Halcro - if the cover is tight, then I would run an earth wire to the cover and then just push it into the cylinder leaving a gap at the top such that it doesn't touch the main TT. As long as the cover is grounded to discharge any electrical buildup it works. You could spray some damping compound on the inside of the cover if you want to get rid of any mechanical noise.
It is also possible that the tonearm & tonearm cabling could be picking up rf from the motor.
A small point on earthing - I usually find I get a lower nose floor if I run the TT earths ( i.e. chassis, motor etc ) to ground through the power cable to wall if possible and run only the tonearm earth to the phono/preamp. In a single ended system noise from grounding or shielding is effectively in the signal path.
It is also possible that the tonearm & tonearm cabling could be picking up rf from the motor.
A small point on earthing - I usually find I get a lower nose floor if I run the TT earths ( i.e. chassis, motor etc ) to ground through the power cable to wall if possible and run only the tonearm earth to the phono/preamp. In a single ended system noise from grounding or shielding is effectively in the signal path.