Canadian explorer Libra Energy Materials Inc. (CSE: LIBR; OTCQB: LIBRF) has reported the remaining assay results from its maiden auger drilling program at the 100%-owned Penelope Project in Minas Gerais, Brazil, according to a company press release dated October 20, 2026, distributed via Newsfile Corp. and reproduced on StockTitan. The company says results from holes PLE-AD-008 through PLE-AD-022 extend near-surface rare earth element (REE) enrichment beyond the initial holes at the Elena target, including approximately 125 to 250 metres to the east, northeast and west, and approximately 650 metres to the northwest. With all 22 holes now reported, totalling approximately 261 metres, the program has tested an area of approximately 550 metres east-west by 750 metres north-south.
Ten of the 15 holes reported in the latest release returned at least one sample above 500 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides (TREO). Hole PLE-AD-021, drilled about 700 metres from Elena, returned 2.0 metres at 1,421 ppm TREO from surface, including 1.0 metre at 2,239 ppm TREO. Hole PLE-AD-010 returned 12.0 metres at 801 ppm TREO from surface to the end of the hole, including 4.0 metres at 1,075 ppm TREO.
Other highlighted intercepts include 1.0 metre at 2,585 ppm TREO in the final sample of hole PLE-AD-020, although the company notes this interval is dominated by cerium. Hole PLE-AD-009 returned 1.0 metre at 1,263 ppm TREO with 37.3% magnet rare earth oxides (MREO), which Libra describes as the highest magnet rare earth proportion of the program. Gallium values were also reported, with 4.0 metres at 38 grams per tonne (g/t) from surface in PLE-AD-014 and 1.0 metre at 43.5 g/t at 7 metres depth in PLE-AD-022.
Libra defines MREO as the combined oxides of neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium, expressed as a percentage of TREO. According to the release, all intercepts occur within 12 metres of surface, and apart from PLE-AD-020, contain 21% to 37% MREO. The release also includes important caveats.
Libra states that recovery rates for the individual elements used to calculate TREO and MREO have not been determined, so reported grades do not indicate recoverable quantities. Several holes, including PLE-AD-010, PLE-AD-013 and PLE-AD-020, ended in mineralized material without reaching the base of the REE-enriched profile. The holes averaged approximately 12 metres in depth.
The release does not contain a resource estimate or an economic assessment. A total of 167 samples from holes PLE-AD-008 to PLE-AD-022 were analysed by SGS Geosol Laboratórios S.A. in Vespasiano, Minas Gerais, an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory independent of the company. The company says its quality assurance and quality control program follows Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) Exploration Best Practice Guidelines.
The scientific and technical information was reviewed by Dr. Jérémie Pfister, Vice President of Exploration, who is a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101. The current results build on earlier work at Penelope.
Libra's prior prospecting, reported in a press release dated February 26, 2026, confirmed high-grade critical minerals in the underlying NYF-type pegmatites, with individual samples returning up to 8,780 ppm niobium, 10,900 ppm tantalum and 3,103 ppm total REEs. Results from the first seven auger holes, which returned multiple intervals above 1,000 ppm TREO near Elena, were reported on June 11, 2026. Libra characterises Penelope as non-core to its long-term strategy and says the project could be monetised through earn-ins, joint ventures or divestment.
These are potential routes rather than announced transactions. The company's stated focus is on the Cisco West and Obamska lithium projects in Québec, where it recently completed a maiden prospecting program. Libra describes the Cisco West and Obamska projects as adjacent to Q2 Metals' Cisco deposit, which it characterises as the largest hard-rock lithium deposit in the Western Hemisphere.
The results are early-stage exploration data, reported by the company itself, and have not been independently verified. They indicate the presence of enriched near-surface regolith over a wider area at Penelope, but further work would be needed to assess continuity, recovery and economic potential. Source: Libra Energy Materials Inc. press release, Newsfile Corp., October 20, 2026, as reproduced on StockTitan (stocktitan.net).
The release includes forward-looking information subject to the risks described by the company.
Source: stocktitan.net