Projects
Mtonya
Mtonya is located 100 km east of the district capital of Songea. The project covers 7 leases, which span over the Usagaran orogenic basement to the west and the Karoo Luwegu Basin to the east. Redox style uraniferous mineralisation in the Karoo sandstone units is thought to have originated from felsic intrusions of the Usagaran Orogen.
Eight primary targets have been identified within the licence area, namely, the Henri, Para, Tahbilk, Galway, Moysten, Grandfather, Dalwood, and Rufus prospects. See map below:
Click to enlarge picture
Exploration
The 2008 drilling programme continued the evaluation of prospects along the Mtonya Corridor in particular Henri, Grandfather, Rufus, and Para extended.
171 reverse circulation holes were drilled totalling 10,670m. Infill and extension drilling at known prospects such as Moysten, Para, Tahbilk and Henri have confirmed tenor and extended mineralisation. Encouragingly, drilling at these prospects has returned a number of significant intercepts.
Of particular interest was hole MRC235, drilled in an area of relatively low surface radiometric response between the Tahbilk and Moysten Prospects, which returned 2 metres at 1,320 ppm U3O8 from 36 metres. Follow up of this new anomaly will be undertaken as part of the 2009 exploration programme.
Significant intercepts from results received to date from 2008 RC drilling include:
| Drill Hole | Depth (metres) | Grade - ppm U308 | From (metres) |
|---|---|---|---|
| MRC143 MRC143 MRC139 MRC116 MRC136 MRC138 MRC200 MRC200 MRC183 MRC235 MRC195 MRC180 MRC223 MRC223 MRC231 MRC131 MRC190 MRC190 MRC167 MRC189 |
12 3 2 7 5 2 4 4 2 2 5 3 4 2 6 6 7 7 4 5 |
676 690 1,525 263 222 300 1,938 988 1,715 1,320 1,214 833 648 700 517 420 496 417 475 364 |
22 12 11 44 18 22 26 34 56 36 30 27 6 19 15 9 27 10 2 23 |
As the need for a clearer understanding of Mtonya’s setting within the regional geological framework was recognised, remote sensing and structural studies were launched in conjunction with a detailed field mapping programme with the purpose of generating new drilling targets at Mtonya.
These studies were successfully completed mid 2009 and synthesis of the new and previously available data is well underway with the objective of further expanding the known near-surface uranium mineralisation and generating new, previously unknown targets in the area. A new drilling programme is now being developed with the use of new compilations of regional and local geology and geophysics. The Company presently proposes to commence during Q2 2010, after the wet season.