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The projects
Uranium Australia's portfolio includes eleven projects located in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
Northern Territory The Batchelor project (U, Au, Pb-Cu-Ni-Co, and Mg) is located near the town of Batchelor. It covers prospective Lower Proterozoic sedimentary rocks that hosted economic deposits of uranium, copper, zinc, lead and gold, such as Rum Jungle. The Rum Jungle uranium mines operated from 1954 to 1971 and produced 3,530 tonnes of uranium oxide from 863,000 tonnes of ore grading between 0.27% and 0.43%. Previous exploration has delineated a number of uranium, gold, and polymetallic targets. Uranium Australia will conduct exploration of the areas prospective for unconformity-type uranium mineralisation, namely, within airborne radiometric anomalies along the strike from the Rum Jungle uranium mine further to the east and south-east. The Green Alligator Project (U, Au, Pb-Cu-Ni-Co, and Mg) is located immediately to the east and south of the Batchelor Project. It extends the prospective rock horizons of the Batchelor Project several dozen kilometres to the east and northeast, creating a near continuous tenement package with unconformity-style uranium potential.
The Hercules project (U and Au) is situated in the Gascoyne Province approximately 200 km east of Carnarvon, northern Western Australia. The tenements lie near the southern margin of the lower Proterozoic basin which formed along the northern margin of the Archaean Yilgarn Craton. The host rocks are Lower Proterozoic metasedimentary rocks of the Morrissey Metamorphics, and felsic intrusive rocks. The most prospective uranium areas occur at the base of the Morrissey Suite, or the “Mooloo Formation”. Historic exploration work included drilling, geophysical surveys (EM, radiometry, and magnetics), soil and rock sampling, downhole radiometry and radon detection in the central part of the prospect. Laboratory analysis of surface samples have revealed a zone of anomalous uranium up to 25% near the contact with the overlying younger Canarnvon Basin. The Tank Well project (U, Cu, and Au) is situated directly north of the Hercules Project in the Gascoyne province, northern Western Australia. The project area overlies early Proterozoic granitoid rocks which have been intruded by dolerite dykes and sills of the Proterozoic Bangemall Group. Numerous radiometric anomalies coincident with interpreted palaeochannels have been defined by airborne surveys. The anomalies are interpreted to exceed 65 ppm over large areas. The size of the largest anomaly is approximately 5 x 1.5 km. It is considered that the area is prospective for sandstone hosted uranium mineralisation with the source of the uranium thought to be the underlying Proterozoic gneisses and granites which have elevated uranium content. Potential also exists for sandstone (roll front) and unconformity-type uranium mineralisation. The main unit of interest is a preserved palaeocalcrete which forms part of a river terrace along the banks of the Willaraddie Creek. The Yalinga Bore project (U) is located near the gold mining centre of Youanmi, 450 km north-east of Perth in the Yilgarn Craton, Southern Cross Province, Western Australia. Host rocks are predominantly granitoid and derived sediments situated between two typical Yilgarn Craton regional scale calcrete and saline drainage and palaeodrainage systems northwest and upstream of Lake Noondie and southwest of the Wyemandoo - Sandy Well – Stag Well drainage systems. Good sources of vanadium exist in nearby basement greenstone sequences to induce the formation of carnotite uranium ore within calcrete. Uranium Australia will be exploring this project for surficial (calcrete), roll front and unconformity-type uranium mineralisation. The Melrose project (Au, Ni, and U) is located 400km north of Kalgoorlie and comprises tenements covering 1,417km2. Uraniferous granitic basement rocks in the central-northern Yilgarn Craton are considered to be a good source for uranium mobilised and enriched within younger overlying rocks. Buried paleochannels within the prospect area are considered as prospective hosts for uranium mineralisation, both for roll-front sandstone hosted as well as valley-fill, calcrete hosted. The Salt Dam project (U) is located 35 km north-north west of the gold mining centre of Menzies in the Eastern Goldfields, Western Australia. The Company considers this area to be prospective for uranium mineralisation due to elevated levels of uranium in saline lake sediments and evaporates. Uranium anomalism is most likely sourced from adjacent granitoid areas and deposited in saline lake sediments, lake margins and feeder drainages. Valley-fill calcretes are considered to be prospective targets for near-surface uranium mineralisation. The Mt Elephant project (Cu, Au, and U) is located in the Ashburton Basin, 36 km southwest of Paraburdoo, and covers a 12 kilometre thick succession of low metamorphic grade sedimentary rocks of the Wyloo Group. The project area contains several sandstone uranium, volcanogenic base metal and gold targets and by modern standards is under explored. Soil sampling and test drilling indicated elevated values of gold and copper over several traverses. Uranium Australia will focus on drilling exploration of the polymetallic targets and extensive ground magnetic survey, comprehensive surface sampling and test drilling in the areas prospective for uranium mineralisation. The Lohengrin project (U, Cu, Au, and Fe) is situated in the Ashburton Basin, south east of Paraburdoo, Western Australia. The tenements cover favourable geological environments similar to those hosting unconformity-related uranium deposits at Jabiluka in the Northern Territory. Uranium Australia is targeting unconformity-related uranium mineralisation within and at the base of the sedimentary sequence localised at faults and basement highs within Middle Proterozoic and Lower Proterozoic units. The Maitland project (U, Au) is located 60 km north west of the Melrose project at the northern end of the Archaean Norseman-Wiluna greenstone belt, Eastern Goldfields, Western Australia. This region is a globally significant gold and nickel producing area, as well as a potential uranium producing region. Uranium Australia is currently preparing an exploration program covering sections of the 160 km2 area of the project. The exploration ground is prospective for surficial type uranium mineralisation within the paleochannels analogical to the structures hosting the Centipede, Lake Way, and Lake Maitland uranium deposits. Published sources list the Lake Maitland calcrete uranium deposit as containing an Inferred and Indicated resources around 7,860 tonnes of uranium oxide with an average grade of 0.05% U3O8. The Darlot East project is located at the southern end of the NNW striking Yandal Greenstone Belt. The lithologies in this region comprise a series of dolerites and basalts intercalated with felsic volcano-sedimentary units and intruded by large granite plutons to the east and west and by cross-cutting ultramafic and mafic bodies. The project is considered to have potential for similar styles of mineralisation as the Maitland project, related to adjacent palaeorivers which drained off uraniferous granites. |
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