en.Wedoany.com Reported - Locksley Resources has announced the initial diamond drilling results from the El Campo target within its Mojave Project in California, USA, revealing high-grade light rare earth element mineralization enriched in neodymium and praseodymium.
El Campo is located approximately 5.5 kilometers southeast of MP Materials' Mountain Pass Mine, the only currently operating rare earth mine in the United States. Diamond drilling assays have returned significant total rare earth oxide (TREO) intercepts. Drill hole ECDD0002 returned a peak grade of 6.03% TREO at 0.7 meters depth, and another intercept of 2.93% TREO at 7.20 meters depth, including a 4.45% TREO interval at 3.75 meters. Drill hole ECDD0004 returned 1.09% TREO at 0.90 meters depth. The company stated that neodymium and praseodymium magnet rare earth oxides account for approximately 25% of TREO in the key intercepts, elements critical for permanent magnets and various advanced technologies.
Drilling has confirmed that rare earth mineralization extends below the surface and remains open along strike and at depth within the broader El Campo corridor. The results support the interpretation of a potentially larger carbonatite system at depth, similar in mineralization type to Mountain Pass. In addition to El Campo, the company also reported assay results from the first drilling program at its Desert Antimony Mine. The last two of eight drill holes intersected antimony mineralization outside historical underground mining operations, with peak grades including 6.44% antimony at 0.3 meters and 2.90% antimony at 0.3 meters in drill hole DADD0007. The results indicate continuity of stibnite mineralization south of the historical mining operations.
Following the completion of the drilling program, exploration at the Mojave Project has moved into the regional target screening and evaluation phase, including further assessment of recently acquired radiometric data and plans for high-resolution ground scintillometer surveys at El Campo to guide future exploration. Locksley Resources' Non-Executive Technical Director, Ian Stockton, stated that the diamond drilling at the El Campo target represents the first test of the depth extension of rare earth mineralization known at the surface, with results consistent with surface mapping and sampling observations. The company is evaluating rare earth opportunities while deepening its understanding of the El Campo Mountain Pass-type magmatic system. Subsequent work will focus on refining the extent of rare earth mineralization and lithological-structural controls, integrating results into drill target planning, and conducting high-resolution ground scintillometer surveys across the fully permitted area. Last month, Locksley Resources signed a binding option agreement with Balmain Minerals, a subsidiary of Sky Metals, to acquire 100% of the Iron Duke Copper and Gold Project in New South Wales, Australia.
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