Crackingstone

North Shore Athabasca Basin

 

Rare Earths (REE’s)

A unique opportunity for a significant Rare Earth discovery,

combined with the potential for uncovering a major Uranium deposit.

Drilling planned for Q4 2024, Permit Pending.

In rare earth element (REE) exploration, the relationship between Thorium, Pegmatites, and Faults is crucial for understanding the geologic processes that concentrate REEs and thorium into economically valuable deposits.

Rare Earth Elements (REE’s)

Crackingstone Rare Earth Metals Project

Thorium and Rare Earth Elements (REEs):

  • Thorium is often associated with rare earth elements because they tend to occur together in certain types of minerals and geological environments. Thorium is commonly found in monazite, a phosphate mineral that also contains rare earth elements, particularly the heavy rare earths.
  • Many REE-bearing minerals (e.g., monazite, xenotime) have thorium as a byproduct. Thus, areas rich in thorium often also contain REEs.
  • In exploration, high thorium concentrations are used as an indicator of potential REE mineralization since both are geochemically similar and occur in the same deposit types.

Faults and Structural Controls:

    • Faults and fractures play a significant role in REE exploration because they can act as pathways for hydrothermal fluids, which transport REEs, thorium, and other metals.
    • These structural features can also serve as zones where REE-bearing pegmatites or veins are emplaced.
    • Faulting may also influence the concentration of thorium and REEs by creating openings in the earth’s crust, allowing magma or mineral-rich fluids to migrate and precipitate these elements.
    • Faults can be a major control in the localization of pegmatites, particularly in regions of continental collision or extension, where pegmatitic melts rise along fault lines.

Pegmatites:

  • Pegmatites are intrusive igneous rocks known for their coarse-grained texture and are often enriched in rare elements, including REEs, lithium, tantalum, niobium, and thorium.
  • REE-bearing pegmatites often form late in the crystallization of a granitic magma, concentrating rare earth elements, thorium, and other incompatible elements into residual melts.
  • These pegmatites can serve as primary sources of REEs. For instance, the mineral monazite, which contains both REEs and thorium, can be found in certain types of pegmatites.

Some of the highest grade REE’s discovered in the region

REE’s today have become a focus of exploration at the Crackingstone due to recent discoveries of high grade REE’s in region related to Thorium-Pegmatite-targets, similar to Crackingstone.

The Alces Lake REE-Th-U mineralization area is located approximately 28 km north of the Athabasca basin margin and is ranked as the highest-grade REE occurrence in Canada.

Their REE’s are associated with “Pegmatites” within Thorium anomalies very similar to the Crackingstone

Crackingstone---Appia-Thorium-Anomalies
Crackingstone_Thorium anomaly

Crackingstone Rare Earth Thorium anomalies

Appia Thorium anomalies

Appia Rare Earth Thorium anomalies

Appia Crackingstone pegmatite comparison

All 2008 Crackingstone drill holes along with uranium, intercepted pegmatites. However the pegmatite drill sections were never assayed as there was no interest in rare earths at the time.

2008 drilling intercepted 1.8kms of Uranium, Pegmatite & Hematite

associated with a fault and a thorium anomaly.

Uranium Intercepts

Crackingstone 2008 drill section

All 2008 drill holes intercepted uranium mineralization over 1.8 kms

Pegmatite Intercepts

Pegmatite is often associated with uranium and rare earth mineralization.

Hematite Intercepts

Crackingstone 2008 drilling hematite intercepts

Hematite is an alteration type often associated with uranium and thorium and the occurrence of hematite in alteration zones is an indication of uranium and pegmatite precipitation during the hydrothermal event.