Aldoro Resources will sink its first holes in its bid to prove up a major rubidium deposit at the Niobe project in WA after completing a heritage avoidance survey with Wajarri Traditional Owners.

Aldoro Resources (ASX:ARN) has received the go-ahead for the planned drill sites at the Niobe pegmatite, laying the foundations for the start of a 66-hole program this week.

An RC rig is scheduled to arrive on site within the week, with Aldoro expecting drilling to commence on Friday.

It will begin with drill testing at the Niobe East pegmatite system to increase the exploration target based on limited historical drilling and rock chip sampling results.

Aldoro has previously outlined an exploration target of 33,000-150,000t at the main pegmatite, grading from 696-1457ppm.

A recent program of 46 rock chip samples delivered an average grade of 1892ppm, ranging from 34.7 to 9307ppm.

Sampling suggested Niobe East’s anomalous rubidium and lithium values extend over 400m in strike length.

Drilling will also take place at the Breakaway and Niobe Southeast pegmatites, where anomalous rubidium and lithium rock samples have been collected but historical drilling did not test for the presence of the commodities.

While lithium’s value to the energy transition is well established, rubidium is a scant mineral that on account of its rarity commands a price of as much as $1 million per tonne.

It has applications in the manufacture of photocells and removal of gases from vacuum tubes.

Rubidium salts are used in glasses and ceramics and in fireworks to give them a purple colour, among other uses.

 

 

 

This article was developed in collaboration with Techgen Metals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

 

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.