Okapi Resources Ltd (ASX:OKR) has been given the green light by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the State of Utah to get the drill bit spinning at its Rattler Uranium Project.
The explorer’s drill permit covers 100 shallow reverse circulation drill holes, designed to test the mineralisation unearthed at the historical Rattlesnake open pit mine.
Drilling is expected to kick off in quarter three this year after Okapi recently returned positive rock samples from Rattler’s Sunnyside and Rattlesnake targets.
The Rattler Uranium Project is in San Jan County in eastern Utah, which forms part of the state’s historic La Sal Mining District. La Sal is home to a number of mines in care and maintenance, as well as numerous abandoned mines.
Turning the soil at Utah play
Okapi is out to drill up to 100 reverse circulation holes at Rattler; the total number of holes drilled will be determined by drill results as the program advances.
Technically speaking, all drill holes will be oriented vertically, targeting relatively flat-lying structures with inclinations of less than 30 degrees from the horizontal.
The uranium explorer is negotiating a drilling contract with an internationally experienced reverse circulation drill operator.
Simultaneously, Okapi’s sampling mission will employ real-time, on-site, hand-held X-ray fluorescence (XRF) detectors to directly evaluate uranium content, as well as Scintillometer/Geiger counter measurements — the preferred method to detect gamma rays.
In addition to on-site analysis, chip samples will be collected from all mineralised intervals and sent to certified assay laboratories for comparative analysis, as well as quality assurance and control.
About Rattler
The Rattler Uranium Project comprises 98 BLM unpatented federal mining claims, encompassing roughly 1,960 acres.
It’s around 85 kilometres north of Energy Fuels Inc’s Mesa Uranium/Vanadium mill in Utah – the only operating conventional uranium mill in the US.
The project area includes the historical Rattlesnake open-pit mine, which was discovered around 1948 and operated through until about 1954.
Historic production from the Rattlesnake pit reportedly totalled 285,000 tonnes of ore at 2,800 parts per million triuranium octoxide (U3O8) and 10,000 parts per million vanadium oxide (V2O5) for 1.6 million pounds of U3O8 and 4.5 million pounds of V2O5.