UK-based rare earths developer Pensana has reported trench and pit sampling results that confirm a 6 ha, enriched laterite at Sulima West, in Angola, grading at 2% to 3% total rare earth oxides (TREO).
These analytical results were derived from three trenches and nine pits sampled at the Sulima West laterite late last year.
The Sulima West laterite is located 75 km north of the company’s Longonjo rare earths project and test work programmes are designed to test for the amenability of this mineralisation to be processed at Longonjo.
Sampling of three additional historic trenches totalling 206 m averaged 1.8% TREO.
Higher-grade zones were intersected in trench two, revealing 2.3% TREO over 32 m, trench three showing 2.3% TREO over 28 m, and trench four, which yielded 2.2% TREO over 54 m.
Pensana said all the pits within the 6 ha area with a greater than 3% soil anomaly are mineralised with an average grade of 2.1% TREO and with all pits ending in mineralisation.
Some of the more notable pit intersections reported include 3% TREO over 4 m in pit 14, and 2.8% TREO over 4 m in pit 15.
“The trench sampling confirms the current understanding of the grade and lateral extent of the Sulima West laterite and the pitting shows mineralisation to depths greater than 5 m,” Pensana exploration manager Grant Hayward explained.
He added that, should the current metallurgical testwork campaign on the Sulima West laterite show promising beneficiation results, then the full grade and depth extent of the laterite will be tested by drilling.
“The deployment of a portable X-ray fluorescence is a game changer with no more lengthy delays waiting for analytical results before being able to progress activities, which will greatly enhance our understanding and shorten the discovery time for these new deposits,” Hayward said.