Highlights
- Catalina Resources has received assays from the maiden 105-hole air core drill campaign that was carried out at the project site in December 2022.
- There has been coincidence of lithium with the anomalous REE geochemistry, which is rare.
- CTN has completed follow up sampling of anomalous air core composite samples with the collection of the 1m re-splits.
- The company has recollected the samples with blue green mineral from the on-site sample piles for scrutiny under few more studies to analyse its composition and identification.
- The company has also completed soil geochemistry traverse over air core hole 22DAC095, which as per CTN is an ideal opportunity for low-level soil geochemistry trial.
Australian diversified mineral exploration and mine development company, Catalina Resources Ltd (ASX:CTN) has shared a major update relating exploration activities at its Dundas Project.
The company has received assays from the maiden 105-hole air core drill campaign that was carried out at the project site in December 2022. There has been coincidence of lithium with the anomalous REE geochemistry, which is rare. This validates why Catalina holds high regard for the region.
According to Catalina Resources, it has marked an excellent start to the exploration of the region for the company.
Post the ASX announcement, CTN stock was trading higher on ASX on Wednesday. The share price surged as much as 20% to AU$0.006 around 3:20 PM AEDT on Wednesday, 22 March 2023.
Dundas emerging as a significant asset
Assays from the drill program point towards significant REE intersections up to 16m thick and anomalous Lithium intersections up to 44m thick are present.
With anomalous REE and lithium assays, CTN’s belief that Dundas will emerge as a significant asset in a prospective and very underexplored location has been reinforced.
Further, one-meter re-splits were collected from the on-site sample piles earlier this month. Total 127 samples have been collected from eight holes. The company is expecting assays in about 6-10 weeks.
Air core drilling and assay summary. Underlying image is the regional aeromagnetic image
Details about REE anomaly intersections
According to the company, the substantial REE enrichment in the regolith is because of the weathering induced clay formation. It is important to note that anomalous REE mineralisation is present in bedrock in multiple holes beneath the regolith horizons, indicating Dundas’ potential for higher grade, higher commercial value, hard rock REE mineralisation.
Catalina has commenced technical studies of the air core drilling samples and crystals to understand its constituents and make an identification. For further scrutiny of these samples, the company will conduct X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD).
Trial soil geochemistry
A 1.5 km long orientation soil geochemistry traverse was concluded over air core hole 22DAC095. This hole intersected the highest grades (4m @ 0.81% TREO) and gives CTN a great opportunity to trial low-level soil geochemistry.
A look at Catalina’s future plans
The company is forging ahead with prime focus on its Dundas Project pursuing the exploration targets around the area of aircore drilling in E63/2046.
A CMP (Conservation Management Plan) was drafted and shared with the DBCA for the upcoming phase of exploration in November 2022. However, this CMP was updated and lodged in February 2023. Th company is expecting to initiate deeper drilling, through reverse circulation methods, in coming months once essential processes are accomplished.