Source : THE AGE NEWS
By Andrew Todd
South Australian-based Marmota Limited has filled its ledger with some stunning bonanza-grade heavy mineral concentrations at its titanium-rich Muckanippie project in the State’s revered Gawler Craton.
The results were extremely well received by the market, which today sent the company’s share price skyward to 5.9 cents – up some 26 per cent. At one point, the share price was up nearly 44 per cent from a low of 4.1c at this time last week.
Four thick intercepts, all starting from surface, returned continuous high-grade heavy mineral concentrations from metallurgical testwork, with peak values of up to 27.8 per cent heavy minerals over a 4-metre interval – solidifying the exceptional quality of the recent titanium discovery.
Titanium rich ilmenite sand the dominant mineral at Marmota’s Muckanippie discovery outside Coober Pedy in South Australia.
The best of the shallow intersections included a 28m segment running 19.2 per cent heavy minerals with a 4m section grading a juicy 22.2 per cent. This best hole was immediately adjacent to a 36m assay at some 13.5 per cent heavy minerals, which had a 4m slice peaking at 27.8 per cent heavy minerals.
Adjacent was another standout intercept of 39m from surface grading 13.2 per cent heavy minerals, with its own peak 4m section at a massive 26 per cent heavy minerals.
“The results confirm Marmota’s discovery at Muckanippie as a highly significant new heavy mineral sands discovery.”
Marmota chairman Dr Colin Rose
The company says every one of the holes features bonanza grades, placing its discovery head and shoulders above industry benchmarks. In comparison, Australia’s leading mineral sands projects typically deliver heavy mineral concentrations between 1.2 per cent and 6.5 per cent.
The titanium-rich deposit is hosted within a newly identified palaeochannel stretching a remarkable 28 kilometres in length and up to 5km wide. The geological feature connects Marmota’s Muckanippie discovery with neighbouring Petratherm’s project of the same name and today’s results will help cement the region as a significant new heavy mineral sands district, as both companies share prices surge.
Notably, Marmota controls about two-thirds of the prospective channel, positioning it with a dominant landholding in the emerging district.
Marmota chairman Dr Colin Rose said: “The first metallurgical heavy mineral assays are outstanding. They confirm Marmota’s discovery at Muckanippie as a highly significant new heavy mineral sands discovery. The HM assays feature bonanza grades in every discovery hole and speak for themselves. Marmota is moving rapidly to build on this momentum. It is a wonderful start to 2025 and just the beginning of what we expect will be a very rewarding year for the company and our shareholders.”
The Muckanippie discovery lies just 120km southwest of Coober Pedy, with direct access to the Adelaide-Darwin and Adelaide-Perth rail lines.
Marmota believes its titanium deposit offers some game-changing advantages on existing global operations and developing projects beyond its substantial proximity to rail and its bonanza heavy mineral grades.
Mineralisation at Muckanippie begins at surface, enabling low-cost extraction with no overburden removal in comparison to deeper competing deposits. Today’s results have also confirmed the deposit has low impurities, including hard-to-remove iron, simplifying titanium processing into high-value products such as rutile and ilmenite.
Muckanippie’s unique features position it promisingly to compete economically with some of the best projects globally, should a sizeable resource eventuate from the newborn discovery.
Marmota and Petratherm will look to accelerate the development of both projects to meet surging demand for titanium, a critical mineral with applications ranging from aerospace and defence to energy storage and medical implants.
Marmota now awaits the results of the advanced metallurgical analyses currently underway to determine titanium dioxide content and refine its potentially premium mineralogical profile.
With mineralisation drilled over 750m of strike and still open in all directions, the company is gearing up to quickly establish a resource base while the critical titanium is running white hot.
As Muckanippie stakes its case on becoming a premier titanium region, Marmota is jostling to position itself as a key player in what may become Australia’s next mineral sands district.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
