Mount Ridley Mines (ASX:MRD) extends reported scandium footprint at Grass Patch
Mount Ridley Mines has identified scandium mineralisation beyond the recently expanded Block 1 and Block 2 resource boundaries at its Grass Patch Project in Western Australia.
Phase 2 re-assay results show mineralisation up to 8km beyond the existing boundaries, while the results are yet to be incorporated into an updated Mineral Resource Estimate.
Highlights
MRAC1040 returned 40m at 102.09 ppm Sc₂O₃ from 18m, with the hole ending in mineralisation.
MRAC1114 returned 16m at 106.83 ppm Sc₂O₃ from 32m, also ending in mineralisation.
A further 2,800 pulps were delivered to the laboratory for Phase 3 re-assaying on 21 September 2026.
The results come from the latest phase of Mount Ridley’s program to re-assay historical drill samples for scandium, adding assay data from areas beyond Blocks 1 and 2.
Grass Patch currently hosts a 946Mt Inferred Scandium Mineral Resource at 50.1 ppm scandium, containing 47,357 tonnes of scandium metal, while the release reports Block 1 and Block 2 resource grades of 77.3 ppm and 74.7 ppm Sc₂O₃ respectively.
South and southeast of Block 1, the company describes a corridor of mineralised drill holes extending approximately 4km to 5km beyond the current resource boundary.
Alongside the MRAC1040 intersection, MRAC1051 returned 15m at 102.15 ppm Sc₂O₃ from 6m, while MRAC1047 returned 21m at 93.98 ppm Sc₂O₃ from 6m.
Mount Ridley also reports scandium mineralisation beyond Block 1 to the east and northwest, and in the corridor between Blocks 1 and 2.
North of Block 2, the release describes drilling approximately 7km to 8km beyond the current resource boundary.
The northernmost hole identified in the announcement, MRAC1463, returned 9m at 71.09 ppm Sc₂O₃ from 6m.
West and northwest of Block 2, mineralised drill traverses extend approximately 4km to 5km beyond the resource area, with MRAC0994 returning 34m at 91.03 ppm Sc₂O₃ from 9m and MRAC1000 returning 11m at 96.81 ppm Sc₂O₃ from 43m.
The company reports that scandium mineralisation is spatially associated with the broader rare earth element and gallium system at Grass Patch.
Its re-assay work is adding information for resource modelling and for assessing areas of overlapping scandium, rare earth element and gallium mineralisation.
Mount Ridley has also identified its wholly owned Selectro™ leach process as part of its downstream strategy. Commenting on the exploration results, Managing Director and CEO Allister Caird said:
“We’re really only at the midway point with the re-assay program.”
Phase 2 results are to be incorporated into the resource model, with Mount Ridley targeting an update and potential upgrade of its current JORC 2012 Inferred Mineral Resource.
The company also lists continued modelling to support a potential upgrade from the Inferred to the Indicated category.
The Phase 3 pulps have reached the laboratory, and with their assay results still to be reported, the next stages set out in the announcement are those additional assays and resource modelling.