OD6 Metals Hits 60% CaF₂ at New Nevada Zone Linking 1.5km Fluorspar Corridor
Key Takeaways
- Rock-chip assays at North Horseshoe Canyon returned up to 60.0% CaF₂, with five of eight samples exceeding 18% CaF₂ — grades consistent with high-quality fluorspar mineralisation.
- NHC sits between the Horseshoe and Big Jim priority targets, linking them into an approximately 1.5km prospective corridor along the Saw Mill Thrust fault structure.
- Both surface exposures of the Saw Mill Thrust within the Quinn project area now show high-grade fluorspar mineralisation, strengthening the geological case for a connected system beneath cover.
- Three specific drill targets have been defined from the NHC discovery, with drilling planned to test continuity, thickness, and grade beneath the lithocap between NHC and Big Jim.
- The US imports 100% of its fluorspar consumption, with over 60% of global supply sourced from China — positioning any high-grade Nevada-hosted deposit as strategically significant for critical mineral supply chains.
New high-grade fluorspar zone unlocks a 1.5km target corridor in Nevada
OD6 Metals (ASX: OD6) has announced a new high-grade fluorspar discovery at North Horseshoe Canyon (NHC) within its 100% owned Quinn Fluorspar Project in Nevada, USA. Rock-chip assays returned results of up to 60.0% CaF₂, with NHC sitting between the Horseshoe and Big Jim priority targets. Its identification links these two zones into an approximately 1.5km prospective corridor along the Saw Mill Thrust.
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NHC assay results and what they reveal
Rock-chip results at a glance
Mineralisation outcrops over approximately 100m of strike length at NHC. A sample collected 200m farther north returned 6.2% CaF₂, indicating the zone continues beyond the exposed outcrop. The highest-grade results came from altered limestones and fluorspar breccias, with the top five samples all returning above 18% CaF₂.
| Sample ID | Prospect | CaF₂ (%) | Description | Elevation (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DH170 | North Horseshoe | 60.0 | Altered limestone, oxidized breccia | 2,462 |
| DH176 | North Horseshoe | 57.3 | Limestone with fluorspar breccia | 2,470 |
| DH178a | North Horseshoe | 51.0 | Limestone in small digging — fluorspar breccia | 2,478 |
| DH175 | North Horseshoe | 21.4 | Limestone with fluorspar breccia | 2,475 |
| DH311 | North Horseshoe | 18.5 | Small digging in cliff, with fluorspar breccia | 2,420 |
| DB063 | North Horseshoe | 6.2 | Float — oxidized breccia | 2,513 |
| DH178b | North Horseshoe | 4.7 | Limestone with fluorspar breccia | 2,479 |
| DH177 | North Horseshoe | 2.8 | Limestone with fluorspar breccia | 2,481 |
The Saw Mill Thrust connection
The Saw Mill Thrust is a geological fault structure that outcrops in only two locations within the Quinn project area: Big Jim and NHC. Both exposed locations show strong, high-grade fluorspar mineralisation, which is the key piece of evidence supporting a connected system rather than isolated occurrences.
The Big Jim fluorspar lode, rediscovered at the northern end of the project area, shares the same Saw Mill Thrust structural host as NHC, and its documented mineralisation is central to the corridor interpretation now underpinning drill target definition.
Geologically, NHC appears to sit approximately 750m southwest of Big Jim and approximately 450m northwest of Horseshoe, positioning it as the intervening link in the corridor. Beneath the lithocap (a zone of surface alteration that can obscure mineralisation at depth) between NHC and Big Jim, the mineralised structure is interpreted to continue.
At NHC, an oxidised felsic intrusive (a type of igneous rock body) was also observed. The intrusive itself is anomalous in fluorine, returning 0.3–0.4% CaF₂, and its contact zone shows strong fluorspar pathfinder anomalies in soils along the Horseshoe-NHC corridor. This intrusive is interpreted as a potential heat and fluid source that may have driven the mineralising system.
Why fluorspar in the US matters right now
Fluorspar (CaF₂) is the primary commercial source of fluorine, a chemical building block used across hydrofluoric acid production, AI semiconductor manufacturing, advanced battery technologies, uranium enrichment, defence systems, and refrigerants. The United States classifies it as a critical mineral because domestic supply is effectively non-existent. The US currently imports 100% of all fluorspar consumed domestically, with more than 60% of global supply sourced from China. That concentration of supply in a single geopolitical rival makes any high-grade US-hosted deposit strategically significant.
Fluorspar is produced in two commercial grades. Metspar is the lower grade product used in steel and cement production. Acidspar is the premium grade, requiring greater than 97% CaF₂, and is used in chemical processing and high-technology applications. Quinn’s low-impurity mineralisation supports the potential to produce Acidspar following beneficiation, which targets the higher-value end of the market.
Nevada adds further strategic credibility as a project location. The Fraser Institute ranked it second globally in its 2025 Mining Attractiveness Index, reflecting its stable regulatory environment and established mining infrastructure.
Quinn’s strategic attributes at a glance:
- 226 mining claims covering approximately 1,890 hectares, 100% owned
- 8km fertile mineralised corridor confirmed
- +20 fluorspar occurrences supporting a potential hub-and-spoke development strategy
- Permitting programme underway, including environmental baseline, archaeological studies, and drill approvals
- Metallurgical testwork advancing with optical sorting and beneficiation studies
- Potential gold upside identified in soil sampling across Mammoth, Horseshoe, and Dress Circle
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Three drill targets now defined from NHC
The NHC discovery has directly shaped drill planning, with three specific target areas now incorporated:
- West-dipping mineralised lodes beneath and west of the NHC outcrop
- The interpreted continuation of mineralisation beneath the lithocap between NHC and Big Jim (approximately 750m)
- The prospective corridor between Horseshoe and NHC (approximately 450m)
Drilling is planned to test whether these mineralised zones connect and to establish their thickness and grade beneath cover, which cannot be determined from surface rock-chip sampling alone.
For readers wanting to understand how surface rock-chip results at Quinn compare to what has been confirmed at depth, our full explainer on historic drilling at the Horseshoe Nevada deposit walks through the subsurface grade data and what it implies for the broader mineralised system.
Brett Hazelden, Managing Director
“North Horseshoe Canyon is a strategically important discovery because of where it sits and what it tells us about the wider mineralised system. While the rock-chip assays of up to 60.0% CaF₂ are impressive, their real significance is the identification of high-grade fluorspar in the intervening ground between Horseshoe and Big Jim, where our geological targeting model indicated it could occur.
This discovery provides a potential missing link between two of Quinn’s priority targets. Mineralisation has now been identified at both exposed locations of the interpreted Saw Mill Thrust – North Horseshoe Canyon and Big Jim – strengthening the case for testing its continuation beneath the lithocap and the prospective corridor south towards Horseshoe.
Rather than viewing these as isolated occurrences, we now have stronger geological evidence supporting an approximately 1.5km prospective corridor from Horseshoe through North Horseshoe Canyon to Big Jim and Spar. Drilling will determine whether the mineralised zones connect and establish their thickness and grade beneath cover.”
If drilling confirms that mineralisation is continuous across the corridor, it would substantially expand the understood scale of the Quinn system. The source notes that the only two surface exposures of the Saw Mill Thrust within the project both carry high-grade mineralisation, giving the geological model a degree of validation that supports the case for testing the covered ground between them.
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