Moon River Capital Ltd. announced that assays from 41 samples of mineralization from the Davidson Molybdenum Deposit, near Smithers, B.C., contain significant amounts of Rare Earth Elements (“REEs”), tungsten and gallium. To the Company’s knowledge, assays for REEs and gallium have not been previously undertaken on this deposit, and tungsten was not included in the National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report for the Davidson Project Resources Update released on September 13, 2023. The samples were chosen to represent a composite cross-section of the deposit and were taken from drill core and pulps produced by past operators of the Davidson Project.
All 17 REEs were present in all 41 samples, with the following average grades:
Light Rare Earth Oxides: 93.57 grams/tonne
Heavy Rare Earth Oxides: 89.77 grams/tonne
Total Rare Earth Oxides: 183.34 grams/tonne
Tungsten: 0.084% WO3
Gallium: 19.7 grams/tonne
Light Rare Earth Oxides include Scandium, Yttrium, Europium, Gadolinium, Terbium, Dysprosium, Holmium, Erbium, Thulium, Ytterbium and Lutetium. Heavy Rare Earth Oxides include Lanthanum, Cerium, Praseodymium, Neodymium, Promethium and Samarium.
The Company plans to undertake preliminary metallurgical studies and obtain fresh samples from drill core to begin detailed metallurgical testing when applicable First Nations consultations are undertaken and drill permits obtained. It is uncertain at this time whether the REEs, tungsten and gallium contained in the Davidson Project are economically recoverable.
Rare Earth Elements comprise 17 nearly indistinguishable silvery-white soft heavy metals. Compounds containing rare earths have diverse applications in electrical and electronic components, lasers, glass, magnetic materials, and industrial processes. They are deemed important for the world energy transition, being used in wind turbines, electric vehicles, photovoltaic cells and fluorescent lighting.
They are also used in LED lights, colour monitors and medical equipment. REEs were included on the Government of Canada’s Critical Mineral List released in 2021, and more recently were listed along with five other metals as potentially qualifying for the draft Critical Minerals Tax Credit for new mine construction. Several of the REEs are on the U.S. Department of Energy’s and European Union’s critical mineral lists. Most of the world’s REEs are produced in China, with the United States and Australia each supplying smaller amounts.
Tungsten has a wide variety of uses, mainly in the production of hard materials – namely tungsten carbide, in steel alloys and as a lubricant. Gallium is a key component of semi-conductors and LED lights. Both metals are on the critical mineral lists in the United States, Canada and the European Union.
As previously announced, Moon River has commenced a Preliminary Economic Analysis on the Davidson Molybdenum Deposit, undertaken by A-Z Mining Professionals Ltd. The study is expected to be completed in the current quarter and will not include estimates of REEs or tungsten grades.
Source: finance yahoo
