Aruma Resources (ASX:AAJ) is designing and planning for a phase one exploration program at the Cypher uranium prospect within the Wilan Iron Oxide Copper Gold (IOCG) Project in South Australia.
The program will include a close-spaced aerial radiometric survey aimed at refining the existing Cypher prospect radiometric anomaly, which will be followed by ground-based passive seismic surveying.
Aruma says this will aim to delineate the interface between the base of the paleochannel and the top of the underlying bedrock.
Once completed, soil sampling campaigns will be conducted which will include a comprehensive suite of elements to support pathfinder geochemical vectoring for conforming targets for a planned drilling program, subject to exploration results.
Further, ground-based exploration is planned to begin once all stakeholders and heritage approvals processes have been completed which is expected in late Q2 2025.
The company is also advancing stages of negotiating an access agreement with Traditional Owners, the Arabana People. Once secured, Aruma will conduct a heritage survey over Cypher — which is a prerequisite to begin on-ground exploration.
This news comes after Aruma completed a review of Cypher’s prospectivity, which has provided a “compelling” exploration model and associated uranium potential.
As a result of the review, the Cypher uranium prospect is interpreted to be a likely calcrete-hosted deposit with potential strong structural control, and which warrants a priority focus for the company.
Managing Director Grant Ferguson says the Cypher prospect benefits from geophysical and multispectral anomalies, suggesting potential uranium mineralisation.
“These factors combine to position Cypher as a priority target within the Wilan Project and a potential driver of significant value for the company,” Ferguson says.
“The uranium potential of the Cypher prospect comes amid a strong and supportive uranium market environment, with prices reaching 15-year highs as global decarbonisation efforts and technological advancements increase demand for reliable, low-carbon energy sources.”
Aruma notes that defining the exploration model at Cypher has come at a time of historic momentum for uranium, with prices climbing to 15-year highs. Uranium’s spot price was sitting at US$74 per pound at the end of 2024 and surpassed US$76 per pound earlier this year.
As of today (5 February), uranium’s price sits at US$72.8 per pound, according to Trading Economics.
While the global transition to net zero is in full swing, the nuclear energy sector is experiencing robust growth. This growth is driven by the global demand for low-carbon energy solutions and critical applications such as AI and data centres.
Recent reports show that global data centre capacity has grown more than 20% in 2024, reaching 11.26 gigawatts across the Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and North America.
Further, analysis from McKinsey suggests that global demand for data centre capacity could increase at an annual rate of between 19-22% from 2023 to 2030 — reaching an annual demand of 171 to 219 gigawatts. Aruma notes these projections further boost the demand for uranium.
Over the past year, the projected uptake of nuclear power has exceeded global uranium supply expectations.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Aruma Resources
