- BBX Minerals (BBX) reports positive initial reconnaissance REE results at Ema in the Apui region of Brazil
- The exploration run was sunk at BBX’s Ema-Ema East project
- The company is bullish on the play given its similar geological profile to globally significant REE acreage in Uganda and China respectively
- All results today come from shallow depths of less than 20 metres, implying higher grades may be present underground in larger systems
- BBX shares are up 5.88 per cent, trading at 3.6 cents at 11:37 am AEST
BBX Minerals (BBX) has reported positive initial reconnaissance REE results at Ema in the Apui region of Brazil.
The Ema-Ema East REE project covers two tenements, although BBX has a total of nine secured tenements in its pipeline.
Today, the company reported fresh assay results showing that 10 of 13 holes assayed in recent drilling returned “significant” total rare earth oxide (TREO) counts.
BBX’s geotechs noted that drilling revealed a wide zone with high-grade REE mineralization, and the first continuous mineralised zone at Ema has now been identified.
Drilling remains ongoing with the goal of finding other high-grade zones.
The company reported a four-metre thick intersection at 816 parts per million TREO, including a one-metre pocket at 1233ppm TREO.
Other results included an 8-metre-thick intersection at 623ppm TREO. Notably, BBX’s project portfolio covers an extensive 700 square kilometres.
Furthermore, all the results today come from depths of less than 20 metres, leaving open the possibility that grades may significantly increase with further depth. Of course, the opposite scenario could also be true.
In any case, BBX is progressing towards a JORC resource estimation in Q1 of CY24.
“We expect to receive results from the recovery test work being done by CETEM, Brazil’s national mining centre, by the end of September and once received, we will be able to develop a production method and cost profile [for Ema],” BBX Minerals CEO Andre J Douchane said.
“While these results are very positive, we’re not surprised by the continuity we’re seeing with this very large discovery.
“We continue to compare these discoveries to Makuutu in Uganda for a good reason. Like Makuutu, Ema’s IREE results are near surface in unconsolidated material which lends itself to very low mining costs and since the SGS ammonium sulphate assay indicted easily recovered iREEs the cost profile will be at the low end of current iREE projects.”
BBX shares were up 5.88 per cent, trading at 3.6 cents at 11:37 am AEST.