___________________________________________________________________________ EXTRACT RESOURCES TURNS TO NAMIBIAN URANIUM JV AS ITS BURNAKURA GOLD MINE IN WA GEARS UP FOR FIRST PRODUCTION ___________________________________________________________________________
Australian uranium and gold company, Extract Resources Limited ( ASX: EXT), said today (Monday) it would turn its focus to the advancement of its uranium based joint venture in Namibia as the two year construction and development of its 50% owned Burnakura gold mine, south of Meekatharra in Western Australia, neared completion. First gold from the Burnakura mine is expected to be poured within the next eight weeks, providing cash flow for Extract’s uranium growth strategy.
Extract announced in May this year that it had entered into an earn-in joint venture (subject to shareholder approval) with West Africa Gold Exploration (Namibia) Pty Ltd (WAGE) in which it can earn 51% of the Husab EPL 3138 - by spending A$400,000 over an 18 month period. Extract has since applied for two additional licence areas located approximately 150 kilometres to the north of Husab in the Uis area in Namibia.
The joint venture with WAGE has been registered with the Namibian Ministry of Mines and Energy, which, together with the Namibian government, is very supportive of investment in mineral projects in that country.
The 555 square kilometre Husab project area lies approximately 10 kilometres to the south of the giant Rossing uranium mine, which has been operated for over 30 years by a Rio Tinto subsidiary and is one of the largest uranium mines in the world. The Langer Heinrich deposit being developed by Paladin Resources lies about 30 kilometres to the southeast. The granted area, for which an environmental management plan has already been submitted and approved, includes the previously worked Ida copper mine and the Husab fluorite mine, and includes a number of radiometric anomalies and known uranium occurrences.
Extract’s Managing Director, Mr Peter McIntyre, said turning from gold in Western Australia to uranium in Namibia represented a strategic shift for the company, however the board considered the opportunity too good to miss.
“The Burnakura gold operation already has a solid resource base of 366,000 ounces and the region holds enormous exploration potential for further gold discoveries,” Mr McIntyre said. “However, Extract needs to grow beyond Burnakura and we have been assessing other opportunities for some time.
“We are very bullish about the fundamentals of the uranium sector and the business environment in Namibia where we’ve had some experience. It is a stable and progressive country with a well-established and well-administered Mining Act.
“The Husab project is particularly exciting and will be our initial focus. Apart from being in the right region, we have already gained strong evidence of both primary and secondary uranium mineralisation,” he added.
Recent rock chip sampling at the Husab project returned a maximum assay of 2.9kg/t U3O8 from fluorspar veins at the historically worked Husab fluorspar mine, which is located in the centre of EPL 3138.
“We are also aware of drilling to the south just off our boundary on a trend that crosses into the Husab licence where an intercept of 5 metres at 2.45 kg/tonne U3O8 was returned. Following this trend into Husab will be a prime drilling target for our drilling program,” Mr McIntyre added.
Extract is currently conducting a review of recent airborne radiometrics over the Husab area with a uranium channel response traversing the main trend from north to south.
“This is extremely encouraging given that 75% of the 555 square kilometre area is covered by desert gravely/sands which would effectively mask the radiometric response,” Mr McIntyre said. “In our view, the fact that some of the area has no response doesn’t rule it out, as this cover may be the cause. If anything, this would have limited past exploration.”
Geochemical and ground radiometrics will be undertaken by Extract during August, with the first phase of drilling of priority targets expected to be completed by October.
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