The Kurundi Project is located approximately 100 km southeast of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory. The project comprises two (2) granted exploration licences and one Mineral Claim, and covers an area of approximately 190 km2.
Interest
Northern Uranium owns 100% of the uranium rights on the two exploration licences (EL23937 & 24995) at Kurundi. The uranium rights were acquired from Washington Resources (now Ferrum Crescent Limited) in 2006, which retained the rights to all other minerals. Northern has an option to acquire a 90% interest in an 18.8ha mineral claim (MCC968) which covers the historic Munadgee uranium mine.
Location
The Kurundi Project is located around 100 km southeast of Tennant Creek, NT and 50 km east of the township of Wauchope on the Stuart Highway.
Target & Geology
The focus of uranium exploration is the historic Munadgee uranium mine, a 1950s discovery that produced uranium in the 1960s. According to unofficial records, some 3,000 tonnes of ore at an average grade of 10lbs/ton uranium (approximately 0.5% U3O8) were produced. Uranium mineralisation at Munadgee occurs in north/northwest striking quartz veins within a felsic porphyry intruding Proterozoic (Warramunga) sediments and volcanics. A prospective structural/geological corridor extends south-southeast from the Munadgee workings, and a number of radiometric anomalies have been identified within and adjacent to this corridor, which will be targeted for further “Munadgee-style” uranium mineralization.
Work completed by Northern Uranium
In late 2007 a Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling program comprising 23 holes for 1,892m was completed along strike from the Munadgee prospect. In addition, seven aircore holes for 240 metres were drilled. The drilling program was designed as the initial test of a mineralised zone outlined by airborne radiometrics, rock chip sampling and mapping. The mineralised zone extends approximately 800m south-southeast from Munadgee. Rock chip sampling along this trend returned several assays >0.1% U3O8 and up to 0.29% U3O8 immediately southeast of the Munadgee workings. The uranium mineralisation is associated with an anastomising fault network which forms an approximately 500m wide corridor transecting the contact of felsic intrusives and overlying volcano-sedimentary rocks.
Northern Uranium’s RC holes encountered felsic-intermediate volcanics and felsic porphyries, with zones of hematite, silica and minor chlorite alteration. Downhole gamma logging indicated broad zones of anomalous gamma radiation values, particularly in the holes closest to the Munadgee mine workings. Assays of samples from within the anomalous zones only ranged from 50 up to a maximum of 118ppm U over widths ranging from one to five metres. Nevertheless, the results of the drilling have aided an understanding of uranium mineralisation and rock alteration relationships in the area and provided pointers to priority targets around the old uranium mine. It was concluded that the Munadgee-style mineralisation is likely to be localised in relatively small shoots, difficult to intersect with widely spaced RC drilling traverses. It was decided that diamond drilling, precisely targeting the Munadgee workings at depth, with the aim of intersecting the down-plunge extension of the Munadgee mineralisation, would be preferred. Other significant results from the downhole gamma logging include an anomalous zone approximately 600m along strike to the south of Munadgee.
During 2008, Northern Uranium completed a detailed ground magnetic survey over the Munadgee prospect area, together with further detailed geological mapping and rock chip sampling.
Proposed Work program
The Company intends to conduct negotiations with the Aboriginal traditional owners of the area to resolve some issues regarding Aboriginal heritage site protection and access across Aboriginal freehold land that adjoins mineral claim MCC968. Once these negotiations have been successfully concluded a short diamond drilling program is proposed to test below the historical workings for the depth extensions of the known uranium mineralization.
Away from the historical Munadgee workings, two target areas have been identified south of Munadgee along strike from Munadgee and within the same structural corridor. Further geological mapping, rock chip sampling and detailed ground radiometrics are proposed for these targets.