Montero uncovers larger mineralized zone within Wigu Hill rare earth project

Montero Mining and Exploration (CVE:MON) said Tuesday surface mapping and sampling has outlined a much larger mineralized zone at the lower Nyati target area at its flagship Wigu Hill rare earth project in Tanzania.

Montero said the area has been divided into the lower Nyati and upper Nyati targets and is located at an elevation of 400 metres above the base of its property at Wigu Hill. 

Amongst the highlights, Montero said that assays returned from 104 panel samples yielded results ranging from 0.21% to 19.41% total rare earth oxides (TREO) with an average 7.08% TREO.

Trench WTRT002 averaged 3.87% TREO over 47 metres. This also includes 5.25% TREO over 12 metres and 6.95% TREO over eight metres.

Additionally, results from 100 grab samples from the North East section range between 2.51% and 18.21% TREO with the average value from 55 samples returning 10.43 percent TREO.

Sampling from the South West section ranged 1.95% to 13.03% TREO, with an average value from 45 samples returning 5.85% TREO.

Prior exploration work at the Nyati target returned consistent high-grade TREO values from carbonatite grab samples, the company said.

Follow-up exploration programs have been focused on identifying drill targets and outlining the extent of the rare earth mineralization at Nyati.

"The lower and upper Nyati target areas have become an exciting exploration focus where mineralization," Montero's chief executive Tony Harwood said.

"Results to date show consistent elevated rare earth values from surface outcrops and over extensive widths as seen in surface trenching. Both zones exhibit good coarse mineralization at surface that we hope will be confirmed with diamond drill results."

Rare earth elements consists of a group of 17 metals that are critical in the development of emerging green technologies and high-tech applications from electric vehicles to wind and hydro power turbines, LCD screens, X-ray machines, mobile devices and other computing equipment.

Montero Mining is a mineral exploration and development company focused on rare earth elements, phosphates and uranium in Tanzania, South Africa and Quebec.

The company’s share price moved up 1.5 cents, or 9.38 percent, to 17.5 cents on Toronto’s junior venture exchange on Tuesday.