Canadian uranium explorer Macusani Yellowcake said that drilling from the ongoing exploration program at the Chilcuno zone on the Kihitian uranium property in Peru has encountered shallow, high-grade uranium intersections.
The intersections ranged from 4.0m to 7.0m with weighted average grades ranging from 0.068% U3O8 (1.357lbs/ton) up to 0.229% U3O8 (4.583lbs/ton).
The drilling program was designed to test for continuity and grade of the uranium mineralization within a shallow, sub-horizontal, 5m to 25m thick horizon (A level) of rhyollitic flows and minor pyroclastic sequences hosting ‘mantos’, fracture-filling, vertical joints and disseminated autunite, meta-autunite and weeksite.
A similar but generally thicker horizon (B level) occurs approximately 75m-100m lower stratigraphically, which has been intercepted to date in two boreholes, one with very high-grade U mineralization.
The shallow ‘manto’ mineralization, which is usually sub-horizontal, was discovered and initially explored through adits by IPEN in early 1980’s and it usually dips between horizontal to 10-12 degrees.
The present drilling at Kihitian is part of a 20 platform plan.
The three boreholes reported were drilled on platforms 3, 8 and 9, located south of the adits dug by IPEN in 1980’s along a radiometric anomaly that runs on a southwest-northeast trend.
Macusani Yellowcake CEO Peter Hooper said that these results appear to be an extension of the shallow, upper high grade zone originally tested with adit development and the current drilling program will also continue to test two deeper zones.