Cleo hits high grade uranium in bid to find new resources for the nuclear revival

Uranium is emerging as one of the key resources for the energy transition, so it is the perfect time for Kingsland Minerals to strike high grade uranium in the first drill program at its Cleo Uranium Project in the Northern Territory.

Four metre composite samples from the first 16 RC holes at the project near Pine Creek have been returned, with a further 14 to come once the 3800m drilling program is complete.

Thick, high grade results encountered by Kingsland (ASX:KNG) included:

42m at 679 ppm U₃O₈ including 8m at 1,655 ppm U₃O₈ (CLRC029)
54m at 447 ppm U₃O₈ including 4m at 1,706 ppm U₃O₈ (CLRC015)
16m at 747 ppm U₃O₈ (CLRC033)
28m at 396 ppm U₃O₈ (CLRC022)
20m at 386 ppm U₃O₈ (CLRC026)
36m at 315 ppm U₃O₈ (CLRC024); and,
52m at 204 ppm U₃O₈ (CLRC034).

A diamond drilling program has now begun.

The race to discover new uranium deposits is now under way, with bodies like International Energy Agency noting nuclear energy will be essential to assist the transition from fossil fuels to low carbon energy sources over the coming decades.

It has brought uranium back to prominence, and Cleo is emerging as a real discovery of interest.

While the Pine Creek region has been mined and explored for gold since the 1870s, its uranium potential is just now coming to the fore. Importantly, mineralisation remains open both along strike and at depth.

“We are extremely pleased and excited with the initial assay results from our maiden drilling program,” Kingsland managing director Richard Maddocks said.

“These results lay a foundation to grow the footprint of the Cleo uranium mineralisation.

“The deposit is open at depth and along strike and we will be planning additional drilling to target these areas.

“To receive such encouraging initial results in terms of grade and width of uranium is very pleasing and augurs well for future drilling.”

Diamond dogs

A 900m diamond drill campaign is now progressing, with Kingsland racing to complete the program amid the start of the northern wet season.

The program will provide materials for mineralogical analysis of uranium minerals, with the latest drilling alongside historical exploration work, confirming the continuity and width of mineralised zones.

Kingsland plans to design future programs, with a high degree of confidence that mineralisation extends at depth and has strike continuity.

Original one metre samples are being collected for assay, with results to be reported once back from the lab, with the RC campaign expected to wrap up by the middle of this month and the diamond program to take four to six weeks beyond that pending any issues with weather.

Drill hits also contained anomalous copper, which is closely associated with uranium mineralisation at Cleo.

This article was developed in collaboration with Kingsland Minerals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.