Uranium hunter Adavale’s already standing in a Hemsworth of gamma radiation

Adavale’s uranium exploration at the aptly named Lake Surprise is off to a strong start with initial gamma surveys returning radiation values from five times to more than forty times higher than background levels.

Most of the gamma results out of the first 400km of a planned 1,100 line km survey, which targeted the strongest gamma signals at surface, returned minimum values of 390 counts per second (CPS) and maximum values at more than 40 times background levels at 3,100 CPS.

Gamma radiation levels higher than background levels are typically a sign that radioactive material such as uranium is present.

The survey is being carried out to better define the extent of the anomalies and provide targets for rock chip sampling, for which Adavale Resources (ASX:ADD) has collected 28 samples for analysis.

Beyond expectations

“Results from the recent field survey are well beyond our expectations,” chief executive officer Allan Ritchie said.

“Gamma readings in the range of 390 to 3100 counts per second are some of the highest Adavale’s Uranium geologist Pat Harvey has seen in his career.

“Rock chip samples were taken at these high gamma locations and we are awaiting assays to benchmark the relationship between the gamma readings from hand-held devices used during sampling and the uranium content in the rocks.”

The survey will continue in 2022.

Lake Surprise

Adavale holds three granted uranium tenements covering nearly 400sqkm within the Lake Frome embayment with a fourth currently under application.

Known uranium orebodies on the eastern side of the Flinders Ranges include Beverley, Honeymoon, Goulds Dam and Yarramba, and the Mt Gee project, several of which are in the northern Flinders Ranges about 60km from its Lake Surprise project area.

The company has held the tenements since 2006 and had originally selected them based on outcrop sampling and regional radiometric anomalies, many of which remain largely untested.

Prior to 2011, it had drilled 446 shallow holes with a maximum depth of 60m that targeted geological formations that had visible uranium mineralisation.

Adavale’s current work better defines the surface expression of the gamma anomaly seen in the regional data.

The anomaly appears to be hosted in the silicified sediments of a palaeochannel system that discharged from the northern Flinders Ranges, an area that is known to have fertile granites that are the source of uranium for systems like the Beverley mine.

Future activity

Results from the assay work will be used by the company to refine future works at Lake Surprise.

Planned exploration includes sampling across the palaeochannel to define zones where high uranium content is to be expected, continuation of the gamma survey to cover the whole planned area, sampling of highlighted helium anomalies, and developing targeted drilling programs for resource definition.

This article was developed in collaboration with Adavale 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.