The Desert Metals Ltd (ASX: DM1) share price soared 62% in earlier trade today to 67.3 cents before pulling back. The company's share price is now trading at 46.5 cents, a 12% gain.

Let's take a look at why ASX mineral explorer Desert Metals is having such a good day.

Significant rare earth discovery

Investors are buying up Desert Metals shares on the back of assay results from recent drilling. The company is exploring the Innouendy project in Western Australia.

Assay results confirmed a "significant clay-hosted rare earth discovery". The total rare earth oxide (TREO) intersections appeared thick and continuous.

New TREO intersections include:

• 8 metres (m) at 2734 parts per million (ppm) from 24m (including 3m at 4104ppm) at hole 80
• 17m at 1347ppm from 28m (including 8m at 2085, including 4m at 2791) at hole 130
• 8m at 1429ppm from 20m (including 4m at 2040ppm) at hole 138

Commenting on the results, managing director Rob Stuart said:

This is a great result for the company to confirm a significant rare earth discovery at an early stage in the exploration programs at the Innouendy Project.

The mineralisation assayed to date is showing encouraging grades over significant widths from close to surface.

Desert Metals is expecting to see further assay results in coming weeks. After these results are received, the company will conduct a further expanded drill program.

Desert Metals share price snapshot

The Desert Metals share price has soared 45% in the past year, while it is up 29% year to date.

This ASX mining share has a market capitalisation of about $22 million based on the current share price.

For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) has fallen 3.6% in the past year.

The post Guess which ASX mining share just soared 62% on a 'significant rare earth discovery' appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) is down 4.16% Meanwhile, the related S&P/ASX 300 Metals and Mining Index (ASX: XMM) is down more by 4.51%.

Zooming out further, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is also down by 1.68%.

Let's cover which ASX mining shares are charting their own destiny on Thursday.

Desert Metals Ltd (ASX: DM1)

The Desert Metals share price is up 14.86% at the time of writing. Shares of the mineral explorer are currently trading for 42.5 cents each, having earlier hit an intraday high of 48 cents apiece — a gain of nearly 30% on Wednesday's close.

There's no news today from Desert Metals to make sense of the surge in green for its share price. However, on Tuesday the company reported that a possibility of a new rare earth system is emerging at its Innouendy site in Western Australia, giving promise to additional production yields. Shares rallied to 46 cents yesterday amid the announcement.

American West Metals Ltd (ASX: AW1)

The American West Metals share price is currently up a staggering 81.48% today. Shares of the progressive miner are trading hands for 24.5 cents each. They previously closed at 20 cents each.

American West Metals announced its first assay, or analysis results of its diamond drilling initiative for its Storm Copper Project in Canada. The drilling reportedly uncovered high grades and thicknesses of copper.

As part of the release, American West Metals managing director Dave O'Neill commented:

These results immediately validate the historical high-grade intersections within the 2750N Zone, highlighting the quality of the Storm mineral system. These kinds of grades and thicknesses are exactly what we want to see as we work to define a shallow high-grade copper resource.

Parabellum Resources Ltd (ASX: PBL)

The Parabellum Resources share price is another big gainer this afternoon, up 16.12% to 36 cents.

There's been no news today from Parabellum. However, earlier in the week, the company announced that it had started environmental baseline monitoring studies at the Khotgor project in Mongolia. The wider view is that these studies will introduce disclosures for its progress in implementing environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies.

Parabellum Resources non-executive chairman Mark Hohnen said:

We greatly value ESG considerations as they enable us to better identify material risks and growth potential, leading to better-informed decisions and business outcomes.

The post 3 ASX mining shares rocketing by more than 14% on Thursday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.