Miramar uncovers more REE clues at Dooley Downs

Miramar has received further evidence that its Dooley Downs project hosts significant rare earths potential after a recent aeromagnetic and radiometric survey highlighted multiple anomalies.

The anomalies, which stretch out over a 35km long target corridor at the project in Western Australia’s Gascoyne region, have the potential to host unmapped intrusions, including carbonatites capable of hosting REE mineralisation.

While exploration for REE remains at an early stage, Miramar Resources (ASX:M2R) executive chairman Allan Kelly said the results nonetheless highlighted the significant multi-commodity potential of the company’s strategic Bangemall project tenements.

“When we targeted the Bangemall region in 2019, the area was poorly explored and only sporadically pegged,” he added.

“Our initial target was nickel, copper and PGE mineralisation associated with Proterozoic dolerite dykes, but we were always alert to the potential for other styles of mineralisation, including gold and rare earths, and designed our exploration programmes to include discovery of these other deposit types.”

“The last 12 to 18 months have seen extensive tenement pegging and new REE discoveries by some of our neighbours. We have many of the same indicators at Dooley Downs and plan to develop these targets further over coming months.”

Survey results

The survey across the Dooley Downs exploration licence E09/2484 highlighted a number of magnetic and/or radiometric features resembling igneous intrusions within the Edmund Basin.

A number of ovoid magnetic features, ranging in size from 600m by 600m to 6km x 2km, have been identified in the central and southeastern part of the project.

While the largest of these magnetic anomalies had previously been mapped as an anticline within sediments of the Edmund Basin, the new magnetic data, along with a large radiometric anomaly suggests the presence of a buried intrusion.

The survey also identified a number of smaller radiometric anomalies in the southeast of the project within and/or on the margin of the intrusions interpreted from the magnetic data.

Of these targets, the company singled out Eden Bore – the strongest of the smallest radiometric anomalies which is located over a circular magnetic low about 800m across – as a high priority target.

This is the “classic” carbonatite signature and is coincident with a uranium and/or thorium anomaly, surrounded by potassium anomalism potentially related to peripheral fenite alteration.

Next steps

Miramar plans to carry out more detailed ground geophysics and/or geochemical surveys at Dooley Downs this year with the aim of defining drill targets for testing.

It will also fly similar detailed magnetic and radiometric surveys over its other Bangemall Project tenements once granted and will carry out mapping and sampling over the Mount Vernon target with the goal of identifying nickel-copper-PGE mineralisation.

This article was developed in collaboration with Miramar Resources(ASX:M2R), 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.