Mclaren Minerals identifies district-scale zircon riches at Barossa

Mclaren Minerals (ASX:MML) has uncovered a 54-kilometre-long zircon-rich mineral sands system at its recently acquired Barossa project in South Australia. Focusing on an interpretation of the geological data from previous exploration at Barossa has also identified rare earth element potential.

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Following the acquisition of the tenements from Iluka Resources (ASX:ILU) in late CY25, Mclaren has carried out a further review, mainly focusing on the interpretation of the geological data from previous Barossa exploration.

The technical review identified a ~54 kilometres mineralised shoreline corridor across the Barton palaeo-shoreline within the Barossa project tenements.

Historic modelling at the Mojave prospect at Barossa outlined extensive heavy mineralisation above a 1% heavy minerals (HM) threshold, with higher-grade strandline cores identified within the broader system.

McLaren’s MD, Simon Finnis, said the review identified mineral assemblage which includes zircon, rutile and monazite, in addition to ilmenite and leucoxene.

“The addition of this project area expands the footprint of McLaren in the Eucla Basin, which is a proven and productive mineral sands province.”

He added the geological reinterpretation is highlighting the potential for a large, zircon-rich mineral sands opportunity with REE upside. “Barossa appears to be a zircon-rich system, and now we’ve confirmed monazite is present, providing potential exposure to rare earth elements, that adds further value to the suite.”

Recent work has highlighted the potential scale of the system and the opportunity to define multiple mineralised centres along strike. “The scale potential emerging from this early work is very encouraging, and we look forward to advancing the project with further exploration during this calendar year,” Mr Finnis said.

With historical drilling completed on widely spaced drill sections, McLaren is now confident there is a significant opportunity to increase geological confidence and define mineral resources through infill drilling.

The company is designing an exploration program to include targeted infill drilling and holes to validate and recreate historical results.

MML will open Tuesday at 1.9cps.

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