Drilling is directed at the Mt Eclipse sandstone that hosts the 30 million pound Bigrlyi deposit (Energy Metals/Paladin). A gravity survey carried out in 2009 is assisting Thundelarra to target the Mt Eclipse sandstone adjacent to major basement thrusts and faults that are associated with Bigrlyi and other known uranium occurrences in the basin.
The program is said to be the first drilling carried out by Thundelarra at Ngalia and the first drilling carried out by anyone in the central basin since the introduction of the abolished three mines policy in 1984. The early 1980’s drilling intersected uranium mineralisation with grades of up to 5,000 ppm U3O8 reported from Thundelarra’s tenements. However, most of the company’s tenure remains completely untested.
The Ngalia drilling program is part of a major escalation in exploration activity being implemented by Thundelarra in 2010. The 35,000 drill mt planned for Thundelarra’s northern territory uranium projects in 2010 represents a very substantial step-up from the 5,000mt drilled in 2009. The company is well positioned to pursue development of its high quality uranium projects with over $25m cash on hand at the end of last quarter.
