McLaren Valuable Heavy Mineral Sand Project

McLaren VHMS Project (E69/2388 and E69/2386) comprises 333km², located on the western side of the Eucla Basin, adjacent to the Fraser Range in Western Australia.

McLaren is an advanced-stage exploration project with an indicated and inferred Mineral Resource estimate of 280Mt @ 4.8% Heavy Mineral for 13.5Mt in-situ HM completed in 2022.

The Mineral Resource estimate is presented in Table 1 reported above a cut-off grade of 2% Heavy Mineral (HM) and less than 30% Slimes. The model has been classified as Indicated and Inferred in accordance with the JORC Code. The Mineral Resource estimate is an update to the Mineral Resource estimate prepared by CSA Global in 2015.


The Mineral Resource update follows the compilation of all available aircore (AC) drillhole data, with additional AC drilling completed since the 2015 Mineral Resource estimate.

The Mineral Resource estimate is based upon 653 AC drillholes drilled between 2009 and 2021, with drill samples assayed for VHM (%) and Slimes (%), which were interpolated into a Mineral Resource block model. A total of 101 of the drillholes were selected for mineralogical analyses, with downhole intervals composited, and 114 samples dispatched to Bureau Veritas for QEMSCAN analyses. The mineral species rutile, leucoxene, ilmenite, altered ilmenite, total ilmenite, and zircon were also interpolated into the block model.

The Mineral Resource is classified as a combination of Indicated and Inferred and has been reported in accordance with the JORC Code, with geological and sampling evidence sufficient to assume geological and grade continuity within the volumes classified as Indicated. The classification levels are based upon an assessment of geological understanding of the deposit, geological and grade continuity, drillhole spacing, quality control results, search and interpolation parameters, quality and quantity of mineral assemblage data, and an analysis of available density information.

The mineralisation is hosted in relatively free flowing sands, typically red-orange in colour comprising up to 90% well sorted, fine to medium grained quartz generally becoming more clay rich with depth. The deposit generally lies along a distinct Eocene aged paleo-channel feature, but the bulk of the mineralisation is located in elevated ridges within and aligned across these earlier cut, former river channels. The mineralisation is quite variable in both heavy minerals and fines. The content of fines can vary from 15% to over 30% being reflected in the presence of pods of mineralisation with significantly less fines.

Key minerals are Ilmenite, Rutile, Leucoxene and Zircon. These are primarily contained within the sand fraction with grain sizes ranging between 38 µm and 1 mm, and this sand fraction (middlings, or “mids”) contains the Mineral Resource. Some heavy mineral content is contained within the slimes fraction (<38 µm) and the oversize (>1 mm) however the HMS content in these fractions is minor to negligible, and their extraction is not regarded as economically viable.

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