en.Wedoany.com Reported - Lion Rock Minerals (ASX:LRM) has made progress in rutile exploration at the Mboma-Loum area of the Minta Project in Cameroon, with peak heavy mineral rutile grades reaching 72.7%. The company has completed drilling of 588 mineralogical intervals across 125 holes, expanding the known mineralized area to 130 square kilometers. The latest drilling results have delineated a developing residual rutile corridor between the Mboma and Loum license blocks.

In the Mboma area, the highest heavy mineral rutile grades were recorded at 72.7% in hole MB0130, 69.9% in MB0119, and 68.6% in MB0131; the highest in-situ rutile grade in this area was 3.32% in hole MB0155. In the Loum area, peak grades were 65.4% in hole LM0035, 63.0% in LM0070, and 61.4% in LM0041, with the highest in-situ rutile grade at 2.02% in hole LM0022. Two accredited independent laboratories have confirmed that natural rutile grains from both areas contain over 98% titanium dioxide, ranking among the highest concentrations ever recorded globally.

Company CEO Theuns de Bruyn stated that the high-grade rutile composite values of 72.7% and 65.4% obtained from the Mboma and Loum areas are not isolated points, as they are situated within broader high-grade interval distributions. The company also found that rutile grades have improved in coincidence with iron-bearing horizons beneath the soil profile, indicating that enrichment extends to just below the surface, offering potential for depth expansion. Lion Rock Minerals has now redeployed drilling crews to the Minta Est license block to advance independent monazite rare earth element targets. The Minta Project comprises 18 granted exploration licenses covering 8,800 square kilometers in central Cameroon, targeting rutile, titanium, zirconium, and rare earth elements.