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Odyssey REE Project

Odyssey REE Project

Located in the Labrador and Newfoundland province in eastern Canada the Odyssey Project is situated approximately 125km northeast of the Churchill Falls community in central Labrador. Hosted within the Red Wine peralkaline intrusion complex (Red Wine REE District) of central Labrador.

The Red Wine REE district is host to numerous REE, Niobium and Beryllium related occurrences and mineral deposits with previous resource estimations (non-JORC) located along trend from the Odyssey Project area at the Mann #1 (5km east of Odyssey) and Two Tom (20km east of Odyssey) project areas.

The Two Tom resource is estimated at 40.6Mt @ 1.18% TREO and 0.26% Nb2O5, (2012, Canadian NI 43-101).

Previous exploration identifies extensive anomalism on two mineralised trends identified within Odyssey:

  • Mann 2 Prospect – a 2.6km long REE corridor host to multiple >4% TREO assay results within 1.9km extent (2.2km extent of results exceeding 1% TREO values)
  • Michelin Prospect – is a 1.2km long REE corridor of favourable lithology hosting multiple >1% TREO assay results across a 500m window of exposure on a sub-parallel trend 1.7km north of Mann 2

The Mann 2 and Michelin trends total over 3km mineralised extent and have drill ready targets supported with 143 surface rock and channel samples compiled to date with 93 of 143 samples returning >1% TREO. Better assay results from previous work includes:

  • 9.3% TREO including 1.84% NdPr – Mann 2 West
  • 8.4% TREO including 1.61% NdPr – Mann 2 West
  • 6.4% TREO including 1.30% NdPr – Mann 2 West
  • 5.2% TREO including 1.06% NdPr – Mann 2 Central
  • 4.2% TREO including 0.92% NdPr – Mann 2 East
  • 2.6% TREO including 0.64% NdPr – Michelin prospect

Geologic Setting

The Odyssey REE Project is host to various units of the Red Wine peralkaline complex with varying compositions generated from multiple phases of intrusive activity. The peralkaline intrusions and dikes and adjoining syenite bodies associated with mineralisation are each variably affected by deformation resulting primarily from the regional Grenville metamorphic event (gis.geosurv.gov.nl.ca., n.d.).

The larger peralkaline intrusion in the Red Wine District is intruded by later stage syenite bodies, which following deformation were recrystallised as a nepheline gneiss and a peralkaline schist material. The mineralised nepheline gneiss and adjoining peralkaline schists may represent an enveloping border phase in contact with adjacent volcanic rocks around the syenitic rocks already strongly endowed with REE and Niobium rich minerals. During metamorphism (and related metasomatism) some remobilization of the ore minerals into fractures and shear zones also took place within these units increasing the tenor of mineralisation.

Mineralisation

The mineralisation of the Nephaline Gneiss and Peralkaline Schist units is not definitively described, but the metal content suggests minerals of columbite-tantalite series, as supported with preliminary metallurgical surveys of the Mann # 1 occurrence located just over 5km east of Odyssey. Variations in Be and Nb content from Mann #1 is evident at both Michelin and Mann #2 prospects, suggestive of a zonal distribution to mineralisation across the Red Wine REE district. Mineralogical and metallurgical study work is required for both the Mann #2 and Michelin prospects to define host mineralogy and mineral distribution at the Odyssey REE Project.

Exploration History & District Setting

Previous exploration in the Red Wine REE District is comprised of various mapping campaigns and ground/airborne geophysical surveys dating back to the mid 1950’s through 1960’s, where the district was initially identified through exploration for copper and uranium.  Both the Michelin and Mann#2 occurrences were identified by 1961, and early exploration in the region focused on Niobium and Beryllium.  In particular, the Mann #1 occurrence, located 5km northeast of the Odyssey Project’s Mann #2 prospect was the focus of early drilling for Beryllium, in the 1960’s, and follow-up programmes for Beryllium and Niobium in the mid 1980’s, however, with no analysis work for REE’s reported in these earlier exploration campaigns.

In 2010-11, Canada Rare Earths [TSX.V:LL] (formerly Rare Earth Metals [TSX-V: RA]) completed the first systematic exploration across the in the Red Wine intrusion complex for rare earth oxide minerals.  Rare Earth Metals completed widespread rock chip sampling across multiple prospects including the Mann 2 and Michelin occurrences, with the focus of further exploration and follow-up drilling in late 2010 through 2011 shifting to the surrounding Two Tom, Mann #1 and Duck Pond occurrences in the Red Wine REE District.

Many Peaks Minerals has compiled 143 historical sample results within the Odyssey REE project area to date (for details refer to ASX release dated 17 January 2023). Initial sampling within the Odyssey REE project returned favourable exploration results, with 65% of samples reported returning better than 1% TREO.  In addition to the TREO content of the samples, several non-REE metals included in the mineralogy may have economic interest, including Niobium – Nb2O5 and Beryllium – BeO, requiring further metallurgical study work to identify beneficiation potential and economic viability.

The Red Wine REE District is host to more than a dozen REE, Zircon and Niobium occurrences, among which is included some historical minerals resource estimates.  Notable projects in the district include:

  • The Two Tom project is located along the same horizon in the Red Wine complex just over 20km east of Odyssey and is host to a resource estimation of 40.6M tonnes at 1.18% TREO, inclusive of 0.244% NdPr and additional contains 0.26% Nb2O5 reported in compliance with Canadian National Instrument 43-101. The mineralised zone at the Two Toms project area covers approximately 1.3km extent of exploration comprised of 24 diamond holes totalling 5,469m drilled
  • The Mann 1 project is located along the same horizon in the Red Wine complex just over 5km east of the Mann 2 occurrence at Odyssey REE project. Hosted within a riebeckite-bearing peralkaline syenite of the Red Wine intrusion suite. The neighbouring occurrence was the target of trenching and an initial six hole test in 2020, with previous exploration results including:
  • 44m @ 1.22% TREO, 0.16% Nb2O5, and 0.08% BeO in channel sampling (Rare Earth Metals, 2010A)
  • 27m @ 1.71% TREO, 0.24% Nb2O5, and 0.20% Be within 70.5m @ 1.04% TREO in drilling.


Notes:
1. For further details on project background and JORC Table 1 disclosure in relation to historical exploration results, refer to ASX Release dated 17 January 2023.
2. TREO (Total Rare Earth Oxides) includes the sum total of the Light Rare Earth Oxides (LREO) and Heavy Rare Earth Oxides (HREO)
-HREO includes: Eu2O3, Gd2O3, Tb2O3, Dy2O3, Ho2O3, Er2O3, Tm2O3, Yb2O3, Lu2O3 and Y2O3
-LREO includes: La2O3, CeO2, Pr6O11, Nd2O3 and Sm2O3
3. NdPr referenced in this report is the sum of the LREO’s: Pr6O11 and Nd2O3