Dreadnought Resources (ASX: DRE) has grown its Yin rare earth element (REE) discovery in Western Australia, with more broad and high-grade drill intercepts revealed.
The company received the final assays for 29 reverse circulation holes out of a 120-hole program at the Yin ironstone discovery within the wider Mangaroon project.
Highlight assays were 18m 1.33% total rare earth oxides (TREO) from 37m, including 10m at 2.15% TREO from 40m; 36m at 1.02% TREO from 76m, including 2.60% TREO from 92m; and 42m at 1% TREO from 93m, including 7m at 1.97% TREO from 117m.
All intervals contained valuable REE neodymium (Nd) and praseodymium (Pr), which are used to make magnets for electric vehicles, wind turbines and advanced weapon systems.
The intervals with highest ratio of NdPr in the mix were 3m at 3.45% TREO (30% NdPr:TREO) from 155m; 6m at 3.31% TREO (32% NdPr:TREO) from 142m; and 6m at 2.38% TREO (31% NdPr:TREO) from 39m.
These latest results will feed into a maiden JORC resource for the Yin discovery, which will be released later in the current quarter.
Dreadnought managing director Dean Tuck noted the resource would be calculated from only 3km of the known 16km strike.
“Yin continues to deliver exceptional REE results we have also made numerous additional REE discoveries.”
“With all holes now reported, we remain on schedule to deliver our initial JORC resource at Yin in the December 2022 quarter,” he added.
Drilling continues at Mangaroon
Drilling is continuing across the C1-to-C5 carbonatite REE targets at Mangaroon.
The company will test seven of the carbonatite targets in the current program, with more than 100 additional regional anomalies identified over the project and under evaluation.
Meanwhile, diamond drilling at Yin is “progressing well” with updates “expected shortly”.
With NdPr:TREO ratio values up to 46% uncovered at Yin, Dreadnought noted it was nearly double the global average.
Initial metallurgical test work on Yin ore has achieved a 92.8% recovery at a concentrate grade of 12.13% Nd and an average 40% TREO.
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