Noble Mineral Exploration Inc. has acquired a rare earth element enriched system on its Chapiteau Property located in Labrador through map staking. The property consists of 25 map staked units covering approximately 647 hectares and is situated 100 kilometers south of the Strange Lake and B-Zone deposits and 38 kilometers northeast of the Crater Lake Scandium-Rare Earth resource. This strategic positioning places the property within a known mineralized region, potentially offering access to infrastructure and geological understanding from nearby developments.
The property covers ground previously explored by Midland Exploration Inc. in 2010 and 2011, during which the company completed a 3,143-line-kilometer airborne magnetic and radiometric survey that identified several new exploration targets for rare earth elements. Historical sampling from 81 rock outcrops and mineralized boulders returned values of up to 8.34% rare earth element oxides, including yttrium. The proportion of heavy rare earth element oxides ranged from 2.29% to 12.85% for samples containing more than 0.5% total rare earth element oxides, indicating the presence of particularly valuable minerals used in high-tech applications.
Analysis of individual rare earth elements yielded significant results including up to 8.22% cerium oxide, 3.38% lanthanum oxide, 3.39% neodymium oxide, 0.66% yttrium oxide, 0.96% praseodymium oxide, 0.19% dysprosium oxide, and 0.35% gadolinium oxide. The best concentrations of mineralization are associated with iron oxides nested in pegmatite-aplite dikes and plurimetric iron oxide clusters disseminated in an intrusion interpreted as an alkaline granite. This geological setting provides important context for understanding how the mineralization formed and how it might be extracted.
On the property recently staked by Noble, six grab samples greater than 0.5% total rare earth element oxides were located by Midland, ranging from 1.40 to 3.02% total rare earth element oxides. These samples contained various concentrations of lanthanum oxide, cerium oxide, praseodymium oxide, neodymium oxide, yttrium oxide, dysprosium oxide, and gadolinium oxide. A series of channel samples and one diamond drill hole were completed on the Chapiteau property in 2011. Drill hole Y3-11-04 intersected a grey-pink coarse grained alkaline granite with 2-3% disseminated iron oxides and amphiboles. All collected samples returned anomalous total rare earth element oxides plus yttrium oxide values averaging 0.14%, ranging from 0.11 to 0.19%. The best assay results included 0.13% over 7.5 meters, 0.14% over 12.0 meters, and 0.16% over 7.5 meters.
The Chapiteau Property is located about 38 kilometers northeast of the Crater Lake Property where Scandium Canada has defined a rare earth and scandium resource, though the mineralization on the Chapiteau property is not necessarily indicative of that found at Crater Lake. The acquisition demonstrates Noble's commitment to exploring for critical minerals in Canada, with the company maintaining an extensive portfolio of exploration properties across Ontario and Quebec. Additional information about the company's activities can be found at https://www.noblemineralexploration.com. This acquisition matters because rare earth elements are essential components in numerous modern technologies including electric vehicles, wind turbines, and consumer electronics, with heavy rare earth elements being particularly scarce and strategically important for national security and economic competitiveness.
