Power Minerals (ASX:PNN) extends Morro do Ferro rare earth results to a new drilling section
Power Minerals has received assay results from MFSR-056 at its Morro do Ferro project in Brazil, where drilling returned 39 m at 4.42% total rare earth oxides (TREO) from 80 m downhole.
The hole is on a section 57 m northwest of the initial drilling baseline, adding results from a separate section while assays for the upper 80 m remain outstanding.
Highlights
MFSR-056 returned 39 m at 4.42% TREO and 0.95% magnet rare earth oxides (MREO) in whole rock from 80 m.
That interval includes 6 m at 8.91% TREO and 1.89% MREO from 92 m, including 2 m at 11.05% TREO and 2.27% MREO from 96 m.
The results comprise 20 samples from MFSR-056. Assays from surface to 80 m are pending.
Power says results from MFSR-056, drilled to test the deposit’s geometry beyond the initial section, confirm rare earth oxide mineralisation on the new section and extend the area of confirmed mineralisation at depth.
The company has yet to define the boundary of mineralisation, and the deepest sample assayed from the hole also shows mineralisation.
The release sets out earlier results from MFSR-054 on the initial section, including 88 m at 6.33% TREO from surface, followed by 93 m at 1.06% TREO from 88 m and a further 5 m at 4.32% TREO from 181 m.
Results for the remainder of MFSR-054 are pending, leaving assays outstanding from holes on both sections.
Power notes that previous drillholes in this area returned their most significant TREO grades in near surface intervals.
The reported MFSR-056 intersection begins at 80 m downhole, and assays for the interval above it have not yet been received.
The company says its Exploration Target modelled mineralisation extending vertically and to the northwest, while further drilling and detailed geological analysis are required to determine the deposit’s extent and geometry.
Morro do Ferro lies within the Poços de Caldas alkaline intrusion, where, according to the geological information in the release, the local rocks include hydrothermally altered country rock beneath a deep weathering cover, with rare earth oxide mineralisation associated with bastnasite and cerianite.
Power’s initial assessment suggests the mineralisation may be associated with a hydrothermal system, although its precise orientation remains unknown.
Chief Executive Officer Alistair Stephens said:
“With further assays pending, our focus remains on defining the mineralisation, advancing metallurgical testwork and progressing towards a maiden Mineral Resource estimate.”
Samples from MFSR-053 through MFSR-067 have been dispatched to SGS Geosol Laboratory, and Power says outstanding results will be released progressively when available.
Its stated further work includes sampling and drilling to assess lateral and depth extensions, alongside additional metallurgical studies.
The intersections in the release are reported as downhole lengths and may not represent true thickness.
Those measurement limits, the incomplete assays and the unresolved geometry remain part of the geological record as Power continues its work at Morro do Ferro.