30th Apr 2018 14:05
LONDON (Alliance News) - Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd said on Monday the exploration drilling being carried out at its Gakara project in Burundi confirmed "additional rare earth mineralisations".
The Kiyenzi target drill holes contain "multiple intersections" of up to 2 metres thick of breccia mineralisation, with initial testing "confirming the presence of multiple intersections of high grade rare earth elements".
The drilling of airborne magnetic anomaly targets now underway with the results expected in June alongside about 100 laboratory sample test results from Kiyenzi.
Rainbow is "encouraged" by Kiyenzi results, so it will now proceed with the Phase 2 exploration campaign with an aim of delivering a code-compliant resource by the end of 2018.
Gakara is "one of the highest grade rare earth element mining projects globally", with an estimated in situ grade of 47% to 67% total rare earth oxide. Rainbow is targeting to ramp up production to an annualised rate of 5,000 tonnes per year - about 400 tonnes per month - by the end of 2018.
CEO Martin Eales said: "The majority of the drill holes completed to date have been focused on just the first of five targets at Kiyenzi and we are excited to have already discovered new rare earth mineralisation, up to 2 metres thick in some cases. The discovery of rare earth elements-mineralised breccias is significant as it proves that the Gakara project has potential to include sizeable deposits over and above existing well-known vein stockworks.
"The coming months are set to be highly active on the ground. In conjunction with the on-going production and sales of high-grade concentrate from the Gasagwe deposit, we will be completing the Phase 1 targets over the coming weeks, and we are already planning for and committed to Phase 2 of the drill programme with the target of delivering a code-compliant resource estimate by the end of quarter four 2018. I look forward to reporting the results of our exploration efforts with a view to expanding on our current mining operations at Gakara."
Shares in Rainbow Rare Earth were trading up 2.7% Monday at 21.06 pence each.
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