Okapi locks in Govt approval for Utah uranium probe

Okapi Resources is set to sink 100 shallow drillholes at its Rattler uranium project in Utah, USA after getting its hands on a drill permit from the Bureau of Land Management to launch the operation.

According to the company, the reverse circulation probe will be aimed at testing the degree and nature of mineralisation at the Rattlesnake mine, where a recent rock chip sampling program delivered promising results.

The company says each of the drill holes will be bored vertically to target mineral-bearing structures that are relatively flat.

According to Okapi, the program could be launched towards the backend of the year, with discussions already underway with a drilling contractor to add its services to the project.

Sampling at Rattler will utilise a Scintillometer/Geiger counter to detect and measure radiation as well as real-time, on-site, hand-held X-ray fluorescence detectors to directly evaluate the project’s uranium levels.

Rock chip samples will also be obtained from all mineralised intervals and forwarded to assay facilities for comparative analysis and quality assurance and will shore up results from on-site analysis work.

The move to fire up the drill rig follows a 28-piece rock chip sampling program at the Rattlesnake prospect, part of the larger Rattler uranium project in the La Sal mining district of Utah that yielded grades as rich as 1.24 per cent triuranium octoxide.

Remarkably, Okapi says the “exceptional” results also saw 14 of the samples deliver uranium grades above 1000 parts per million.

According to the company, its initial work at Rattler has validated the high-grade nature of the uranium mineralisation across the project’s tenure and is further supported by a suite of “outstanding” uranium hits at the adjacent Sunnyside prospect.

The Rattler Uranium project is located in San Juan County, in eastern Utah, about 5 kilometres west of La Sal and 40km south of Moab. The project is located in the historic La Sal Mining District, that encompasses several operating and abandoned mines.

The project is also about 85km from Energy Fuels’ White Mesa Uranium/Vanadium mill, that takes the crown as the country's only operational conventional uranium mill.

With economies around the globe focused on cutting emissions, uranium appears to be becoming part of the conversation in some quarters.

The price of the commodity currently sits at around US$59 per pound, down from an 11-year high of about $60 in early March.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au