Montero Mining reports 15.48% rare earth grade from trenching at Wigu Hill

Montero Mining and Exploration (CVE:MON) announced Wednesday additional trench and drill results from its Wigu Hill rare earths project in Tanzania, returning high grade values ahead of the first resource estimate at the site.
Trenching and drilling to date at the Twiga and Tembo targets on Wigu Hill, a light rare earth element property, has confirmed significant mineralization, the company said, and indicates the potential for a sizeable rare earth deposit.
Rare earth elements, a group of 15 metals, are critical in the advancement of emerging green technologies and high-tech applications from electric and hybrid vehicles, wind and hydro power turbines, LCD screens, MRI and x-ray machines to MP3 Players, microphones, mobile devices and more.
Currently, China produces 97% of world supply of rare earths, and the country is increasingly reducing export quotas, making the metals and properties with the potential to produce them, in high demand.
At the Tembo target at Wigu, trench results reported today returned 9.27% total rare earth oxides (TREO) over 6.45 metres, including 15.48% TREO over 2.0 metres, while drill hole TE001 intersected 5.66% TREO over 2.84 metres.
Other notable drill results were 3.15% TREO over 7.68 metres, including 4.65% TREO over 2.62 metres and 3.91% TREO over 2.2 metres in hole TE003.
Trenching and mapping at the Tembo target were focused in the area where the regional grab sampling returned high grade TREO results.
The Toronto-based company said that a total of 209 grab samples from Wigu Hill averaged 7.4% TREO, with high grade values traced across the entire 6.2 kilometre strike of the carbonatite complex, including 26.2% TREO on the Tembo target.
"We are very encouraged by the continued high grade trench and drill results obtained from the Tembo target that, combined with the excellent results obtained last month from the Twiga target, will be included in the Montero’s first NI 43-101 REE resource estimate for Wigu Hill," said president and CEO Dr. Tony Harwood.
"Mapping and further sampling on other targets at Wigu Hill, notably from the Tumbili target, indicates the potential for a sizeable high tonnage and high grade bastnaesite bearing mineralized system which, with further exploration and drilling, we will bring to account.”