Junior explorer Argonaut Resources (ASX:ARE) has secured two new uranium assets near its Frome Project in South Australia, with satellite imagery and thermal study work already underway.
The project grants come ahead of the company’s planned name change to Orpheus Uranium.
Argonaut says the first of the new projects, Mundaerno, lies just 12km south of Boss Energy’s (ASX:BOE) Honeymoon Uranium Mine and comprises a portion of the headwaters of the ‘highly prospective’ Yarramba Palaeochannel, directly on top of Mesoproterozoic granitic rocks that could be source rocks for uranium.
Drilling back in 2011 in this area intercepted ‘tertiary sequence’ sediments of the Yarram Palaeochannel and confirmed uranium mineralisation in weathered basement, with a peak uranium value of 130 parts per million (ppm).
The company bagged the second project, Radium Hill South, from the South Australian government following a ‘competitive’ application process.
Radium Hill South is home to 5 ‘exceptional’ uranium prospects, according to Argonaut, across the Olary Palaeovalley System, with 5km of strike of prioritise for geophysical targeting and drilling.
From this region, historical drilling returned results of 400 ppm U3O8, 401 ppm U3O8, and 507 ppm U3O8.
Argonaut says it has already commenced a satellite imagery gas study using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery and thermal imagery to determine whether spectral signatures can identify gasses coming from the earth’s surface. These gasses could indicate the presence of helium — a potential pathfinder of uranium mineralisation — and hydrogen, as well as methane and other gasses.
Meanwhile, the company has started reviewing historic datasets to define targets for ‘immediate’ drill testing.
Alongside its new uranium tenements, Argonaut owns projects prospective for gold and base metals in Australia and Zambia.
Argonaut had $89,000 cash and cash equivalents at hand as of 30 September 2023, according to its latest quarterly report, although the company raised $3.36 million through an entitlement offer in October. The company has a $13 million market capitalisation.
Write to Joshua Smith at Mining.com.au
Images: Argonaut Resources
