Encounter Resources Intersects Mineralised Carbonatites at West Arunta
THE DRILL SERGEANT: Encounter Resources (ASX: ENR) reported drilling news from the company’s 100 per cent-owned Aileron critical minerals project in the West Arunta region of Western Australia.
Encounter Resources recently completed three diamond drill holes (EAL001, EAL007 & EAL008) that intersected the Elephant Island Fault at the Crean and Hoschke (formerly Worsley) targets with all hitting niobium-REE mineralised carbonatites.
The three holes cover a strike extent of 3.5 kilometres.
The company reported mineralised carbonatite remains open to the east and west and is increasing in width to the east.
The first diamond hole (EAL001) was completed at Hoschke and intersected a niobium-REE mineralised carbonatite which returned an assay result from a 24.8m interval of
16 metres at 0.6 per cent dinitrogen pentoxide (N2O5) and 0.2 per cent total rare earth oxide (TREO), including 402ppm neodymium and praseodymium (Nd+Pr) from 350m.
Two further RC pre-collars and diamond holes (EAL007 & EAL008) were completed at Crean, stepping out a further 2km and 3.5km to the east of EAL001.
“The West Arunta continues to emerge as a critical minerals province with the intersection of mineralised carbonatites in three drillholes over a strike length of 3.5 kilometres at Aileron,” Encounter Resources managing director Will Robinson said in the company’s ASX announcement.
“The first hole at Aileron, EAL001, was targeting a high amplitude magnetic anomaly, which it successfully intersected, before also intersecting a niobium-REE bearing primary carbonatite dyke.
“We were able to get structural measurements from the dyke to confirm it was striking east-west so two additional holes were drilled along the Elephant Island Fault to the east at Crean.
“Both holes contain zones of shallow oxidised and fresh carbonatite that returned anomalous niobium-REE on a handheld pXRF and the carbonatite units appear to be increasing in width to the east.
“Systematically testing the Elephant Island Fault for further zones of near surface, enriched mineralisation is a priority objective for the upcoming RC program.”
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