Brisbane, Apr 17, 2008 (ABN Newswire) - Bondi Mining Ltd (ASX: BOM) is pleased to announce that drilling has now begun on the Murphy project in the Northern Territory.
The first phase of drilling on the project will comprise approximately 200 RAB holes for around 4000 metres, testing 10 different target areas which have been developed based on detailed magnetics and radiometrics, Hoistem airborne EM survey results, and Radon track etch anomalies. All the targets to be drilled are in the correct geological setting for unconformity uranium mineralisation of the type seen in the East Alligator region (eg Jabiluka - 360 million lbs at 0.45% U3O8) or of the type seen in the Westmoreland region (eg Westmoreland - 48 million lbs at 0.09% U3O8) in Queensland. The targets all lie under a thin veneer of recent cover and were therefore never prospected in the last uranium boom, despite the fact that they display all the correct geological ingredients for this style of mineralisation.
Drilling is to be carried out on targets which were developed on the basis of interpretation of geophysical datasets under shallow cover. The original targets were followed up by Alphatrack (radon track etch) sampling which produced anomalous results interpreted to be related to potential underlying uranium mineralisation. Radon track etch sampling has been previously shown to have successfully detected the Koongarra uranium deposit under 75 metres of cover.
Drilling will be targeting two main zones - the Wesmoreland Conglomerate immediately under the Siegal Volcanics (Westmoreland Style) and the reduced Murphy Metamorphic basement immediately under the base of the Westmoreland Conglomerate (East Alligator Style). Details of the individual targets and planned drilling are summarised below:
Target Style
UC19 East Alligator
45 RAB holes testing favourable structural
locations with strong Alphatrack response,
developed where the Westmoreland unconformity
lies under thin sand cover.
UC6 Westmoreland
45 RAB holes testing favourable structural
locations with strong Alphatrack response,
including possible dyke-fault intersections
similar to those developed at the Westmoreland
deposit
UC15 East Alligator
25 RAB holes testing structural targets in
zones of favourable NNW-NW fault intersections
with abundant mafic dyke development
UC8 Westmoreland
25 RAB holes testing an area with Alphatrack
anomalies at the interpreted contact between
the Siegal Volcanics and the underlying Westmoreland
Sandstone (identical stratigraphic position to
the Westmoreland deposit)
UC7 Westmoreland
25 RAB holes testing Alphatrack anomalies
associated with variably-oriented structures
located in close proximity to the contact
between the Siegal Volcanics and the
Westmoreland Sandstone
UC22 East Alligator
9 RAB holes testing northwest-trending Alphatrack
anomalies associated with the interpreted contact
between the Westmoreland Sandstone and the
underlying Murphy metamorphics.
UC16 East Alligator
9 RAB holes testing zones of Alphatrack anomalism
associated with an inferred paleo-high in the
Murphy metamorphic basement
UC18 East Alligator
7 RAB holes testing zones of Alphatrack anomalism
associated with northwest-trending structures in
close proximity to the basement contact, intruded
by northwest-trending mafic dykes.
BM11 U/Base metal
5 RAB holes testing a NNW-trending dyke zone along
the main strand of the Emu fault
BM7 U/Base metal
5 RAB holes testing the intersection zone between
a north-trending mafic dyke and a northwest-trending
conductor within Murphy Metamorphic basement
It is expected that the first pass of drilling will take approximately 4 weeks, and a second pass of drilling is planned to be carried out in July-August once results from this drilling program have been received and interpreted.
"Our work to date has identified a number of very compelling targets in this highly prospective area," said Dr Rick Valenta, Managing Director of Bondi Mining. "This is the first step in a program which has the potential to define a new high grade uranium district in a very favourable jurisdiction."
The exploration data and results contained in this report are based on information reviewed by Dr Rick Valenta, a fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. He is Managing Director of the Company and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the styles of mineralisation and types of deposits under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the December 2004 edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the JORC Code). Dr Valenta has consented to the inclusion in this release of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
