Cradle confirms high-grade zone at Panda Hill

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Cradle Resources (ASX: CXX) has received assay results from the latest drilling carried out at the company’s Panda Hill niobium project in Tanzania.

The drilling consisted two diamond and 11 RC holes of the Phase 1 drill program at Panda Hill.

Cradle said its first stage of drilling activities is now complete, with a total of 78 holes drilled, targeting mineralisation in only the first 100 metres of the deposit.

Drilling conducted in the newly-discovered southern high-grade area of mineralisation, which has recently been named the Angel zone, (RC holes PHRC036 to PHRC042) returned consistent wide, high-grade intercepts associated with carbonatite lithologies.

 

Panda Hill resource drilling grid showing the location of recent drill
holes as well as 2014 holes already reported (red) and holes with assays
pending (yellow). Source: Company announcement

 

Cradle claims all holes drilled into the Angel zone have ended in mineralisation, including:

PHRC042
42 metres at 1.14 per cent niobium (equivalent to 5.4g/t gold);

PHRC037
81m at 0.91 per cent niobium (equivalent to 4.3g/t gold);

PHRC041
50m at 0.82 per cent niobium (equivalent to 3.9g/t gold);

PHRC040
74m at 0.76 per cent niobium (equivalent to 3.6g/t gold);

PHRC036
50m at 0.73 per cent niobium EOH (equivalent to 3.5g/t gold); and

PHRC038
70m at 0.63 per cent niobium (equivalent to 3.0g/t gold).

Other high-grade intercepts to the north include:

PHRC031
50m at 0.6 per cent niobium (equivalent to 2.8g/t gold) from surface;

PHRC032
32m at 0.74 per cent niobium (equivalent to 3.5g/t gold) from 4m; and

PHRC034
38m at 0.69 per cent niobium (equivalent to 3.3g/t gold) from surface in.

“The results from the high-grade Angel zone are very encouraging,” Cradle Resources managing director Grant Davey said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“This zone hosts a broad, deep and wide high-grade core to the deposit which is likely to be an attractive starter pit.

“The Panda Hill project continues to show the attributes of a world-class niobium deposit with an excellent combination of grades and metallurgical recoveries.

“Of significance in the niobium industry is the recent sale by Iamgold of their Niobec mine for $500 million.

“Our scoping study, combined with these exciting drilling results, indicates that the Panda Hill project could produce similar volumes of ferro-niobium as the Niobec mine at substantially lower operating costs.”

Website: www.cradleresources.com.au