Cameroon's Lion Rock Launches 118-Hole Drilling Program at Minta Est Permit

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Australian mining company Lion Rock Minerals (ASX: LRM) has initiated a drilling program of 118 holes at the Minta Est permit in Cameroon, targeting shallow monazite-bearing rare earth mineralization.

Four drilling teams are conducting approximately 500 meters of Dormer drilling in priority areas such as river gorges, tributary confluences, and floodplain traps, which may naturally concentrate heavy minerals.

Vertical holes will be drilled to refusal, with expected depths ranging from 2 to 10 meters. Lion Rock anticipates that the six-to-eight-week program will provide preliminary assay results in August 2026.

Historical work at Minta Est includes 299 holes totaling 1,281 meters, with monazite content exceeding 0.20% calculated for 452 intervals.

Selected historical concentrates contain up to approximately 74% monazite assemblage. Seven samples averaged 68.20% total rare earth oxides (TREO), including an average of 21.30% neodymium-praseodymium and 2.20% dysprosium-terbium.

The current program will test the grade, thickness, and continuity of monazite-bearing material within a granite-hosted system with a speculated area of up to 300 square kilometers. Analytical work will cover heavy mineral content, mineralogy, full rare earth element suite, thorium-uranium ratios, selective leaching, recovery rates, and potential product quality.

CEO Theuns de Bruyn stated that the program will target the strongest shallow alluvial prospects identified by previous drilling, panning, and mineralogical work. de Bruyn noted that four drilling teams are currently advancing into the strongest shallow, mineable alluvial targets, and Minta Est adds a second strong growth path to the broader Minta story, bringing value from monazite, xenotime, and zircon.

This drilling campaign follows Lion Rock's drilling in the first half of 2026 at its Mboma-Loum corridor and Minta 1 permit, where the company is advancing a rutile discovery aimed at achieving a maiden mineral resource estimate.

Lion Rock plans to resume drilling at its rutile targets after completing assay processing and data validation.