GTI Resources fast tracks Utah uranium drilling program after market fundamentals improve

GTI Resources (ASX: GTR) will begin its maiden drilling program in mid-June at its uranium/vanadium Jeffrey project in Utah, encouraged by recent price increases and the US government’s policy to source more uranium domestically.

The company is now in a position to finance that drilling after almost $1.17 million worth of options were exercised at 3c. The option holders have also elected to provide further funds to the company.

Uranium spot prices rose 41% over six weeks beginning April.

The drilling was fast tracked after positive results from a survey of 26 historical drill holes.

The Jeffrey ground is one of several projects held in Utah by the Perth-based junior in what it describes as the “prolific” Colorado Plateau uranium province.

That region contains hundreds of abandoned uranium mines that went out of business when uranium prices collapsed at the beginning of the 1980s.

Interpretation of the surveys of the holes at Jeffrey confirmed continuity of mineralisation beyond outcrop and underground exposures.

GTI had previously confirmed the presence of high grade uranium and vanadium, using data from holes drilled in the 1970s to generate “low cost, high value” assay information.

Earlier holes not deep enough

The planned drill program will involve up to 10 shallow holes.

GTI has found that many of the historical drill holes at Jeffrey were not abandoned after work was carried out in the late 1970s, meaning that a number of them have filled in with sediment and alluvial wash.

While the 26 logged holes cover only a small portion of total historic drilling at Jeffrey, they have provided information on the mineralisation under cover.

“Upon logging it was noticed that a number of drill holes were not deep enough, or only reached the upper extent of the localised mineralised horizon,” the company said.

Nine of the 26 holes returned gamma signatures consistent with uranium mineralisation, including three that intercepted mineralisation strong enough for interpretation of uranium oxide grades.

Samples from one prospect exceeded US laboratory radiation ceiling

In addition, the Company conducted sampling and mapping work on outcrop and underground workings at the nearby prospective Rats Nest project.

These samples were sent to a laboratory in Reno, Nevada, for assay.

However, some of the samples emitted radiation at levels that exceeded the laboratory’s safe handling limits and were subsequently sent to their facility in Vancouver, Canada for assay.

The assay results for the Rats Nest samples are expected to be available in the coming weeks, GTI said.