Summit Minerals Limited (“Summit” or the “Company”) is pleased to provide an update on exploration activities related to its recently acquired Equador Nb-Ta-REE Project in northeast Brazil's Borborema Pegmatitic Province (BPP), Paraiba State. The province is one of the world’s most important sources of tantalum, rare earth elements (REEs), and beryllium.
Figure 1. Sample locations and rock chip sample assays across the Equador Project. Image Credit: Summit Minerals Ltd
The ongoing exploration sampling program has discovered multiple new pegmatite and historic mining workings that now span across the Equador tenement holding. (Figure 1) These new sites were visually identified as containing the same specific minerals that host the Niobium (Nb2O5), Tantalum (Ta2O5), and REE’s as reported in the previous assay results.
The Equador Project has shown that it contains a large-scale, multiple-stacked pegmatite system with samples taken from over 1.0 km strike length to date. The pegmatites contain crystals of Columbite and Tantalite along with associated Tourmaline and Mica mineralisation that are clearly visible in outcrop as dark nodules and veins ranging in size from sub 1 cm to 40 cm in size. The rock chip samples were collected directly from outcropping pegmatite intrusions with the darker nodules separated out by hand and sent for assay.
The Niobium, Tantalite, and other REE elements are known to be hosted within these darker-colored minerals of Columbite, Tantalite, Tourmaline, and Mica that reside within these types of pegmatite formations. Separation of the host minerals from the surrounding Quartz and Feldspar in the pegmatite samples before assay, enables the Company to more accurately identify the potential end grade of the host pegmatite. The selected samples have returned a high grade for both Niobium and Tantalum plus other elevated REE elements of note.
Assays have now been sent to another lab so that a full suite analysis on the sample can be contacted, which will enable the company to ascertain and thereafter announce the TREO percentage as well as potentially other elements contained within the samples. These first results give the company confidence to accelerate its exploration program across this project with the focus on performing more widespread sampling programs and mapping out the known pegmatite occurrences.
Additionally, the program to date has uncovered multiple new artisanal mining sites that were previously unknown to the Company. The old workings from the small-scale artisanal mining are positive signs of fertile pegmatites in the area, and they have allowed the Summit ground crew to access the pegmatites at depth.
Summit’s Managing Director, Gower He, commented,
“The highly encouraging assays from Equador thus far has further solidified the prospectivity of the project and has given us tremendous confidence to accelerate our exploration program. We eagerly anticipate the results of further rock chip assays and look forward to keeping the market updated with the results as they are received.
Our Equador project in located on an existing road within close proximity to established highways (20 km away), it also has direct access to water and renewable electricity supplied by a windfarm nearby. During my recent trip to the project, I had the opportunity to meet and engage with the local landowners. It was pleasing to learn that they are extremely supportive of mining in general and of Summit in particular. We look forward to advancing our project and providing employment opportunities to the local communities in the region.”
Ongoing Exploration Programs
The current exploration and sampling program will continue to explore the remaining unexplored areas of the Equador project. Assays are pending for numerous sampling sites, and they will be reported as they come through over the coming weeks and months.
Mapping the Pegmatite occurrences across the project will continue in parallel with the sampling program to enable a greater understanding of the project's potential size.
A Drone Magnetic survey is currently underway and will enable a high-resolution picture of the geological structure to be produced to better map out the potential pegmatite pathways under shallow alluvial cover.
Approved for release by the Board of Summit Minerals Limited.