Uranium uncovered near Pine Creek
Carl Curtain
ABC NT Country Hour
A company exploring for uranium near Pine Creek says it's made a significant discovery at one of its project sites.
Thundelara Exploration has been working in the area for the last three years and now has three prospects.
Managing director of Thundelara Brett Lambert says recent rock samples taken from the 'Corkscrew' prospect show very high levels of uranium oxide (1.37 per cent).
"On their own they probably wouldn't be that significant, but put in the context of work we've been doing over the last year and a half, it really is quite meaningful.
"The Ranger Mine operates an ore-body at about 0.2 per cent and many mines around the world are operating at less than 0.1 per cent, so in that context these are high grades.
"It doesn't mean that we'll identify an ore-body that will average those sort of grades, although of course we would love to but it is highly encouraging."
Matt Baker from Iizen Equities in Darwin says there is growing excitement in the uranium sector.
"As energy prices start to climb back up, particularly the oil price, it's starting to come back into the light of day that uranium is not a bad energy source.
"To pull in a couple of rocks up in the one per cent and two per cent bracket, it adds to the entertainment of the stock and seeing what's going on down there."
Thundelara Exploration has been working in the area for the last three years and now has three prospects.
Managing director of Thundelara Brett Lambert says recent rock samples taken from the 'Corkscrew' prospect show very high levels of uranium oxide (1.37 per cent).
"On their own they probably wouldn't be that significant, but put in the context of work we've been doing over the last year and a half, it really is quite meaningful.
"The Ranger Mine operates an ore-body at about 0.2 per cent and many mines around the world are operating at less than 0.1 per cent, so in that context these are high grades.
"It doesn't mean that we'll identify an ore-body that will average those sort of grades, although of course we would love to but it is highly encouraging."
Matt Baker from Iizen Equities in Darwin says there is growing excitement in the uranium sector.
"As energy prices start to climb back up, particularly the oil price, it's starting to come back into the light of day that uranium is not a bad energy source.
"To pull in a couple of rocks up in the one per cent and two per cent bracket, it adds to the entertainment of the stock and seeing what's going on down there."