Ivanhoe Australia strikes high grade molybdenum intercepts at Merlin, Queensland

Ivanhoe Australia (ASX:IVA), has advised that drilling results on the Merlin Project, on Ivanhoe’s Cloncurry tenements in north-western Queensland, have returned a series of significant high-grade molybdenum and rhenium assay results.

The Merlin discovery now has been tested by approximately 90 drill holes and the assay results of 75 drill holes have been returned.  The Merlin mineralised zone is a clearly defined, high-grade body of molybdenum (Mo) and rhenium (Re) sulphide mineralisation starting at a depth of about 100 metres and extending down dip for over 400 metres, with an indicated strike length of up to 900 metres.

The results from this recent drilling define the highest grade zone of Merlin encountered so far and exceed the tenor of the initial Merlin results released in December.

The most significant intercepts are as follows:

- MDQ0115 - 38 m @ 1.20% Mo, 17.29 g/t Re and 0.17% Cu, from 246 metres.
- MDQ0119 - 58 m @ 2.25% Mo, 28.99 g/t Re and 0.09% Cu, from 408 metres, including - 20 m @ 6.26% Mo, 81.83 g/t Re and 0.14% Cu, from 408 metres.
- MDQ0128 - 24 m @ 1.07% Mo, 16.96 g/t Re and 0.11% Cu, from 190 metres.
- MDQ0132 - 50 m @ 1.60% Mo, 24.34 g/t Re and 0.12% Cu, from 350 metres.
- MDQ0135 - 70m @1.05%Mo and 0.05% Cu, from 360 metres, including - 20m @2.29%Mo, * g/t Re, and 0.14% Cu, from 367 metres and and 10 m @1.55% Mo, 33.3 g/t Re, and 0.05% Cu, from 418 metres.
- MDQ0154 - 34 m @ 1.82% Mo, 22.04 g/t Re and 0.12% Cu, from 240.9 metres.

The current strike length of the zone, for which results are available, is over 500 metres; however, mineralisation has been found over a strike length of 900 metres in
step-out holes. Drilling is continuing to the north on 100-metre step-out traverses, while infill drilling is required to extend the footwall zone to the south of MDQ0132.

Chief Executive Officer Peter Reeve said, “The results achieved on the Merlin Project to date indicate it is now the highest grade source of rhenium and molybdenum identified anywhere in the world".

“It is clear that this drilling now has defined a discrete zone of high-grade molybdenum and rhenium mineralisation and to achieve such high grade intercepts in these high-value metals provides Ivanhoe Australia with an outstanding potential development project. It will provide a great impetus to exploration and development in the Mount Isa and Cloncurry region”.

“The results in this release are concentrated in the central 500 metres of the identified Merlin mineralisation; however it is open to the north and the south over a total length of 900 metres and so the full extent of this deposit is still not known”.

“What makes this project all the more interesting is that rhenium is quite a remarkable metal and we have found one of the world’s highest-grade sources of the metal. Rhenium is a very tight market, with 90% of production sold on long-term contracts to three major companies, and it trades for over US$10,000 per kilogram (~US$300 per oz) on the spot market,” Mr Reeve said.

Next steps

Work is continuing on the first Mineral Resource estimate for the Merlin Project utilising all results to date and this is expected to be completed during April. Preliminary project studies for evaluating the development options are progressing, with the mining, processing and marketing aspects advanced to a higher level of detail. Given the apparent high value of rhenium in the orebody, a critical area of metallurgical study is required to evaluate options for further processing of the molybdenum sulphide concentrate to allow high rhenium recovery.

The preliminary conceptual project study is expected to be completed after the release of the Merlin Mineral Resource estimate.