www.toroenergy.com.au
Toro Energy (ASX: TOE) is well placed to operate one of the first new Western Australian uranium mines. The company is also an explorer in Western Australia, the Northern Territory, South Australia and in the African country of Namibia.
The Wiluna Project is at an advanced stage in government assessment and approval, with Toro planning to commit to construction late next year for first production in 2013. The project hosts two shallow (generally less than 10m deep) calcrete deposits with a Measured, Indicated and Inferred resource of 24.4Mlbs of contained Uranium (U3O8) in the current project approved.
Toro Energy holds the uranium rights at Mt Woods, with OZ Minerals intersecting uranium
Toro Energy (ASX: TOE) has uranium rights surrounding the Prominent Hill Mine Lease in South Australia owned by OZ Minerals (ASX: OZL) from which OZ has intersected very interesting uranium mineralisation from drilling in 2010.
Toro owns the Mt Woods uranium rights that cover EL4283, 4025, 4390 and 4132, although they do not extend to Prominent Hill.
Uranium anomalism had been intersected previously by CRA in the Mt Woods Project area associated with Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold (IOCG) alteration, similar in style to Prominent Hill.
Diamond drilling highlights from OZ's 2010 drill program include:
- 0.7 metres at 633 parts per million (ppm) U3O8 from 239.3 metres;
- 2 meters at 188ppm U3O8 from 178 metres, in a hole located just 6 kilometres west of the Prominent Hill Mine; and
- 2 metres at 283ppm U3O8 from 148 metres.
It is still early days as to the significance of these uranium results, but they demonstrate the association of uranium with copper-gold mineralisation. They highlight a possible new style of uranium mineralisation without significant copper or gold.
In 1986, CRA intersected 6.56m @ 159ppm U3O8 from 215.2m and OZ intersected 8.6m @ 118ppm U3O8 from 176.64m immediately adjacent to the Prominent Hill Mine Lease.
Greg Hall, managing director of Toro, said “The Mt Woods tenements in South Australia are considered one of the most prospective areas for IOCG mineralisation in the World.
"Although the uranium grades in the OZ Prominent Hill mine are low, we are cognisant of the contained uranium in the similar style Olympic Dam mine.
"Although the tenor of the uranium grades intersected so far is low, Toro is still hopeful that an IOCG deposit discovered on the Mt Woods Project has the potential for economic uranium.”
Prominent Hill contains an average grade of 106ppm U3O8, with parts of the ore-body averaging 212 to 260ppm U3O8.
Prominent Hill is located 130 kilometres north west of BHP Billiton’s (ASX: BHP) Olympic Dam and 130 kilometres south east of the town of Coober Pedy in the Gawler Craton of South Australia, with the first production from the open pit copper-gold mine in 2009.
