C29 Metals has announced its latest move in the minerals market with the signing of a binding share sale and purchase agreement to acquire complete ownership of the Ulytau Uranium Project in Kazakhstan.
The Ulytau Project, strategically located near Lake Balkhash in south Kazakhstan, emerges as a promising site for substantial uranium development. Historical geological studies have hinted at significant uranium deposits awaiting extraction.
The project, positioned a mere 15 kilometers south of the historic BotaBurum mine, has been under the radar of geological surveying efforts since as early as 1957. Initial assessments reveal a non-JORC foreign estimate indicating 9.85 mn pounds of uranium at an impressive concentration of 2,790 parts per mn (ppm).
What's more, multiple non-JORC foreign drill intersects have unveiled uranium concentrations surpassing 6,000 ppm U308 (triuranium octoxide) from depths as shallow as 3 meters below the surface. This finding suggests substantial potential for expansion beyond the current estimates, with mineralization seemingly open in various directions, as outlined in an independent geology report.
In light of these promising prospects, C29 Metals has wasted no time in unveiling its plans for the Ulytau Uranium Project. Immediate actions will involve initiating ground geological works, leveraging the company's established in-country network. These initial endeavors will prioritize tasks such as locating historic drill collars, conducting field mapping exercises, and translating technical documents and data to construct a comprehensive geological database.
Furthermore, C29 Metals aims to kickstart initial drilling programs to validate historical data and explore previously underexplored areas within the project's tenement. These activities are scheduled to commence in the third quarter (Q3) of the calendar year 2024, pending necessary approvals.
To bolster these developments, C29 Metals has successfully secured firm commitments for a placement to raise $3mn before costs. The fundraising efforts will be carried out in two tranches, providing the financial support required to drive forward the Ulytau Uranium Project.
David Lees, the non-executive chairman of C29 Metals, expressed his enthusiasm regarding the acquisition.
"We are very excited to have secured a high-grade uranium project of this quality at a time where the uranium industry is experiencing unprecedented supply pressure, with spot prices at a 16-year high. The Ulytau Uranium Project represents a substantial opportunity for the company, with the project holding a non-JORC high-grade foreign estimate. Over 2024, we aim to create shareholder value as we execute on a systematic exploration program, with drilling expected to commence in Q3 CY2023, dependent on approvals," David Lees noted.
The discovery at Ulytau forms part of the broader Bota-Burum uranium mineralization district, where the mineralized section extends along the eastern contact of the Dzhusandalinsky granitoid massif. This contact lies approximately 1 km east, bordered by effusive-sedimentary formations from the Lower-Middle Devonian age. Above ground, the massif presents as leucocratic (alaskite) granites belonging to the Upper Devonian Bota-Burum intrusive complex, containing sizable remnant xenoliths host rocks, ranging from 100m to 1500m in diameter.
Within the Ulytau mineralization, two-echelon zones are discerned - Southern and Northern - confined to the intersection of tectonic faults of the Dzhusandala and Dyke fault zones. Each zone comprises a sequence of individual mineralization areas characterized by intricate stockwork. These mineralized areas manifest as steeply dipping lenses, delimited by tectonic faults and dyke contacts within albitization zones. The mineralization is widespread, spanning from the surface down to depths of 660 m. Individual mineralized areas vary in thickness from 0.5m to 30m–40 m, with a strike and dip length ranging from 80m to 350m. Uranium content fluctuates between 0.03% to 1.4%, with an average of 0.239% for the deposit. Uranium mineralization manifests in the form of metasomatic segregations within the granite albitization zones.
While the southern portion of the field, as well as the areas east and west of known mineralization, remain underexplored, they hold significant potential for further exploration and discovery.
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