Previous exploration has identified an REE anomaly with assays peaking at1.68 per cent lanthanum, 3.04 per cent cerium and 0.3 niobium. There is alsothorium and phosphate. The anomaly covers 2km by 1.5km and is hosted incarbonatite, which the company points out is the same host rock as the Mt Welddeposit in Australia.
One interesting aspect of the announcement is that, while it sent the shareprice up around 30 per cent soon after the news broke, the level of trading wasmuted in terms of the number of trades and the volume of shares going through.This subdued volume is out of line with other recent REE announcements inAustralia over recent months, and may reflect market wariness toward ajurisdiction with Angola's history, even though the civil war finished nineyears ago.
Moreover, Black Fire stock closed on Friday at 11c, so this was not a companythat had been getting all that much traction with investors of late. Its otherinterests are gold and oil prospects in Western Australia, and lithium inNamibia. Then, mid-February, it picked up a tungsten-copper project in Nevada.Three years ago it had a stumble when an attempt to acquire an iron ore projectin Nigeria fell through.
The new REE project is located near the town of Longonjo, 600km southeast ofthe capital, Luanda. It has nearby a recently recommissioned railway which runsto the port of Benguela. Longonjo is one of five REE projects listed by the USGeological Survey. And it was just a week earlier that the Tokyo newspaperThe Mainichi Daily News reported that Japan and Angola had reachedbasic agreement on a bilateral investment treaty. The newspaper said Japanesecompanies including Toyota, machinery giant Komatsu and trading houses Sojitzand Sumitomo had dispatched staff to Angola which, the paper said, "is rich inresources including oil, diamonds and rare earth minerals".
Meanwhile, back in Australia, phosphate explorer Krucible Metals (ASX: KRB)reported it has followed up anomalous yttrium values struck when drilling itsKorella project, near Mount Isa, Queensland. Now systematic assaying hasrevealed a consistent blanket of yttrium enrichment lying immediately above itsmain phosphate zone. Intersections included 3 metres at 0.245 per cent yttrium.The company adds that mineralogical and metallurgical test work needs to be donebefore any economic value can be assigned to the yttrium.
And Territory Uranium (ASX:TUC) says the first hole of a new drilling programat the Quantum rare earth project near Pine Creek, Northern Territory, hasreached its target zone. While the core has yet to be assayed, the company saidit showed identical geological characteristics to previous rare earthintersections at Quantum.