Power Minerals intersects wide zones of niobium and rare earths at Santa Anna project in Brazil

• Power Minerals turns up wide zones of niobium and rare earths at Santa Anna 
• Drilling was carried out as part of due diligence in respect of its exclusive option to acquire the project 
• Power’s drilling results highlight the Project’s expansion potential at depth, and ~89.3% of the 5.8km² Alkaline Complex surface area is untested, highlighting a potential significant scale exploration opportunity

Special Report: A 29-hole maiden drilling campaign has hit the critical mineral jackpot, intersecting wide zones of niobium and rare earths at Power Minerals’ Santa Anna project in Brazil. 

The 2272m program was designed to confirm and extend previous mineralised sections, test new sections of the complex and progress work on an exploration target and resource estimate. 

Standout niobium and rare earth drilling results were delivered during the program, which formed a key part of Power Minerals’ (ASX:PNN) due diligence in respect to its exclusive option to acquire the asset. 

Some of the results include 87m at 2,124ppm niobium pentoxide from 24m, including 1m at 5745pppm from 107m and 3m at 10,117ppm from 24m. 

Another 76m intersection delivered 3424ppm niobium pentoxide from 26m and ended in mineralisation, while other results included 26m at 5317ppm from 24m, 5m at 8025ppm from 29m and 5m at 6802ppm from 41m. 

On the rare earths front, the company reeled in 114m at 3012ppm total rare earth oxide (TREO) from surface, including 16m at 5300ppm TREO from 97m. 

A 60m at 9,202ppm TREO from surface, incl. 14m at 18,768ppm TREO from 30m.

Consistent grades with depth potential 

PNN managing director Mena Habib said the company is excited to report the remaining niobium and REE assay results from its drilling program. 

“The results reinforce the strong results from the recently released first hole, and help validate our exploration model for the project, which is focused on exploiting the depth potential to host a significant niobium and REE deposit,” he said. 

“Our drilling has intersected the targeted niobium and REE mineralisation at depth well below previous drilling, and in the shallower weathered zone, in numerous holes from the 29-hole program.

“The grades returned have also been consistent across the program,” he added. 

“Power has a footprint over the entire Santa Anna alkaline complex, via its exclusive option to acquire the project. 

“Combined with the depth potential that our drilling has highlighted, and with large parts of the tenure yet to be drill tested, the project represents an exciting potential exploration opportunity.” 

Gallium results pending 

Previous drilling conducted by the project vendors (EDEM) delivered predominantly shallow results, with 78% of historical holes drilled to a depth of 30m or less. 

When applying a 40m buffer around every drillhole, PNN says this indicates that 89.3% of the complex surface area hasn’t been drilled tested. 

This, combined with the newly identified depth potential, increases the potential size of any resource that may be calculated in the future. 

Gallium results are pending and will be announced when available. 

This article was developed in collaboration with Power Minerals, 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.