Dreadnought Resources has announced a breakthrough rare earth discovery at its Gifford Creek carbonatite complex in Western Australia.
Four-hole diamond drilling at the Stinger niobium deposit, part of the Mangaroon project in the Gascoyne region, intersected a previously unrecognised fractionated carbonatite zone, delivering exceptional results.
Hole ‘CBDD011’ returned an impressive 140 meters grading 0.9 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO) from 307 metres depth, with a notable 24 per cent of the TREO comprised of high-value neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) elements.
This discovery is significant not only for its high-grade rare earth content but also for its scale and geological characteristics, showing some resemblance to the Mountain Pass deposit in the United States, one of the world’s premier rare earth deposits.
The twinned holes comprised a strong mix of niobium, rare earths, and other critical minerals – with drill results including 122m at 0.6 per cent niobium pentoxide from 64m including 26m at 1.1 per cent niobium pentoxide from 99m.
Drill results also showed 116m at 10.5 per cent phosphorus pentoxide from 70m, including 20m at 21.9 per cent phosphorus pentoxide from 138m.
The discovery of the highly fractionated zone within Gifford Creek highlights the significant potential for further discovery, Dreadnought Resources said, with mineralogical work of both fresh and weathered carbonatite ongoing.
“Gifford Creek is one of the largest carbonatite complexes globally and already contains multiple critical minerals including niobium, rare earths, titanium, scandium, and phosphorus. The discovery of thick mineralised rare earths underneath Stinger is yet another example of the shallow, high-grade at Gifford Creek,” Dreadnought Resources managing director Dean Tuck said.
“There is a rebounding market sentiment for critical metals and we have been receiving an increasing amount of inbound commercial interest. The metallurgical work will be of great assistance in this regard.”
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