Alligator Energy Ltd (ASX:AGE) will stump up for the Big Lake Uranium Project in South Australia following promising assessment of electromagnetic (EM) data.
The purchase will add substantially to the company’s uranium portfolio, as it seeks to create a vast new ‘uranium province’ with future exploration potential.
Airborne EM interpretation reveals promising palaeo-channel systems in the Tertiary Lake Eyre Basin at the project.
Support from existing data
The company's own seismic data is bolstered by existing public-domain seismic information supporting Alligator's own findings.
Preliminary assessments also support the contention that there is an opportunity to guide exploration for potential ISR uranium in the Cooper Basin.
The geophysical investigative work at the greenfield site was partially supported by the SA Department for Energy and Mining’s Accelerated Discovery Initiative (ADI).
“This is an exciting time for Alligator in being able to acquire the Big Lake Uranium Project after our initial and somewhat delayed investigation work,” CEO Greg Hall said.
“This acquisition represents very good value for a prospective uranium exploration region, with known uranium presence, in light of recent uranium exploration project market valuations as indicated through recent IPOs.”
Analogous to large-scale producer, Kazakhstan
The project has vast potential – the results of the company’s investigations support broad-based targeting of rock layers in a manner that duplicates extraction in the Chu-Sarysu Basin in Kazakhstan, which produced 42% of the world’s mined uranium in 2020.
The company has started conducting detailed assessment and integration of various data sets into a 3D model.
Alligator has allocated funds for maiden aircore and mud rotary drill programs, which are expected to start in the second quarter of 2022.
Terms of purchase
The company has issued an acquisition notice and finalised the contract for the purchase of the project licence as per a Heads of Agreement with the shareholders of Big Lake Uranium Pty Ltd (BLU) announced on December 5, 2019.
Under the terms of the agreement, Alligator will now acquire all shares in Big Lake Pty Ltd, the holder of the 100%-owned licence EL 6367, through the conversion of 30 million acquisition performance shares to fully paid ordinary shares in the company, as approved by the company’s shareholders in November.