Elevate Uranium releases maiden resource estimate for Koppies project
Scout drilling uncovered up to 758ppm uranium from surface at Namib IV.
Elevate Uranium (ASX: EL8) has released a maiden inferred mineral resource estimate of 20.3 million pounds uranium equivalent for its Koppies project in Namibia.
The estimate was the outcome of an exploration strategy focused on the detection and delineation of uranium mineralisation outside of the project’s palaeochannels.
This approach differs from the conventional exploration strategy for palaeochannel-hosted uranium deposits which assumes mineralisation only occurs within the confines of a palaeochannel.
The resource estimate takes Elevate’s total uranium resources to 115Mlb.
Paleochannel mineralisation
A drilling program earlier this year confirmed mineralisation beneath and on the banks of the palaeochannels at Koppies and led Elevate to drill deeper and beyond the palaeochannel extents.
This change in approach resulted in the discovery of a significant flat-lying body of uranium mineralisation centred 1.6 kilometres east of Koppies I which currently extends over 1km in a northeast-southwest direction beyond the resource envelope.
The basement-hosted discovery has not been included in the current resource estimate as further drilling will be required to fully define its extent.
Additional mineralisation may also be present underneath currently-defined palaeochannels, requiring additional deeper holes to overlap the holes previously drilled.
Significant target
Elevate managing director Murray Hill said the recognition of this new type of target is significant as it cannot be detected by electromagnetic surveys and requires a different exploration approach.
“We have now adapted our exploration techniques by extending the target areas outside of the palaeochannels, which will have the potential to increase the Koppies mineralised areas,” he said.
“We are excited about the possibility of further extensions to the , both below and outside of the known palaeochannels.”
Project location
Koppies is a small portion of the area controlled by Elevate in the prolific Namib area within the Southern Erongo region of central-western Namibia.
It is located near to Deep Yellow’s (ASX: DYL) Tumas 1 East uranium deposit and highlights considerable opportunities for Elevate to eventually increase its mineralisation across the greater Namib area.