Northern eyeballs Wolverine extension

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Diamond drilling being carried out by Northern Minerals at its Browns Range heavy rare earth (HREE) project in northern Western Australia has allowed the company to make visual observations and portable XRF measurements.

The company said the observations and measurements indicate an extension of the HREE mineralised zone to below 120 metres at the Wolverine prospect.

 

Wolverine Prospect – Drill hole location plan, Source: Company announcement

 

The first four holes, for approximately 714m of the 1,400 metre program, have been completed at Wolverine, testing the depth extent of mineralisation.

The drill holes were completed just prior to the Christmas break, with drilling set to re-commence early January.

Northern Minerals said it expects to receive laboratory assays in February, however all holes completed to date have visual indications of xenotime mineralisation and anomalous yttrium measurements recorded by a portable XRF.

Xenotime, an yttrium phosphate mineral, is the dominant HREE mineral identified at Browns Range.

Northern Minerals managing director George Bauk said the results the company had received so far continued to add to the potential of Browns Range, and the Wolverine prospect in particular.

“The diamond program is targeting areas identified by our RC drilling, and the first holes from the program have intersected the target and extended our known mineralised zone,” he said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The extended mineralisation of the Wolverine prospect, which has yet to be closed off, gives us even more confidence as we move toward definition of a JORC resource in the second half of 2012.

“We look forward to receiving further positive results from the program early in 2012.”