Vancouver – Two long holes, mineralized with rare earth elements (REEs) from almost top to bottom, have caused a spike in Commerce Resources‘ (CCE-V) share price.
Commerce drilled the holes on the Ashram zone of its wholly-owned Eldor project in northeastern Quebec as part of a stepped-up exploration program.
Drilled as the northernmost holes to date, hole 46 hit 364.3 metres grading 1.95% total rare earth oxides (TREO) from surface while hole 47, drilled 80 metres southeast, cut 355.9 metres carrying 1.86% TREO from 3 metres depth. Cutting out the first 55 metres, hole 46 comes in at 2.02% TREO for 303 metres, and hole 47 averages 2.04% over 262 metres by starting at 70 metres.
Using a cone-shaped model for the zone, the company reports the two vertical holes should be near true thickness. The two holes also ended in mineralization.
Commerce’s share price went up 25¢ or 39.7% over two days on a total of 8.4 million shares traded to end at 88¢ after releasing the news, having already had a net gain of 12¢ in the four preceding days.
The company has now identified REE mineralization at Ashram over a 650-metre by 350-metre area, while hole 46 shows the deepest mineralization at 365 metres. Mineralization is mostly constrained in the west but otherwise open.
Cerium, lanthanum/neodymium and praseodymium were the four most abundant REEs in the latest results. Hole 47, however, showed a significant increase in mid- and heavy-REEs including Yittrium compared with holes drilled to the south, and also contained the highest TREO assay yet at 4.92% TREo over 0.75 metre. Hole 46 showed increased grades at depth, with a 8.4-metre section grading 3% TREO starting at 350 metres.
Earlier in November, the company reported the results of three other holes at Ashram. Hole 29 cut 21.5 metres grading 1.91% TREO from 3 metres, hole 30 hit 42.9 metres averaging 2.15% TREO from 7 metres and hole 31 returned 54.2 metres carrying 2.09% TREO.
Of the 12-hole, 3,300-metre 2010 drill program, five holes are still awaiting assays.
The Eldor property is a carbonatite-related deposit in the central Labrador Trough. Along with Ashram, the property hosts the Northwest, Southeast and Star Trench Tantalum and Niobium zones.
While Ashram has caught the attention of investors, the company continues to advance its flagship Blue River Tantalum-Niobium project in British Columbia. In late October Commerce signed a mineral exploration agreement with the Simpcw First Nation that sets out a process for ongoing dialogue throughout exploration and development of the project.
Work also continues on the company’s Carbo project in B.C., where Canadian International Minerals (CIN-V) is earning a 75% interest. The Carbo property spans roughly 2,800 hectares in an area 80 km northeast of Prince George.
Commerce Resources listed on the OTCQX under the symbol CMRZF the same day it released the latest drill results. The company is also listed on the Frankfurt exchange under D7H.
The company has 130 million shares outstanding, or 176 million fully diluted.
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