Encounter Resources announced that the first batch of wide-spaced hollow core drilling at the Joyce prospect in the Aileron project, located in the West Arunta region of Western Australia, had yielded positive results this year.
The drilling encountered a 9-meter ore body at a depth of 120 meters, with a grade of 2.2% niobium oxide (Nb2O5). The final hole did not penetrate the entire ore body.
This is also the first result from the planned 40,000-meter drilling program for the project.
The Joyce deposit is located approximately 6 kilometers east of the Green deposit, which has an ore resource of 12.1 million mt with a grade of 1.63%.
The deposit is not far from the Luni deposit of WA1 Resources. Currently, the Luni deposit has an indicated ore resource of 73 million mt with a grade of 1.38%, including a high-grade portion of 31 million mt with a grade of 2.31%.
The hollow core drill has been moved to the Stellar prospect, located approximately 15 kilometers north of the Joyce deposit.
A rotary drill will be transported to the Joyce deposit to verify the width of its deep and high-grade ore sections.
