GTI Energy Ltd (ASX:GTR) has completed 70 holes of mud rotary drilling for 34,100 feet (10,366 metres) at the Thor prospect in Wyoming’s Great Divide Basin (GDB) which revealed a new projected uranium roll front trend of 1.39 miles.
One hole in the new roll front discovered within lease Section 29 returned a best GT result of 2.552 with this trend taking the total mineralised trend to 4.85 miles.
Potential for viable ISR resource
Executive director Bruce Lane said: “This round of drilling at Thor has confirmed our belief that the project has significant potential to deliver a viable ISR uranium resource.
"Results have both met and exceeded our expectations, especially given the new and strongly mineralised trend encountered within our Section 29 state lease.”
Drilling has now been completed at Thor where 50% of the 70 holes met grade and GT cutoff with an average GT of 0.65 while the company will continue drilling at other GDB prospects as part of its planned 100,000-foot 2022 program.
Importantly, mineralisation is conducive to ISR recovery with the water table 100-200 feet above host sands and drilling to date has confirmed that the historic data is an excellent guide for drilling.
Great Divide Basin ISR uranium projects in Wyoming and GTI's planned exploration drilling areas.
Heading for maiden resource
"The mineralisation identified shows real potential for ISR development and we are now well positioned to deliver a maiden resource estimate report on the Thor project in Q1 of next year,” Lane added.
Thor is adjacent to Ur-Energy Inc’s (URE) 18-million-pound Lost Creek deposit and operating ISR uranium processing plant.
Exploration at Thor previously identified mineralisation with economic potential based on widths, grades and depth of mineralisation.
Increased confidence
Drilling has increased confidence that at least three separate roll fronts are present in the main host sand with additional sands positioned above and below the main sand unit.
GTI’s drilling in the northern parts of Thor and the Section 29 state lease shows that the lower sands host roll front mineralisation within the claims.
An initial 100-hole (~50,000 foot) drilling campaign was completed at Thor between November 2021 and March 2022.
As part of GTI’s 2022 100,000-foot drill program, a 70-hole follow-up campaign was planned to target extents of approximately two miles of mineralised uranium roll fronts at the Thor Project.
Thor program complete
Seventy holes have been completed at Thor, marking the end of the follow-up drilling program.
Drilling was focused in the northeast of Thor, including fresh ground at State Section 29 & 20 leases.
Typical economically viable ISR grade and GT cut-offs are: 0.02% (200ppm) U3O8 and 0.2GT ie, 10 ft (3 metres) at .02% (200ppm) U3O8. Initial results are observed as follows:
- 35 of 70 holes met both grade and GT cutoff with an average of 0.65 GT; and
- 23 of the remaining holes met grade cutoff but not GT, eight had trace mineral & four were barren.
The additional projected trend length interpreted during the 70-hole program totalled 7,974 feet, increasing last year’s discovery of 17,640 feet to 25,614 feet of mineralized trend.
Once additional interpretation of this data is completed, new exploration target areas are anticipated.
GTI’s objective
GTI’s exploration objective is to identify REDOX boundaries and potential host sands in addition to defining the depth, thickness, grade and width of mineralisation across the REDOX front.
The company is targeting mineralisation which is at least 50 feet (15 metres) below the water table. The drill program may also enable the estimation of inferred mineral resources and/or an exploration target.
GTI hopes to continue to encounter mineralisation of similar tenor to that encountered at the nearby Lost Creek deposit and that otherwise meets typical economic cutoff criteria for sandstone-hosted ISR uranium projects in Wyoming’s Great Divide Basin.
Rigs move to Odin
Two drill rigs have moved to the Odin claim group and commenced operations. Once finished with Odin, the rigs will move to one of either the Loki, Teebo, or Wicket East claim groups as part of a ~65-hole program.
GTI expects that the full ~100,000-foot program will be concluded by the end of 2022 if weather conditions remain favourable.
"I look forward to continued exploration success at the Odin, Wicket East, Teebo and Loki prospects over the coming weeks leading up to Christmas,” Lane concluded.