GoviEx tables uranium resource update in Zambia
GoviEx Uranium Inc. [GXU-TSX, GVXXF-OTCQB] has announced an updated mineral resource estimate for its 100%-owned Mutanga Project, in Zambia. The project consists of three mining permits that cover 720 square kilometres and contain five deposits, Dibbwi, Dibbwi East, Muntanga, Gwabi and Njame.
“Our drilling campaigns in 2021 and 2022 have led to a significant update in the Muntanga mineral resource estimate,’’ said GoviEx CEO Daniel Major. “This process is characterized by a notable growth in in-pit resources, a substantial conversion of inferred resources into the indicated category and an overall rise in uranium grades,” he said.
The 2023 updated mineral resource estimate is the result of extensive infill drilling, including 8,010 metres drilled in 2021 and 19,990 metres drilled in 2022, predominantly in the Dibbwi East deposit, to further delineate the deposit and convert inferred resources to the indicated category.
Measured and indicated resources now stand at 42.6 million tonnes of grade 359 ppm U308 or 33.7 million pounds of U308. On top of that is an inferred resource of 15 million tonnes of 330 ppm U308 or 10.9 million pounds of U308.
The company said measured and indicated resources have nearly tripled from previous estimates, and now represent 74% of total resources, up from 29%. Total in-pit constrained resources have increased by 18% from earlier estimates.
However, GoviEx shares were unchanged at 15.5 cents and now trade in a 52-week range of 33 cents and 11.5 cents.
GoviEx is focused on the exploration and development of its African uranium properties. Its principal objective is to become a significant uranium producer via the continued exploration and development of its mine-permitted Madaouela project, its mine-permitted Mutanga Project in Zambia, and its multi-element Falea Project in Mali.
The company’s shareholders include Cameco Corp. [CCO-TSX, CCJ-NYSE], Denison Mines Corp. [DML-TSX], and privately-owned Ivanhoe Industries.
Following a successful drilling program in 2022 at Muntanga, GoviEx recently said it will expand the scope of the feasibility study for the Mutanga project to include detailed engineering and design. The company will also complete the project’s Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) update and undertake additional drilling to target mineralisation extensions along sections at the project’s Dibbwi East deposit.
In 2022, the company conducted an extensive 15,500-metre infill drilling program at Dibbwi East, in a bid to upgrade the inferred resource of 29 million pounds of U308 into the indicated category.
The company has said an analysis of the 2022 drilling results has highlighted that the Dibbwi East deposit is open up and down dip, as several sections have not closed off the uranium resource.
Based on a 2017 PEA, the Mutanga Project is an open pit, heap leach operation with an 11-year mine life. The PEA envisaged production of 2.6 million pounds of U308 annually, based on a mineral resource of 15.2 million pounds in the measured and indicated category and 44.9 million pounds in the inferred category.