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Valor Resources Limited (Valor) or (the Company) (ASX:VAL) is pleased to announce the completion of an extensive data review and targeting process on the Cluff Lake Uranium Project (the Project) in the western Athabasca Basin. This work has highlighted a significant number of very prospective targets, which will be followed up on-ground in the coming few weeks. In addition, an extensive airborne gravity gradiometry survey has recently been completed at the Project, with additional targets expected to be identified when the final data is reviewed".
HIGHLIGHTS
- Seven high-priority targets defined based on historical data and geophysical interpretation
- Highlighted by surface geochemical anomalies up to 0.15% U3O8
- Airborne gravity gradiometry (AGG) survey completed to identify further targets
- Project located 7km east of Orano’s Cluff Lake Mine which produced 62.5 Mlbs @ 0.92% U3O8
- Potential for both Athabasca basement-hosted and unconformity-style uranium deposits
- Permitting well advanced to start on ground exploration activity in June including mapping and sampling, to design drilling program
Executive Chairman George Bauk comments “The data review has highlighted excellent targets including several key structures, and this combined with outputs from the recently completed airborne gravity gradiometry survey will provide us with the priority targets that require on-ground follow-up leading to drilling. The gravity survey provides the third dimension (depth) to the other geological data sets to assist with identifying and prioritising drill targets.”
“We are within 7km of a significant historical uranium mine, which was operated by Areva (now Orano), the leading French nuclear organisation. This group of deposits produced over 62m pounds of U3O8 at 0.92% U3O8 (or 9,200ppm U3O8). These deposits were small in terms of physical size, but due to their high-grade nature, were economically significant. We are targeting our exploration activity to account for the physical size of known resources in the area.”
“We are also working through compiling all the historical exploration data from our eight projects in the Athabasca Basin, and we plan to release the reviews of all projects in the next three months. During this time, the exploration team will continue on-ground exploration and interpretation of the new airborne survey data from Cluff Lake, Hook Lake and Hidden Bay.”
Airborne gravity survey – recently completed
An airborne gravity gradiometry (AGG) survey has been completed across approximately 80% of the Cluff Lake Project area (622km2). A total of 2,755 line kms were flown in the survey, at a line spacing of 200m. To the Company’s knowledge, this is the first modern airborne gravity survey completed over the project area. The preliminary data is currently being compiled and reviewed, with the results expected later this month.
The AGG data will help delineate geology and structure that are potentially important in the formation of a uranium deposit. Gravity anomalies can provide direct detection of the hydrothermal alteration associated with a uranium deposit. Hydrothermally altered (de-silicified) rocks have a lower density then the unaltered host rocks and can therefore be identified as gravity lows. An example of this is the basement-hosted Arrow Uranium Deposit, which has a Total Mineral Resource of 337.4 million pounds U3O8 at a grade of 1.8%, which was discovered in 2014 by NexGen Energy Ltd. The discovery of the Arrow Deposit was, in part, the result of drill testing a circular gravity low with a diameter of around 1km. (sourcedfromArrowDeposit,RookIProject,Saskatchewan,NI 43-101Technical Report onFeasibility Study).
Historical data review targets
The following targets are based on a thorough review of historical exploration data which has been integrated with a detailed geological interpretation of all publicly available geophysical data completed by Valor’s consultant geophysics team, Terra Resources. The historical exploration data is from the 1960s through to the 1980s. Between the 1990s and the present day, little uranium exploration has been carried out in this area. Details of relevant drill holes and surface sampling information that have been used in determining some of these targets, have been included in Appendices 1 and 2. All diamond drill holes have been reported and other drillholes with maximum U assay of >1ppm have been reported. The surface samples reported have been filtered based on: Organic samples >5ppm U, Soil samples > 2ppm U, rock chip(boulder) and unknown sample types > 5ppm U. Due to the historical nature of some of this data, some aspects of the sampling and drilling cannot be verified and therefore some caution must be applied. The Company intends to carry out on-ground work to verify aspects of the historical data before advancing targets to the drilling stage.
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This article includes content from Valor Resources Limited , licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
VAL:AU
Boss Set to Ship First U308 from Honeymoon
Highlights
- Startup production exceeding ramp-up schedule per the feasibility study (FS) estimates
- NIMCIX columns 2 and 3 on target for commissioning in Q3 and Q4, respectively in 2024
- Commissioning continues to advance, with key metrics remaining ahead of FS estimates:
- oWellfields continue to average 80 - 100mg/L vs FS estimate of 47mg/L (~100% uplift)
- oIon Exchange loaded resin recoverability remains at 100%
- oResin loading normalising at FS estimate of 27 g/L
- oElution performance exceeding FS estimate at 7 – 9 g/L
- First uranium sale to occur with revenue being received this quarter
- Boss remains highly leveraged to rising uranium price
Boss will now make its first delivery to European nuclear utilities under its existing sales contracts, with revenue to be received in the current quarter.
With NIMCIX Column 1 performing to expectations and construction of Columns 2 and 3 on track for completion in the September and December quarters, 2024 respectively, Boss expects production to total at least ~850,000lbs of U308 by June 30, 2025, in line with its Feasibility Study schedule1.
Boss Managing Director Duncan Craib said:“The start-up phase at Honeymoon is proceeding comfortably to plan, with all the key metrics running in line with, or exceeding, the forecasts contained in the Feasibility Study schedule.
“Construction of the second and third columns is also advancing well, ensuring we are on track to continue increasing our production rates. Total production in FY26 is set to meet or exceed our feasibility study forecasts at 1.63Mlb. The addition of columns 4, 5 and 6 are forecast to further increase the production rate to nameplate capacity of 2.45Mlb/annum by year three.”
Figure 1: Drummed uranium ready for first shipment
Figure 2: Construction of columns 2 and 3 nearing completion to increase Honeymoon's production profile
Production update
Operational focus over the coming months remains on optimisation of the ion exchange, elution, precipitation and drying and packing processes.
Wellfield performance continues to impress, with tenors from individual wellfields into the PLS averaging 80 - 100 mg/L. Honeymoon’s feasibility study assumed PLS grade of 47 mg/L based on results from the project’s previous operation. Boss is managing the grade of uranium being leached to maximise wellfield recoveries.
Consumption of reagents in the wellfields of sulphuric acid and ferric (pH and Eh) are normalising as per FS expectations. The lixiviant chemistry, as proved during the field leach trial, continues to demonstrate superior performance at commercial throughput rates. The increased leach efficiency leads to a more efficient loading on the ion exchange resin, effectively lowering operating costs as less reagents and power are required per drum of uranium.
Stripping of uranium from the loaded resin continues to be virtually 100%, also demonstrating that the ion exchange process is working as designed, resulting in a high-grade concentrated eluate greater than 7-9 g/L.
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Lo Herma ISR Uranium Project, Resource Drilling Funded
HIGHLIGHTS
- Upcoming Q3 resource drilling is fully funded
- Drilling will target expansion and upgrade of the current Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 5.71 Mlbs U3O8 at average 630ppm
- Drilling to commence in the coming weeks - starting late July or early August
- Planned rights entitlement offer to all shareholders on the same terms as the recent placement - details to be provided in due course
As previously advised on 2nd of May 2024, the planned 2024 drilling permit at Lo Herma allows for up to 76 drill hole locations including construction of up to 5 groundwater monitoring wells. This next phase of drilling will focus on expanding the resource areas and where possible, upgrading the current mineral resource classification (Table 1). Collection of important data including, hydrogeologic parameters of the mineralised aquifers and collection of rock core samples for metallurgical testing will be also prioritised. GTI intends to mobilise drilling rigs to Lo Herma as soon as the activity is fully permitted which is anticipated to be during late July or early August 2024.
Following completion of the 2024 drill program at Lo Herma, GTI intends to publish an updated mineral resource estimate and exploration target range for the project. The Company expects that the updated mineral resource estimate will support near-term development of a Scoping Study to demonstrate the economic potential of the project.
GTI Executive Director Bruce Lane commented, “We are pleased and excited to have received investor support and funding to continue moving forward with our planned resource expansion drilling at Lo Herma. Matt and the team in Wyoming have put us in a great position to complete the drilling program this quarter, with a revised mineral resource estimate to be rapidly advanced post-drilling. This work prepares GTI for a potential Lo Herma scoping study which we hope to commence later this year on the basis that we can significantly grow the uranium resource estimate to a similar scale to ISR uranium mines currently being constructed or planned in Wyoming at Ur-Energy’s Shirley Basin project & Encore’s Energy’s Gas Hills project.”
FIGURE 1. GTI WYOMING PROJECT LOCATIONS
LO HERMA GEOLOGIC SUMMARY
The Lo Herma project is located on the southern end of the west flank of the Powder River Basin (PRB), a regional asymmetric synclinal basin hosting a sedimentary rock sequence of about 15,000 feet in the deeper portions of the basin. The basin is bounded by the Bighorn Mountains on the west, the Black Hills to the east, and the Casper Arch, Laramie Mountains, and Hartville Uplift along the southern margin. Along the edges of the basin, progressively older sedimentary units outcrop at the surface as you move away from the synclinal axis of the basin.
The target host geology for Lo Herma project is located in and around the contact of the Eocene Wasatch Formation (Wasatch) and the Paleocene Fort Union Formation (Fort Union).
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This article includes content from GTI Energy, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
