The discovery of rare earth elements is expected to transform the Australian gold company into an advanced minerals explorer
Regional reconnaissance AV drilling at the Mt Stirling Central project. (Credit: TORIAN RESOURCES LIMITED)
Torian Resources has confirmed the presence of all five critical rare earth elements (REEs) at its Mt Stirling Central gold project in Western Australia.
During the company’s systematic exploration of the project, the rare earth elements dysprosium (Dy), terbium (Tb), europium (Eu), neodymium (Nd), and Yttrium (Y) were all found to have been present in Yttria mineralisation.
Through 151 AV drill holes, the company is said to have targeted the Arktos Fault and nearby structures at the Wishbone prospect for arsenic and other gold vectoring pathfinders.
The company said that reconnaissance field work confirmed that prospective breccias were present within Archaean granites and Proterozoic mafic dykes, where the potential for rare earth mineral structural/lithological model was identified.
The rare earth elements were confirmed to occur throughout oxide horizons across various regional scale survey lines at Yttria, near the Arktos Fault, said Torian Resources.
The Australian gold explorer has a 100% interest in the 16km Arktos Fault strike continuity for the Yttria mineral system.
According to the company, Yttrium is a major pathfinder indicator of high value heavy rare earth elements that are used in the exploration of critical metals.
It stated that the rare earth elements, Yttrium along with the anomalous cobalt, scandium, nickel, chromium, palladium, and platinum are enriched within clays and regolith horizons for a distance of more than 1km.
Torian Resources executive chairman Paul Summers said that the discovery will transform the company into an advanced minerals explorer.
Summers said: “Torian’s exploration undertaking over the past 2 years has been exceptional, and we are now benefiting from a well-managed program to increase our gold resource.
“If undertaken methodically, exploration can offer many surprises. During a field traverse with our chief exploration manager Claudio Sheriff Zegers in December 2021 we came across some interesting ground which really stood out.
“From that chance find, and the interest generated, we find ourself today releasing a most exciting discovery.”
The Mt Stirling Central gold project is located nearly 40km northwest of Leonora, and is near Red 5’s Kind of the Hills mine.