Niger Uranium holds eight prospecting licenses in Niger, covering a total area of 1,673,644 acres (6,773 square kilometres). Added together, the Irhazer, In Gall, Kamas I, II, III and IV and Dabala III and IV licenses represents one of the largest mineral property holdings in the Tim Mersoi Basin, the world’s fifth most important uranium producing district.
Conventional mining/milling, open-pit and underground operations are primarily used to recover uranium in Niger, although cheaper in-situ leaching processes may replace conventional mining techniques where appropriate.
Irhazer and In Gall
On the company’s In Gall and Irhazer licenses the exploration team is targeting two styles of mineralisation:
18 targets identified from satellite and airborne radiometric data and mapping. Three of these targets have been tested thoroughly to date, all of type 2.
Exploration commenced in January 2008. Over 4,000 metres of drilling, trenching, mapping, ground magnetics and radiometric surveying. Drilling to date has mainly tested the Cretaceous-aged surface exposed mineralization (type 2) at targets 12, 13 and 17 (In Gall target), with limited drilling at target 10 (type 1).
Drilling to commence at target 10 to follow up on an intersection of 9.0 metres grading 125 ppm eU3O8 within Jurassic sediments in a setting similar to the Imouraren deposit.
The uranium bearing phases observed are carnotite, uranophane coffinite and autunite occurring as fine grained particles commonly within silicate gangue that is predominantly glauconite.
The In Gall Resource
August 2008: Niger Uranium announced a SAMREC compliant Inferred Resource of 4.39 million lbs eU3O8 at the In Gall target.
MSA believes that step-out drilling could extend resource to the west. The host-formation has been followed westwards by Niger Uranium for 16 kilometres along strike and up to 10 kilometres in width by limited trenching and shallow drilling.
This target is in the southern portion of the In Gall license, one of eight licenses held by the company in the Tim Mersoi Basin, Niger.
Producing mines and deposits in Niger typically grade from 0.1% to 0.42% U3O8
Anomaly 10
Kamas and Dabala
The Dabala Exploration Permit and the Kamas Exploration Permit comprise six rectangular tenements in the Agadez area located in the north-central part of the Republic of Niger. The properties are located approximately 46 kilometres north of the town of Arlit, where Areva operates a uranium mine in partnership with the Niger Government and other minority partners. Dabala and Kamas are covered by Devonian sedimentary formations made up of coarse sandstones and conglomerates, with marine clay/silt intercalations within a broad zone containing northeast to southwest trending splays from the main Arlit lineament. Targets for uranium mineralisation are the Devonian ash sandstones and the splay structures.
