Chilwa Minerals (ASX: CHW) has reported further niobium and rare earth exploration results from its Nakombe target at the Lake Chilwa Project in southern Malawi, with laboratory assays confirming higher niobium grades than previously indicated by portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) testing.
Results from drillhole MPYDD009 returned 57 metres at 0.315% niobium pentoxide (Nb₂O₅) from surface, including 14 metres at 0.426% Nb₂O₅ from 43 metres. The entire 385.4-metre hole averaged 0.192% Nb₂O₅. At the southern end of the target, MPYDD015 intersected 22 metres at 0.243% Nb₂O₅ from 349.5 metres, within a broader 202.5-metre sampled interval averaging 0.161% Nb₂O₅.
The results confirm mineralisation across the 270-metre strike length tested to date, with the system remaining open at depth and along strike. Both holes also returned elevated rare earth concentrations, including yttrium, alongside tantalum and gallium. MPYDD009 averaged 1,415 parts per million total rare earth oxides (TREO) across its entire length, while yttrium oxide accounted for 24.5% of TREO in the deepest reported interval of MPYDD015.
Managing Director Cadell Buss said the laboratory results reinforced the continuity of the mineralised system and would provide important data for the company’s maiden Mineral Resource Estimate. Chilwa currently has three diamond drilling rigs operating at Nakombe, with six additional holes planned for completion before the end of 2026.
The company is also progressing mineralogical analysis and metallurgical test work to better understand the distribution and processing characteristics of the niobium and rare earth mineralisation. A maiden Mineral Resource Estimate for Southern Nakombe is provisionally targeted for May–June 2027, with further drilling planned at Nakombe North next year.
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