Marmota uncovers source of high grade titanium in South Australia

Marmota Ltd says it has uncovered the source of the uber high-grade titanium discoveries around its Muckanippie project in South Australia’s Gawler Craton.

The company believes it has a potentially game-changing regional-scale palaeochannel on its hands at the emerging titanium address with the source of deposition for the highly sought-after critical mineral having now been revealed.

Marmota’s newly identified titanium bearing paleochannels at its Muckanippie project outside of Coober Pedy in South Australia.

The newly interpreted palaeochannel is no ordinary geological feature. Stretching some 28kms in length and up to 5kms wide in parts, it transects both Marmota’s and neighbouring Petratherm’s exceptional titanium discovery on the two Muckanippie projects of the same name.

Marmota says the geological revelation was achieved via some cutting-edge exploration work undertaken in collaboration with the Geological Survey of South Australia (GSSA). It says the discovery is part of a larger Mesozoic palaeodrainage system on the southwestern margin of the Eromanga Basin - a region known for its heavy mineral sands potential, much of which appears to be untapped.

The exploration highlighted that large accumulations of the concentrated heavy minerals are focused around the palaeochannel’s bends which happens to also coincide precisely with where Marmota’s latest discovery is situated. Additional bends in the channel have been flagged as particularly promising zones for future exploration and possibly further discovery.

Management believes the emergence of the substantial paleochannel “both defines and enlarges” the prospective area for the titanium it has already unearthed.

The new geological interpretation appears to provide a unified explanation for the recent discoveries across the region with implications for an emerging camp-scale titanium district boasting exceptional grades with early metallurgical results already begging to be followed up.

The discovery, first revealed in November last year delivered some remarkable occurrences of titanium dioxide (TiO2) in four simultaneous drill holes over some 750m of strike, impressively all starting from surface.

Shallow intersections were highlighted by uber high grades including 28m of mineralisation running 10.1 per cent titanium oxide with a 4m section grading at a jaw-dropping 13.3 per cent. The company drilled through another 24m, grading 7.5 per cent TiO2 immediately adjacent with a 4m slice going some 10.3 per cent.

The project is promisingly located near major transport arteries, including the Adelaide-Darwin and Adelaide-Perth rail lines, giving Marmota a strategic leg-up when it comes time to delivering its titanium to market.

The company says unlike many global titanium deposits burdened by deep mineralisation and high processing costs, Marmota’s finds are shallow, high-grade, and highly accessible.

The Muckanippie find sits within the revered Archaean Mulgathing Complex of the Gawler Craton, the find is just 50km from Marmota’s core gold projects at its Aurora tank and Campfire bore. Notably, all of its gold resources at the core projects sit close to surface - within 100m - making them amenable to open-pit mining and low-cost processing similar to what it expects possible at Muckanippie.

Adding further intrigue to this latest discovery, Marmota’s palaeochannel envelops both sides of Petratherm’s titanium project, giving it a commanding hold over this emerging region.

The company has been quick to highlight that its grades far outshine its neighbour’s best assays, bolstering the company’s already bullish market narrative which has seen Petratherm’s share price take flight, soaring about 1500 per cent higher in the past 6 months.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, titanium is also flying of late with the mineral’s status being boosted by rising demand for its use in cutting-edge technologies, from electric vehicles and solar panels to aerospace and defence.

Mining giant Rio Tinto recently stated because of the mineral’s lightweight, titanium dioxide can help reduce fuel consumption for a variety of new transport options, allowing the option for planes and cars to travel farther with less impact on the environment.

Marmota says that Muckanippie’s emerging high-grade deposits are uniquely poised to meet this growing demand, delivering titanium dioxide with market-leading grades and ease of accessibility.

With the mineralisation still open in all directions, it seems Marmota could be sitting on a veritable titanium treasure trove in the revered Gawler Craton. And, as the good news continues to flow for the company it is hoping it can prove Muckanippie does indeed have all the right ingredients for a potentially standalone titanium deposit.

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