Mukinbudin Rare Earths Project
Mukinbudin – Frontier Rare Earth Exploration
582km2
STRATEGIC AMD SIGNIFICANT
GROUND POSITION
5
KEY RARE EARTH TARGETS
DELINEATED TO DATE
MREO
SAMPLING TO DATE
INDICATES HIGH MAGNET
RARE EARTH COMPONENT
Mukinbudin Project
The Mukinbudin REE Project consists of one tenement, E70/5939, covering 384km2 and two applications, E70/6519 and E70/6520, covering 198km2. The Project is located approximately 25km northwest of the town of Mukinbudin, 250km northeast of Perth. The region has received limited historical exploration for rare earths, however recently discovered pegmatite and clay hosted REE occurrences within the district has highlighted the potential for Mukinbudin as a new frontier for REE exploration.
Access to the Project is gained via sealed roads from Perth or Merredin, with many unsealed roads crosscutting the tenement, facilitating excellent access across the Project. The tenement overlies freehold farming properties, so on-ground access to key areas will require agreements with land holders.
The Project area almost entirely resides over granite to quartz-monzonite intrusions of the Archaean Yilgarn Craton. Local variations in the composition and textures of the intrusives suggest a complex intrusive sequence that includes fluorite bearing quartz monzonites, syenites and zoned pegmatites. The region is crosscut by late dolerite dykes, predominantly occupying an east to northeast trend. Structurally, the region is dominated by the large-scale lobate geometry of the granitoids, and several large scale north-north-east striking faults.
Pegmatites within the region have been the focus of exploration and mining since the 1970’s, primarily for high purity quartz and potassium feldspar. Several of the larger quarry operations have historically been mapped, providing evidence of compositional zonation within the pegmatites of the region (this includes the historical Mukinbudin Pegmatite quarry, the Karloning Pegmatite quarry, and the Gillet’s Pegmatite quarry).
Gadolin
Caprice has made steps to extend the recently defined Gadolin prospect, specifically to the west and south, and is highly encouraged by preliminary results. Recent assays indicate anomalism greatly increases stepping east and west away from the intercepted emplacement structure initially targeted. Protolith remains the widespread, regional fractionated porphyritic granite and steps will now be taken to delineate terrain that would suggest clay anomalism.
Gadolin’s strike currently stands at +3.4km, and with a currently defined 1.8km overall width the exploration team remains encouraged that anomalism remains open in all directions. Of note, the southern trend indicates high grade channel of +2500ppm over 800m and remains open. Sampling was completed over 380m spaced lines and 80m spaced samples in the west, and probative 800m spaced lines and 80m spaced samples in the south. Caprice intends to conduct follow up sampling and infill programs in the near future.
Colosseum
563 soils from the recently completed soil sampling program remain outstanding from Colosseum, targeting potential mineralisation between Colosseum and Gadolin. Rock chip sampling of an outcrop of porphyritic, fractionated granite, located approximately 2km north of Gadolin, has delineated an area of consistently elevated REOs. This area, coined Colosseum, had 20 rock chip samples collected over a c.500m area. Of these, 13 returned values over 1,000ppm, with a peak value of 5,038ppm (0.5%) TREO3 and lowest value of 310ppm TREO. Previous sampling successfully identified a series of northwest trending anomalies, with a peak value of 2,812ppm TREO, within a broader N-S trend. The anomalism remains open, with initial probative regional sampling undertaken over 1120m spaced lines and 80m spaced samples.
Hadrian’s
Follow up sampling at Hadrian’s has identified elevated levels of rare earths outside of the previously identified target targets, significantly expanding the known potential strike of mineralisation at the prospect. With a number of samples still outstanding, the Caprice team remains confident that Hadrian’s will be elevated to a drill ready target alongside Gadolin and Colosseum. Follow up and infill soil sampling was undertaken to the north and south with, with anomalism defined over 160m spaced lines and 80m spaced samples, over a 3.5km north-south strike, primarily focussed around a prominent topographical feature. The quartz-aplite ridge crosscuts NW – SE anomalism trends and early mapping hypothesis suggests a NNE oriented shear.
Figure 1. Location of Mukinbudin and other Caprice Projects
Figure 2. Mukinbudin Project Location
