23 Jul 2012 07:00
Uranium Resources plc / Market: AIM / Epic: URA / Sector: Exploration
23 July 2012
Uranium Resources plc ('Uranium Resources' or 'the Company')
High-grade intercepts reported from Mtonya Uranium Exploration Programme, Tanzania
Uranium Resources plc, the AIM listed uranium exploration company, is pleased to provide a positive update on the ongoing 20,000 m drilling programme at its 100%-owned Mtonya uranium project ('Mtonya') in southwestern Tanzania.
Highlights
·; Significant drill intercepts at Mtonya confirm continuity of uranium mineralisation in Tier 1 roll-fronts at depths between 120 m and 220 m;
·; The demonstrated extent of the Tier 1 redox interface is well over 3 km where three continuous, overlapping roll-fronts have been identified;
·; Seventy wide-spaced diamond drillholes totaling approximately 16,500 m completed to date over Tier 1;
·; Twenty drillholes intersected uranium mineralisation and sixteen drillholes encountered grades over 100 ppm U3O8;
·; Significant uranium intercepts from latest drillholes include:
- 992 ppm U3O8 over 1.0 m from 145.3 m in Hole 081
- 1,869 ppm U3O8 over 0.8 m from 157.8 m in Hole 090
- 841 ppm eU3O8 over 1.3 m from 174.1 m in Hole 097
- 650 ppm eU3O8 over 1.8 m from 68.0 m in Hole 208
- 447 ppm eU3O8 over 1.0 m from 30.7 m in Hole 207
- 335 ppm eU3O8 over 1.8 m from 142.2 m in Hole 095
- 361 ppm eU3O8 over 1.3 m from 103.2 m in Hole 099
- 275 ppm eU3O8 over 3.7 m from 127.3 m in Hole 110
- 310 ppm eU3O8 over 3.2 m from 54.0 m in Hole 203
Uranium Resources Managing Director Alex Gostevskikh said, "The recent results further validate our exploration model for Mtonya where we are exploring for a significant sandstone-hosted deposit amenable to in-situ recovery. In addition to certain signature characteristics common for all roll-front deposits, such as redox interface behaviour, composition of the sedimentary rocks and geochemical patterns, we now observe mineralised roll-front geometries and tenors that are similar to sandstone-hosted uranium deposits in Wyoming's Powder River Basin and Wind River Basin where Cameco and Uranium One operate in-situ recovery facilities. These observations provide a strong reinforcement to the Company's assessment of the prospectivity of the Luwegu Basin and all of southwestern Tanzania for sandstone-hosted deposits amenable to in-situ recovery, the lowest-cost and environmentally sound method of uranium extraction.
Our drilling campaign has been progressing well ahead of schedule and under budget and we are on course to define a maiden JORC-compliant resource by Q1 2013.
We are also pleased to note the positive developments surrounding Uranium One's Nyota Project and its full support by the Tanzanian government and specifically the Ministry for Natural Resources and Tourism, which fully recognises the vital importance of sustainable development in the Ruvuma region."
The Company's drilling programme at Mtonya continues to deliver positive results, with seventy diamond drillholes totaling approximately 16,500 m completed to date at Mtonya. Three drill rigs are currently operating at the project and, as previously announced, the Board expects a fourth rig to be mobilised in August 2012.
Drilling at Mtonya is currently targeting the Tier 1 mineralisation where three continuous roll-fronts have been identified. The mineralised redox interface of Tier 1 has now been traced over a distance of 3km. The three stacked roll-fronts coalesce and overlap to produce wide and continuous areas of uranium mineralisation that remain open along strike to the south and to the north. The deeper Tier 2 and Tier 3 uranium mineralisation continue to be valid exploration targets for future drilling.
The Company is now executing in-fill drilling to continue the improvement in grades and thickness in the Tier 1 mineralisation and define a maiden JORC compliant resource by the end of Q1 2013. The Company is sampling and assaying along the entire depth of drillholes in addition to downhole gamma-logging to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the drilling data. It is noted that the initial gamma readings in their current interpretation may significantly underestimate uranium grades.
The latest drilling demonstrates the remarkable similarities of Mtonya with the roll-front deposits found in the Wind River Basin and Powder River Basin in Wyoming, USA in tenor and the roll-front widths and thicknesses.
Table 1. Significant uranium intercepts from Tier 1 drilling programme:
Hole | Longitude | Latitude | From | To | Length | eU3O8 |
DH 016 | 36.518 | -10.549 | 212.5 m | 213.6 m | 1.1 m | 138 ppm* |
DH 081 (1) | 36.528 | -10.526 | 136.3 m | 137.3 m | 1.0 m | 377 ppm* |
and | 140.3 m | 142.3 m | 2.0 m | 129 ppm* | ||
and | 143.3 m | 148.3 m | 5.0 m | 317 ppm* | ||
including | 145.3 m | 146.3 m | 1.0 m | 992 ppm* | ||
DH 082 (1) | 36.526 | -10.531 | 142.4 m | 143.4 m | 1.0 m | 294 ppm* |
and | 147.1 m | 148.0 m | 0.9 m | 237 ppm* | ||
DH 088 | 36.529 | -10.528 | 167.3 m | 168.3 m | 1.0 m | 110 ppm* |
DH 090 (1) | 36.526 | -10.530 | 123.0 m | 124.2 m | 1.2 m | 210 ppm* |
and | 151.4 m | 152.2 m | 0.8 m | 133 ppm* | ||
and | 155.2 m | 158.6 m | 3.4 m | 497 ppm* | ||
including | 157.8 m | 158.6 m | 0.8 m | 1,869 ppm* | ||
DH 092 (1) | 36.525 | -10.531 | 128.7 m | 130.7 m | 2.0 m | 375 ppm* |
including | 128.7 m | 129.7 m | 1.0 m | 645 ppm* | ||
DH 028 | 36.517 | -10.547 | 115.3 m | 116.8 m | 1.5 m | 243 ppm |
and | 135.6 m | 136.6 m | 1 m | 112 ppm | ||
DH 095 | 36.525 | -10.532 | 142.2 m | 144.0 m | 1.8 m | 335 ppm |
and | 156.8 m | 157.8 m | 1 m | 102 ppm | ||
DH 096 | 36.525 | -10.532 | 138.9 m | 139.9 m | 1 m | 264 ppm |
DH 097 | 36.526 | -10.532 | 130.7 m | 131.80 m | 1 m | 184 ppm |
and | 169.5 m | 170.9 m | 1.4 m | 128 ppm | ||
and | 172.6 m | 176.2 m | 3.6 m | 558 ppm | ||
including | 174.1 m | 175.4 m | 1.3 m | 841 ppm | ||
DH 099 | 36.525 | -10.533 | 67.1 m | 68.1 m | 1 m | 138 ppm |
and | 75.1 m | 76.3 m | 1.2 m | 109 ppm | ||
DH 099 | 36.525 | -10.533 | 101.3 m | 102.8 m | 1.5 m | 188 ppm |
and | 103.2 m | 104.5 m | 1.3 m | 361 ppm | ||
DH 110 | 36.53 | -10.524 | 122.1 m | 123.1 m | 1 m | 142 ppm |
And | 127.3 m | 131.0 m | 3.7 m | 275 ppm | ||
including | 128.3 m | 129.2 m | 0.9 m | 591 ppm | ||
DH 120 | 36.529 | -10.525 | 143.8 m | 145.3 m | 1.5 m | 141 ppm |
DH 121 | 36.53 | -10.525 | 101.8 m | 102.8 m | 1 m | 104 ppm |
and | 135.7 m | 137.3 m | 1.6 m | 229 ppm | ||
DH 199 | 36.517 | -10.547 | 96.1 m | 97.4 m | 1.3 m | 180 ppm |
DH 201 | 36.519 | -10.546 | 99.0 m | 100.0 m | 1 m | 112 ppm |
and | 128.7 m | 130.2 m | 1.5 m | 151 ppm | ||
DH 202 | 36.519 | -10.547 | 24.7 m | 26.2 m | 1.5 m | 141 ppm |
DH 203 | 36.52 | -10.545 | 29.7 m | 31.4 m | 1.7 m | 309 ppm |
and | 54.0 m | 57.2 m | 3.2 m | 310 ppm | ||
including | 54.9 m | 55.9 m | 1 m | 593 ppm | ||
and | 58.1 m | 59.9 m | 1.8 m | 180 ppm | ||
DH 206 | 36.52 | -10.544 | 29.2 m | 30.2 m | 1 m | 183 ppm |
and | 54.7 m | 57.1 m | 2.4 m | 161 ppm | ||
DH 207 | 36.521 | -10.545 | 29.6 m | 32.2 m | 2.6 m | 260 ppm |
including | 30.7 m | 31.7 m | 1 m | 447 ppm | ||
and | 65.1 m | 66.5 m | 1.4 m | 131 ppm | ||
and | 67.7 m | 68.7 m | 1 m | 120 ppm | ||
and | 77.4 m | 78.4 m | 1 m | 101 ppm | ||
DH 208 | 36.521 | -10.544 | 4.1 m | 5.2 m | 1.1 m | 160 ppm |
and | 66.4 m | 71.7 m | 5.3 m | 498 ppm | ||
including | 68.0 m | 69.8 m | 1.8 m | 650 ppm | ||
and | 75.1 m | 76.1 m | 1 m | 107 ppm | ||
and | 78.3 m | 79.5 m | 1.2 m | 118 ppm | ||
and | 89.3 m | 90.9 m | 1.6 m | 158 ppm | ||
and | 92.3 m | 93.8 m | 1.5 m | 167 ppm | ||
DH 209 | 36.521 | -10.544 | 71.2 m | 74.4 m | 3.2 m | 179 ppm |
and | 101.4 m | 102.6 m | 1.2 m | 114 ppm |
Notes to table:
(1) U3O8 figures updates for assay results from previously reported gamma-log data.
* Assays based on core samples analysed by ALS Global (Vancouver).
Only intercepts above 100 Grade Thickness are shown. Grade Thickness is the product of the grade and true thickness of intercepted mineralisation.
About Mtonya
The Company's 100% owned Mtonya project is situated about 60 km south of Nyota, a significant uranium deposit currently developed by Uranium One.
Mtonya is interpreted to be a classic sandstone-hosted roll-front deposit with remarkable similarities to the deposits of Wyoming, USA and Chu-Sarysu, Kazakhstan.
To date, Mtonya has demonstrated continuous uranium mineralisation in stacked roll-fronts in Triassic arkoses, which is expected to be amenable to in-situ recovery.
The Company's ongoing exploration programmeis expected to generate sufficient data to delineate a maiden resource at Mtonya by the end of Q1 2013.
Assaying and QA/QC
The Company is using a Mount Sopris' Matrix gamma-logging system to ensure proper instrument calibration and establish the framework for disequilibrium adjustments. The disequilibrium factor (DEF) is used to adjust the grade obtained from measurements by a gamma-ray probe ('eU3O8') and to provide rapid estimates for the uranium content in the rock.
In addition to gamma-ray downhole surveys, Uranium Resources uses the most reliable methods of quantifying uranium mineralisation by sampling half-core and subjecting the samples to the ME-MS41 analysis at the ALS Global laboratory in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
In accordance with industry standards, the assayed samples include certified standards and duplicates. Analytical results are routinely subjected to statistical review.
Competent Person's Declaration
The information in this statement that relates to Exploration Results, Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves is based on information reviewed by Alex Gostevskikh, Managing Director of Uranium Resources plc, who is a Member of the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America. Mr. Gostevskikh has sufficient experience, which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves' and as a qualified person under the AIM Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies. Mr. Gostevskikh consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
**ENDS**
For further information please visit www.uraniumresources.co.uk or contact:
Alex Gostevskikh Uranium Resources plc Tel: +255 (0) 752 968 062
Ross Warner Uranium Resources plc Tel: +44 (0) 7760 487769
Samantha Harrison RFC Ambrian Ltd (Nomad) Tel: +44 (0) 20 3440 6800
Jason Robertson Optiva Securities Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 20 3137 1904
Hugo de Salis / St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177
Felicity Edwards
About Uranium Resources
Uranium Resources plc is an AIM listed exploration and development company. It is the Company's strategy to advance its existing assets and strengthen its portfolio via opportunistic acquisition. Uranium Resources has uranium exploration licences in the highly prospective Karoo Basins in southwestern Tanzania.