Encounter Resources Extends High-Grade Aileron Niobium

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Encounter Resources ASX: ENR) reported additional niobium intersections from the company’s 100 per cent-owned Aileron project in the West Arunta region of Western Australia.

Encounter Resources reported that recently conducted aircore drilling intersected further shallow, high-grade niobium-REE mineralisation across multiple targets at the Aileron project.

The company said the latest results provide further validation of the abundant fertility of this new carbonatite mineral province.

The results have followed the trend of earlier drilling to enlarge the extensive footprint of carbonatites that contain +2% niobium drill intercepts.

Encounter noted that high-grade niobium intersections are repeatedly being achieved in wide spaced, first pass drilling.

The company believes follow-up drilling can then rapidly delineate the better mineralised parts of these complexes.

Aircore drilling at the Green target has delineated a large footprint of near-surface niobium intercepts with holes ending in mineralisation, including:

EAL489
10 metres at 4.2 per cent niobium pentoxide (Nb2O5) from 57m part of 38m at 1.5 per cent Nb2O5 from 51m; and

EAL500
10m at 4.3 per cent Nb2O5 from 51m part of 16m at 3 per cent Nb2O5 from 47m to EOH.

Drilling at the Crean target extended high-grade mineralisation to over 1.2km in strike.

New assays include:

EAL439
10m at 4.9 per cent Nb2O5 from 98m part of 49m at 1.7 per cent Nb2O5 from 86m to EOH; and

EAL449
24m at 2.1 per cent Nb2O5 from 81m part of 43m at 1.6 per cent Nb2O5 from 79m to EOH.

“Encounter’s Aileron project in the West Aruna hosts multiple bodies of high-grade, near-surface niobium oxide mineralisation,” Encounter Resources executive chairman Will Robinson said in the company’s ASX announcement.

“Crean is shaping up as a coherent body of thick, high-grade niobium mineralisation.

“Green contains a large, laterally mineralised zone with frequent high-grade niobium intercepts (+2% Nb2O5) defined in broad spaced aircore drilling.

“Beyond these discoveries, with new results such as at Joyce, we are continuing to validate our targeting model, which focuses on major regional faults which have the capacity to host mineralised carbonatites over considerable strike length.

“Finding and delineating high-grade zones, with mineable dimensions, along these mineralised corridors, is an immediate priority.”

 

TO READ THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT: CLICK HERE