AuKing Mining Ltd (ASX:AKN) has returned further strong sample results as part of a first-stage exploration program at the Mkuju Uranium Project in southern Tanzania, providing encouragement for the imminent start of diamond drilling.
Soil sampling has returned high-grade U3O8 results of up to 652 parts per million (ppm) while rock chips have returned up to 1,344ppm and 549ppm.
Providing further encouragement for AuKing as Mkuju’s potential grows is the use of a hand-held spectrometer which is producing highly elevated radiation readings in and around the same sample areas.
Potential Nyota extension
AuKing’s CEO Paul Williams said Mkuju was emerging as a possible major extension of the world-class nearby Nyota Uranium Project that was sold by previous owner Mantra Resources (ASX:MRU) in 2011 for $1.16 billion.”
Mkuju comprises a 730-square-kilometre licence area immediately adjacent to the world-class Russian-owned Nyota Uranium Project.
The sampling results provide further confirmation of potentially significant uranium mineralisation across the historical radiometric survey conducted over the Mkuju Project area.
Diamond drill program
In a bid to further confirm the potential, AuKing is mobilising a track-mounted diamond drill rig towards the first drill hole location and plans to begin drilling pending weather and access conditions before the end of 2023.
A 600-metre program is planned with the aim of testing for uranium mineralisation at depths of a maximum of 100 metres.
Certain high-priority holes have been targeted for this activity, based on the rock chip, soil sampling and shallow auger drilling exploration activities that have been conducted at Mkuju over the past two months.
Initial pXRF and spectrometer results on the diamond drill core samples should be available almost immediately.
Correlate with survey
“We are pleased to be mobilising a diamond rig able to commence a drilling program at Mkuju in order to test the extent of mineralisation to depths of at least 100 metres.
"With the wet season forecast to commence in December, we are aiming to drill as many diamond holes as possible over the next few weeks,” he said.
“Off the back of the initial results reported in October, it is pleasing to see further significant results from soil and rock chip sampling activities. These results continue to demonstrate a correlation with the historical Mantra radiometric anomaly.
"We will continue to carry out preliminary pXRF and spectrometer measurements on the drilling and other samples prior to their dispatch for assay,” he added.
pXRF indications
The more targeted soil and rock chip sampling program has produced a total of 58 sample results, which include a pXRF result of 1,344ppm uranium from rock chip sample MKGS056.
These results continue to demonstrate a close correlation with the radiometric survey undertaken by Mantra Resources in 2007 – thereby leaving open a significant prospective area for future drilling activities.
Shallow drilling with the auger drilling rig continues to be hampered by technical faults, although work continues to bring this rig up to steady operating condition, thereby allowing drill holes up to around 30 metres to be conducted in less accessible areas at Mkuju.
The company uses a Delta Olympus portable hand-held pXRF analyzer and an RS230 gamma ray spectrometer to screen all samples for mineralisation before submitting samples to the lab for assay.
This allows for some understanding of the distribution of mineralisation prior to sampling to better ensure that samples submitted for analysis are representative of the type and style of mineralisation.
The hand-held XRF and spectrometer units provide confirmation that mineralisation is present, however, it is not an accurate determination of the elemental concentration within the sample analysed.