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QEM Ltd (ASX:QEM) has started the ball rolling to explore for tungsten to supply US wartime programs on-site its Idaho-based ‘Big It’ project, a historic operation that produced high grade tungsten concentrates up to 75% purity.
The company launches ahead at Big It with a demonstrated tungsten and antimony-gold mineral system on-site with geotechs particularly interested in the geology of the Pritchard Formation which underpins the project’s boundary envelope.
The QEM team are en-route to the landholding this month to initiate groundworks and select priority work areas with the first stage of works to confirm the geometry of historical workings on-site. The underground project is considered an early-stage brownfield development by the company.
The company noted existing underground development provides ‘early access’ and ultimately poses less CapEx burden for the company; additional oreshoots at Big It were spotted in a US defence minerals exploration program in the 1950’s.
“Existing underground development provides direct access for geological mapping and systematic sampling of the known vein system, complemented by surface geochemistry, structural mapping and targeted drilling to test continuity, width and grade at depth and along strike,” the company wrote on Tuesday.
Ground surveys and target definition will follow with a view towards drill-testing in the coming months and 2027 calendar year.
“We’re excited to be getting on the ground in Idaho and commencing our initial exploration programme at Big It,” QEM MD Robert Cooper said.
“The staged application of modern exploration techniques will hopefully lead to QEM identifying further mineralisation as we work to demonstrate the potential of this underexplored tungsten, antimony and gold project.”
The plan overall underpins QEM’s move to becoming a critical minerals explorer with an existing joint vanadium and oil & gas project located within inner Queensland.
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