Power Minerals Announces Niobium-Rich Pyrochlore at Santa Anna
Key points
- Mineralogical study confirms high niobium content at Santa Anna
- Pyrochlore mineral compositions of up to 73.9% Nb2O5
- Results will guide planned metallurgical testwork programs
Full summary
Power Minerals Limited has announced that a petrographic and mineralogical study of drill core samples from the Santa Anna Niobium and Rare Earths Project in Goiás State, Brazil, has confirmed the presence of niobium-rich pyrochlore. The study, which analyzed 38 drill core samples, found pyrochlore mineral compositions of up to 73.9% Nb2O5, placing the Santa Anna pyrochlore toward the upper end of reported compositions from major carbonatite-hosted niobium deposits globally. The niobium is hosted in pyrochlore, a primary mineral source of niobium, and these results will be used in planned metallurgical testwork programs. The study used optical microscopy, scanning electron microscope energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-ED), and Electron probe microanalysis wavelength-dispersive spectroscopy (EPMA-WDS) to identify two principal lithologies in the samples: phoscorites and predominantly calcite-dolomite carbonates containing minor ankerite.
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