16th Mar 2009 10:15
For immediate release 16 March 2009
Niger Uranium Limited ("Niger Uranium" or the "Company")
Henkries Project Update
Niger Uranium is pleased to announce that initial results from sonic core drilling at Henkries Central, part of the Henkries Project in South Africa, confirm the presence of uranium mineralisation at shallow depths.
- All boreholes drilled and analysed to date at Henkries Central have intersected uranium mineralisation in soft sediments within 12.5 metres of surface.
- Highlights include:
HC12600N-150W: 2.52 metres @ 663 ppm U3O8 from a starting depth of 0.57 metres
HC14900-150W: 4.19 metres @ 345 ppm U3O8 from a starting depth of 8.2 metres
HC12600N-300W: 1.69 metres @ 676 ppm U3O8 from a starting depth of 0.43 metres
- Results support the lateral continuity and extent of the mineralised layer/s as originally defined by Anglo Operations Limited ("AOL") in 1979. In order to validate AOL's historical work, the Company has positioned validation boreholes along three lines varying between 800 and 1500 metres apart over the Henkries Central deposit.
- The Directors are encouraged by the continuity, grade, shallow depth and the soft 'free-dig' nature of the mineralisation which, if supported by the remainder of the drilling programme, should lend itself to a low cost mining operation.
- At Henkries North, a total of 663 metres (28 holes) has been drilled to date. Mineralised host sediments similar to those found at Henkries Central have been intersected in a number of holes. Initial resource estimation for Henkries North is expected to commence in May 2009, following the completion of all drilling and return of all assay data.
- Subject to the verification of historical Anglo American resource data from validation drilling at Henkries Central, and subsequent completion of a SAMREC Code complaint resource, the Company intends to commence preparation of a Pre-Feasibility Study, drawing from the Feasibility Study completed by AOL in 1979.
- The mineralised area at Henkries Central as defined by AOL has a strike length of 6.5 kilometres. Following the completion of drilling at Henkries Central and North, the Company plans to test the 30 kilometre south-eastward extension of the paleochannel.
Ian Stalker, Executive Director and Acting Chief Executive Officer, said:
"These results confirm the shallow and soft nature of the ore. The next step is to expand upon the historic resources and to update the historical metallurgical testwork as part of the Pre-Feasibility Study which is planned to commence in May".
Verification Drilling
360 metres of drilling for 23 boreholes is nearing completion, with results of the first 12 boreholes reported in this announcement. These boreholes were positioned at 100 and 150 metre intervals along three lines perpendicular to the long axis of the deposit. Results for the remaining holes are expected to be available by early April 2009. All boreholes were drilled vertically. The Sonic drilling method was employed by Boart Longyear, providing high-quality core of 104 mm in diameter. Half-core samples were submitted to SGS Lakefield in Johannesburg for preparation and analysis of U3O8 by XRF. Industry-standard quality control measures were taken and data found to be acceptable. All borehole collar positions are provided at the end of this document.
|
Fence Line |
BH ID |
From (m) |
To (m) |
Thickness (m) |
XRF U3O8 (ppm) (Note 1) |
|
1 |
HC14900N-150E |
6.08 |
12.16 |
6.08 |
139 |
|
|
HC14900N-50E |
8.74 |
10.64 |
1.90 |
93 |
|
|
HC14900N-50W |
5.30 |
7.60 |
2.30 |
341 |
|
|
HC14900N-150W |
8.2 |
12.39 |
4.19 |
345 |
|
|
HC14900N-300W |
0 |
5.46 |
5.46 |
77 |
|
|
HC14900N-500W |
1.52 |
5.00 |
3.48 |
80 |
|
2 |
HC13400N-100E |
1.45 |
2.2 |
0.75 |
587 |
|
|
HC13400N-100W |
0.68 |
1.75 |
1.07 |
130 |
|
3 |
HC12600N-50W |
1.52 |
2.2 |
0.68 |
89 |
|
|
HC12600N-150W |
0.57 |
3.09 |
2.52 |
663 |
|
|
HC12600N-300W |
0.43 |
2.12 |
1.69 |
676 |
|
|
HC12600N-400W |
2.4 |
3.76 |
1.36 |
332 |
Note 1: Results of analyses for all boreholes drilled along three fence lines across Henkries Central. Grades were calculated by applying a minimum cut-off of 0.5 metre at 50 ppm U3O8.
Geology and uranium mineralisation
Mineralisation is mostly contained within a broad palaeo channel and can be described as a series of sub-horizontal layers that vary in thickness between 0.5 and 6 metres. The mineralised portion of the palaeochannel defined by AOL has a strike length of 6.5 kilometres with an average width of approximately 1,200 metres (using a 50 ppm U3O8 cut-off grade). Uranium mineralisation is generally restricted to three main lithologies: carbonaceous earth, clay, and diatomaceous earth. All lithologies are soft and occur from surface to a maximum depth of 15 metres depth. Overburden is a mixture of aeolian and fluvial sand. AOL estimated an average stripping ratio of 2.35:1 (waste thickness:ore thickness).
Resource Estimation
In 1979, AOL estimated a 'diluted reserve' for Henkries Central, of 3.72 million lbs U3O8, contained in 4.18 million tonnes of ore grading 405 ppm U3O8, all within 15 metres of surface, using a 100 ppm U3O8 cut-off grade. A 'diluted reserve' is not a SAMREC compliant term, and does not indicate that the deposit would necessarily be classified as a reserve or a resource by today's SAMREC reporting standards. Based upon comparison with similar uranium projects, Niger Uranium believes a cut-off grade lower than the 100 ppm used by AOL could be supported.
SRK Johannesburg has commenced modelling of the deposit using this historic data and once the results of all 23 verification holes are received an assessment will be made of the accuracy of the AOL drilling database. Assuming that AOL's database can be verified, the Company plans to prepare a maiden SAMREC compliant resource statement for Henkries Central.
Focus will then shift to defining a SAMREC compliant resource at Henkries North where AOL reported intersections ranging from 'no significant intersection' to a maximum of 8.5 metres grading 802 ppm U3O8 although this historic reported figure and has not yet been verified by Niger Uranium . However, AOL did not complete a resource estimate for Henkries North due to poor market conditions that resulted in closure of the project in late 1979. The Henkries North area therefore presents potential resource upside for the project. The Company has to date completed 663 metres of drilling (for 28 boreholes) at Henkries North, on a 200-by-200 metre grid. Intersections up to 9.5 metres thick of host lithologies similar to those found at Henkries Central have been observed in several bore holes. A portable XRF unit indicates that uranium mineralisation of encouraging grades and thicknesses is present in several holes. Data from the portable XRF cannot be reported as it is not an acceptable means of chemical analysis under the SAMREC code. Samples from Henkries North core will be sent to SGS Lakefield for analysis during March and resource estimation will commence in May 2009 for this area.
Share Purchase Agreement and Section 11 transfer
As previously announced in September 2008, Niger Uranium signed a share purchase agreement for the acquisition of 100 per cent of URU Henkries Limited from Aardvark Uranium Limited. On completion of the acquisition Niger Uranium will have a 74 percent interest in Namakwa Uranium (Proprietary) Limited, the holding company of the prospecting right PR 885/2007 which includes the Henkries uranium project. The remaining 26 percent of Namakwa Uranium will continue to be held by BEE partner, Gilstra Exploration cc. AOL has a 10 per cent. free-carry interest in the Henkries Project.
An application was submitted to the Department of Minerals and Energy on 31 October 2008 for the approval of the transfer to URU Henkries, of the Namakwa shareholding as required by Section 11 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (MPRDA).
Qualified Person
The South African Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (the 'SAMREC Code') sets out minimum standards, recommendations and guidelines for Public Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves in South Africa. The information contained in this announcement has been presented in accordance with the SAMREC Code.
Mr. Richard Wadley (Pr.Sci.Nat), Principal Consultant at MSA Geoservices, is the qualified person responsible for Niger Uranium and has supervised Mr Mike Venter (Pr.Sci.Nat), Regional Consulting Geologist at MSA Geoservices, who verified the information contained in this announcement. Mr. Venter has visited the project site to review drilling, sampling and other aspects of the work relevant to this announcement and found all aspects to be acceptable under the requirements of the SAMREC Code.
Borehole collar positions
All borehole collar positions are set out in the table below:
|
Fence line |
Borehole Identification ("BHID") |
Easting (m) |
Northing (m) |
Elevation (m) |
Depth (m) |
|
1 |
HC14900N-150E |
219168 |
6792131 |
397 |
17.55 |
|
|
HC14900N-500W |
218683 |
6791698 |
397 |
17.45 |
|
|
HC14900N-50E |
219093 |
6792064 |
397 |
17.45 |
|
|
HC14900N-50W |
219019 |
6791998 |
397 |
17.55 |
|
|
HC14900N-150W |
218944 |
6791931 |
399 |
20.40 |
|
|
HC14900N-300W |
218832 |
6791831 |
396 |
18.00 |
|
2 |
HC12600N-50W |
220550 |
6790280 |
421 |
11.35 |
|
|
HC12600N-150W |
220475 |
6790213 |
420 |
14.60 |
|
|
HC12600N-300W |
220363 |
6790114 |
420 |
14.30 |
|
|
HC12600N-400W |
220213 |
6789980 |
422 |
17.65 |
|
3 |
HC13400N-100E |
220129 |
6790977 |
411 |
11.35 |
|
|
HC13400N-100W |
219978 |
6790844 |
410 |
11.25 |
Note 1: All boreholes positions were surveyed by a qualified land surveyor to within 0.1 metre accuracy. All are given as metres UTM zone 34 South. All holes were drilled vertically.
Contacts:
Niger Uranium Limited
Ian Stalker, Executive Director and CEO Tel: +27 (0) 11 269-4900
Beaumont Cornish Limited Tel: +44 (0) 207 628 3396
Michael Cornish
FD
Ben Brewerton/Edward Westropp Tel: +44 (0) 20 7831 3113
Glossary
Aeolian Windblown
Anglo Operations A subsidiary of Anglo American South Africa.
Limited
Assay To determine the concentration of the economic commodity, using an analytical
technique such as X-ray fluorescence (XRF).
carbonaceous earth A soft peat-like material comprised mostly of organic material.
Cut-off grade The minimum grade intersection used for reporting and resource estimation. The
cut-off grade is normally chosen with consideration of the operating cost per tonne
of ore.
diatomaceous earth A sediment formed in freshwater lakes comprised mostly of fossilised remains
of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. In this case the diatomaceous earth also
contains some clay and silt.
Fluvial sand Sand deposited in a river or stream.
Free-dig Overburden and ore that is sufficiently soft that it can be excavated without any
blasting. Normally excavators or bull-dozers are used to dig the material.
Grade The concentration of the economic commodity within the ore, in this case
expressed as parts per million (ppm).
Lbs Pounds, an imperial unit of mass: 1 lb is equal to 0.454 kilograms.
Mineralisation The concentration of minerals in a body of rock.
Palaeochannel A 'fossil' or inactive drainage channel containing sediments that were deposited
under a previously active sedimentary environment.
ppm Parts per million, equal to gram per tonne. 1 ppm = 1 gram per (metric) tonne.
Pre-feasibility study An assessment of the economic viability of a potential mining project to a
reasonable to high level of confidence, normally preceding a Definitive Feasibility
Study. The study must consider all aspects of the project, including mine and
processing plant design, waste disposal, environmental management and permitting.
Recovery In this case meaning metallurgical recovery which is the proportion of the uranium
that can be extracted by metallurgical processing of the ore, expressed as a
percentage.
Resource The term 'Mineral Resource' covers the in-situ mineralisation which has been
identified and estimated through exploration/assessment and sampling; and from
which Mineral Reserves may be derived by the application of technical, economic,
legal, environmental, social, marketing, governmental and political factors.
Stripping ratio The ratio between the volume of tonnage of waste and ore that must be removed in
an open pit. A lower stripping ratio means that less waste has to be removed to
expose the ore for mining and generally results in a lower operating cost. For example
a ratio of 10:1 means that the volume of waste (overburden) that must be removed
is ten times the volume of the ore beneath.
SAMREC South Africa's internationally accepted code for the reporting of Mineral Resources
and Mineral Reserves as prepared by the SAMREC committee under the auspices of
the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Historical estimates may be
accurate but until verified under the current code, are termed non-code compliant or
non-compliant.
Sonic Drilling A drilling method that utilises high frequency mechanical vibrations to advance
through unconsolidated material and enable the collection of continuous core
samples.
Strike length In this case the length of the long axis of the deposit, controlled by the orientation of
the paleochannel.
U3O8 Triuranium octaoxide. 1 ppm U308 = 0.848 ppm U.
X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is the emission of characteristic "secondary" (or fluorescent) X-rays from a material
that has been excited by bombarding with high-energy X-rays or gamma rays. The
phenomenon is widely used for elemental analysis and chemical analysis.
Forward Looking Statements:
This press release contains statements that are "forward-looking". Generally, the words "expect," "intend," "estimate," "will" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. By their very nature, forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or that of our industry, to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any of our forward-looking statements. Statements in this press release regarding the Company's business or proposed business, which are not historical facts, are "forward looking" statements that involve risks and uncertainties, such as estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.
ENDS
Related Shares:
Uru Metals