Mining

Eclipse Metals’ data review unveils uranium-vanadium-strontium areas at Ngalia Basin project

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By Imelda Cotton - 
Eclipse Metals ASX EPM uranium vanadium strontium Ngalia Basin Northern Territory Australia

Historical data has highlighted several untested high-priority drill targets within Eclipse’s NT project.

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Eclipse Metals (ASX: EPM) reports an ongoing evaluation and desktop review of historic drilling assays has identified shallow uranium-vanadium-strontium mineralisation at the Ngalia Basin project in the Northern Territory.

Interpretation of data from 149 rotary air blast holes for 1,243m of drilling as well as a previous airborne geophysical survey has highlighted several untested high-priority drill targets within the project which have geophysical signatures similar to other uranium deposits.

The area has historically yielded near-surface uranium, vanadium and strontium mineralisation hosted in green calcareous sand up to 3m thick and beneath a surface calcrete layer up to 5m thick with carnotite as the principal uranium-vanadium mineral.

Historic results showed the mineralised envelopes of uranium-vanadium-strontium vary in thickness up to 3m with best intersections including 1.5m at 110 parts per million vanadium and 4.14% strontium from 8.5m; 1m at 1.93% strontium from 2.5m; 1m at 120ppm vanadium and 4.8% strontium from 2m; and 1m at 230ppm uranium and 0.23% strontium from 4m.

Additional mineralisation

Eclipse executive chairman Carl Popal said the highly-anomalous, near-surface results indicate “excellent potential” for the project to host additional uranium-vanadium and strontium mineralisation.

“This area shows all the geological hallmarks for discovery of blind mineralisation,” he said.

“The size of the untested mineralised zone is very extensive with excellent potential to delineate further mineralisation through shallow drilling.”

Uranium region

Eclipse’s Ngalia Basin project comprises two granted exploration licences and eight exploration licence applications over a combined area of approximately 7,550sq km of an extensive uranium mineralised region near Alice Springs, NT.

The area under review spans 790sq km and is proximal to Energy Metals’ (ASX: EME) Cappers project (hosting 3,200 tonnes at 145ppm uranium) and Malawiri uranium project about 6.6km to the north-east.

Mr Popal said the company is progressing its negotiations with the Central Land Council to facilitate an exploration agreement with traditional owners to commence exploration within the licenced area.