Pegmatite Dyke Complex Staked With Rare Earth Element Potential

VANCOUVER - Almadex Minerals Ltd. has acquired by staking the area covering most of the historic Petaca District, located in northern New Mexico. The area was identified as part of Almadex’s ongoing regional exploration program in the western United States which prioritises copper-gold potential and has a focus on porphyry lithocaps and epithermal precious metal systems.

The Petaca District has had a long history of mica production from granitic pegmatites. Thorium- and rare earth elements (REE)–bearing pegmatites are exposed in the Petaca district, located between Ojo Caliente and Tres Piedras, in Rio Arriba County, northcentral New Mexico. The pegmatites crop out in Precambrian rocks in the southeastern Tusas Mountains (Bingler, 1968). The pegmatites of the Petaca district take a variety of shapes, such as dikes, sills, pipes, pods, troughs, and irregular forms. The pegmatite forms and their characteristics are described in detail by Jahns (1946). They crop out for 75 to 1,430 ft (23 to 436 m) in length (an average outcrop length is 410 ft (125 m)), and they have an average width of 30 to 35 ft (9 to 11 m)…Elevated REE concentrations in Petaca district pegmatites mainly reflect the mineral samarskite, an REE-iron-uranium thorium-niobium-tantalum-titanium-bearing oxide. The REE are reportedly restricted to albite-rich zones in the pegmatites. McLemore and others (1988, p. 4)2 reported this REE analysis of a sample of the Globe pegmatite: “600 ppm Y, 660 ppm Yb, 396 ppm Er, 186 ppm Gd, 3,117 ppm [total] REE + Y.” Otherwise, the REE content of the pegmatites of the Petaca district has not been published.

Academic work published in 2011 by researchers in New Mexico and at the University of New Mexico provided results of a microprobe study of Y-REE-Ta-Nb-Ti oxide minerals from the Petaca district3. This study confirmed the presence of Samarskite-(Y), polycrase-(Y), xenotime-(Y), and microlite and substantiated the high level of Nb and Y in accessory minerals. Also identified in this study were the minerals Columbite, Monazite-(Ce) and Ta-rutile (Struverite).

Almadex has not conducted any analysis of its own on the pegmatites of the Petaca District. The Company remains focussed on its portfolio of epithermal gold and porphyry copper gold exploration projects and seeks a joint venture partner to explore the Petaca District.

J Duane Poliquin, Chairman of Almadex, said, “Part of a regional exploration program is investigating new areas and opportunities. While REE projects are not our core focus, the identification and staking of the Petaca claims diversifies our portfolio of mineral assets. We intend to joint venture the project to a group that has expertise with these types of mineral system.”