Hillview Project
(E51/1127) - Encounter 80%, Avoca 20%
The Hillview project is located 50km south east of Meekatharra. Broad spaced reconnaissance drilling at Hillview by Western Mining Corporation in the 1970s, identified a 15km long zone of near surface uranium mineralisation.
Multiple phases of aircore drilling were completed by Encounter during the year to test this large scale anomaly. The drilling successfully outlined a laterally continuous and coherent envelope of near surface mineralisation. Drilling was completed to a nominal 400m by 100m spacing comprising of a total of 133 vertical aircore holes. This drill spacing facilitated a resource calculation at Hillview.
Coffey Mining, independent consultants engaged by Encounter, have estimated an initial Inferred Resource above a 100ppm U 3O 8 lower cut off at Hillview of 27.6 million tonnes, averaging 174ppm U 3O 8 for a contained 10.6 million pounds of U 3O 8 (or approximately 4,800 tonnes contained U 3O 8) (see Table 1). The Inferred Resource is reported in accordance with the JORC code (2004) and guidelines.
The main mineralised zone at Hillview is 7km long by 1.4km wide with an average thickness of 3.15m (Figure 1). The Hillview resource is a flat lying, consistent body of near surface uranium mineralisation with minimal internal dilution. The resource area has been aircore drilled on a nominal 400m by 100m spacing. In total 133 vertical aircore holes have been used in the resource calculation.
The mineralisation is divided into three zones using the logged calcrete/silcrete horizon together with a nominal 100ppm U 3O 8 grade shell to domain the deposit. Two main intervals were defined (Zones 1 and 2) along with a distinct lower grade sub-division excised from Zone 1 (Zone 11).
Table 1. Hillview Uranium Deposit - Inferred Resource Estimate
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Hillview Uranium Project, Western Australia |
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Reported Above a 100ppm and 150ppm U 3O 8 Lower Cut Off |
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Reported Using a Bulk Density of 2.0 t/m 3 |
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2D Ordinary Kriged Estimate Using Length x Grade and Length as Service Variables |
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Parent Cell Dimensions of 100m NS by 200m EW by 32m RL |
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Zone |
Tonnage (Mt) |
Grade (U 3O 8 ppm) |
Contained Metal U 3O 8 (M lb) |
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100ppm U3O8 Lower Cut Off |
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1 |
21.6 |
182 |
8.7 |
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2 |
1.6 |
147 |
0.5 |
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11 |
4.4 |
146 |
1.4 |
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Total |
27.6 |
174 |
10.6 |
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150ppm U3O8 Lower Cut Off |
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1 |
20.6 |
184 |
8.3 |
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2 |
0.6 |
168 |
0.2 |
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11 |
1.5 |
153 |
0.5 |
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Total |
22.7 |
181 |
9.0 |
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Note: Figures have been rounded |
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Table 1 shows the Inferred Mineral Resource estimates at 100ppm and 150ppm U 3O 8 cut off grades. Contained Metal U 3O 8 reports in-situ metal in the ground and does not consider any mining, metallurgical or economic parameters at this stage.
The resource has been calculated using both chemical ICP-MS (ICP) assays and downhole gamma logging. A statistical analysis of the 42 holes that had both ICP and gamma assays indicated that the gamma assays were under-calling the grade of the mineralised intervals by an average of 20% with respect to the ICP analysis. A possible explanation for this is that this 'young' uranium mineralisation is affected by radioactive disequilibrium. Based on the statistical study of the ICP and gamma data, the gamma assays were adjusted up by 20% for use in this resource estimation.
Statistical analyses on the accumulated composites (grade times width) were completed and outliers reduced where appropriate. Two of the drillhole composites in Zone 1 were cut. Variography and search neighbourhood analysis were also conducted as input into the grade estimation.
The grade estimation method used was Block Ordinary Kriging. Both the accumulated metal and accumulated width were interpolated and back calculated to define the U 3O 8 grade. Ordinary Kriging was executed in 2D in estimation panels of 100m by 200m, using a maximum of 6 data points, and a maximum search distance of 400m for the first pass and 600m for the second pass calculations.
A dry, in-situ bulk density of 2t/m 3 was used for the tonnage calculation, based upon the density measurements of surface samples taken onsite at Hillview and a comparison of data density data from similar calcrete hosted deposits.
Initial metallurgical testwork has commenced to provide an indication of the potential leach amenability of the uranium mineralisation.
Figure 1. Hillview Uranium Deposit - Drilling Location and Mineralised Zones
