Oceana Metals has more than doubled the confirmed rare earth mineralisation footprint at its Serra Negra project in Brazil to over 4.5 square kilometres. The result adds scale and several high-grade intervals, but 45 historical holes remain awaiting assays and true widths are not yet known.
- Confirmed REE footprint expands to more than 4.5 square kilometres
- 32m at 2.7% TREO within 122m at 1.2% TREO
- Coincident niobium identified in a 26m interval at 1.4% TREO
- Assays pending from 45 of 68 historical drill holes
- Maiden drilling and magnetic modelling continue
Serra Negra Footprint Expands Beyond Original Target
Oceana Metals Limited (ASX:OCN) has found a substantial new zone of rare earth element mineralisation outside the area originally prioritised during its due diligence, more than doubling the confirmed footprint at the Serra Negra Project in Minas Gerais, Brazil, to over 4.5 square kilometres. The mineralised area sits within a carbonatite complex roughly 10 kilometres in diameter.
The new results came from historical diamond drill core that was not drilled to target rare earths or niobium. Several holes were spaced between 300 metres and more than one kilometre apart, making the results notable for their regional reach but insufficient on their own to define continuity or an economic resource. Oceana says the mineralisation is hosted in similar weathered intrusive units to those identified in the central target area.
Wide Intervals Carry Strong TREO Grades
The standout intersection was 32 metres at 2.7% total rare earth oxides, or TREO, within 122 metres at 1.2% TREO from 50 metres in hole L179. Hole OA167 returned 106 metres at 1.0% TREO from 18.9 metres, while LG31 delivered 26 metres at 1.4% TREO plus 0.63% niobium pentoxide from 127 metres to the end of hole.
Oceana also reported peak assays of 4.79% TREO in L179, 4.34% TREO in OA167 and 10.59% TREO in LG31. The LG31 interval carried a peak niobium pentoxide result of 6.39%. These are downhole lengths rather than confirmed true widths, and the company says the geometry of the mineralisation remains only partly understood.
More Assays and First Oceana Drilling Ahead
All 68 available historical drill holes have now been re-sampled, but assays from 45 holes, representing about 4,750 metres, are still pending. That leaves a sizeable second wave of data before the footprint can be tested more systematically. The historical campaign primarily targeted phosphate mineralisation, rather than REE or niobium, which limits how directly the existing holes can be used to define a resource.
Oceana's own maiden drilling program is now testing a 1.5 kilometre by 1.5 kilometre central area that contains earlier intersections of up to 50 metres at 4% TREO. First assays from that program are expected in early fourth quarter 2026, while the company is also awaiting inversion modelling from a completed 1,304-line-kilometre drone magnetic and LiDAR survey. The modelling is intended to clarify the geometry and intrusion phases of the carbonatite complex and guide further regional drilling.
The exploration program is supported by approximately A$8.16 million in cash at 30 June 2026 and a further A$12.6 million received before costs from the second tranche of a July placement. Completion of Oceana's planned acquisition of Songeo Mineração S.A., which holds the Serra Negra permits, remains subject to outstanding conditions precedent.
Bottom Line?
The footprint expansion strengthens the exploration case, but the next test is whether widely spaced historical results translate into continuous, resource-scale mineralisation through Oceana-led drilling.
Questions in the middle?
- Will the 45 pending historical holes extend the mineralised footprint or reveal a more fragmented system?
- Can maiden drilling establish true widths, continuity and grade distribution in the central target?
- When will the Songeo acquisition complete, and how will the emerging niobium potential feature in the first resource work?