Patagonia Lithium Maps 10 New REE Drill Targets Using AI Geophysics in Brazil
Patagonia Lithium pinpoints 10 new REE targets in Brazil using AI-driven geophysics
Explorer Patagonia Lithium has identified 10 new drill targets on its Goiás State concessions using a new deterministic system called Logos, layered over prior hyperspectral work. The targeting exercise generated 25 total drill targets — the top 5 NEW targets (scores 0.92–0.89) selected for priority ground-truthing — within a few kilometres of existing samples on concessions 860164/2024 and 860165/2024, adjacent to CMOC’s Catalão niobium operation (producing 10,024 tpa Nb).
The announcement marks a targeting milestone rather than a discovery. No new assay results have been produced from the Logos analysis — the system identifies where to drill, reducing exploration expenditure risk before committing to an augur or drilling program.
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How the Logos system sharpened the target list
Logos is a deterministic (process-based) system that requires no training datasets or proprietary data, running instead on open geophysical fields: gravity, magnetics, topography, fault geometry, and radiometrics. The Company added radiometric surveys (Th/K/U) and fenitization filters — key vectors for REE mineralisation — as well as an AI screening layer, on top of the prior SWIR/hyperspectral mapping.
Two unrelated systems, built on entirely different principles, independently confirmed targets to within single-digit kilometres, providing validation without relying on the same data inputs. The addition of thorium-potassium-uranium channels allowed the model to pick up the geochemical signature of fenite alteration halos surrounding carbonatite complexes, which are known to host rare earth elements.
Why this matters for investors
Ionic clay REE deposits become potentially economically viable at approximately 0.25% TREO (Total Rare Earth Oxide). The targeting work narrows the search area before expensive augur or drilling programs commence, increasing the probability of intersecting economic-grade mineralisation when drilling does begin.
Phillip Thomas, Executive Chairman
“We were able to utilise the latest AI and other technology to sure up our augur/drill targets in Goiás state to drastically improve our chances of REE discovery in ionic clays. While using AI is useful, this process has been very rewarding so far and we are impressed with the Logos System and its results.”
The validation numbers behind the targets
The Company ran a rigorous series of blind tests, eliminating sample points one at a time and forcing the system to predict their position without prior knowledge. The validation metrics demonstrate the model’s robustness:
- 5 of 5 known carbonatite complexes captured within 30 km in blind testing
- Best individual result: 1.3 km to Araxá Carbonatite, 2.6 km to Catalão I
- 100% of predictions landed within a 2 km radius in blind tests (40 predictions, 10 random splits)
- Average localisation error: 0.45 km (450 m); median 0.28 km (280 m); best under 100 m
- Statistical significance: p < 0.001, lift 1.99× vs random
- Thorium-TREO relationship reproduces at +0.90 correlation across two surveys flown 31 years apart
For the first time, the system began predicting approximate TREO content at target locations. This is a weak correlation (r=0.31), an early signal the Company plans to refine with augur sampling data, not a proven predictive capability at this stage.
| Target | Score | Type | Nearest PL3 Sample | Distance (km) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.920 | confirm | 064 | 0.7 |
| 2 | 0.917 | NEW | 070 | 2.4 |
| 3 | 0.907 | NEW | 070 | 2.6 |
| 4 | 0.895 | confirm | 054 | 0.2 |
| 5 | 0.889 | NEW | 056 | 4.7 |
| 6 | 0.887 | NEW | 070 | 2.2 |
| 7 | 0.886 | NEW | 066 | 2.2 |
| 8 | 0.884 | NEW | 056 | 4.7 |
The top 5 NEW targets (scores 0.92–0.89) have been chosen for priority ground-truthing. The 10 confirming targets — sitting within approximately 1.5 km of existing samples — serve as method validation, demonstrating the system correctly locates known mineralisation.
What’s next for Patagonia’s Brazil exploration
The Company has outlined a staged approach to ground-truthing the new targets:
- Progress to augur sampling to identify REE ionic clays across the priority targets
- Complete a ground magnetics survey after sampling to validate structure and geology
- Re-run the Logos system with new sampling data to refine grade prediction
Historical ground-truth reference provides context for prospectivity: ~1,800 ppm TREO fenites were found off-concession less than 500 m away. Previously reported 2024 assay results (not connected to the current Logos work) returned TREO up to 2,295.7 ppm and niobium up to 245.8 ppm, confirming the geological setting can support economic-grade mineralisation.
Management will provide a further update in an investor briefing on 19 August 2026, 12:30pm AEST via Zoom.
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The bigger Patagonia Lithium picture
The Brazil REE targeting work sits within a broader portfolio of five exploration concession packages totalling 41,746 ha, targeting ionic REE clays, niobium, antimony, and lithium in pegmatites.
The Company’s flagship Argentine lithium brine project holds a Mineral Resource Estimate of 551,400 t LCE at 294 mg/L (comprising 14,800 t Indicated at 393 mg/L and 536,600 t Inferred at 292 mg/L), lodged 14 July 2025. The Brazil REE work represents emerging optionality alongside the established Argentine lithium resource base, diversifying the Company’s commodity exposure and development pathway.
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