Kingfisher Mining hits new REE targets in WA’s Gascoyne

Kingfisher Mining (ASX:KFM) revealed its discovery of at least 10 new Rare Earth Element (REE) exploration targets at its Chalba prospect in WA’s Gascoyne region on Tuesday. 

The new targets were logged in an airborne survey producing electromagnetic imagery scans over the length of the company’s ‘Chalba’ target. 

That target is a 54km long corridor in WA’s north. Its length is due to the underlying geological structure which constitutes it, the deep-seated crustal-scale Chalba Fault.

The Chalba fault is the largest in the Gascoyne region, which WA’s department of mines and petroleum labels the Chalba Shear Zone – Clere Fault.

High grades known nearby

The new targets boast similar geological particulars as those encountered at the Mick Well area where high-grade REE core samples have been collected from outcrops. 

Information on REE grade classifications can be hard to find and it also depends on what type of hard-rock the elements are hosted in (or, for example, if they are hosted in clay). 

Generally, most junior REE projects in Australia encounter grades around 1-1.5%.

Among previous drilling results from the Kingfisher team at Mick Well, one 3m core section came in at an eyebrow-raising 5.21% Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO). 

Another 5m core came in at 3.45% TREO. 

Kingfisher South of building interest

The company’s fresh identification of a new large-scale target at Kingfisher South is significant. 

Previous fieldwork has identified ferrocarbonatite in the local geology at the same target, a common host rock for REEs. 

Called CH10, the Kingfisher South target is described as including a circular magnetic feature at its centre (when viewed as electromagnetic data overlain onto a map). 

This central feature has an impressive diameter at 2km. 

Interestingly, the company says it is surrounded by an area interpreted to be high in thorium, a radioactive element frequently coincident with REE mineralisation. 

World class potential 

“The survey adds another leg in our discovery journey which has led to the identification of numerous additional potential carbonatite intrusions along the 54km Chalba mineralised corridor,” Kingfisher chief James Farrell said. 

“The results from the airborne geophysics at our Gascoyne REE projects continue to highlight the significant potential of our belt-scale tenement holding in this globally important REE region.”

Farrell stopped short of pointing to specific timelines for a drilling campaign but did make clear his end-goal. 

“We are extremely excited and are looking forward to following up these dominate targets which will hopefully confirms that our Chalba mineralised corridor is world class,” he added. 

Points to consider 

Kingfisher Mining’s one year returns are up 87.5%. 

The company has a market cap of $23.6m. 

It held $5.39m in cash at the end of the September quarter and spent $265,000 in opex over the same period. 

It hit its all time high quite recently, in early December 2022, when the shares hit 65c. 

Shares are worth 45c heading into the second hour of trade. 

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