Alligator Energy (ASX:AGE) has received approvals from the South Australian Department of Energy and Mining to proceed with an in-situ field recovery trial (FRT) at the Samphire Uranium Project.
The trial work will be conducted by the group’s drilling contractor, Watsons Drilling, with equipment currently being mobilised at site ahead of work commencing.
The FRT aims to confirm key parameters of a future production operation and marks an important step toward development, as well as provide data and learnings to further de-risk Samphire and provide inputs to a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) and mining lease application to be started in early 2026.
Parameters will also be assessed in the trial including in-situ chemistry, hydrogeology, uranium recovery, reagent usage, and other environmental factors.
Alligator, which has a market capitalisation of $93 million, says this approval provides the green light to begin on ground activities associated with the field recovery trial.
As such, a construction contract for the site works with Whyalla-based contractor Ahrens Group will now be executed and mobilisation of works crew will begin shortly.
The schedule envisages completion of all work packages within an eight-week period from first mobilisation to site.
CEO Andrea Marsland-Smith says the start of the trial represents the culmination of three years working with the Department for Energy and Mining and co-agencies, as well as technology and engineering partners.
“It will allow us to validate in-situ recovery performance in real-world conditions, gather critical information as backbone to a DFS and future mining lease approval,” Marsland-Smith says.
The Samphire Project has a 12.4 million tonnes resource grading at 640 parts per million triuranium octoxide for 17.5 million pounds.
Uranium has ultra-high energy density and as a result, allows nuclear power plants to generate large amounts of electricity efficiently. A single pellet the size of someone’s fingertips has the same amount of energy as a tonne of coal and produces zero carbon dioxide during its use to produce electricity.
The International Energy Agency reports that the amount of energy supplied by nuclear power globally is forecast to increase by 40% in 2030 and 100% by 2050. To achieve this pace, the global fleet will increase by as much as 30 gigawatts per year in the early 2030s.
Alligator Energy is a uranium and energy-focused explorer which is developing projects with clear pathways to approval and development through its multi-jurisdictional portfolio.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Alligator Energy
