Connected Minerals (ASX:CML) is aiming to have the Etango North-East Project phase two reverse circulation drilling results available during the latter half of September 2025.
Commenting to Mining.com.au, Managing Director Warrick Clent says if the results begin showing the wider intersections Connected is hoping for, the company will be well positioned to plan further drilling to outline a maiden resource at the Namibia-based uranium project.
Connected last week started phase two drilling at Etango, focusing on the Ondapanda prospect. The 18-hole for 2,800m program is following up on phase one, where 14 out of 15 holes returned economic uranium grades, as reported.
Drilling unearthed 5m @ 358 parts per million uranium equivalent from 88m, including 2m @ 643ppm, and 1m @ 814ppm from 89m.
The results demonstrate multiple, stacked, and mineralised alaskites which reinforce the view that the geology at Etango North-East follows the model of the Bannerman Energy’s (ASX:BMN) nearby Etango Uranium Project.
The importance of multiple stacked Alaskites will come when it is time to mine this style of deposit, Clent tells Mining.com.au.
“Given that the stacked Alaskites at Etango North-East outcrop at the surface, and dip at a moderate angle, it means that you will be able to easily mine the potential deposit across multiple Alaskites at one time, allowing access to more mineralisation per vertical metre than you would if you had steeply dipping orebodies,” the Managing Director says.
Multiple stacked Alaskites make the asset attractive from both a mining and investment perspective as open pit mining is a less expensive mining method than mining underground.
“And when you have the ability to mine an orebody from the surface, as opposed to having to pre-strip waste, it allows for the processing of the ore from day one,” Clent explains.
Rising demand for nuclear power, driven by the push to net zero, is projected to increase uranium consumption from 95 kilotonnes (kt) in 2024 to 99 kt in 2030.
Looking ahead, Connected sees potential for further drilling at Etango this calendar year but is already eyeing opportunities next year.
“Moving into 2026 we aim to be on the ground at our Western Australian Pallingup Project, where we are targeting rare earth mineralisation in a potential carbonatite,” Clent continues.
Located 100km northeast of Albany within the Great Southern Region, the Pallingup Project is considered prospective for carbonatite-hosted rare earth elements and heavy mineral sands located within paleo coastline placer deposits near the southern coast of Western Australia.
Connected Minerals is focused on uranium discoveries in Namibia across its land position covering two projects. The company is also focused on multiple commodities in Western Australia.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: Connected
