Cauldron Energy emerges as global uranium play with new resource | ASX:CXU (*.com)

From December 2015.....

Cauldron Energy emerges as global uranium play with new resource

Cauldron Energy has realised a major increase in resource tonnage and grade at its Bennet Well uranium project in Western Australia, further validating an emerging jurisdiction and prompting the company to integrate into a growing global nuclear sector.

A 33% increase in grade and a 44% increase in contained uranium oxide has confirmed Cauldron Energy's (ASX:CXU) Bennet Well deposit in Western Australia as a globally significant in-situ recovery (ISR) project.

Bennet Well resources now stand at 38.9 million tonnes at 360 ppm U3O8 for a contained uranium oxide content of 30.9 million pounds at a150 ppm cut-off grade.

This represents about a 44% improvement over a previous resource estimate for the deposit of 21.5 million pounds of contained oxide content at the same cut-off grade.

The inferred and indicated inventory also benefited from an increase in average grade from 270 ppm to 360 ppm U3O8.

Mineralisation remains open at the project, including at new exploration licence area.

The improvement in the mass and grade at Bennet Well is attributable to the successful delineation of newly discovered mineralisation at the project's Bennet Well Channel, improved correlation of mineralised lenses and further refinement of mineralisation domains to guide grade interpolation of laterally extensive mineralised lenses situated adjacent to impermeable sedimentary units.

The overall affirmation of Bennet Well's robustness sets up the project and WA's Yanrey region in general as a potential suppler of uranium into a predicted supply shortfall post 2020.


Region of promise

The expansion of Bennet Well also follows the discovery of additional mineralisation in a channel adjacent to Paladin Energy’s (ASX:PDN) Manyingee property, which boasts grades nearing 1,000 ppm U3O8.

The newly identified area, now called Manyingee South, returned assays from mud rotary holes exceeding expectations of thickness and grade, with 0.75 metres at 288.91 ppm U3O3 from 53 metres and 0.45 metres at 235.80 ppm U3O3 from 53.4 metres.

The drilling was part of an extensional program at Bennet Well regional targets aimed at establishing a resource of 19-54 tonnes of mineralisation at a grade of 300-420 ppm U3O3 for a contained 18-53 million pounds of U3O3.

Mineralisation at Bennet Well is part of the Yanrey project, which comprises a collection of twelve exploration tenements in northwestern WA.

Known deposits in the Yanrey region include both Paladin’s Manyingee and Carley Bore properties, which contain 25.8 million pounds and 15.6 million pounds of uranium, respectively.

The area is prospective of sandstone-style uranium mineralisation capable of extraction by in-situ recovery (ISR) mining technique.

WA is emerging as Australia’s next major uranium province, with Cameco (TSX:CCO) recently receiving an environmental clearance for its Kintyre development and Toro Energy’s (ASX:TOE) Wiluna project already approved to be the state’s first uranium mine.


Analysis

This is a major expansion for Bennet Well and confirms that the project has potential to be a globally relevant source for uranium supply as supply-demand dynamics for the commodity shift into a higher gear with a growing nuclear sector.

Adding to the macro relevance of this development, the resource estimate arrives serendipitously in the wake of the Paris Sustainable Innovation Forum, where low carbon emissions targets were agreed by consensus.

The new resource also confirms that the Yanrey’s region is generally well mineralised with uranium, having supported the development of operations such as Manyingee and Carley Bore.

Bennet Well is on a pathway to establish a producing operation by 2020.

Cauldron controls more than 6,000 square kilometres of uranium-prospective tenements across WA and South Australia (Australia’s leading uranium state) as well as large projects with defined uranium mineralisation in Argentina.