Appia Announces Scandium and Cobalt Discovery at Its New Buriti Target at the PCH Project, Brazil; Reverse Circulation Drill Hole Returns 24 Metres of Mineralization Averaging 128 ppm Scandium Oxide, 272 ppm Total Cobalt Oxides and 2,106 ppm Total Rare Earth Oxides from Surface
TORONTO, ONTARIO, December 12th, 2023, - Appia Rare Earths & Uranium Corp. (the “Company” or “Appia”) (CSE: API) (OTCQX: APAAF) (Germany: “A0I0.F”, “A0I0.MU”, “A0I0.BE”) is pleased to announce the discovery of a new mineralized zone named BURITI, showcasing mineralization of Scandium (Sc), Cobalt (Co) and Rare Earth Elements (REE) in Reverse Circulation (RC) hole PCH-RC-116. This newly identified mineralized BURITI Target, located within the weathered profile southward from the current area of interest, was revealed through exploratory RC and Auger drilling conducted as part of the ongoing 2023 drill program. Of the 300-hole drill campaign, 47 holes were executed within the newly defined Buriti Target Zone.
“This discovery opens the potential of a promising new target zone for exploration and development, and represents the first time that we have intersected significant continuous levels of Scandium Oxide (Sc2O3), Cobalt Oxide (CoO), and Rare Earth Oxides (REO) mineralization in the same RC drill hole,” stated Tom Drivas, CEO of Appia. He continued, “PCH-RC-116’s average grade of 128 ppm Sc203, 272 ppm CoO, and 2,106 ppm TREO across 24 metres from surface represents an especially important new exploration target for the Company.”
Highlights:
PCH-RC-116 from 0 – 24m End of Hole (EOH):
Total Weighted Average of 128 Parts Per Million (ppm) or 0.013% Sc2O3, 272 ppm or 0.027% CoO, and 2,106 ppm or 0.21% of Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO).
Highest-Grade Intercepts:
133 ppm or 0.013% Sc2O3, 359 ppm or 0.036% CoO, and 2,461 ppm or 0.24% TREO across 15m (from 4-19m), including:
183 ppm or 0.018% Sc2O3, 414ppm or 0.041% CoO, and 2,401 ppm or 0.24% TREO across 6m (from 10-16m).
"These are valuable elements, identifying a mineralized zone with this range of grades that remains open at depth introduces a new layer of potential value to our PCH project,” Stated Stephen Burega, President. “Appia will be conducting a thorough investigation into the extent of this significant discovery, and analytical results for the 46 pending RC and Auger drill holes from this mineralized zone will be reported once received. Metallurgical testing is planned to confirm the economic potential of the Buriti Target.”
The Buriti Target is hosted within mafic and ultramafic rock formations associated with the Tertiary-age regional alkaline complex. Despite the proximity of Target IV, where the lithology consists of granites and alkali breccias, this new target is predominantly underlain bygabbro, diorite and pyroxenite. “The high-grade intervals identified within the weathering profile, specifically in the saprolite layer, represent a supergene concentration of scandium and cobalt together with REEs within these mafic rocks,” commented Carlos Bastos, Geology Manager and Brazilian Qualified Person (QP).
Leo Fraga, Senior Geologist, observed, “The presence of consistently higher-gradeREE values throughout the entire hole PCH-RC-116 is very encouraging. The hole remains open at depth, showing a 20-metre interval with 2,421 ppm TREO, and 454 ppm Magnet Rare Earth Oxides (MREO) constituting 20% of the total TREO from 4m to 24m (EOH).”
Recent market analysis indicates that the demand for Scandium reached approximately USD 15 billion in 2022 and forecasts indicate a significant increase in this figure is expected as Scandium appears on most Critical Metals lists globally. Despite a fairly common but distributed occurrence, scandium rarely concentrates in nature, making commercial grade stand-alone resources quite unusual. The most significant forward-looking market opportunity for scandium is as an alloying agent for aluminum. When applied as an addition to certain standard aluminum alloys, scandium can produce stronger, more corrosion resistant, more heat tolerant, weldable aluminum products. This strong resistance to extreme heat that makes scandium oxide important in various applications, including high-temperature systems, electronic ceramics, aerospace alloys, and glass manufacturing. Scandium is currently trading in a substantial +/-$1000 USD per kg range.
The Company has achieved a milestone of 300 combined drill holes and is committed to keeping investors informed of the project results. Timely updates will be provided as assay results are obtained from the remaining 3 RC, 77 auger drill holes, which are located both within Target IV and various extension zones including the newly defined Buriti Zone. The Company has an ongoing auger drilling program across the entire PCH property to identify additional target zones, which further underscores our commitment to thorough exploration beyond the established Target IV and Buriti Target areas.
