Cauldron Energy Limited (Cauldron Energy) plans to accelerate exploration activities at its 100% owned Yanrey Project (Yanrey) in Western Australia, following confirmation the project hosts an initial exploration target of 25 to 35 million pounds of U3O8 at a grade of 300 to 900 ppm. In the company’s view, Yanrey, which is adjacent to Paladin Resources Ltd’s Manyingee deposit containing 24 million pounds of U3O8, has the potential to be a major uranium resource centre.
Tony Sage, Cauldron Energy’s executive chairman, said several new uranium exploration targets have been identified using newly acquired geophysics, coupled with a detailed analysis of past drilling.
“While it is very early on in the exploration of this area of Western Australia, we believe the area is emerging as a significant uranium province”, Sage said.
The company believes the style of mineralisation at Yanrey is similar to that of the Beverly-Four Mile and Honeymoon deposits in South Australia’s Lake Frome Basin.
“We’ve defined an initial resource in the palaeochannels at Bennet Well of just under 5 Mlbs eU3O8, but only a small area has been drilled and we can see from reconnaissance drilling where this resource will grow,” Sage added.
“Bennet Well, or any one or number of newly defined palaeochannels have the potential to be another Manyingee.”
In the area explored by Cauldron Energy, there are at least eleven favourable palaeochannels targets, including five newly discovered mineralised palaeochannels. These are all close to known uranium resources at Bennet Well and Manyingee and include potential extensions in palaeochannels leading from those resources. In addition to these targets, the company believes it has over 90 km2 of untested prime target areas which are favourable for uranium mineralisation.
Uranium exploration in the Yanrey area of Western Australia commenced in 1970’s; there has been very little work done in the last 25 years, and the intensity of exploration does not compare with that of the Lake Frome Basin in South Australia.
Cauldron Energy are in the process of getting government and heritage approvals for drilling, and the timing of the drilling will depend on whether the approvals are granted before or after the coming wet season.
Exploration Target
The Exploration Target is for sandstone hosted roll front uranium mineralisation. It is based on work which has identified over 60 kilometres of redox front in the Yanrey area with associated palaeochannels. Work carried out by Cauldron Energy has identified at least eleven palaeochannels which are highly prospective for uranium mineralisation. The Exploration Target has yet to be fully drill tested and is conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration (ie. Drilling) to define a mineral resource and it is uncertain if future exploration will result in the determination of a mineral resource.
Cauldron Energy Energy announced its maiden resource at the Bennet Well prospect in 2008. It was calculated by Hellman and Schofield from 174 air core, 8 diamond, and 8 mud rotary holes over a small area of 1.2 km2. The results returned an inferred resource of 4.8 million pounds of eU3O8 at a grade of 300 ppm eU3O8 using a cut-off grade of 150 ppm. To date, the area of the mineralisation at Bennet Well is small in comparison to that of Manyingee, and there is a good indication to suggest it has the potential to grow with additional drilling.
There are many areas around Bennet Well that contain potential uranium mineralisation, as shown by the company’s drilling program conducted in late 2008.
The Exploration Target is based on previous exploration of the project area, including:
Gravity surveys conducted by CRAE in the 1970’s, and interpretation of palaeochannels and redox boundaries.
Previous drilling by CRAE and others from the late 1960’s to early 1980’s.
Gravity surveys conducted by Cauldron Energy completed in 2006 covering the Bennet Channel and the Main Road Channel for a total of 75 km2.
Three Airborne EM surveys conducted by Cauldron Energy covering over 1,430 km2 completed in 2006, 2007 and 2009.
Over 280 aircore, mud rotary and diamond drill holes for 30,000 metres of drilling conducted by Cauldron Energy resulting in the definition of a JORC classified inferred resource at Bennet Well in 2008.