The John Galt Project comprises granted tenements E80/4298, E80/4967, E80/5070 and E80/5230, all held 100% by Northern Minerals, which cover a combined area of 78km². The project area is situated in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia, approximately 200km south of Kununurra (28km south of Warmun) and 35km from the Great Northern Highway.
Heavy Rare Earth (HRE) mineralisation was discovered by previous explorers at the John Galt Project in 1971 following an airborne radiometric survey. On-ground follow up work, identified hydrothermal xenotime mineralisation at three different zones (includes Main Zone). Historical rock chip sampling from the mineralised zones returned assays up to 53.5% Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO*).
In 1973, the Main Zone was partially tested with nine diamond holes (for a total of 503m) with significant historic drilling results* as follows:
- 2.05m @ 5.98% TREO from 6.50m in DH1
- 3.90m @ 6.30% TREO from 9.10m in DH2
- 3.48m @ 3.48% TREO from 102.60m in DH8
- 9.80m @ 1.58% TREO from 6.35m in DH9
The presence of mineralised xenotime veins at the base of the cliff beneath the John Galt Main Zone, together with the deeper drill intercept in DH8 (102.6m), indicate the potential extension of mineralisation below the cliff / scree contact. No further drilling has been carried out on the project since the 1973 drilling program.
Northern Minerals have carried out metallurgical testwork on samples from the Main Zone mineralised breccia which provided highly encouraging results, with recoveries of 94% with a TREO concentrate grade of 47% and 56% for the two samples.
Several programs of geological mapping, soil and rock chip sampling, and portable XRF surveys have been completed by Northern Minerals since 2011. Rock chip samples have returned exceptional grades of up to 42% TREO including 3.68% dysprosium. Systematic rock chip sampling (99 samples) over the outcropping mineralisation at the Main Zone prospect returned an average uncut grade of 1.47% TREO. The average uncut grade of 12 channel samples taken from the base of the ridge at the Main Zone was 5.53% TREO. The Company plans to complete a diamond drilling program at the Main Zone.
The John Galt Project also has potential to host significant copper mineralisation. South of the Main Zone HRE prospect is a copper target area that has been identified by Northern Minerals through rock chip and soil sampling and geological mapping. Since 2019 numerous rock chip samples have been collected over the copper target area with many returning assays greater than 1.0% Cu. Copper mineralisation is found to be associated with quartz veins and breccias within a sandstone and siltstone unit (Red Rock Formation) or at the contact between the two units. The quartz veins are believed to represent dilational features related to northwest and northeast trending faults. The higher-grade copper samples, which also include anomalous gold and silver, mostly occur in a zone over at least 500m in strike length which is open to the north and south. A ground gravity survey was completed over the area in 2020 and follow-up ground electrical geophysical surveys are planned potentially leading to drilling. The Company is targeting stratabound hydrothermal copper mineralisation and specifically the Keweenan-style copper orebodies of Michigan, USA.
*TREO – Total Rare Earth Oxide as calculated by the previous explorer using what was termed the “Yttrium Ratio Method”. In the original work on samples of John Galt Main Zone mineralisation it was found that after assaying for a suite of REE a consistent ratio existed between the total rare earth content and the yttrium content. By assaying the yttrium (Y) content of each sample using XRF techniques it is possible to estimate the total rare earth content, based upon that consistent ratio between Y and TREO. It should be noted that it was estimated that the accuracies range from +/- 15% for high concentrations and +/- 20% for low concentrations.
Competent persons statement
The information in this report that relates to the John Galt Project accurately reflects information prepared by competent persons (as defined by the Australasian Code for Reporting of Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves). It is compiled by Mr R Wilson, an employee of the Company who is a Member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy with the requisite experience in the field of activity in which he is reporting. Mr Wilson has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and the type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the “Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves”. Mr Wilson consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.