Cauldron Energy triples Bennet Well uranium resource
THE DRILL SERGEANT: Cauldron Energy (ASX: CXU) has released a 300 per cent upgrade to the resource on the Bennet Well prospect, situated within the company’s Yanrey uranium project in Western Australia.
Independent consultants, Ravensgate Resources have calculated a JORC-compliant resource for the Bennet Well region.
The new total uranium resource has increased from 4.8 million pounds at 300 parts per million uranium to 15.7 million pounds at 270 parts per million uranium.
Cauldron said economic studies have demonstrated grades above 250ppm uranium (over one metre) to be economic for a potential in-situ leach style mining operation at the Yanrey project.
“It is pleasing to have achieved such a significant resource upgrade, and in the process confirmed a substantial new high grade in-situ leach uranium district at Yanrey,” Cauldron Energy head of operations Simon Youds said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
“The majority of this large region, prospective for uranium deposits, is controlled by Cauldron.
“This, and the fact that the strike extensions of what we have defined have yet to be tested, points to a unique opportunity to add significant value to the company and its shareholders through additional exploration activities.”
Bennet Well prospect locations and drill results. Source: Company announcement
Cauldron identified two new inferred uranium resources during a drilling campaign it conducted at Yanrey in 2012.
The Bennet Well East and Bennet Well South resources are based on widespread drilling with 200 to 400 metres between drill lines.
Both inferred resources are open at both ends and Cauldron considers further drilling in the near future is warranted as it could lead to a further resource increase.
“Bennet Well South in particular is currently a small uranium resource, but the very northern drill line saw both an increase in grade and width, suggesting that a large resource extension could exist to the north of where drilling ended,” Youds said.
The Bennet Well East deposit was identified following drilling that was completed by Cauldron after the 2008 inferred Bennet Well Resource was released.
Recent work completed by the company has upgraded this prospect to resource status.
Cauldron has completed a review of existing in-situ leach style uranium mines in Australia to determine the likely economic cut-off for uranium resources identified at the Yanrey project area.
The company has reviewed all data currently available for the Yanrey project, such as depth to mineralisation, size of the resources and physical factors like porosity and permeability as part of this process.