The testwork conducted at Gecko Laboratories in Swakopmund, Namibia demonstrated the potential for a heap leach operation at its uranium mine. The heap leach processing is reportedly has the potential to reduce cut-off grade, besides corresponding increase in overall uranium extraction, the company added.
It has conducted the test on samples amassed from seven diamond drill holes located across the Ongolo and MS7 alaskite deposits.
Deep Yellow managing director Greg Cochran stated that the initial test results exhibits the heap leach option at Omahola project.
"It is noteworthy to see the substantial increase in the resource base using a lower cut-off grade, which provides us with additional optionality around project development given the existing high grade areas of the resource," added Cochran.
The company has recovered 80% of uranium from the column leach process after 7 days with low overall sulphuric acid consumption of 12.4 kilogram per ton.
"We acknowledge that there is still much work to do, however this gives us the confidence to plan a trade-off study to compare the options to see which process route delivers the best economic outcome," noted Cochran.
Deep Yellow, meanwhile, added, "At a 150 ppm U3O8 cut-off grade the Omahola Project resource is 139.7 Mt at an average grade of 269 ppm for 82.9 Mlbs U3O8 compared to 48.7 Mt at 420 ppm for 45.1 Mlbs U3O8 at a 250 ppm cut-off."
