Perth, Feb 1, 2008 AEST (ABN Newswire) - In the company's December Quarterly report released yesterday, Uranium Exploration Australia Limited (ASX: UXA) highlighted the progress made at its two most advanced uranium prospects, Playford in South Australia and Crystal Creek in the Northern Territory.
At the Playford tenements, located approximately midway between BHP's Olympic Dam and Oxiana's Prominent Hill, a high intensity gravity target has been identified. Consistent with its neighbouring deposits, the Playford target - named TPG8 - is prospective for iron-oxide, copper, gold and uranium (IOCGU).
Commenting on Playford, UXA's Managing Director Mr Patrick Mutz said, "We have been very keen to commence drilling of TPG8 since determining the intensity of its gravity signature, which is indicative of the size of the gravity body. For comparison purposes, if TPG8's gravity body were located at a depth similar to the Carrapateena prospect, TPG8's gravity signature would be 2-3 times greater than the signature at Carrapateena."
"Heritage clearance on four of the five proposed drill site locations has been received. We anticipate drilling in late February, dependent on rig availability."
In early January, UXA announced that it had made its maiden uranium discovery at the Crystal Creek prospect in its Ngalia Thrust tenement. The discovery is located approximately 30 kilometres east of the Bigrlyi Uranium project, which currently hosts a 14.3 million lbs U3O8 resource.
Six soil samples collected during initial field investigations in December have averaged 90 ppm U3O8, with the highest concentration at 230 ppm.
"Albeit early in the exploration process, there are a number of indicators suggesting hydrothermal activities may have played a part in mobilising and redepositing uranium in this area. We are investigating for evidence of a regional fault and alteration system that could potentially host significant uranium mineralisation.
"We are now planning a detailed field programme incorporating mapping and geochemical sampling, which will be followed by a focused drilling programme to investigate the depth and areal extent of the uranium mineralisation," Mr Mutz added.
On the corporate front, UXA announced a Farm-in and Joint Venture Agreement with RIL Australia Pty Ltd (RILA) in December.
RILA is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), a Fortune Global 500 Company and the largest private sector company in India. The deal marks the first foray in the Australian uranium sector by an Indian company.
The agreement provides RILA with a 49% interest in four of UXA's exploration licences in South Australia and four exploration licence applications in the Northern Territory.
In return, UXA received cash considerations totalling $3.45 million, comprising $1.15 million as payment for prior exploration data and $2.3 million earn-in for UXA's share of future exploration expenditure. In addition, RILA will contribute to funding 49% of future exploration expenditures.
Foreign Investment Review Board approval and State and Federal ministerial consent has been granted, paving the way for the joint venture to progress an aggressive exploration programme over the next three years with an estimated outlay of up to $19.4 million.
Please view the following link to the Full December 2007 Quarterly Report:
http://www.uxa.com.au/Dec2007QtrActivitiesReport.html
Contact
Phone: +61 8 8363 7970
Fax: +61 8 8363 7963
E-mail: info@uxa.com.au
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