Proactive investors

Governments worldwide are increasingly turning to nuclear energy as a viable and attractive energy alternative to assist in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

A persistent deficit between U308 demand and mining supply has existed for close to two decades and inventories are steadily being depleted. This international supply shortage of uranium has created a highly favourable environment for exploration.

Forte Energy holds a portfolio of strategic uranium exploration assets in West Africa and is currently progressing these assets and investigating other energy-related resource opportunities in Australia and internationally to further expand its asset base.

    * West Africa - Mauritania
    * West Africa - Guinea
    * Australia - Millenium (Queensland)
    * Australia - Maroochydore (WA)
    * Other

Mauritania

The company has been granted nine"group 4" uranium exploration licences in the Republic of Mauritania (West Africa) covering 11,895km², with more permits awaiting approval. The Company is well placed to secure additional exploration licences.

Mauritania represents an attractive opportunity for Forte Energy, with large tracts of prospective exploration ground, including historic uranium prospects located within Reguibate Massive, a part of the West African Shield.

Exploration is further enhanced by the availability of modern airborne geophysical data and modern geological maps from the "PRISM 1" project conducted by the World Bank.

Digital airborne data and processing of radiometric line data interpreted in Sweden has identified several strong uranium anomalies. Initial reconnaissance sampling of some of these anomalies has returned grades of up to 9500ppm U3O8 (0.95%). To view the results of the samples analysed during the October 2006 field visit, CLICK HERE.

In December 2007, the Company completed its first drilling programme in Mauritania, being a 4006m Reverse Circulation programme of 41 holes of between 50m to 150m. The drilling was carried out on one of its licences in the Bir En Nar area of the Zednes region of Mauritania, following up on the high sample results obtained previously by Forte Energy. Downhole radiometric logging results have now been received, indicating numerous high-grade uranium intersections, including 1.55m at 18,280ppm (1.83%) eU3O8. To view these results, CLICK HERE. Assay results will be released as they become available.

Guinea

Forte Energy holds eight Uranium Prospecting Permits in the Republic of Guinea covering 3,563 km² over three separate concession areas:

• Firawa
• Bohoduo
• Sesse

Exploration activities have been conducted in-house by Mr Bosse Gustafsson, the Company's Exploration Manager.

Click image to enlarge

Firawa

Past airborne surveys have identified a 5 km anomaly lying in an East-West direction at the Firawa Prospect. This area was previously partly explored by means of detailed ground spectrometry, EM, magnetic measurements and soil geochemistry by Davy McKee. 

Field visits by Forte Energy personnel have confirmed 25-year-old deep pits and trenches on the anomaly peaks.

An initial drilling programme was successfully completed during May 2007 and assay samples sent to Canada for analysis.  This programme comprised 29 RC drill holes for a total of 1,809 metres of drilling, targeting a highly prospective 2km section of a previously identified uranium anomaly which extends for over 5km within Forte Energy's Firawa exploration licences.

Final results were announced (CLICK HERE) on 4 September 2007, including intersections of:

• 12m @ 771ppm U₃O₈ (including 1m @ 995ppm U₃O₈),
• 10m @ 652ppm U₃O₈ (including 1m @ 1,325ppm U₃O₈), and
• 5m @ 749ppm U₃O₈ (including 1m @ 1,020ppm U₃O₈).

A follow-up 4,000m diamond drilling programme commenced in October 2008 targeting a JORC compliant resource estimate for Firawa.

Bohoduo

Previous ground work by Davy McKee targeted a 700 metre long, irregular uranium anomaly at the Bohoduo Prospect. Previous work included uncompleted diamond drilling and extensive ground work, while a recent visit confirmed the presence of uranium mineralization. Airborne geophysical data indicates a 12 km long extension of the anomaly to the east.

An initial drilling programme was carried out during May 2008 and the Company is currently awaiting assay results.

Sesse

Historical work at the Sesse Prospect was regional in nature and comprised grid geochemistry with radon gas analyses, ground magnetics and EM. Plans are being made for a reconnaissance field visit during 2008.

Millenium

The Millenium mining leases are located some 35 kilometres west-north-west of Cloncurry in Queensland, Australia. The leases cover an area approximately 3.5 kilometres long and 500 metres wide.

On 18 August 2009, the Company announced that it had entered into an Option Agreement for the sale of the project to Element Minerals Australia Pty Ltd. CLICK HERE for details of the sale agreement.

The area has old mine workings (early 1900's), as well as more recent exploration costeans and drill pad sites, which were directed to the exploitation of copper ore.

Forte Energy has received a contract geologist's report, which indicates promising levels of both copper and cobalt on the Millenium leases. To review the results of the samples analysed, CLICK HERE.

Maroochydore JV

The Maroochydore Copper Project in Western Australia is subject to a Joint Venture agreement with Aditya Birla Minerals Limited (ASX:ABY), which has a 50% interest in the Project and is the operator. The Project is located approximately 100km southeast of their Nifty Copper mine operations and  60km south southeast of the Telfer copper-gold mine

Maroochydore has a total estimated JORC compliant Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource of 41.2 million tonnes at a grade of 0.8% copper and 0.04% cobalt for 0.33 million tonnes of contained copper and 16,000 tonnes contained cobalt (at a 0.5% Cu cut-off). 

The Company's net attributable interest in this Mineral Resource is 20.6 million tonnes at 0.8% copper and 0.04% cobalt for 0.16 million tonnes of contained copper and 8,000 tonnes of contained cobalt.

In August 2008, the project operator and Joint Venture partner, Aditya Birla Minerals Ltd announced the results of a scoping study (CLICK HEREto view this announcement). While the scoping study concluded that the project is unlikely to support a financially viable mining operation in its current form, it did also highlight several areas requiring further investigation. These include metallurgy, resource size, capital costs and synergies with the Nifty Copper Mine owned by Aditya Birla Minerals Ltd.

 http://www.adityabirlaminerals.com.au/

The information on Mineral Resources for the Maroochydore project has been reproduced from the public reporting on the project's Mineral Resource's by the project operator, Aditya Birla Minerals Ltd.  This reported Mineral Resource was signed off for Aditya Birla Minerals Ltd by Mr Geoff Bullen (MAIG) who is recognised as a 'Competent Person' under the JORC Code for Reporting of Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (2004 Edition). Mr Bullen is an employee of Aditya Birla Minerals Ltd.