Haranga’s maiden Saraya resource is just the start as uranium prices surge

• Saraya prospect has a maiden resource of 12.5Mt at 587ppm eU3O8
• Mineralisation remains open along strike, down-dip and down-plunge
• Prospect covers a tiny part of broader Saraya permit
• Exploration to date has already identified six other potential uranium anomalies

 

Haranga has defined a maiden Inferred resource of 16Mlbs at a grade of 587ppm uranium for the Saraya prospect within the project of the same name in Senegal.

The timing is exquisite, coming as uranium prices soar up to US$71/lb, well within reach of the US$73/lb level it was at before the Fukushima disaster in 2011.

 

Known uranium potential

The uranium potential of the 1,650km2 Saraya prospect was first flagged by the French Atomic Energy Commission in the late 1950s from large-scale aerial surveys and subsequent ground radiometric mapping and trenching.

This was followed by COGEMA carrying out reconnaissance-level field radiometric mapping and drilling 452 holes with gamma probes used to determine eU grades in the mid-1970s.

COGEMA (now Orano) established that uranium mineralisation at Saraya was an episyenite-affiliated target structurally controlled by fault intersections but shifted its interest to new Niger discoveries and mothballed Saraya.

In 2008, its comprehensive review of the geophysical data highlighted a boundary of the deuteric alteration within the granites associated with Saraya.

This was followed by the drilling of 141 holes across various prospects including 72 in the Saraya prospect area that led it to link significant uranium mineralisation with brecciated corridors within episyenite in a sodic metasomatism context.

However, it withdrew from Senegal following the Fukushima incident before it could launch a comprehensive exploration program.

Haranga Resources (ASX:HAR) – through Mandinga Resources – took over exploration at Saraya in 2022.

Its initial 22-hole diamond drill program was carried out to validate the geological model and corroborate historical drill data totalling more than 65,000m that had returned results of up to 47.8m grading 1,630ppm eU from a down-hole depth of 72.4m, and seek extensions to the known uranium mineralisation.

 

Maiden resource is only the beginning

Highlighting the quantity and quality of work carried out over the Saraya prospect, the company has now outlined an Inferred resource of 12.5Mt at 587ppm eU3O8 that includes a large, potentially open-pittable component of 9.4Mt at 641ppm eU3O8, or 13.29Mlbs of contained uranium oxide.

The tonnage is right at the midpoint of the conceptual Exploration Target of between 4Mlb and 35Mlb of eU3O8 that Haranga had announced in 2022 while the grade is towards the upper end of the target’s estimated grade of 350ppm to 750ppm.

Additionally, the company notes that the resource is classified as Inferred only due to a lack of extractive chemistry testwork and the relatively limited quality assurance and control data to validate deeper historical grades.

“This marks a significant milestone for the company and was based on solid work by our professional team in digitising, translating and validating existing data, a fitting reward for their efforts,” managing director Peter Batten said.

“The deposit size and grade place it at the forefront of junior exploration companies.”

Whilst the resource estimate is significant, the company is only really getting started at the broader project.

The mineralisation at the Saraya prospect not only remains open along strike, down-dip and down-plunge, it covers just 0.2km2 of the 1,650km2 permit area.

Haranga has already defined at least six additional uranium radiometric and coincident geochemical uranium anomalies across the permit, several of which are significantly larger than Saraya.

One standout is the Diobi prospect, which is five times larger than Saraya.

Batten adds that 60% of the permit has yet to be explored.

The company has a 70% stake in Mandinga Resources, which holds a 100% interest in Saraya. The remaining 30% interest becomes dilutionary following a positive pre-feasibility study and will convert to a 2% net-smelter royalty if it should dilute below 6%.

 

Coming activity

Haranga is currently awaiting sampling results across the southern half of the permit, where historical radiometric anomalies have presented as the largest on the permit.

Ongoing termite mound sampling, which leverages the termite’s natural tendency to burrow deep, bringing elements from the concealed granites to the surface, has covered about 70% of the permit to date and is expected to hasten drill targeting.

 

 

 

This article was developed in collaboration with Haranga Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

 

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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