Marmota (ASX:MEU) Refines Drilling Program at Muckanippie Following Exciting Titanium Discovery

Highlights 

• Marmota (MEU) adjusts drilling program to explore further titanium mineralisation at Muckanippie. 
• Recent samples indicate significant heavy mineral presence, boosting confidence in the site’s potential. 
• Muckanippie discovery is part of a broader regional-scale exploration effort. 

Marmota (ASX:MEU) has refined its maiden drilling program at the Muckanippie heavy mineral sands project in South Australia, following a promising titanium discovery that has generated significant excitement. The company’s revised approach focuses on expanding the exploration to the west of its original drilling target. 

The ongoing drilling program consists of 91 holes, totaling 3,272 metres, with an average depth of 36 metres. The aim is to uncover the titanium-bearing mineral sands that exist just below the surface. By extending the drilling grid over the interpreted palaeochannel in the tenement area, Marmota hopes to uncover further potential for mineralisation across the site. 

Initially, the drilling program featured a higher concentration of holes around the four original discovery locations, and fewer holes to the west where there had been less prior drilling and certainty regarding the presence of heavy mineral sands. However, as the drilling progressed, Marmota’s geology team made the decision to modify the program to incorporate more drilling to the west, an area that had previously been less explored. 

The decision to modify the drilling program was based on encouraging visual feedback from panning samples, which indicated strong signs of heavy mineral content. Marmota has already sent these westernmost samples to Adelaide for further analysis, and initial assays are expected to provide a clearer understanding of the mineralisation’s extent. The first set of titanium dioxide assays is expected soon, with the results likely to offer a deeper insight into the scale of the discovery. 

This comes on the heels of Marmota’s (MEU) November discovery of "exceptional" thick titanium mineralisation from the surface at Muckanippie, which prompted further metallurgical testing to assess the mineral sands' properties. The discovery is also part of a larger exploration effort, with Marmota’s geological review revealing a regional-scale palaeochannel that intersects both the company’s Muckanippie site and the titanium discovery made by Petratherm (ASX:PTR) in the same region. 

Additionally, Marmota’s exploration efforts have been supported by the Geological Survey of South Australia’s GP2 project, which published findings in November that reinforce the palaeochannel’s prospectivity. Marmota now holds around 28 kilometres of this highly prospective titanium-bearing palaeochannel within its tenements. 

With ongoing drilling and promising early results, Marmota is positioning itself as a key player in the exploration of valuable titanium mineralisation in the region. The modifications to the drilling program may prove to be a strategic move in further unlocking the potential of Muckanippie.