Perth-based gold explorer Sub-Sahara Resources NL has entered into a joint venture agreement with Canada-based Tanganyika Uranium Corp, which will see the two explore for uranium in Tanzania.
Perth-based gold explorer Sub-Sahara Resources NL has entered into a joint venture agreement with Canada-based Tanganyika Uranium Corp, which will see the two explore for uranium in Tanzania.
Sub-Sahara holds a 15 per cent stake in the company, which holds 17 mineral licences in the south east of the nation.
The company will contribute $112,000 during the first year and $320,000 during the second year as part of its commitments.
A two stage work program consisting of data compilation, airborne and ground geophysics, geological mapping, pitting and drilling at a total cost of $2.9 million is expected to commence in the third quarter of 2007.
The full text of a company announcement is pasted below
Perth-based Africa-focused explorer Sub-Sahara Resources NL (ASX: SBS) has formed a joint venture with unlisted Canadian company Tanganyika Uranium Corp. (TUC) to explore for uranium in Tanzania.
SBS has a 15 per cent working interest in the joint venture with the remaining 85 per cent held by TUC.
The Madaba-Mkuju Joint Venture holds 17 mineral licences covering 9,689 square kilometres of the Karoo sandstone (Selous Basin) in south-eastern Tanzania, about 225 km from the port city of Dar es Salaam.
The majority of the joint venture area was explored by German uranium explorer, Uranerzbergbau GMBH (Uranerz) between 1978 and 1981. Uranerz discovered significant "Rollfront" style uranium mineralisation within the Karoo sandstones that form part of the Luwegu-
Selous Basin.
Based on this work, a two-stage, success-contingent, work program is planned, consisting of data compilation, airborne geophysics, ground geophysics, geological mapping, pitting, and drilling at a total estimated cost of CDN $2.7million over two years. SBS is expected to contribute CDN$105,000 during the first year and CDN$300,000 during the second year as part of its JV commitments).
The work program is expected to commence in the third quarter of 2007.
Potential for success
SBS chief executive officer Mike Griffiths said "The work conducted by Uranerz suggests that there is real potential for success on these licences. Uranerz left these properties in the early 1980s when uranium was around US$7/8 per pound. It is now US$113 per pound, so conditions are much more favourable for commercial success."
Previous exploration results
Work by Uranerz in 1981 consisted of 264 metres of diamond core drilling and 2,953 metres of rotary percussion drilling in a total of 28 vertical holes. The drilling was completed over an area of 10km by 30km. Drill holes depth ranged from 41 metres to 237 metres. Fifteen of the 28 drill holes reached the mineralised horizon with Primary uranium-bearing horizons at Selous traced over a 300km2 area, with the closest drill hole spacings ranging from 0.5 to 3km apart.
Mineralised thicknesses range from 0.7 to 12 metres, below the present water table. The best mineralisation was encountered in Hole 8 and graded 0.056% eU3O8* across 9.1 metres. Within this mineralised interval, a zone of 0.122% eU3O8 was encountered across 1.1 metres from 78.9 to 81.0 metres. The uranium is concentrated in thin horizontal lenses or seams of less than 0.2 metres thick within areas of anomalous radioactivity. Most of the other 13 holes that successfully penetrated the mineralised horizon averaged 0.05% eU3O8 across thicknesses of 0.5 to 5.1 metres. (* eU3O8 - equivalent uranium concentration determined by gamma ray logs).
