AuKing Tundulu Rare Earth Project in Malawi Drills 510.6 Meters, Intersecting Carbonatite

en.Wedoany.com Reported - AuKing Mining (ASX:AKN) has drilled its first diamond hole at the Tundulu Rare Earth Project in Malawi to a depth of 510.6 meters, exceeding the original design target of 300 meters. Continuous carbonatite intersections have prompted the company to extend drilling beyond the initial plan.

The company launched its inaugural 10,000-meter drilling campaign at Tundulu in June, utilizing both reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drilling methods. The RC drilling portion was completed at the end of July, with geological logging of 31 holes confirming the widespread distribution of carbonatite lithology within the current drilling area.

The diamond hole was originally designed to extend a previous RC hole from its original depth of 150 meters to 300 meters below surface. During actual drilling, the persistent carbonatite intrusions observed in the core led AuKing Mining to continue operations, ultimately reaching a final depth of 510.6 meters. Company management stated that carbonatite geology was still present at the end of the hole and remains open at depth. The company believes that the occurrence of carbonatite at considerable depth indicates that the Tundulu complex may be significantly larger than previously interpreted, and these findings also provide important geological information for the planned maiden resource estimate.

Tundulu covers 91.5 square kilometers and hosts an intrusive carbonatite complex approximately 5 kilometers in diameter, situated in the same geological province as Lindian Resources' (ASX:LIN) Kangankunde project and Mkango Resources' Songwe Hill asset. Songwe Hill hosts a resource of 21 million tonnes at 1.41% total rare earth oxides (TREO). The more advanced Kangankunde development project contains a resource of 261 million tonnes at 2.19% TREO and is expected to achieve first production later this year. All three rare earth projects are interpreted as carbonatite-type, exhibiting similar low-thorium chemical characteristics.

Historical exploration at Tundulu has primarily focused on the main Nathace Hill target area. Drilling at an average depth of 127 meters returned a series of high-grade intersections, including 41 meters at 3.7% TREO from 8 meters, 30 meters at 4.03% TREO from surface, and 35 meters at 2.7% TREO from 15 meters. Eight of the 24 historical holes ended in mineralization exceeding 2% TREO.

AuKing's new RC drilling has confirmed the widespread carbonatite lithology in the area and returned material interpreted as carbonatite several hundred meters away. The company stated that these results support Tundulu's potential as a regional-scale carbonatite intrusive complex.

Results from the first two batches of RC drilling are pending release. The deeper carbonatite extensions identified in the first diamond hole further demonstrate that the geological system may extend beyond previously tested depths. The current campaign plans to continue drilling deeper diamond holes.