Mr. Rhys Davies reports
LARAMIDE AUSTRALIAN DRILLING PROCEEDING AS PLANNED; STRONG DOWNHOLE GAMMA RADIOACTIVITY CONFIRMS MINERALISATION AT INITIAL THREE TARGETS
Laramide Resources Ltd. has provided an update on its drilling activities at the Westmoreland uranium project in Queensland, Australia.
Highlights:
- Second drill rig has completed RC (reverse circulation) drilling at Long Pocket:
- All 38 planned RC drill holes completed (for 2,139 metres (m)) at the Long Pocket prospect and on track for maiden mineral resource estimation expected by Q1 (first quarter) 2025;
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Composite downhole gamma responses over one m of up to 13,993 counts per second (cps) (including 27,319 cps) confirm shallow mineralization;
- Five diamond drill holes for 932.7 metres completed at Amphitheatre:
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Downhole gamma probe one m composites of up to one m 16,426 cps (including 20,312 cps) support extensions to mineralization;
- First assay results expected in Q3 (third quarter) 2024;
- Two rigs now at Huarabagoo and Junnagunna, with resource extension drilling under way; initial hole indicates wide mineralized intervals with peak one m gamma composites of up to 6,992 cps (including 13,350 cps);
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First hole at Huarabagoo extended because mineralization continued farther down from the initial planned hole depth of 80 m.
As reported on June 20, 2024, the exploration drilling campaign at Westmoreland this season comprises up to 12,000 metres of diamond and RC drilling across multiple targets, and is designed to potentially expand the resource at existing deposits and to identify potential satellite deposits, which might materially impact either the ultimate mine life of the project or contribute to the potential for increased scale of operations. The program is planned to test up to five targets and is off to an excellent start, with positive results already obtained from the first three targets drilled. The findings are supported by downhole gamma probe readings, geological logging and hand-held scintillometer analysis. An initial batch of samples were sent for assaying in late July and the first assay results are expected to be returned within the next couple of weeks.
Commenting on the exploration results, Laramide's vice-president of exploration, Rhys Davies, said:
"Our drill program at Westmoreland is proceeding very well and meeting expectations with the first of our exploration drill holes at Amphitheatre, returning multiple zones of mineralization (both laterally and deeper than previously known). As well, the Long Pocket infill drilling has returned both significant and shallow gamma responses, confirming continuity of mineralization. The next stage of this year's program is to prove the potential, indicated in the 2023 drill program, to both link and expand the Huarabagoo and Junnagunna deposits that were used to produce the Westmoreland 2016 PEA. We look forward to updating investors as the assay results are received over the coming weeks and months.
"The goal of this year's program is to start to quantify and qualify what we believe to be a significantly larger asset than has already been defined. Last year's drilling results have given confidence to our assumptions that the potential size of Westmoreland's uranium mineralization can become much larger."
The second drilling rig arrived on site in July, which has accelerated the progress of the total campaign, which will cover five targets. The planned programs at the Long Pocket deposit and the Amphitheatre prospect have now been completed. Thus far, 38 RC shallow resource infill holes for 2,139 m at Long Pocket and five diamond holes for a total of 932.7 m at Amphitheatre are complete. Downhole gamma probe data confirms drilling has successfully identified infill mineralization at Long Pocket. Furthermore, extensions to mineralization at Amphitheatre have also been tested.
Both rigs have subsequently moved on to resource extension drilling at the Huarabagoo and Junnagunna deposits, which are two of the three deposits included in the 2016 preliminary economic assessment (PEA). The first of these holes was recently completed at Huarabagoo. The objective of this drilling is to investigate the potential to increase the current resource estimate, which is currently defined as 51.9 million pounds (lb) contained U3O8 (measured and indicated at 18.7 million tonnes (t) at 0.09 per cent for 36 million lb U3O8, and inferred at 9.0 million t at 0.08 per cent for 15.9 million lb U3O8).
Long Pocket uranium deposit
Long Pocket is a satellite deposit seven kilometres (km) to the east of the Westmoreland project. Drilling in 2023 provided the support to model mineralization and had highlighted zones where infill drilling was required to confirm continuity of the mineralization to a high enough level of confidence required to contribute to a resource estimate. Thirty-eight infill RC drill holes, for a total of 2,139 m, were planned accordingly for 2024 and have been recently completed.
Importantly, the initial downhole gamma probe data from the 2024 drilling have confirmed shallow (depth of less than 50 m), flat-lying, continuous mineralization with one m downhole composite readings of up to 13,993 cps (see an attached table), which included individual readings of up to 27,319 cps.
Assay results from Long Pocket drilling are expected in Q3 2024 and results from the drilling this year will be incorporated into a maiden mineral resource estimation of the deposit in Q1 2025. The central part of this deposit is now well understood, with hole spacing now less than 50 m in places.
Amphitheatre uranium prospect
The Amphitheatre uranium prospect is located 16 km northeast of the Junnagunna uranium deposit and expresses as a strong 400 m by 300 m airborne radiometric anomaly. The area was subject to historical exploration in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with Laramide rediscovering its potential in the 2022 and 2023 drill programs.
Visible secondary uranium minerals, such as carnotite and torbernite, are present at surface and hosted within the Westmoreland conglomerate. Mineralization, which was identified in the 2022 and 2023 drilling programs, shows a relationship with mafic intrusive units and sharing potential genetic similarities with the nearby Westmoreland uranium deposit. Drilling in 2024 comprised five diamond holes (932.7 m), which targeted extensions to uranium mineralization both laterally and downdip, and successfully identified new zones for follow-up. Initial composite downhole gamma probe data of up to one m 16,426 cps (see an attached table), including 20,312 cps, support extensions to mineralization.
Samples have been dispatched to ALS Mt. Isa with the highest-level radioactive samples analyzed at ALS Perth.
Initial interpretation suggests that mineralization may continue to the north but under alluvial cover, which obscures any surface radiometric response. Follow-up holes to test this region are being planned for the end of the 2024 drilling campaign.
Huarabagoo uranium deposit
Although drilling at Huarabagoo has only recently commenced, the first hole has provided great encouragement, with five mineralized zones intercepted. One m composite gamma probe responses peaked at 6,922 cps from 42 to 43 m downhole, with individual peaks reading 13,350 cps. Additionally, the hole had to be extended due to the initial planned hole depth of 80 m being in a mineralized zone. Accordingly, the hole was extended to a depth of 110.7 m.
Drill core from this hole, HB24DD001, is currently being processed by Laramide's exploration team and samples will be dispatched from site within the next few days.
Qualified person/competent person
The information in this news release relating to exploration results is based on information compiled or reviewed by Rhys Davies, a contractor to the company. Mr. Davies is a member of the Australasian Institute of Geoscientists, and has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralization and type of deposit under consideration, and to the activity that he is undertaking, to qualify as a competent person as defined in the JORC 2012 edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves, and is a qualified person under the guidelines of the National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Davies consents to the inclusion in this news release of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
About Laramide Resources Ltd.
Laramide is focused on exploring and developing high-quality uranium assets in Australia and the Western United States. The company's portfolio comprises predominantly advanced uranium projects in districts with historical production or superior geological prospectivity. The assets have been carefully chosen for their size and production potential, and the two large projects are considered to be late-stage, low-technical risk projects.
The Westmoreland project in Queensland, Australia, is one of the largest uranium development assets held by a junior mining company. This project has a PEA that describes an economically robust, open-pit mining project with a mine life of 13 years. Additionally, the adjacent Murphy project in the Northern Territory of Australia is a greenfield asset that Laramide strategically acquired to control the majority of the mineralized system along the Westmoreland trend.
In the United States, Laramide's assets include the NRC licensed Crownpoint-Churchrock uranium project. An NI 43-101 PEA study completed in 2023 has described an in situ recovery (ISR) production methodology. The company also owns the La Jara Mesa project in the historic Grants mining district of New Mexico and an underground project, called La Sal, in Lisbon Valley, Utah.
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