Orpheus Uranium Begins Inaugural Drilling at Frome Project in SA

Orpheus Uranium (ASX: ORP) has started its inaugural drilling program at the Frome Project in South Australia, with the field team and rotary mud rig now on site.

The campaign comprises up to 35 drill holes for about 5,750 metres to test targets across a 12km-long interpreted uranium-bearing palaeochannel system at the Erudina prospect.

Initial drilling will assess the broader stratigraphic, lithological, and oxidation-reduction framework before Orpheus uses the results to calibrate its modelling and refine priorities for the remainder of the program.

Results will feed into the company’s evolving geological model, and support staged evaluation towards a potential Exploration Target and possible mineral resource estimate (MRE).

The work follows technical review, reinterpretation of historical data, land access engagement, heritage clearance, and exploration planning across the Frome project.

Early Holes Calibrate Model

The first six to eight drill holes will test Orpheus’ quasi-regional interpretation of the area, providing information to sharpen the locations selected for subsequent drilling.

Later holes will target refined areas within the interpreted palaeochannel system, with the program able to be adjusted or extended as results are received.

“The commencement of drilling at the Frome project will be a major step for the Orpheus team,” managing director Clinton Dubieniecki said.

“We have invested significant effort to reach this point, and I’m excited to finally test both the Erudina prospect—a very compelling uranium target—and the geological model we have developed.”

Historical Erudina Results

Historical drilling at Erudina recorded uranium anomalism above 100ppm equivalent uranium oxide across 64 drill holes within a broad exploration target area.

Orpheus’ reinterpretation of the historical drilling, stratigraphy, and palaeochannel architecture has identified multiple laterally and vertically developed oxidation-reduction boundaries that may represent stacked uranium mineralising positions.

The program is intended to confirm and refine those earlier uranium results, improve understanding of the palaeochannel architecture, and test continuity along interpreted mineralised trends.

The revised interpretation provides a broader and more coherent target framework than previously recognised across the Erudina Prospect.

Prospective Regional Geology

Erudina is one of several uranium prospects within Orpheus’ Frome tenure in the Callabonna Sub-Basin, where the target geology is hosted in the Eyre Formation.

The Callabonna Sub-Basin contains several sediment-hosted uranium deposits, including Four Mile, Honeymoon and Goulds Dam, which are also hosted within the Eyre Formation.

Boss Energy (ASX: BOE) reports a combined Indicated and Inferred resource of 33.1 million pounds of uranium oxide at Goulds Dam, with an average grade of 388ppm.

Orpheus considers Erudina’s geological similarities with nearby uranium systems supportive of the prospectivity of the broader Frome project.

Data from the campaign will guide future exploration across Erudina and the wider tenure as Orpheus progressively assesses whether the target framework can support an Exploration Target and possible MRE.