The 2019 resource definition diamond drill programme at the 1 708 ha Wicheeda rare earth element (REE) project, near Prince George, Canada, has exceeded expectations, exploration company Defense Metals said on Monday.
The company completed 13 diamond drill holes to test the northern, southern and western extent of the Wicheeda deposit and to further delineate the relatively higher-grade near surface dolomite carbonatite unit.
All 13 drill holes intersected significant intercepts of visibly REE element mineralised dolomite-carbonatite rocks.
“Our 2019 resource definition drilling has exceeded our expectations in significantly expanding the drilled extent of REE mineralised dolomite-carbonatite, and meeting our primary goal of increasing drill hole density within the higher REE grade upper portions of the Wicheeda mineral resource,” said CEO and president Craig Taylor.
Diamond drilling at the northern margin of the 2019 Wicheeda deposit resource area delineated and expanded the northern margin of the deposit by 100 m, which represented a 40% increase in the drill defined north-south strike extent of the Wicheeda deposit.
Significantly, the final hole of the 2019 programme (WI19-32) intersected a 130 m core length interval of visibly REE mineralised dolomite-carbonatite leaving the deposit still open for expansion to the north. The true width of the interval is interpreted to be about 80% of the drilled intercept.
Infill drilling in the east central area of the deposit resulted in expansion of the edge of the deposit 45 m beyond the limit of the 2019 resource model, while delineation drilling in the southwest area of the deposit extended the limit of dolomite-carbonatite rocks a further 25 m beyond the 2019 model.