Atomic Eagle Ltd (ASX:AEU) has outlined a substantial new JORC Exploration Target for its Muntanga Uranium Project in Zambia, signalling a significant step-change in the project’s future scale as maiden drilling draws to a close.
The company today reported an Exploration Target of 82 million–150 million tonnes at 150–350 parts per million (ppm) triuranium octoxide (U₃O₈), equating to 40 million–100.5 million pounds (Mlbs) of contained uranium. The target sits across the broader Muntanga project area and is in addition to Atomic Eagle’s existing 47.4 Mlb JORC Mineral Resource, comprising 40 Mlbs in the Measured and Indicated categories and 7.4 Mlbs Inferred.
Location of Exploration Target areas.
Atomic Eagle emphasised that the potential quantities and grades are conceptual in nature and that insufficient exploration has been completed to define a Mineral Resource at this stage. However, the scale of the target underscores what the company describes as a materially underexplored uranium system across its 1,126-square-kilometre licence package in the mid-Zambezi Rift Valley.
Location of Mineral Resources within the broader Muntanga Project licence area.
Flagging the ‘size of the prize’
Atomic Eagle chairman Govind Friedland said the Exploration Target provides a clearer picture of the upside Atomic Eagle is pursuing.
“The company’s strategy is firmly focused on rapidly expanding the existing Mineral Resource across the company’s expansive Muntanga Uranium Project area,” Friedland said.
“Through the release of the Exploration Target, Atomic Eagle can now articulate what we believe to be the ‘size of the prize’ across our extensive land package within the Karoo basin sediments,” he added. “Resource definition is under way, with results from our maiden drilling program expected in early 2026.”
He added that planning is well advanced for a large-scale 2026 drill program — expected to be the most significant undertaken at Muntanga since discovery — with full details to be released early in the new year.
Major African uranium deposits and location of the Karoo Basins of southern Africa.
Multiple targets underpin broader district potential
The Exploration Target spans several key areas across the project, each defined by radiometric anomalies, favourable stratigraphy and historical or recent drilling data.
Muntanga Uranium Project: Map showing defined Uranium Resources and Exploration Targets overlaid on radiometrics.
- Muntanga North: An 80-square-kilometre area between Njame and Dibbwi East, largely undrilled aside from a 2022 intersection of 1.95 metres at 295 ppm U₃O₈. Atomic Eagle has identified eight priority sites and planned around 230 holes (28,000 metres) to test the zone.
- Muntanga East: Located 5 kilometres northeast of the existing 9.1 Mlb resource, where broad-spaced historic drilling returned 20.6 metres at 201 ppm U₃O₈. The company is completing a 75-hole infill program, with results expected early 2026 to support a maiden resource estimate.
- Dambwe: Anomalous radon, soil geochemistry and radiometric signatures have defined a structural and lithological target analogous to nearby Dibbwi East. Six initial holes are planned.
- Kariba Valley (including Chisebuka and the Namakande prospects): Chisebuka is highlighted by a 4-kilometre-long radiometric anomaly and has shown consistent mineralised lenses from surface to ~110 metres. A 100-hole infill program (~7,500 metres) is under way, with a resource estimate targeted for 2026.
Muntanga East Exploration Target: Historical and planned drilling over ‘Grade x Thickness’ contours.
Maiden drilling nears completion
Atomic Eagle has now wrapped up its first pass of drilling at Muntanga, with 100 shallow holes (7,700 metres) completed at Muntanga East and Chisebuka. Gamma logs are under review, and assays are due in early 2026.
An additional 9,000-metre infill program at Chisebuka is also on track for completion by late December.
Chisebuka Exploration Target: ‘Grade x Thickness’ contours from historical drilling and proposed drilling
With about $20 million in cash following its ASX listing and re-compliance capital raising, the company remains fully funded to execute what it describes as an aggressive, district-scale exploration and resource growth strategy through 2026.
Read more: Atomic Eagle advances Muntanga exploration following ASX debut