- Phase one of the Scandium re-assay program now complete
- Significant broad, near-surface scandium intercepts returned exceptional grades
- New high-grade scandium zone identified
- Distribution of high-grade scandium intersections supports company’s view
Mount Ridley Mines (ASX:MRD) has identified significant scandium upside with the completion of phase one of its re-assay program at the Grass Patch project in Western Australia.
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The program involved the systematic re-assay of 3,271 historical air core (AC) drill pulp samples for scandium, targeting areas of the Grass Patch Complex not captured within the current JORC (2012) mineral resource estimate (MRE).
Results from phase one have confirmed significant scandium mineralisation outside of the established Block 1 and Block 2 MRE.
Among these results, a cluster of holes at the southwestern margin of the Grass Patch Complex returned grades materially exceeding the current MRE average and revealed approximately 13 kilometres of untested strike between the current resource boundary and the confirmed southwestern mineralised cluster.
“Phase one of our Scandium Reassay Program has confirmed what we suspected: the Grass Patch Complex extends well beyond what we currently have defined,” MD and CEO, Allister Caird, said.
“The grades at the southwestern end are above our existing resource average and they sit at the far end of a 13-kilometre corridor that has not yet been touched by the drill bit. We will now work quickly to incorporate these results into the resource model and assess the most appropriate pathway to test the strike extension.”
Phase one results will now be incorporated into a resource model, targeting an update and potential upgrade of the current JORC (2012) inferred mineral resource at the Grass Patch Complex.
Phase two of the scandium re-assay program is being scoped, prioritising coverage of the 13km untested strike corridor from the remaining approximately 14,000 unassayed historical pulps.
Scandium is classified as a critical mineral by Australia, the U.S., and the European Union, with global annual production estimated at only tens of tonnes of oxide equivalent and no meaningful production outside of China, Russia and limited byproduct sources.
China’s April decision to place scandium under mandatory export licensing, alongside six other heavy rare earth elements, has materially tightened supply to Western buyers and accelerated demand for non-Chinese sources.
MRD closed up up +6%, at 2.7¢. Mkt cap $33.20M.
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