Okapi Resources Ltd (ASX:OKR) has completed the acquisition of an option for a 51% interest in the Hansen Uranium Project in Colorado, USA, which increases its mineral resource for the Tallahassee Uranium Project to 42 million tonnes at 540ppm for 49.8 million pounds of U3O8.
This represents an 81% increase in the size and a 10% increase in the grade of the existing JORC (2012) mineral resource.
The Hansen project is immediately south of, and adjacent to, Okapi’s 100%-owned Taylor and Boyer uranium deposits. It holds two deposits known as the Hansen Uranium Deposit and the Picnic Tree Uranium Deposit, with Hansen being a high-grade, shallow deposit.
The Hansen and Picnic Tree deposits contain a JORC (2012) mineral resource of 22.2 million pounds U3O8 at 610 ppm U3O8 (100% of which is attributable to Okapi via its 51% mineral interest).
Tallahassee Uranium Project.
A new beginning for US uranium
The acquisition could transform Okapi into a significant player in the USA uranium market, which is predicted to grow exponentially over the coming years.
Okapi’s managing director Andrew Ferrier said: “The coming period is a very exciting time, with the company recently commencing diamond drilling at its 100%-owned Enmore Gold Project in NSW, about to embark on an extensive summer field exploration program in the Athabasca Basin and we continue to advance our Tallahassee Uranium Project in the US which has significant strategic value given the recent geopolitical developments in the US uranium industry.
“The announcements by the Biden Administration in early June 2022 marks a new beginning for the domestic US uranium industry. Citing Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the Biden Administration is now proposing a plan whereby the Department of Energy is requesting Congress for approval to purchase US$4.3 billion of enriched uranium directly of domestic producers, which is aimed at dramatically reducing America’s dependence on Russian imports of uranium.”
About the Tallahassee Project
The central Colorado project is about 140 kilometres southwest of Denver and 30 kilometres northwest of Canon City. Okapi acquired Tallahassee Resources in July 2021 and since then has continued to consolidate a strategic position in what is one of the most prolific uranium districts in the USA.
The Tallahassee Uranium Project now comprises:
- Leases over two private properties (the Taylor and Boyer Properties) that provide a 100% interest in approximately 7,400 acres that encompass the Boyer, Noah and Northwest Taylor Uranium Deposits. The lease agreements provide Tallahassee the right to explore, mine and construct infrastructure on these lands.
- Eight federal lode mining claims and a State of Colorado lease that cover a portion of the High Park Uranium Deposit.
- 51% of the mineral interest at the Hansen and Picnic Tree Deposits.
About Hansen
There have been around 1,000 drill holes completed across the Hansen and Picnic Tree uranium deposits. The Hansen deposit has been defined as a 1,400 metres x 500 metres, large, tabular sandstone deposit and has some of the highest grades and widths in the district contained within flat-lying tabular horizons up to 50 metres thick and at a depth of between 150 metres and 200 metres.
The sandstone was deposited in a fluvial-braided stream environment, infilling a paleaochannel. Deposition occurred when uranium-bearing ground water moved through the sandstone layers with depositing uranium minerals in areas enriched with carbonaceous material.
Growing resource
The updated mineral resource reflects Okapi’s new ownership interest in the district, which is now a 100% mineral interest in Taylor, Boyer and High Park deposits and a 51% mineral interest in Hansen and Picnic Tree deposits.
