Connected Minerals (ASX:CML) has commenced its maiden reverse circulation reconnaissance drilling program at the Etango North-East Uranium Project in Namibia.
Drilling will initially focus on the Etango North-East Project where high priority targets have been identified following “high-grade” results from a rock-chip sampling programme completed in December 2024.
The company recently appointed Namibian drilling contractor Hammerstein Drilling to undertake drilling programs at Etango North-East (EPL 6933) and Swakopmund (EPL 9162). Drilling started in April on schedule.
The maiden reverse circulation reconnaissance drilling program will comprise 36 reverse circulation holes for 3,050m, with 2,600m at Etango North-East and 450m at Swakopmund.
Connected recently expanded its previously proposed drilling program at Etango North-East. Drilling will then shift to Swakopmund where the focus will be on targets identified by Connected Minerals following a recent horizontal-loop electromagnetic (HLEM) survey.
Connected Minerals CEO Warrick Clent says the initial exploration work at Etango North-East and Swakopmund has been highly encouraging and now that drilling is underway, the company is set to establish a much stronger understanding of the uranium potential at both projects.
The company is focused on the world’s third largest uranium producing country in an area surrounded by globally familiar mining operations. The explorer has a strategic land position in Namibia’s most prolific uranium producing region which hosts one of the longest running and largest open pit uranium mines in the world.
Connected Minerals’ portfolio of projects sits near the majority Chinese-owned Rössing Mine, which came online in 1976 and yielded roughly 6.4 million pounds of uranium in 2024, as previously reported by Mining.com.au.
Namibia hosts about 7% of the world’s uranium reserves. The nuclear fuel was first discovered in the country in 1928 but was not substantially explored until the 1960s when Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) acquired exploration rights for Rössing.
Namibia in 2022 accounted for about 11% of global supply, producing 12.4 million pounds that year – ranking just behind Canada in second place and Kazakhstan in top spot.
Two of Namibia’s three uranium mines ranked among the world’s top 10 producers in 2022. The Husab Mine contributed 7% of production that year, while Rössing supplied 5%, ranking them second and sixth respectively.
Global demand for uranium is expected to increase from 95 kt in 2024 to 105 kt in 2025, as a number of countries expand their nuclear generation capacity. Of the 63 reactors currently under construction around the world, 28 are in China and seven are in India.
Uranium supply is projected to rise steadily as existing mines ramp up production and new mines are brought online. Total supply is projected to reach 97 kt in 2030, up from 78 kt in 2024.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: Connected
