Power Minerals finds more high-grade rare earths beyond Morro do Ferro baseline

New drill section confirms thick surface mineralisation

Power Minerals Limited (ASX:PNN) has extended a high-grade rare earth system at its Morro do Ferro project in Brazil, with drillhole MFSR-056 returning 119 metres at 4.94% total rare earth oxides (TREO) from surface. The interval included 10 metres at 12.31% TREO from 41 metres, with magnet rare earth oxides (MREO) averaging 1.88% across that higher-grade section.

The result came from a new section positioned 57 metres northwest of the project’s original drilling baseline. That matters because it tests whether the high-grade zone continues beyond the area already drilled, rather than simply adding another result inside the existing footprint. The latest hole also included 6 metres at 8.91% TREO from 92 metres and 2 metres at 11.05% TREO from 96 metres.

Morro do Ferro results build on an expanding exploration target

MFSR-056 follows a run of thick intersections at Morro do Ferro, including the earlier MFSR-056 assay results, which reported 39 metres at 4.42% TREO from 80 metres while shallower and deeper assays were still pending. The new results fill in the upper part of that hole and take the reported mineralisation from surface to at least 119 metres.

Power says the outcome supports its conceptual Exploration Target model, which envisages mineralisation extending vertically and towards the northwest. That target was reported at 9.2 million to 10.7 million tonnes grading 7.8% to 9.2% TREO, but it remains an exploration estimate rather than a Mineral Resource. The company has not yet declared a maiden resource for Morro do Ferro.

Assay backlog leaves the deposit’s shape unresolved

The headline grades are encouraging, but the drilling picture is incomplete. Assay results remain outstanding for several holes, including the remainder of MFSR-054, where previously reported drilling had identified mineralisation down to 186 metres and a 2-metre interval at 7.85% TREO near the bottom of the hole. Samples from holes MFSR-053 to MFSR-068 have been dispatched to SGS Geosol, with results expected to arrive in batches.

Power says mineralisation remains open and that further drilling will be needed to define its extent and geometry. The reported widths are downhole measurements, not confirmed true thicknesses, and the company’s geological interpretation currently suggests a possible relationship between the rare earth carbonate mineralisation and a hydrothermal system.

Metallurgy and resource work become the next tests

Chief executive Alistair Stephens said the company’s focus was now on systematically defining the zone while advancing metallurgical testwork and the work required for a maiden Mineral Resource estimate. Those steps will determine whether strong drill grades can translate into a defined, recoverable and economically meaningful deposit.

The immediate catalysts are therefore more assays, step-out and infill drilling, and evidence on recovery and processing costs. Until those pieces arrive, MFSR-056 is a substantial exploration result, but not yet a project valuation or development milestone.