Lion Rock Reports Rare Earth Assay Results from Cameroon, with Peak 21.15% TREO Confirming High-Grade Surface Mineralization

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 2, Australia's Lion Rock Minerals (ASX:LRM) announced assay results from retained samples at the Minta Est tenement within its Minta Rare Earth and Rutile Project in Cameroon, confirming high-grade rare earth mineralization starting from the surface. Drill hole MRAU0238 returned 4.54% TREO (Total Rare Earth Oxides) over a 2.3-meter interval, including a high-grade zone of 0.3 meters at 21.15% TREO. The hole was terminated when the auger could no longer penetrate the saprolite layer while mineralization was still continuing.

Other drill results include: hole MRAU0239 returning 3 meters at 3.40% TREO (from surface), and hole MRAU0247 returning 2 meters at 3.49% TREO (from surface), both representing full-hole averages. Hole MRAU0257 returned 5 meters at 1.67% TREO, and hole MRAU0258 returned 5.6 meters at 1.14% TREO.

Lion Rock submitted a total of 91 samples for ICP-OES analysis, of which 90 were valid. Of the 15 drill holes with continuous valid assays, 8 returned full-hole averages exceeding 1% TREO, and 14 returned full-hole averages of at least 0.5% TREO, with no lower or upper cut-offs applied. Of the 90 valid samples, 40 contained ≥0.5% TREO, 26 contained ≥1%, and 16 contained ≥2%.

In terms of critical magnet rare earth element composition, neodymium (Nd) and praseodymium (Pr) accounted for 21–24% of TREO, while dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb) accounted for 0.6–1.6%. All assayed rare earth elements and scandium are listed on the 2025 U.S. Critical Minerals List.

Lion Rock has completed a six-week, 761-hole alluvial drilling program along approximately 50 kilometers of rivers and tributaries, generating 3,666 samples in total. The first batch of 638 samples has been sent to the laboratory, with results expected to be released in stages. As the auger could not penetrate the saprolite layer, the company is accelerating the mobilization of diamond drilling rigs to test the depth extension of high-grade mineralization. The company also plans to conduct mineralogical and petrological tests to determine the host minerals and assess metallurgical amenability.

The Minta Project comprises 18 granted exploration licenses and 3 application blocks, covering 8,800 square kilometers in central Cameroon. Lion Rock stated that grades are in-situ drill grades, not concentrate grades; chemical analysis has confirmed grades and elemental assemblages, but it is not yet certain whether the rare earths can be economically recovered or sold. The company has not yet published a JORC Mineral Resource or Ore Reserve estimate.