Magnum Mining has added 119 assay results to its Piracanjuba North database, identifying four coherent high-desorption zones across roughly 7.19 square kilometres. The results strengthen the exploration case ahead of a targeted November resource estimate, although the desorption figures remain laboratory screening results rather than process recoveries.
- 119 new holes lift the Piracanjuba North database to 492
- Four result clusters cover approximately 7.19km² within the 32.5km² Plateau Zone
- 80 new holes returned at least one interval above 150ppm D-TREO
- Best results include 5m at 626ppm and 5m at 612ppm D-TREO
- 751m of follow-up infill drilling completed; resource targeted for November 2026
Four clusters give Magnum a broader exploration target
Magnum Mining and Exploration Limited (ASX:MGU; OTCID: MGUFF) has added 119 new auger-hole results at its Piracanjuba North ionic adsorption clay rare earth project in Goiás, Brazil, pushing the analytical database to 492 holes. The more important finding is the distribution: 101 of the new holes sit within four coherent result clusters spanning approximately 7.19 square kilometres, suggesting repeated high-desorption responses across the broader granite-hosted system rather than a single isolated anomaly.
The results extend the story told by the previous Plateau assay batch, which brought the database to 373 holes and kept the company’s November resource target in focus. In the latest batch, 80 holes, or 67%, returned at least one original sample above 150 parts per million D-TREO; 59 exceeded 200ppm and 24 exceeded 300ppm.
Shallow intersections carry both NdPr and TbDy
The strongest intersections combine desorbable total rare earths with responses from both light and heavy magnet rare earths. Hole PIR-AH-0420 returned 5 metres at 626ppm D-TREO from 10 metres to the end of hole, including 27.5ppm D-TbDy, 188ppm D-NdPr and 215ppm D-MREO. PIR-AH-0491 delivered 5 metres at 612ppm D-TREO from 4 metres to the end of hole, including 21.7ppm D-TbDy, 195ppm D-NdPr and 217ppm D-MREO.
Other notable results included 6 metres at 461ppm D-TREO in PIR-AH-0494 and 8 metres at 428ppm in PIR-AH-0501. Fifteen new holes contained at least three metres of consecutive original samples above 300ppm D-TREO. Those figures describe down-hole lengths from vertical auger holes, not established true widths, and several holes ended in mineralisation. Magnum says those terminal results are priorities for deeper testing, not proof that the mineralisation continues below current depths.
East and North clusters lead the latest results
Cluster East is the largest of the four interpreted areas, covering 3.88 square kilometres and containing 49 new results. Sixty-five per cent of those holes exceeded 200ppm D-TREO, while 33% exceeded 300ppm. Cluster North is smaller at 0.35 square kilometres but produced the standout result from PIR-AH-0420, with 60% of its 10 new holes exceeding 200ppm.
Cluster Central extends the response southward across 1.29 square kilometres, while Cluster Southeast covers 1.66 square kilometres and recorded the strongest proportionate TbDy contribution among the four areas evaluated. Magnum has stressed that these cluster outlines are exploration interpretations, not Mineral Resource domains or classification boundaries.
Plateau drilling moves from discovery towards definition
Across the full 32.5 square kilometre Plateau Zone, the assay population has increased from 221 to 294 holes. Of the 73 new holes within that spatial area, 42, or 58%, exceeded 200ppm D-TREO, compared with 60% across the combined 294-hole population. The initial 10,000-metre auger programme is complete, while a selective infill campaign has reached approximately 751 metres.
The company says the infill work is intended to improve geological and grade continuity, support mineralogical and metallurgical sampling, and strengthen confidence ahead of resource modelling. The next phase also includes ore characterisation with CETEM, metallurgical optimisation testing and naturally occurring radioactive material assessment. A maiden JORC Mineral Resource Estimate remains targeted for November 2026, followed by an Initial Scoping Study targeted for January 2027.
Screening grades still need to become recoverable product
The central qualification is analytical rather than geological. D-prefix values are produced by an ammonium sulphate desorption screen at an initial pH of 4. The company has not yet optimised reagent concentration, pH, contact time, solid-liquid conditions or downstream processing, and explicitly says the figures are not metallurgical, process or economic recoveries.
That leaves the next round of work with a demanding job: establish whether the repeatable shallow responses can be converted into recoverable material with viable processing characteristics. The November resource estimate may formalise the scale and continuity of the mineralisation, but the subsequent testwork will determine how much of the laboratory signal survives contact with a flowsheet.
Bottom Line?
The drilling is increasingly defining where the strongest responses sit; the key valuation question now shifts from finding mineralisation to proving continuity and recoverability before the November resource target.
Questions in the middle?
- Will the 751 metres of infill drilling confirm continuity between the four interpreted clusters?
- How will optimised metallurgical testing compare with the current ammonium sulphate screening results?
- Can Magnum complete the targeted November 2026 resource estimate despite the stated laboratory turnaround risk?