ERA declares Ranger 3 Deeps target
Colin Jacoby
Mining Net News
URANIUM miner Energy Resources of Australia has reported an exploration target containing up to 40,000 tonnes uranium oxide at its Ranger mine in the Northern Territory with investors welcoming the news.
The Darwin-based company said in a statement that it had defined an exploration target at Ranger 3 Deeps in the range of 15 -20 million tonnes, potentially containing 30,000- 40,000t of uranium oxide, based on the exploration and drilling to date.
Ranger 3 Deeps lies in an easterly direction adjacent to the Ranger 3 operating pit.
The mineralised zone has a strike length of around 1.2 kilometres and has been intersected by 110 diamond drill holes at depths of 250-500m from the surface.
“Current understanding of the mineralisation in the Ranger 3 Deeps area, supported by drilling during 2008, has defined a significant extension to the mineralisation north of earlier intersections and at a shallower depth,” ERA said.
Drilling on this target is continuing during the fourth quarter with a focus on developing sufficient data to define a mineral resource in line with JORC standards.
ERA, which is 68.4%-owned by Rio Tinto, reported oxide production of 1349t for the September quarter, up from 1030t produced in the previous quarter but a 1% reduction on the 1363t produced in the same period last year.
The ramp-up in production from the June quarter was due to greater access to higher-grade ore at the bottom of the Ranger pit after excessive pit water restricted access to higher-grade ore in the June quarter.
Shares in ERA jumped as much as 79c (5%) on today’s news to an intraday high of $16.59 before cooling to $16.40 at 11.40am EDT.
The Darwin-based company said in a statement that it had defined an exploration target at Ranger 3 Deeps in the range of 15 -20 million tonnes, potentially containing 30,000- 40,000t of uranium oxide, based on the exploration and drilling to date.
Ranger 3 Deeps lies in an easterly direction adjacent to the Ranger 3 operating pit.
The mineralised zone has a strike length of around 1.2 kilometres and has been intersected by 110 diamond drill holes at depths of 250-500m from the surface.
“Current understanding of the mineralisation in the Ranger 3 Deeps area, supported by drilling during 2008, has defined a significant extension to the mineralisation north of earlier intersections and at a shallower depth,” ERA said.
Drilling on this target is continuing during the fourth quarter with a focus on developing sufficient data to define a mineral resource in line with JORC standards.
ERA, which is 68.4%-owned by Rio Tinto, reported oxide production of 1349t for the September quarter, up from 1030t produced in the previous quarter but a 1% reduction on the 1363t produced in the same period last year.
The ramp-up in production from the June quarter was due to greater access to higher-grade ore at the bottom of the Ranger pit after excessive pit water restricted access to higher-grade ore in the June quarter.
Shares in ERA jumped as much as 79c (5%) on today’s news to an intraday high of $16.59 before cooling to $16.40 at 11.40am EDT.