Okapi Resources Ltd (ASX:OKR) has begun initial field exploration programs at its high-grade Rattler Uranium Project in Utah, US, with a review of historical workings, geological mapping and rock chip sampling.
The fieldwork is designed to provide information for future programs, with drilling planned for the first quarter of 2022 and rock chip assays expected in February.
These programs will culminate in detailed mapping and assessment undertaken by Okapi’s in-country exploration manager and team, expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Rattlesnake open pit mine
Rattlesnake Project is within the La Sal uranium district, directly along strike – and with similar geology – to Energy Fuels Inc’s La Sal uranium and vanadium project, mined since 2006.
The La Sal district is estimated to have historically (before mining) held 6.4 million pounds of U3O8 at 3,200ppm U3O8 and 29 million pounds of V2O5 at 1.4% V2O5.
OKR’s Rattlesnake Project area encompasses the Rattlesnake Open Pit mine with historic production totalling 285,000 tonnes of ore at 2,800ppm U3O8 and 1.0% V2O5 for 1.6 million pounds of U3O8 and 4.5 million pounds of V2O5.
The Rattlesnake deposit is the only outcropping-style deposit in the immediate area, which Okapi believes will respond well to simple surface exploration. All other deposits have been discovered via exploration drilling.
While the data is not currently available to Okapi, extensional mineralisation has reportedly been discovered immediately down-dip to the north of the Rattlesnake mine with exploration drilling.
Energy Fuel’s La Sal Project is fully permitted for mining and operated from 2006 to 2012. In 2014 Energy Fuel reported that the remaining resource at La Sal totalled 1.3 million tonnes at 1,700ppm U3O8 and 8,880ppm V2O5, for 4.5 million pounds U3O8 and 23.4 million pounds of V2O5.
Okapi Resources also advises that the proposed Resolution 3 for the upcoming Annual General Meeting has been withdrawn following the retirement of David Nour at the conclusion of the AGM.
About Okapi Resources
Okapi’s strategy is to become a new leader in North American carbon-free nuclear energy by assembling a portfolio of high-quality uranium assets through accretive acquisitions and exploration.
The company recently acquired a portfolio of advanced, high-grade uranium assets in the United States of America.
Assets include a strategic position in one of the most prolific uranium districts in the USA – the Tallahassee Creek Uranium District in Colorado.
The greater Tallahassee Creek Uranium District hosts more than 100 million pounds of U3O8 with considerable opportunity to expand the existing resource base by acquiring additional complementary assets in the district.
OKR’s portfolio of assets also includes an option to acquire 100% of the high-grade Rattler Uranium Project in Utah, which includes the historical Rattlesnake open pit mine.
The Rattler Uranium Project is 85 kilometres from the White Mesa Uranium Mill, the only operating conventional uranium mill in the USA, hence providing a near-term, low-capital development opportunity.
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