Alligator Energy (ASX:AGE) has intersected further uranium mineralisation at Site 10 within its Big Lake Uranium Project in South Australia, providing additional support for the company’s roll-front exploration model.
The company completed 33 aircore holes totalling 4,112m across the project’s palaeochannel system, including follow-up drilling around the 2024 discovery.
Using a 100 parts per million (ppm) equivalent uranium oxide (eU₃O₈) cut-off, hole AC26-009 returned 1.9m @ 0.032% eU₃O₈ from 100.9m.
Hole AC26-006 intersected 1m @ 0.018% eU₃O₈ from 98.1m and 0.9m @ 0.019% eU₃O₈ from 100.4m.
The grades were calculated from calibrated downhole gamma logging rather than laboratory assays. Significant intersections were limited to AC26-006 and AC26-009 in this batch, with most holes returning no results above the reporting threshold.
Alligator says the gamma responses show features associated with roll-front uranium systems, including lower-grade ‘tails’ behind peak mineralisation and a ‘higher-grade’ zone at the interpreted redox front.
Regional drilling 6km south of Site 10 did not return significant uranium intersections but encountered similar oxidised and reduced sands at depths of about 100m. The company considers this evidence that favourable host geology extends beyond the discovery area.
Seismic data indicates the prospective palaeochannel may continue another 12km to the southeast.
CEO Andrea Marsland-Smith says the work is helping the company understand the system’s geometry and potential extent.
“Big Lake remains a large, early-stage exploration opportunity and our focus is now on progressively defining the redox front at Site 10 and beyond,” Marsland-Smith says.
The company notes further drilling is planned during the remainder of the third quarter and may continue into the fourth quarter, subject to results and weather.
Alligator says it also plans to test the geometry and continuity of the Site 10 redox front, establish additional drill fences across the central project area, and complete heritage surveys for access to new targets.
Big Lake comprises seven exploration licences covering 6,422km² in South Australia’s Lake Eyre Basin. The project targets redox-controlled uranium mineralisation within palaeochannel sands of the Namba Formation.
Write to France Pinzon at Mining.com.au
Images: Alligator Energy
