Accelerate hits manganese jackpot with 59.6% Pilbara grades

Accelerate Resources has unearthed high-grade manganese rock chips grading as much as 59.6 per cent and identified a completely new discovery at its Woodie Woodie North project in Western Australia’s prolific East Pilbara region.

The results from the Faris and the freshly-minted Sea Turtle prospects have lit up a 12-kilometre-long mineralised corridor that has astonishingly only ever been tested by very shallow holes drilled 30 years ago. The discovery comes at a time when both government and industry are paying closer attention to securing manganese supply chains.

Surface sampling at the Faris prospect bagged a suite of impressive assays, with four rock chips grading between a hefty 53.9 per cent and a cracking 59.6 per cent manganese. Importantly, the samples were also low in impurities, with iron levels between just 0.7 and one per cent.

Notably, the high-grade outcrop at Faris, just two kilometres south-east of the company’s Area 42 deposit, sits directly above shallow, historic drilling that delivered high-grade hits of 11m running 28.4 per cent manganese from just one-metre downhole and 3m assaying 39.1 per cent manganese from surface.

‘Together, they support a rapidly emerging high grade manganese trend over 12km between our Area 42 deposit and Gingarrigan and El Largo.’

Accelerate Resources chief executive officer Luke Meter

Adding to the tally, the field geos also clocked a new discovery at the company’s Sea Turtle prospect. Mapping has defined a large iron and manganese alteration system measuring 650m by 400m that has previously never been drill tested. Rock chips from two new outcrops returned grades up to 31.4 per cent manganese, confirming the system is fertile.

Accelerate Resources chief executive officer Luke Meter said: “The ongoing discovery of high-grade manganese along this exciting 12km trend continues to support the continuity of mineralisation through this extensive belt. The more we map new targets on the ground, the more we find. Faris has delivered rock chips all above 53 per cent manganese with very low iron, sitting directly over high-grade historic drilling. At Sea Turtle, our geology team has found two new manganese outcrops inside a large alteration system that has not previously been drilled.”

The new discoveries form part of a systematic exploration push and follow the company’s savvy move last month to consolidate 100 per cent ownership of the Woodie Woodie North project, clearing the decks of all legacy payments and royalties. The scrip-based deal means the company can now capture all the upside from these and any other new discoveries. Management says the simplified structure will also better support any potential funding, offtake or partnering discussions down the track.

The Woodie Woodie North project sits 55km north of Consolidated Minerals’ long-running Woodie Woodie manganese mine and already hosts a maiden inferred mineral resource of 1.2 million tonnes grading 19.1 per cent manganese. That resource lies alongside a hefty exploration target of between 5.3 and 10.7 million tonnes (Mt) at grades of 10 to 19 per cent manganese.

Being on the doorstep of a major, multi-decade mining operation is an enviable position for any explorer. Perhaps more tantalising, geology pays little attention to tenement boundaries, with the company believing it may be sitting on a significant extension of the same mineralised system that has made its neighbour a globally significant producer.

Accelerate is also actively de-risking the development pathway for its cornerstone Area 42 deposit, which holds a resource of 0.7Mt at 20.7 per cent manganese. Recent large-diameter drilling for metallurgical testwork hit thick zones of visual mineralisation, including a 72-metre downhole span in one hole from just 5.6m below surface.

Canberra recently moved to bolster Australia’s critical-minerals policy by establishing a Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve, drawing on a $5 billion funding facility to support domestic supply chains. With manganese a key component in both steel and the growing battery market, the commodity is attracting significant strategic interest.

Accelerate’s focus on manganese is part of a dual-pronged strategy, which also includes the Balagundi gold project near Kalgoorlie. In a nod to its two key commodities, the company plans to rebrand as Mango Metals, a combination of manganese and gold.

Next steps in the Pilbara include a 3000-metre discovery drilling program at its nearby Gingarrigan manganese prospect, expected to kick off in the coming days. Recent mapping at Gingarrigan and El Largo identified more than 200 outcrops. When the two are combined the company is sitting on a manganese footprint of almost 10 hectares.

Rock chip sampling from outcrops at Gingarrigan and El Largo has also delivered eye-catching manganese grades of up to 59.4 per cent. Meanwhile, Accelerate is lining up further mapping and sampling at the newly discovered Faris and Sea Turtle to rank them for their own turn under the drill bit.

Having recently taken full control of its ground, Accelerate appears to be systematically proving up the potential of its underexplored 12km corridor. With high-grade manganese at surface, a new discovery in hand and a pipeline of drill targets lining up, the company is building a compelling case in a region known for its world-class manganese endowment.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au