www.marenicaenergy.com.au
Marenica Energy's (ASX: MEY) strategy is to focus on the evaluation of the Marenica Project as well as to identify and acquire other uranium opportunities globally.
The Company's principal asset is the Marenica Uranium Project located in the uranium rich Damara Province in Namibia. The project covers 527sq km, with high prospectivity for both secondary and primary uranium deposits.
Resource Capital says Marenica’s uranium deposit economic at $50-60/lb, initial exploration results
Resource Capital Research commented on Marenica Energy’s (MEY; ASX: MEY) flagship asset, the Marenica uranium deposit, saying it had the potential to be economic with an enhancement of project optimisation and resolvement of scale and grade issues expected through further exploration success in the final quarter of the year.
The company’s principal asset is the Marenica Uranium Project JV (joint venture) in Namibia in the Damara uranium province, which Resource Capital said was “world class,” hosting 8-10% of the world’s uranium production, including the Rossing, Langer Heinrich and Trekkopje projects.
MEY holds an 80% working interest Marenica, a palaeochannel uranium deposit formerly explored by Goldfields with alaskite primary uranium mineralisation. The deposit’s palaeochannel resource is estimated at 38.6 mlbs (million pounds) of U3O8 (uranium oxide concentrate) grading 0.014% at an 80ppm (parts per million) cut-off with potential for open cut mining covers the historic resource area plus extensions over 10-15km (kilometres).
Drilling in the second half of the current year focused on infill, with extension drilling to the north and west. MEY plans to drill test two other sections of the channel 3km and 3.5 km long 4Q09 (5,000 metres) which have not previously been drill tested. A resource upgrade is expected 1Q10 targeting an Indicated Resource of about 15-20mlbs U3O8.
Preliminary bottle roll alkaline leach tests indicated uranium recoveries or greater than 90% from calcrete and oxidised bedrock. MEY said last month that ore was amenable to 375% upgrade to 0.087% U3O8 from 0.023% by screening, scrubbing and sorting, which could potentially reduce variable processing costs.
There are currently three primary targets in the Marencia area. MEY has drilled 18 holes for 2,831 metres at the Phillipus and Springbok zones in Q3 2009. Phillipus Zone has a radiometric anomaly over 900 metres and 2Q08 was confirmed to contain uraninite, which is easy to process. Drilling intercepts included 16.2 metres at 169 ppm U3O8, while low grade, mineralisation occurred near surface from about 15 metres and was consistent with resource and reserve grades of 0.011% to 0.012% U3O8 at the Valencia alaskite project.
An airborne radiometric survey was completed in October to assist with target identification for 2010. A scoping study for the project is expected in Q2 2010, while the next resource statement is due Q1 2010.
Resource Capital said Marenica had the potential to be economic based on the economics of low grade heap leach deposit, but that would likely come to pass at a uranium price of US$50-60/lb, compared to the current price of US$45/lb. Marenica could optimise the project through further paleochannel exploration success in Q4, which could help resolve the scale and grade issues, with alternatives for project optimisation provided by the proximity of Trekkopje.
Resource Capital said the 2010 exploration drilling offered a blue sky upside and estimated the EV/resource ratio at approximately US$1.70/lb.
A placement conducted in July raised A$9.9million through an issue of 82.6m shares at 0.12 cents per share plus options.
