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Brought to you by Bulls N’ Bears
Doug Bright
Osmond Resources has continued to build its case for regional-scale at its Orion EU critical minerals project in southern Spain.
Fresh assays from Zone 3, which lies 9.5 kilometres from its high-grade Zone 1 discovery, have delivered multiple thick, high-grade intersections of rutile, zircon and monazite.
Those three minerals are all sources of titanium, zirconium/hafnium and rare earths, respectively, and all are EU-designated critical raw materials.
The results came from two diamond core holes, with the first intersecting a single mineralised horizon and the second cutting through three distinct levels.
The mineralised zones sit within quartzite-hosted heavy mineral layers formed around 470 million years ago as part of the Ordovician Pochico Formation.
The company says the results have expanded the prospective footprint and reinforced the potential for a globally significant source of titanium, zirconium, hafnium and rare earth elements across Osmond’s 228-square-kilometre exploration permit area.
Across the two holes, total rare earth oxide (TREO) grades ranged from 0.154 to 0.254 per cent TREO, with the magnet rare earth (MREO) component running between 0.04 and 0.065 per cent MREO.
The mineralisation spanned intercepts from 132m depth in the first hole to 243m in the second, delivering the strongest results in upper Layer 1 and the deeper Layer 4.
Accompanying zirconium intercepts ranged between 0.67 and 1.53 per cent zirconium oxide, while hafnium oxide hits ranged from 149 to 333 parts per million (ppm), across thicknesses ranging from 1.2m to 6.35m in both holes.
These are strong numbers, supporting the project’s potential for zirconium and hafnium co-production alongside rutile and rare earths.
Nine drill holes have now been completed for a total of 2806m in Zone 3, with assays still pending for four more holes.
Drilling is slated to restart by April and will prioritise the 10 square kilometre Zone 1 resource target area to inform a forthcoming scoping study.
Osmond is also pressing ahead with parallel downstream studies on titanium, zirconium, hafnium, rare earths and silicon products, drawing on its bulk sampling programs. The company is also seeking to tap into the various EU–Spanish strategic grants being offered under the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act.
In a continent racing to secure domestic supplies of titanium, zirconium, hafnium and rare earths, Osmond’s ability to demonstrate consistent grade across broadly separated zones – while advancing its value-adding processing angles – keeps the project firmly in the spotlight.
Punters are likely to be keeping a close watch as the next round of assays drop and as the company’s Zone 1 focus takes its next big steps forward.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
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