- Reconnaissance exploration extends Mpyupyu West HMS discovery
- HMS target grows from approximately five sq. km to over 17 sq. km
- Expanding target adjoins large Mpyupyu mineral resource
- Sonic rig in action at Mpyupyu West hitting shallow mineralisation
Chilwa Minerals (ASX:CHW) has significantly expanded its Mpyupyu West heavy mineral sands (HMS) discovery in Malawi.
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Reconnaissance hand panning has seen HMS mineralisation extended to the south and south-east of Mpyupyu Hill, where mineralisation has proven consistent and is interpreted to trend towards the company’s large Mpyupyu Dune resource.
The target now spans approximately 17 sq. km — more than three times the approximately five sq. km first mapped in early June.
The company is now examining the potential physical link between Mpyupyu West and Mpyupyu Dune and Flat deposits with the Mpyupyu West HMS target now surrounding the company’s Nakombe REE/niobium target.
Reconnaissance results will guide the Sonic rig one drill plan as drilling steps out to the south to testing the potential Mpyupyu West links.
MD, Cadell Buss, said Chilwa has two rigs converging on Mpyupyu, with resource-definition drilling at the Bimbi Southwest prospect nearing completion, after which Sonic rig two will join Sonic rig one at Mpyupyu West.
“The expansion of Mpyupyu West is a great result for Chilwa. Since announcing the discovery only a few weeks ago, our field teams have extended reconnaissance hand panning to the south and south-east of Mpyupyu Hill and have consistently panned visible heavy minerals,” he said.
}Importantly, that mineralisation appears to be trending towards our Mpyupyu Dune and Flat deposits, raising the prospect that the two could form part of a single, continuous system.”
The success at Mpyupyu West comes just after upgraded the Mpyupyu mineral resource to 109.6 million tonnes (Mt) — more than double its previous size — with close to 90% now in the measured and indicated categories and a high-grade core of 50.6 Mt at 4.65% total heavy minerals (THM).
“The potential for Mpyupyu West to link physically with that upgraded resource is exactly the kind of low-cost, organic growth we set out to test,” Mr Buss said.
“Equally important, Mpyupyu West surrounds our Nakombe niobium-REE discovery. This proximity is strategically significant. If HMS mining at Mpyupyu progresses ahead of Nakombe, as our development sequencing suggests it will, the access roads, power, water, camp and logistics infrastructure built for the mineral sands operation would be directly available to support a future niobium development at Nakombe — materially de-risking the capital and timeline for a second critical-minerals operation on the same contiguous licence.
“With drilling now underway at Mpyupyu West and a substantially upgraded Mpyupyu resource behind us, Chilwa’s position as a multi-commodity critical minerals company on a single, contiguous licence continues to strengthen.”
CHW is up 0.62% to 81.0¢. Mkt cap $78.83M.
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