Magnum Advances Piracanjuba Rare Earth Drilling with 161 Holes Completed

• 161 auger holes drilled totaling 1,607 metres
• 14 sample batches submitted for REE assay and desorption testing
• High-grade early assays up to 3,971ppm TREO and 1,360ppm MREO
• Desorption recoveries indicate strong potential for mild leaching extraction
• Exploration Target expected by September, JORC Resource by November 2026

Extensive Drilling Campaign Advances Piracanjuba REE Prospect

Magnum Mining and Exploration Limited (ASX:MGU) is steadily progressing its large-scale auger drilling programme at the Piracanjuba North Target within the Azimuth Rare Earth Element Project in Brazil. As of late May, the company has completed 161 holes, totalling 1,607 metres, across a 7.4 km² priority area. This effort is part of a broader 810-hole campaign designed to delineate the extent of ionic adsorption clay (IAC) hosted rare earth element (REE) mineralisation.

The drilling has expanded well beyond the initial follow-up footprint, with sample dispatch ongoing and 14 batches already submitted for total REE assay and ammonium sulphate desorption screening. The assays and desorption results are expected to be reported in batches over the coming months, setting the stage for an Exploration Target by September and a JORC Mineral Resource Estimate by November, contingent on the forthcoming data.

Promising Early Results Highlight High-Grade REE Potential

Although no new assay results were released in this update, previous batches have revealed compelling grades, including up to 3,971 ppm total rare earth oxides (TREO) and 1,360 ppm medium rare earth oxides (MREO). Desorption testing under mild leaching conditions has demonstrated recoveries of up to 75% TREO and 94% MREO, underscoring the prospectivity of the Piracanjuba prospect for economically viable extraction methods.

These results, combined with the vast 85 km² geophysical anomaly and wide drill hole spacing of up to 5 km, suggest a laterally extensive ore body that could be significant on a global scale. The mineralisation consistently intersects ionic adsorption clays near surface, terminating in REE mineralisation even at broad drill spacings, which bodes well for resource continuity.

Strategic Location and Next Steps in Exploration

Situated within the Azimuth 125° Lineament, a major crustal-scale structural feature, the Azimuth REE Project lies approximately 50 km from CMOC’s Catalão Project, one of Brazil’s highest-grade niobium mines. This proximity adds strategic value to Magnum’s asset in a country increasingly recognised as a key REE jurisdiction for Western and allied markets.

The current campaign aims to provide spatially and vertically distributed data to assess lateral repeatability and grade-thickness relationships of the REE mineralisation. Pending assay and desorption results will guide decisions on systematic grid drilling, infill and step-out drilling, and deeper follow-up where auger holes terminate in saprolite. The company remains on track to meet its exploration milestones, with ongoing sample dispatch and laboratory work.

Magnum’s Managing Director Antonio Vitor emphasised the methodical progress and the potential scale of the discovery, highlighting the importance of the upcoming assay batches in shaping the project’s next phase. The company’s focus on defining a JORC-compliant resource reflects a clear pathway towards advancing the Piracanjuba prospect within the competitive REE sector.

Bottom Line?

Magnum’s steady drilling progress and high-grade early results position Piracanjuba as a rare earth project to watch, with critical assay data and resource milestones due by year-end.

Questions in the middle?

• Will upcoming assay batches confirm lateral continuity and support a robust Exploration Target?
• How will desorption recoveries translate into economic extraction potential at scale?
• What impact will Brazil’s evolving rare earth sector have on Magnum’s development timeline?