Spectacular high-grade uranium at Shoobridge

Diversified mining and exploration company, Haddington Resources has announced...

  Diversified mining and exploration company, Haddington Resources has announced better than expected uranium findings at Liberator on its Shoobridge project, located 200km south of Darwin and comprising eight granted tenements totalling approximately 345sqkm.Haddington Managing Director, Colin McCavana said the company was extremely excited by the potential of the Liberator Prospect and surrounding Shoobridge Project to host high-grade uranium resources for future development. “The results, including 1m at 18.1% U3O8 from 40m, are truly spectacular, possibly the best reported in Australia for decades,” Mr McCavana said. In December 2007, Haddington completed its reverse circulation drilling program (18 holes for 920m) at the Liberator uranium prospect, which forms part of the Shoobridge project. Spectrometer measurements from the reverse circulation drill cuttings indicated two significant zones of uranium mineralisation, each of approximately 3m downhole length. Chemical analysis of the drill cuttings confirmed high-grade uranium mineralisation with 3m @ 6.05% U3O8 from 39m, including 1m @ 18.1% U3O8 from 40m. Haddington has interpreted the first mineralised zone as the depth continuity of the Dominion costean mineralisation (3m @ 0.43% U), which contained visible torbernite, a copper uranium phosphate mineral formed by the alteration of uraninite. The host rocks consist of interbedded quartzite and quartz muscovite shale/schists. Independent mineralogical assessment of reverse circulation chips identified uraninite disseminated in the quartzite. According to Haddington, a second zone of mineralisation, located approximately 300m to the north of the first zone, also intersected high-grade uranium mineralisation with 6m @ 1.34% U3O8 from 19m, including 1m @ 4.99% U3O8. The second mineralised zone consists of interbedded chert and sandstone units, with torbernite occurring along fractures in the chert horizon and disseminated throughout the sandstone unit. Copper values up to 1.03% are associated with this uranium mineralisation. Mr McCavana said Haddington will undertake detailed drilling to determine the extent of this discovery in the June quarter, following the wet season.