Reply to@inkblotcross posted with your recent reply. Had some...

Reply to@inkblot
cross posted with your recent reply. Had some cyber issues here.

Tend to agree except for the comment about CHN. There may be some interaction but ENR are capable of managing on their own. Another viewpoint can be useful.... Might happen though unlikely.

Comparing potential for exploration in such a vast area is subjective.

WA1 and ENR were looking for IOCGs is an example. Companies take what turns up even if it wasn't the original target.

Went down the rabbit hole and delved into what I had only looked at from a cursory level. A lot of data to collate and still only a partial summary below.

Summary of selected early assays from weathered zone, WA1 and ENR drilling.

P2 5m @ 0.9% from 65
L2 4m @ 2.9% from 32
L3 8m @ 1.06% from 44

Crean
E8 34m @ 1% from 56, including 4 @ 3.8% which will drop the residual for the 34m to ~0.6% - standard math
E7 19m @ 1% from 65m, [and 48 @ 1% from 181.5 fresh rock]

Emily
12m @ 2.3% from 54m
32m @ 1% from 34.

Hurley
24m @ 0.93% from 68

Hoschke dyke in fresh rock
16m @ 0.6% from 350m


NOTE: there are many possible ways to present assay results. "Nugget effect" can create broad zones of apparently reasonable grades [1m of 1000g/t gold in a 1000m intersection is mathematically 1 g/t over 1000m!] Short of giving every assay there will always need to be compromise and a need to view assays critically.

Probably meant 26/10 for the first assays out of WA1's Pachapadra P2 target. I am on record as saying much of ENR's early carbonatite intersections are at least on par with these and to a lesser extent 2022 drill results from Luni. Having put the above summary together first pass at Emily is probably as good as those from Luni.

First announcement of carbonatite in West Arunta



In hindsight hole L2 is probably the discovery hole for Luni.


Not certain how the dates you give differ but probably the same info from Crean 25/7/23 almost a year after WA1's first drilling at West Arunta. With the benefit of knowing about Luni and P2 I suspect ENR approached the 2023 exploration season with a different focus than previously. As Holmes may have said "the games afoot.."



IMO These results are similar to the 2022 holes at Luni. As are some of the Emily holes. Hurley is interesting. Green geologically so but not grade wise at present. Hoschke carbonatite dyke only from one hole - a useful sign to be followed up; though probably low priority...at present.

There has been some follow up drilling for Crean that has not given results like Luni. Still wide spaced at 400m along strike with two fences of 200m spaced holes.


Discrepancy for locations 91-93. To me the ENR coordinates don't make much sense and do not have a sentinel disturbance visible. Geologically the sentinel sites do make sense. All 3 holes intersected fenite alteration (Q4 23 report) which means they did not test carbonatite. Implication that there may be carbonatite to the north based on geology of previous holes.
Hole 93 was drilled 200m (?coordinates as above) and did not hit carbonatite! If correct the carbonatite may be irregular.



Note the 6m of 1.1% Nb2o5 from 72m in hole 18. A promising sign from a 200m step out.

Assays from the RC drilling are scattered through many announcements and not easy to track down. Not highlighted much, if at all, so I suspect they may be below cutoff for reporting in most cases.

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I do not see why there is all this negativity of Crean, Emily and Green et al.
Agree with you on this. I have noticed comments along these lines from some posters on WA1, perhaps elsewhere.

Luni is special and 2023 work showed it to be a very real deposit with a significant high grade component. From this perspective comparisons of Luni to ENR's sparsely drilled carbonatites could look poor.
The details, above, from 2-400m spaced holes show Crean and Green are IMO up there with the best early results (2022) from Luni and not too shabby compared to subsequent Luni drilling.

IF extensional and infill drilling at Crean has similar result to what has happened at Luni then 'the game's afoot..'. [Size <=400 (N-S) X >= 1400m E-W (closed off to east perhaps by 2023 drilling but open to west) so potentially smaller than Luni.]

Emily ditto with the proviso that mineralisation/carbonatite will likely extend south onto WA1 ground.

IF these then how much more on ENR and WA1 ground and elsewhere in the West Arunta.

Statistically, and practically, big deposits are generally found first and then smaller ones in the same area. Not a hard and fast rule.
Mt Isa was sticking out of ground 100 years ago. Since then, and before probably, smaller, and not so small (Century, Ernest Henry, MacArthur River) have been found.
Broken Hill pretty much a one off though the game is still on going.
Kalgoorlie, Timmins, Brunswick 12 and on and on the list goes for areas where related deposits cluster for whatever reason. If no big deposit then statistics suggest there may be one that hasn't been found yet. Lies, damn lies and stats.

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Given the supply/demand balance of Niobium I do wonder if the economics will allow it to become a mine. Probably will given the potential IGV and easy mining, but going to be interesting IMO.

Statement has implications for ENR which is likely to be a satellite to WA1 unless the high potential of their Aileron ground comes up with a winner or two.