- Asra Minerals (ASR) gets the green light to start the next round of drilling across its Mt Stirling project in Western Australia
- A total of 50,000 metres of drilling has been approved to follow up occurrences of rare earth elements (REE), cobalt and scandium
- It will include resource definition drilling at the company’s previously identified Yttria prospect to enable the delivery of a maiden mineral resource estimate
- Asra hopes this campaign will result in extensions to the mineralisation at the nearby Wishbone prospect as well as between Yttria and Wishbone
- Company shares are down 7.1 per cent trading at 2.6 cents at 3:54 pm AEST
Asra Minerals (ASR) has been given the green light to start the next round of drilling across its Mt Stirling project in Western Australia.
The project has 10 major gold targets plus a recently discovered endowment of critical minerals and clean heavy rare earth elements.
A total of 50,000 metres of drilling has been approved to follow up the newly defined occurrences of rare earth elements (REE), cobalt and scandium in the regolith profile.
It will include resource definition drilling at the company’s previously identified Yttria prospect to enable the delivery of a maiden mineral resource estimate.
Asra hopes this campaign will result in extensions to the mineralisation at the nearby Wishbone prospect as well as between Yttria and Wishbone.
Previous drilling at the project delineated rare earth anomalism over a 5.2-kilometre strike length and up to 1.3 kilometres in width.
Additionally, an ongoing systematic surface survey is continuing to test an interpreted 7.5-kilometre mineralised corridor.
Asra’s Executive Chairman Paul Summers said this next round of work is a positive step forward as the company looks to uncover the true scale of the discovery.
“There are no similar REE deposits in Australia and it could be one of only a few existing worldwide,” Mr Summers said.
At the same time, Asra has sent off thousands of drill samples from previous drilling work for assaying.
Metallurgical test work has also commenced ahead of beneficiation test work and leaching test work.
Company shares were down 7.1 per cent trading at 2.6 cents at 3:54 pm AEST.