Surprising (and encouraging) early drill results for battery metals explorer

The assay results are in from Dundas Minerals’ (ASX: DUN) nickel, copper, and gold drilling campaign at the Matilda South project in Western Australia. These provide valuable information about the area – part of the Albany-Fraser orogenic belt (orogeny), which refers to a geological process that forms mountain ranges – and its potential reserves of high-demand materials.

Elevated levels of rare earth elements (REE) were demonstrated across some parts of the four drill holes, though the targeted minerals of nickel, copper and gold were not found in significant quantities.

Key findings

Some of the key findings were from hole 23MSRC002, where two intervals were sampled and tested.

The first of these found total rare earth oxide (TREO) content of 858 parts per million, which consisted of 44% magnetic rare earth oxides (MREO) and 48% critical rare earth oxides (CREO).

The second had a TREO content of 1,164 ppm, which consisted of 25% MREO and 13% CREO.

As reported previously, the drill campaign was 50% (up to $180,000) co-funded by the WA Government Exploration Incentive Scheme.

Northwest soil sampling

Soil samples have been collected from the northwest area of Dundas’s project tenements, ahead of schedule, from the program started on 11 April.

These samples are set to be assayed in the first week of May at the Intertek Genalysis laboratory in Perth,  Western Australia. Results are expected in the second half of June.

What’s next?

Dundas management is considering the potential implications of the unexpected and encouraging results outlined earlier. Because of the focus on REE exploration in surrounding tenements, next steps may include dedicated REE exploration in Matilda South, with further updates to be provided in due course.

As outlined in prior coverage, the following four ASX-listed rare earth explorers have all had early exploration successes. They’re undergoing drilling campaigns with the hope of confirming resources in their neighbouring tenements.

• Meeka Metals

• Mount Ridley Mines

• West Cobar Metals

• OD6 Metals.

Disclaimer: Market Index helps small-cap ASX-listed companies connect with Australian investors through clear and concise articles on key developments. Dundas was a client at the time of publishing. All coverage contains factual information only and should not be interpreted as an opinion or financial advice.