Peak Resources: 95.51m at 5.06% rare earth oxide, maiden JORC on schedule for March

Peak Resources (ASX: PEK) eagerly anticipated maiden JORC Resource at the Ngualla Rare Earth Project in southern Tanzania has received yet another boost, with more broad rare earth oxide intersections, along with niobium – tantalum and phosphate mineralisation.

Only 6% of assays are now outstanding, which when received will be added to the resource calculations, with the JORC remaining on schedule for a March quarter 2012 delivery - to be completed by Hellman and Schofield.
The resource will cover rare earth mineralisation in the Southern Rare Earth and South West Alluvial Zones.

Highlights from nine new holes at the Southern Rare Earth Zone include:

- 49 metres at 5.08% REO from surface; and 95 metres at 5.06% REO from 52 metres (in one hole);
- 32 metres at 5.06% REO from surface;
- 34 metres at 5.03% REO from surface; and
- 120 metres at 3.52% REO from surface.

Across at the Northern Zone, peak results from an additional five holes include:

- 56 metres at 0.48% Nb2O5, 137ppm Ta2O5 and 1.28% REO from surface; and
- 34 metres at 22.1% phosphate from 28 metres.

Adding some interest to a potential new area, a drill hole in the north east of the Southern Rare Earth Zone, 650 metres to the south of drilling in the Northern Zone,  returned high grade niobium; 8 metres at 1.31% Nb2O5 and 179ppm Ta2O5 from 8 metres.

Assays are still pending in the area for an additional 14 holes of the reconnaissance program.


Peak Resources the new Lynas Corporation?

The latest positive news flow Ngualla, (which is already drawing comparisons to Lynas Corporations' (ASX: LYC) Mt Weld), follows hot on the heels of some encouraging preliminary metallurgical testwork, announced just last week.

The highlight is non–optimised initial acid leach test work on a composite sample of weathered mineralisation leaches 88% of rare earths, with further leach test work now having been prioritised.

This work is to evaluate the possibility of a relatively simple processing route to produce a high grade rare earth concentrate for this higher grade, near surface portion of the Ngualla rare earth mineralisation.

At the time Peak said that simple wet table characterisation of primary fresh rock rare earth mineralisation produces positive beneficiation results in preliminary sighter tests. The company remains well funded with $5.7 million cash in the bank at the end of 2011.


Mineralogical studies at a glance

Mineralogical studies have shown that bastnasite and synchysite are the main rare earth minerals and occur within a barite – iron oxide hydroxide lithology in the weathered zone and a carbonate rich lithology with barite in fresh carbonatite.

Alumina is negligible and there are no clay minerals. Uranium and thorium levels are very low at 17ppm and 37ppm average respectively within +1% REO mineralisation in the Southern Rare Earth Zone. The rare earth carbonates are predominantly liberated, with grain sizes between 10 and 120 microns.


Beneficiation of primary mineralisation

Initial beneficiation studies on a bulk diamond core sample of fresh rock rare earth mineralisation from the Southern Rare Earth Zone returned encouraging upgrades of from wet table test work. This initial basic baseline test work succeeded in concentrating 84% of the head feed mineralisation, with a grade of 1.69% REO, 290% (almost 3 x’s) to 4.87% REO.

The concentrate is contained within just 34% of the mass of the original feed material (an alternative presentation of these initial results is that 66% of the original mass is able to be discarded for the loss of just 16% of the mineralisation).

Although this single stage preliminary beneficiation characterisation work has not immediately produced a commercial grade concentrate, it has demonstrated the potential for simple gravity separation to form an important component of a multi – part processing stream for this important second style of rare earth mineralisation at Ngualla.

Originally published at: http://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/news/24907/peak-resources-9551m-at-506-rare-earth-oxide-maiden-jorc-on-schedule-for-march-24907.html