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Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated GPR had a right to earn-in up to 50% of Fifield; that hasn’t been the case as of October 3, 2024.

Rimfire Pacific Mining (ASX:RIM) has kicked off scandium infill drilling at its Murga project hoping to upgrade its exploration target.

The company’s Murga prospect (fun fact: The company website allows for easy Chinese translation) is located in NSW and is part of the company’s Fifield project.

That project WAS subject to an earn-in deal with a privately listed entity called Golden Plains Resources (GPR); GPR stood to earn a majority stake of 50.1% in Fifield. Rimfire has since terminated that deal.

While Rimfire gets on with the job of exploring for critical mineral scandium, GPR is currently embroiled in a court battle in NSW as the company’s effective chief – who can’t be a director due to fraud convictions, according to reports – battles it out with another individual over who has ultimate rights to that 50.1% stake.

That’s unfortunate for Rimfire, but maybe not its share price.

Since GPR got involved, Rimfire’s share price has climbed from around one cent per share to 5.5cps, where it sits in the first hour of trades on Thursday.

At any rate – that’s neither here nor there regarding the company’s Thursday announcement flagging the commencement of drilling. And seeing as Rimfire is sole funding that drill run, the aforementioned stoush doesn’t appear set to complicate on-site progress. At least for now.

Aircore rigs are currently on-site with the ultimate goal of finding enough proof of mineralisation to turn the company’s Exploration Target for Murga – targets are always ‘conceptual in nature’ and not bankable – into a JORC-compliant Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE).

So far, what scandium has been previously found is in trace amounts <1,000ppm scandium.

“The commencement of infill aircore drilling at Murga is the critical next step in converting the Murga Exploration Target into a Mineral Resource,” company chief David Hutton said.

“In conjunction with the Melrose and Murga North Mineral Resources, Rimfire is well on the way to achieving its primary objective of building a globally significant scandium resource inventory at Fifield.”

Assays are due back from this latest drill run in late November.

RIM last traded at 5.5cps.

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