A-Cap Resources (ASX: ACB) has a position as Botswana's preeminent uranium exploration company, progressing the Letlhakane Uranium Project through Environmental Impact Assessment and Bankable Feasibility Study - both due for completion in 2010.
The company is continuing resource expansion exploration programs at Letlhakane and Serule. A-Cap is aiming to become Botswana’s first uranium producer.
A-Cap Resources discovers new zone of secondary uranium mineralisation at Letlhakane Project
Melbourne-based explorer A-Cap Resources has discovered a new zone of near surface secondary uranium mineralisation to the west of the Gorgon Prospect during ongoing exploration at the Letlhakane Uranium project in Western Australia.
During the morning trade, shares in the company jumped 3c, or 8.1%, to 40c.
The new zone has now been defined in a 150m wide by 500m long northwest trending corridor which remains open to the east and the west.
Uranium mineralisation starts within 1 metre of the surface and down to a depth of 8 metres.
Although no assay results are yet available trenching and visual inspection of hollow auger core has confirmed the presence of carnotite in calcretes and fine-grained, strongly weathered sedimentary rock of the Karoo Supergroup.
A-Cap Managing Director Andrew Tunks said the company was delighted with the discovery of this new zone and believes it highlighted the potential for continued growth of the Resource base through targeted exploration.
“This is a promising discovery for us as the near-surface, secondary mineralisation is our most profitable ore due to its high-grades and excellent metallurgical characteristics," Mr Tunks said.
"It is an exciting time for A-Cap as we are progressing through the metallurgical testwork program that forms the backbone of the current feasibility study that is aiming for production of 1,000 tpa U3O8, with additional studies about to commence on the primary ore."
This discovery is potentially important as the 2008 SRK Scoping Study on the Letlhakane Uranium Project showed that this style of mineralisation has the highest grades, the best metallurgical recoveries and is close to surface making it the project’s most attractive oretype.
A Hollow Auger drill program is underway to define the extent of the new zone and to provide material for assay so the grades can be quantified. These holes are not probed with the downhole radiometric logger as disequilibrium issues preclude accurate estimate of the grade by this method in the near surface environment.
A-Cap used the hollow auger drilling technique to estimate the grade of the Mokobaesi secondary resource which currently stands at 11.3Mt @ 199ppm for 4.9Mlbs of U3O8. The Mokobaesi Resource is part of the Global Mineral Resource of 463Mt @ 154ppm for 157Mlbs U3O8.
As part of the Company’s ongoing Investor Relations program it has recently hosted a booth at the Annual Mining Conference in South Africa.
Following the Indaba Conference the Company will be hosting field visit for several mining analysts and stockbroking firms to its main uranium exploration projects in Botswana.
