Okapi Resources has acquired additional high-grade uranium pounds adjacent to its existing tenure on a new mining lease executed with the State of Colorado. Okapi has secured a 100 per cent interest in 640 acres of highly prospective acreage in the High Park uranium deposit located in the greater Tallahassee Uranium District north of Canon City Colorado. Black Range Minerals previously established a JORC 2012 resource of 2.48 million pounds U3O8 at a respectable 570 parts per million U3O8 in the new project area. Historical drilling includes 550 holes for 26,000 metres that revealed high-grade mineralisation within 5 metres of surface. Previous open pit test mining extracted 10,000 tonnes at an impressive grade of 720 ppm U3O8.
The US is the world’s largest producer of nuclear power and it is currently evaluating extending the operating life of its nuclear power plants for up to 100 years. Other countries like Japan, China, South Korea and the European Union are including higher demand for nuclear power in their climate change policies. While Kazakhstan, Russia and Canada are increasing uranium production, Australian production has decreased by over 20 per cent due to the closure of the Ranger mine in the Northern Territory.
According to Scientific American, most of the 2.8 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity generated worldwide from nuclear power every year is produced in light-water reactors using low-enriched uranium fuel. About 10 metric tons of natural uranium go into producing a metric ton of low-enriched fuel, which can then be used to generate about 400 million kilowatt-hours of electricity. Present-day reactors require about 70,000 metric tons of natural uranium a year. In 2019, American nuclear power reactor operators purchased 48 million pounds of uranium with only 12 per cent acquired from domestic sources. The Biden administration recently announced support for nuclear energy as part of its “technology neutral” approach to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
Okapi Resources is building a substantial portfolio of advanced, high grade uranium assets in some of America’s most prolific uranium districts. The company recently acquired options to purchase 100 per cent of the high-grade Rattler uranium project in Utah, including the historical Rattlesnake open pit mine. Importantly, Rattler is only 85 kilometres north of Energy Fuels’ well-known White Mesa uranium-vanadium plant, surprisingly the only operating conventional uranium mill in the USA. According to Okapi, planning is underway for a 10,000 metre-drilling program at the Tallahassee Uranium project alone.
The company recently acquired a 100 per cent interest in the past-producing, high-grade Sunnyside Uranium Mine. Sunnyside approximately doubled Okapi’s total landholding in Utah from approximately 1,020 acres to nearly 2000 acres. The expanded project area in the La Sal Uranium district now comprises ninety-eight mining claims.
With its growing portfolio of high-grade uranium resources, potential access to processing and improving market conditions, Okapi is well positioned to muscle its way into the North American nuclear energy clique.
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