The Carter project has existing uranium resources and plenty of potential for growth. Pic: Getty Images
Mining
Special Report: With nuclear power firmly back on the agenda in the US, Recharge Metals’ move to acquire the advanced Carter project in a proven uranium producing region within Montana couldn’t be better timed.
Sitting just 60km north of fellow Australian company Peninsula Energy’s (ASX:PEN) 58Mlb Lance in situ recovery (ISR) operation, Carter covers 87% of the surface expression of the 3.7Mlb at 1250 parts per million eU3O8 Acadia deposit and 78% of the 1.4Mlb at 1560ppm eU3O8 Mindy deposit.
Additionally, historical drilling within the project area returned high-grade hits such as 1.83m grading 5400ppm eU3O8 from 438m and 3.35m at 2000ppm eU3O8 from 430m.
There is also considerable potential for Recharge Metals (ASX:REC) to grow resources as multiple additional roll fronts, which host uranium mineralisation in the region, have been mapped within the Carter project.
Separately, the company has appointed experienced uranium geologist and Koba Resources (ASX:KOB) managing director Ben Vallerine as a non-executive director to strengthen its US expertise.
It has also received firm commitments from sophisticated and professional investors to subscribe for 100 million shares priced at 2.5c each to raise $2.5m for exploration over the next 12 months.
“We are thrilled to announce the transformative acquisition of 100% of the Carter uranium project in the USA,” managing director Felicity Repacholi said.
“The project sits on the northern rim of the world-renown Powder River Basin, a proven region for in-situ recovery uranium production, with six permitted processing plants located within 300 kms, including ASX-listed Peninsula Energy.
“The Acadia deposit with 3.7Mlbs at 1,250ppm eU3O8 and the Mindy deposit with 1.4Mlbs at 1,560ppm eU3O8 immediately transform Recharge into an advanced uranium exploration company. Given the multiple roll fronts identified at the project we see considerable potential to grow the resource base at the project.”
It comes amid a big shift back to the promotion of nuclear energy from both public authorities and private companies in the United States, where domestic uranium production has waned over the past three decades.
“The timing is opportune, given the US government’s readoption of nuclear power, and the entrance of large technology firms into the nuclear market, creating a tailwind of vast fiscal support and private funding aimed at building a domestic nuclear fuel cycle,” Repacholi said.
“Year-to-date US uranium production has already more than tripled relative to last year’s total, driven mostly by operators based within the Powder River Basin.”
She added that appointing Vallerine, who has six years of in-country experience exploring for uranium and 2.5 years as director of US-focused uranium explorer Global Uranium and Enrichment brought a deep skillset that will be aid the company in its goal to rapidly advance Carter.
The 26km² Carter project is in southeast Montana near the border with Wyoming about 75km from the town of Belle Fourche, South Dakota.
It was intensely explored by numerous major mining and energy companies during the late 1970s and early 1980s with a focus on the northern rim (extension) of the Powder River Basin from Wyoming into Montana.
Kerr McGee, one of the largest uranium producers during this era, in its joint venture with Chevron, drilled thousands of reconnaissance and closer-spaced delineation holes on and around the project area – an extensive exploration dataset that has been purchased by the company and is currently being compiled and reviewed.
Carter is also within 250km of no less than six permitted ISR uranium production facilities.
Rather than digging ore out of the ground, ISR recovers minerals – such as uranium – by dissolving them in the ground then pumping the pregnant solution to the surface, which means little surface disturbance and no tailings or waste rock generated.
ISR accounts for most US uranium production and has a long history in the Powder River Basin starting on an experimental basis in the early 1960s.
The Carter project hosts a significant amount of uranium mineralisation with the deposits – related to an extensive system of roll fronts – extending over ~11km of strike.
Acadia covers an area of close-spaced drilling by Kerr McGee and Chevron that identified a roll front traceable for ~4km in the Fall River Sandstone of the Cretaceous Inyan Kara Group.
At least 254 holes were drilled, mostly on 30m spacing along fences at 150 metre intervals along strike, that identified uranium mineralisation at depths of 420 to 445m in the A1 and A2 numbered roll fronts.
Mindy was also the subject of close-spaced drilling by Kerr McGee-Chevron that identified a roll front traceable for ~7km in the same Fall River Sandstone.
This sandstone hosted uranium mineralisation at a depth of about 290m.
While a review of historical drill data is underway, a preliminary review has already identified a number of exploration targets that could represent either extensions of existing mineralisation or new zones of mineralisation.
These areas cover known roll front targets with significant but fewer close-spaced drill holes than the aforementioned properties with REC noting the historical resource areas remain open along strike in one or both directions.
Permitting work has started with drilling planned for next year.
REC is acquiring CoreVista Energy, which through its wholly-owned Montana-incorporated subsidiary CoreVista Energy, owns the 334 mineral claims that make up the Carter project.
It will pay the vendor a consideration of $250,000 in cash, $400,000 in REC shares priced at 2.5c each, and 50 million performance rights that vest into REC shares in five equal tranches.
These are subject to the company delineating JORC resources of 4Mlb, 8Mlb, 15Mlb, 20Mlb and 40Mlb at a grade of at least 200ppm eU3O8 within two, three, four, five and five years of completion respectively.
REC is also raising $2.5m through a placement of shares priced at 2.5c each – a 38% discount to the last closing price of 4c. This is subject to shareholder approval.
Proceeds from this will be applied towards the cash consideration of the acquisition and undertaking exploration at Carter.
This article was developed in collaboration with Recharge Metals, 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.
Mining
Mining
Mining
