The eastern part of LNR's Lyon tenements represents a nice package to research. It is a relatively small part of what is starting to be recognized as a district to regional REE play.
This LNR airmag (and associated radiometrics) survey overlaps onto parts Hastings and DRE ground. The interpretation of the radiometrics is restricted to LNR's tenement. HAS and DRE surveys have also overlapped this as well with provides an chance to cross reference some Thorium (Th) and other features. I have extracted the Th, SGC targets and some magnetics into a GIS program with a google earth base.
This gives a chance to have a look at possible visual expressions of some of these features. Many options are possible with simple ones the limit of my current capabilities.
To make the data easier to see the images are given in N and S. Main legend on south sheet. Green outlines are Th highs from the HAS survey (its SE boundary being the thin white line). HAS may have known about Lyon 12 and associated anomalies in the NE of the LNR block.
How to define a thorium anomaly is probably a tricky business. SGC areas do not match the REE targets! Perhaps there is actual evidence for the REE targets while the other are just geophysical picks.
Not having access to the Thorium plots makes it difficult to compare to HAS/DRE work of different vintages and perhaps survey parameters. These two show reasonable correlation where they overlap.
Broad geological features show up in the mag and on google earth. The complex magnetic patterns that have been processed with 3D inversion are fascinating. The "cover zone" shown on the southern image creates a stippled pattern that blocks out some details of the magnetics - suggests it is quite a thick zone. There are similar zones elsewhere. The main reason for focusing on these is the black material that concentrates along their margins. This colour anomaly resembles ironstone scree/rubble zones but is obviously different and does not give a thorium anomaly.
Here is a small segment with numbered anomalies and a REE target in red dashes in the SE corner (follows a topographic feature along ridge - maybe extends further to the SE of LNR ground)
Difficult to comment much about the starred anomalies.
19 is the most likely to have an obvious outcropping explanation. IMO.
For a shotgun of visuals here is a PDF with most.
lnr visuals.pdfSome more detail on areas sampled
Lyons 13
There is a fairly obvious visual trend highlighted by sampling possibly by vegetation and a small alteration zone to the S and E.
The grades are excellent however the visuals suggest a relatively narrow zone which will be drilled in due course. Grab samples and to a lesser extent chip samples are difficult to take without bias towards what looks like the best material. Basic psychology of sampling which is one reason drilling is needed.
Apart from the white zone SSE of sample 54 there is no apparent ironstone as seen at Yangibana or Yin.
For comparison purposes Yangibana
The broken ridge line of Yangibana shows as black with a smearing of ironstone down slope. This smeared black is similar to what is found in the southern parts on the LNR block without an obvious linear source.
Yangibana metrics: 1.35Mt @ 0.79% TREO Ore Reserves dips max. 30 degrees, 1-5m (Av 3.3m) to resource depth of vertical 100m.
Drilling will determine whether high grade surface assays translate into meaningful and hopefully economic deposits. DRE were surprised on the upside by their first target.
Each target begins as a relative unknown. Each drill hole changes the picture.
While I agree with
@GneissDougy that DRE may end up with a larger resource based on visuals and lengths of thorium anomalies LNR will have IMO some significant discoveries of ironstones. The large magnetic features may be the sleeper for LNR.
Looks promising for all parties in the area. More exploration may reveal why there are so many high grade ironstone dykes in the area. A large source (or two) would be a real game changer.
(20min delay)