PNX Metals (ASX:PNX) has restarted fieldwork activities, with drilling planned in May at the Thunderball Uranium deposit in the Northern Territory, amid highlighting the areas ‘significant’ potential.
Executive Chairman Graham Ascough says drilling is planned to target extensions to known mineralisation, discover additional mineralised shoots, and test regional prospects exhibiting surface anomalism.
SRK Consulting carried out the Gap Analysis, which highlighted the ‘significant’ potential to extend the ‘high-grade’ mineralisation and to make further uranium discoveries regionally.
Ascough says the analysis has improved the company’s confidence in the deposit and highlights the grade and resource upside potential.
“The use of downhole gamma logging is a breakthrough that will allow for a much more extensive and consistent dataset to be used. Plans for the upcoming exploration season, including drilling on several targets are progressing, and we look forward to providing further updates in due course.”
The analysis reported vein-style geological model is recommended to domain and increase triuranium octoxide (U3O8) grade in future resource estimate, as well as confirmed downhole gamma logging can be used in parallel with assays to better increase dataset quality and quantity.
ALS Metallurgy also analysed the same set of samples used for the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) study. The dominant uranium mineral is uraninite, which is not typically associated with ‘significant’ disequilibrium.
The ALS study provides another line of evidence to support the reliability of eU3O8 data from the gamma logging.
PNX notes that based on the above studies and the statistical comparison of eU3O8 and U3O8 grades, there is sufficient evidence to conclude that eU3O8 data can be used for future Mineral Resource Estimation (MRE).
PNX Metals holds a ‘large’ tenement portfolio that contains a ‘unique’ mix of zinc, gold, and silver projects less than 170km south of Darwin in the Pine Creek region of the Northern Territory.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: PNX Metals
