The Wyoming properties are close to UR Energy’s (URE) Lost Creek ISR Facility and Rio Tinto’s Sweetwater/Kennecott Mill.
GTI Resources has started drilling on schedule at the THOR ISR Uranium Project in Wyoming’s Great Divide Basin, US, with two mud rotary drill rigs undertaking a 15,000m program of around 100 holes.
The program is designed to confirm the grade and tenor of uranium mineralisation that was previously identified by Kerr McGee in the 1980s and to ultimately support definition of an economic ISR uranium resource.
GTI (ASX:GTR) has prioritised the Thor Project area for drilling based on historical exploration data, which includes results of 83 historic drill holes as well as some drill logs, and the project’s location on the mapped REDOX boundary.
Mineralisation encountered in the historical drill holes is located around 120–180m from surface.
Project location
The THOR ISR project lies with 5-30km of both Ur-Energy’s Lost Creek ISR uranium facility and Rio Tinto’s Kennecott Sweetwater uranium deposits and mill.
The project is readily accessible being flat lying and adjacent to a significantly improved and maintained county road.
Drilling to identify REDOX boundaries
GTR’s main objective is to identify REDOX boundaries and potential host sands in addition to defining the depth, thickness, grade, and width of mineralisation across the REDOX front.
The program may also enable the estimation of inferred mineral resources or an exploration target but ultimately, the company says it hopes to encounter mineralisation of similar tenor to that encountered at the nearby Lost Creek deposit.
Economic cut-off criteria for sandstone hosted ISR uranium projects in Wyoming’s Great Divide Basin include:
- Grade greater than 0.02% eU3O8 (200 ppm);
- Grade x Thickness (GT) greater than 0.2 ( 3m at 200ppm);
- Width of mineralisation above cutoff nominal 15m; and
- Nominal GT of 0.4.
Looking ahead
Drilling is expected to take less than 30 operational days to complete and allowing for weather interruptions and the Christmas break, GTI expects that the program will be concluded in early 2022, if weather conditions remain favourable.
Results are expected to be available in the weeks after the final holes have been completed and recommendations for next steps will be developed at the end of the drill program, as late as July 2022.
This article was developed in collaboration with GTI Resources, 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.