Australian Rare Earths Limited has extended its Overland carbonatite discovery in South Australia approximately five kilometres south, highlighted by a 130-metre downhole intersection in drill hole OV176.

Hole OV176 intersected carbonatite from 68 metres downhole and terminated at 201 metres while still within the intrusive unit. True thickness remains unknown as the system stays open at depth. The initial discovery hole OV167 intersected 19 metres of anomalous mineralisation, while the current follow-up drilling in hole OV176 intersected 130 metres of carbonatite located approximately 5 kilometres south.

Australian Rare Earths holds 100% ownership of the Overland Project, where exploration originally targeted sedimentary-hosted and calcrete-hosted uranium before the identification of the niobium-rare earth carbonatite system.

Step-out drilling along the southern traverse included holes OV177 and OV178, testing the lateral limits of the magnetic anomaly. Hole OV177 recorded a strong gamma response with alteration characteristics typical of intrusion margins, while OV178 returned lower readings to define the western boundary.

“The results so far from this drilling program have significantly increased our confidence that Overland hosts a carbonatite system of considerable scale. The 130 metre carbonatite intersection in OV176, located approximately 5 kilometres south of our original discovery hole, significantly extends the known footprint of the system, which remains open at depth.”

“Importantly, drilling continues to correlate strongly with 10 kilometre magnetic corridor that we are systematically targeting. This is increasing our confidence that magnetics can provide a highly effective exploration tool for potentially identifying further carbonatite intrusions across the broader Overland Project.”

— Travis Beinke, Managing Director and CEO

The current drilling campaign has approximately one week remaining to complete the final traverses across the ten-kilometre magnetic corridor. Samples from the completed holes have been dispatched for laboratory analysis, with assay results anticipated in approximately six weeks to determine the fertility and economic significance of the system.

Read the full announcement: AR3 expands Overland carbonatite discovery