hosted niobium mapped out over 1.6 kilometres of strike, and the mineralisation remaining open.
Assays from seven holes of this program revealed zones of both niobium and rare earth elements (REEs), with intercepts including 6 metres at 2.3% Nb2O5 from 50 metres, including 4 metres at 3.0% Nb2O5 from 52 metres to EOH (end of hole); and 26 metres at 1.3% Nb2O5 from 53 metres including 2 metres at 4.1% Nb2O5 from 67 metres.
Given the openness of this mineralisation to the east (close to the Stromness fault), Encounter has also been drilling in this region, with assays from work on the eastern side of Green expected in August.
Executive Chairman Will Robinson said the drilling results from Green had met company expectations for the area.
“Broad spaced aircore drilling is achieving what we had hoped by rapidly identifying and mapping out near surface mineralised carbonatites in the West Arunta,” he said.
“The mineralised trend at Green broadly follows a curved, magnetic anomaly extending to the north-east from WA1’s Luni discovery and wraps around into the Stromness fault.
“Many of the aircore holes drilled at Green end in high-grade niobium mineralisation and the next phase of exploration aims to methodically define better mineralised parts of the large carbonatite at Green through closer spaced and deeper drilling.”
Encounter has been trading at 83 cents.