Cauldron Energy Ltd (ASX:CXU) continued to make progress across its gold, uranium and river sands projects in the final quarter of 2021.
The multi-commodity explorer is advancing a series of assets across Victoria and Western Australia as it continues to assess new project opportunities.
In the year ahead, Cauldron plans to continue drilling at its Blackwood gold camp in Victoria while in WA it will undertake seismic work at Yanrey Uranium Project and work through expressions of interest from its sands tenements.
The company ended 2021 with around $700,000 in the bank to support its exploration endeavours. In addition, CXU holds a portfolio of shares in other ASX-listed entities valued at approximately $650,000.
Blackwood Gold Project
Cauldron’s primary focus is the Blackwood project, which is southeast of Daylesford in the highly prospective historical Central Victorian Goldfields.
The project covers around 24 square kilometres and secures the most significant portion of the historic Blackwood Goldfield, which generated roughly 218,000 gold ounces between 1864 and 1960.
During the quarter, Cauldron readied for drilling at the asset, with work recommencing in late December.
To enable continued exploration, the company applied — and has since been accepted — for a prospectors licence (PL7763) over the Annie Laurie and Grace Egerton areas.
Moving ahead, Cauldron plans to continue the first phase of its drilling program, designed to cover 36 holes and roughly 4,800 metres.
CXU will also analyse LiDAR data to identify surface workings and fault structures across the asset.
Ultimately, the resultant data will help Cauldron complete ground-proofing, validate historical information and provide an additional tool to adjust the design of current underground drilling.
Now that access has been established, drilling activities can start to benefit from the comprehensive data compilation and LiDAR analysis.
Work will continue to advance the conceptual model of Blackwood’s south-plunging gold reefs, promoted in the various mining periods since the 1860s.
Cauldron’s exploration manager will mobilise to Blackwood in the current quarter to facilitate wider, more regional exploration plans.
Yarney Uranium Project
Cauldron’s Yarney asset is prospective for large sedimentary-hosted uranium deposits and plays host to the Bennet Well deposit.
The asset hosts a combined mineral resource of 38.9 million tonnes at 360 parts per million (ppm) eU3O8, for total contained uranium oxide of 30.9 million pounds at a 150 ppm cut-off.
Cauldron has not completed any substantive work on the asset's mineralisation since the mineral resource was published in 2015.
This is due to the lack of departmental approval for programs put forward since the WA State Government election of March 2017 and the corresponding ban on uranium mining in June 2017.
In 2022, Cauldron plans to undertake further passive seismic work over a selection of tenements.
Over the December quarter, CXU released assays from its passive seismic program, conducted over Yarney’s Flagstaff tenement.
The surveys highlighted multiple new targets over areas of unusual basement complexity, and the structural information will help Cauldron develop further developing the systems-style exploration model.
WA sands projects
In late December 2020, Cauldron announced it would acquire a 100% interest in a number of river sand tenements at the mouths of the Gascoyne (Carnarvon) and Ashburton (Onslow), and Fitzroy (Derby) Rivers in northern Western Australia, collectively covering around 286 square kilometres.
As of the date of this report, the acquisition is partially complete, with ownership of four licences transferred to Cauldron so far.
Sand is the most consumed natural resource on the planet besides water and by far the largest globally mined commodity.
It is estimated that more than 40 billion tonnes of aggregate (comprising sand and gravel) is consumed annually.
The demand for construction sand, found in the beds, banks and riverplains of rivers, as well as in lakes and on the seashore, is substantial and likely to outstrip supply in years to come.
Cauldron has already received several expressions of interest for sand supply, which it is currently working through.
Shareholders will be updated if and when discussions result in a formal commitment being received.