Deep Yellow (ASX:DYL) reports the resource infill RC drill program completed 18 August 2023 involving 235 drillholes for 8,017m will provide a robust platform for progressing Tumas towards a more than 30-year life of mine.
The $747 million market capitalisation company reports an updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the Tumas Project is expected to be released late in Q4 2023.
These latest results from the two-phase RC resource expansion and infill drilling program completed to the west of the Tumas 3 deposit have confirmed Tumas 3 as the largest uranium deposit along the Tumas palaeodrainage, Deep Yellow reports.
Together with Tumas 1, 1 East, Tumas 2, and Tubas deposits, the palaeodrainage contains approximately 133Mlb U3O8 of inferred and indicated resources, of which 67.3Mlb U3O8 are contained in a probable ore reserve.
The company reports uranium mineralisation at Tumas occurs in association with calcium carbonate precipitations (calcrete) in sediment-filled palaeovalleys. The objective of the drill program (from 28 March 2023 to 18 August 2023) was to expand the current Tumas resource base, with a primary focus on moving west of Tumas 3 toward Tumas 3 West and Tumas Central to extend the Tumas 3 deposit to the west.
In total, 235 holes for 8,017m were drilled across two phases of the program. Phase one comprised of 109 holes for 3,973m, with drilling aimed at expanding the uranium resources to the west of Tumas 3 and Tumas Central.
Phase one drilling was exploratory in nature, with drill hole spacing varied between 100m and 200m, along 200m to 1,000m spaced lines. Phase two totalled 126 holes for 4,044m. Infill drilling focused on an area approximately 2.5km by 1.8km immediately west of Tumas 3, using a line and hole spacing of 100m.
Key intersections from both phases of drilling included T3I1273: 6m @ 721ppm eU3O8 from 22m; T3I1300: 8m @ 172ppm eU3O8 from 27m; T3I1408: 4m @ 329ppm eU3O8 from 13m; and T3I1435: 7m @ 378ppm eU3O8 from 27m.
Forty-two holes intersected uranium mineralisation with a minimum thickness of 1m and a cut-off grade of 100ppm eU3O8. Deep Yellow says the grade of the intersected mineralisation averaged 222ppm eU3O8, which is in line with the average grade of the Tumas 1, 2, and 3 deposits.
The equivalent uranium values (eU3O8) are based on downhole radiometric gamma logging carried out by well-trained Deep Yellow personnel using a fully calibrated AusLog gamma logging system.
Deep Yellow is progressing a dual-pillar growth strategy to establish a globally diversified, tier-one uranium company to produce +10Mlb per annum. The company’s portfolio contains the largest uranium resource base of any ASX-listed company and its projects provide geographic and development diversity.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: Deep Yellow
