Mount Ridley Mines (ASX:MRD) shares rise on start of resource drilling at namesake WA project

• Mount Ridley Mines (MRD) kicks off resource drilling at its namesake rare earths project in Western Australia
• This round of drilling comes a year after the company’s first rare earth element (REE) drilling program and is being carried out at the Mia and Marvin targets
• Of the 87 drill holes completed at the project to date, 62 returned total rare earth oxide grades above 500 parts per million
• MRD says the Mia and Marvin targets are a priority due to their potential for beneficiation, clay type, TREO grade, depth of cover and high-value magnet rare earths
• Company shares are up 16.7 per cent and trading at 0.4 cents at 2:47 pm AEDT

Mount Ridley Mines (MRD) has kicked off resource drilling at its namesake rare earths project in Western Australia.

This round of drilling comes a year after the company’s first rare earth element drilling program and is being carried out at the Mia and Marvin targets.

The targets span a 30-kilometre-long and four-kilometre-wide zone.

The company’s Chairman, Peter Christie, said the prospects were highlighted as a priority due to their potential for beneficiation, clay type, total rare earth oxide grade, depth of cover and proportion of high-value magnet rare earths.

Of the drilling completed to date at the project, assays have been received for 87 aircore holes, of which 62 holes returned TREO grades above 500 parts per million.

One drill hole, in particular, returned the company’s highest grade TREO intersection to date of one metre at 2.8 per cent TREO.

Since this drilling was completed, MRD has organised for additional drill holes in this area, and a petrographic study is underway to determine whether it is an occurrence of primary mineralisation.

Meanwhile, composites from 20 diamond drill holes completed late last year have been prepared for metallurgical appraisal.

Moving forward, Mount Ridley has applied for separate programs of work (POWs) to drill up to nine kilometres north and up to ten kilometres south of the central Mia prospect, as far south as the Marvin prospect. The POWs are subject to the completion of heritage and flora surveys.

MRD shares were up 16.7 per cent and trading at 0.4 cents at 2:47 pm AEDT.