Aura Energy (ASX: AEE) has reported that assays from trench sampling on joint venture permits in northern Mauritania have indicated the presence of strong uranium mineralisation close to surface.
Aura recently reached agreement with Ghazal Minerals, 23% owned by Ezenet (ASX: EZE), to earn an interest in exploration licences that cover approximately 544km2 and are highly prospective for uranium.
The joint venture covers two exploration permits, Agouyme and Bir Moghrein, where Aura can earn 70% by funding $4 million of exploration expenditure.
Both permits have strong and extensive uranium anomalies defined by an airborne radiometric survey and follow-up ground surveys.
The permits include approximately 36 square kilometres of radiometric anomalies at values that elsewhere in the region are associated with uranium mineralisation.
29 of the 32 separate trench sites on southern Agouyme Permit contained visible carnotite uranium mineralisation over an area 700m by 400m.
79% of the trench samples collected at Agouyme contained greater than 100ppm U3O8, and these samples averaged 550 ppm U3O8. The trenching area only covers a small part of radiometric anomaly at Agouyme.
On the other Joint venture permit, Bir Moghrein, 70 kilometres north of Agouyme, trenching identified calcrete-type uranium mineralisation in several areas within the geophysical anomalies. Assay values in samples from these trenches contained up to 350 ppm U3O8.
Here the majority of samples were in massive crystalline calcrete, and in the majority of cases the trenches were not able to penetrate sufficiently deeply to test the bedrock where mineralisation occurs in the Agouyme permit.
Aura will shortly commence a drilling programme to test the extent and strength of uranium mineralisation on the joint venture permits.