The data review identified 49 mineralised drill holes with sample uranium grades greater than 250 ppm U3O8, including 29 drill intervals with sample grades in excess of 10,000 ppm or 1.0% U3O8. The exploration results have identified uranium mineralisation over a 2,400 metre strike length.
Marenica Managing Director,
The Company will further assess the
In addition to the high-grade uranium mineralisation, high-grade gold was present in one of the two drill holes on which detailed gold assays are available. Hole Y153RD included 0.5 m at 19.2 g/t Au from 143.5 m, and 0.5 m at 2.3g/t Au from 141.5 m, with the gold intervals contained within a broader uranium mineralised zone of 8.5 m at 653 ppm U3O8. A second drill hole assayed for gold (Y160RD) did not contain either uranium or gold mineralisation, however there is potential for gold mineralisation to be associated with the existing uranium mineralisation within the deposit.
Historical Ownership
Location and Geology The licence applications are located in the eastern part of the
The basal part of the
Drill Hole Data Review
The Company has to date compiled the available data, predominantly in the form of open source files (periodic and annual reports in the main), as well as data from site visits previously undertaken by personnel from
The information has been validated from multiple sources, however, given the passage of time, some data of the historical work remains to be located in order to fully confirm the total dataset for the deposit. The current status of the historical exploration at the deposit is outlined within this announcement in conjunction with previously reported (by AGIP) assays.
Local collar co-ordinates were obtained from drill-logs and digitised from plans; however, some holes could not be located. Fortunately, many collars are still visible and most have hole names recorded on permatags. Several collar co-ordinates were surveyed using GPS in
The uranium mineralisation at Minerva is associated with a thin tongue of oxidation invading the extensively reduced hosting sandstone. Uraninite occurs in strongly hematitic zones near the base of reduction indicating a redox front related mineralisation. The primary uranium species must be considered as a relic unstable mineral phase in the oxidised environment. Altogether four strike oriented stratabound and stacked ore shoots have been identified. The interpretation of the true thickness and attitude of the mineralisation is problematic, as vertical drilling encountered the steeply overturned strata at 70 to 80 degree north dip.
Gold Mineralisation
Reference is made within the AGIP reporting to the presence of highly anomalous gold values within samples from selected intervals assayed from two holes. Hole Y153RD has returned 2.3 g/t gold from 141.5 to 142.0 m and 19.2 g/t gold from 143.5 to 144.0 m from a strongly pyritic zone in the middle of a 263.4 m deep hole. These two intervals were within a longer mineralised uranium interval of 8.5 m from 138.0 m to 146.5 m averaging 653 ppm U3O8. The batch of 44 samples from two drill holes containing these two elevated gold values currently appears to have been the only samples reported for multi element analysis. It is presumed at this stage that no other samples were submitted for similar multielement analysis including gold, however, gold assay intervals are noted, but actual values not reported, in some post 1980 drill logs - it is presumed that none of these assay values were considered significant. The presence of significant gold values in hole Y153RD suggests that there is potential for additional gold mineralisation to be associated with the existing uranium mineralisation within the deposit. Ten samples from hole Y160RD were included in the samples assayed for gold but this hole did not contain either uranium or gold mineralisation.
Significant intervals
The data available within the reporting by AGIP was compiled into a database and significant intercepts were extracted. The compositing of the intervals was based on a cut-off grade of 250 ppm, a maximum of number of additional high-grade intervals, greater than 10,000 ppm or 1.0% U3O8, which fall short of the 2 m minimum criteria but are within a broader zone of mineralisation.
Contact:
Tel: +61 8 6555 1816
Email: murray.hill@marenicaenergy.com.au
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