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- Taruga Minerals (TAR) receives testwork results for drill samples taken from its Morgan’s Creek prospect in South Australia
- Testwork indicated there’s a high concentration of readily soluble rare earth elements (REEs) in the samples which is a key feature of ionic adsorption clay REE deposits
- CEO Thomas Line says the “presence of high value magnetic REEs complements our strong copper portfolio extremely well”
- The company will proceed with targeted exploration to further evaluate the total potential at Morgan’s Creek including copper and REEs
- Company shares end the day 5.88 per cent in the green and closed at 1.8 cents
Taruga Minerals (TAR) has received testwork results for drill samples taken from the Morgan’s Creek prospect in South Australia.
The Morgan’s Creek Prospect is part of the Mt Craig copper project which is prospective for a range of mineralisation styles.
The testwork indicated there’s a high concentration of readily soluble rare earth elements (REEs) in the samples which is a key feature of ionic adsorption clay (IAC) REE deposits.
More specifically, results suggested that an average recovery of 85 per cent of the total rare earth oxides (TREO) and 93 per cent of the high-volume magnetic rare earth oxides (MREO) is possible in the clay zone.
They also showed that an average recovery of 68 per cent of the TREO and 70 per cent of the MREO is possible.
CEO Thomas Line said he was “encouraged” by the results which suggest a simple and low-cost metallurgical flowsheet could be applied to extract the REEs.
“The presence of high value magnetic REE’s complements our strong copper portfolio extremely well, and aligns Taruga perfectly with the growing demand for electric vehicles and renewable green technologies,” Mr Line said.
While the company’s focus at the Morgan’s Creek prospect to date has been on copper exploration, the presence of ionic REEs represents further potential value.
To test the continuity of the mineralisation and further assess the REE potential, the company will commence an exploration program in July.
Work will include processing and interpreting aeromagnetics, radiometrics and geochemistry data, infill soils and auger geochemistry to further characterise anomalies and shallow drilling to expand the mineralised footprint and test new targets.
“We are looking forward to conducting the first targeted REE exploration program which will form part of the next round of fully funded drilling,” Mr Line concluded.
Company shares ended the day 5.88 per cent in the green and closed at 1.8 cents.
