The Project is hosted within the Elk Creek Carbonatite. By definition a carbonatite is an igneous rock body with greater than 50% modal carbonate minerals, mainly in the form of calcite, dolomite, ankerite, or sodium- and potassium-bearing carbonates. Carbonatites commonly occur as intrusive bodies, such as isolated sills, dikes, or plugs, although rarely occur as extrusive rocks. Many carbonatites are associated with alkali silicate rocks (for example, syenite, nepheline syenite, ijolite, urtite, pyroxenite, etc.). Carbonatites are usually surrounded by an aureole of metasomatically altered rocks called fenites. Carbonatite-associated deposits can be classified as magmatic or metasomatic types (Richardson and Birkett, 1996).
The property hosts niobium, titanium, and scandium mineralization as well as REE and barium mineralization that occur within the Elk Creek Carbonatite.
The current known extents of the high grade niobium, titanium, and scandium are approximately 750 m along strike, 400 m wide, and 800 m in dip extent below the unconformity.
Niobium and Titanium Mineralization
The deposit contains significant concentrations of niobium. Based on the metallurgical test work completed to date at a number of laboratories using QEMSCAN® analysis, the niobium mineralization is known to be fine-grained, and that 77% of the niobium occurs in the mineral pyrochlore, while the balance occurs in an iron-titanium-niobium oxide mineral of varying ........
