Discovery to Recovery: Heathgate Resources' Journey in the Frome Basin
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"Beverley and Beverley North Uranium". Brett Rava, Chief Geologist, Heathgate Resources Limited. Technical presentation at 2015 Broken Hill Resources Investment symposium.
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Discovery to Recovery: Heathgate Resources' Journey in the Frome Basin
- 1. Heathgate Resources Pty Ltd Frome Basin – Beverley North Deposits Discovery to Recovery Brett Rava – Geology Manager Resources Investment Symposium Broken Hill May 2015
- 2. 2 Affiliate of General Atomics (San Diego, California) – World leader for high-technology research and production for industry and government in the U.S. and overseas • nuclear fuel cycle , electromagnetic systems, remotely operated surveillance aircraft, airborne sensors, and advanced electric, electronic, wireless and laser technologies. Heathgate Resources Pty Ltd – Established in 1990; based in Adelaide – Operator of the Beverley uranium mine, which commenced production in 2000 – Owner of the Beverley North uranium mines, commenced production in late 2010 – Heathgate Resources is a service provider to Quasar Resources. Quasar Resources Pty Ltd – Subsidiary of GA; based in Adelaide – 75% ownership and manager of the Four Mile Uranium Project General Atomics Torrey Pines Site Beverley Uranium Mine
- 3. Regional Picture – Frome Embayment 3
- 4. Gammon Ranges National Park EL5261 EL5118 EL5119 EL5177 EL5349 EL5328 EL5311 EL5329 EL5017 25km Heathgate EL Quasar-Alliance EL Heathgate ML Quasar-Alliance ML Quasar EL Heathgate Resources & Quasar Resources – Frome Basin tenements FROME BASIN PROJECT – 100% Heathgate Total Total Area (km2) Exploration Licences (EL) ** 7 4,108 Retention Leases (RL) 3 7.5 Mining Leases (ML) 2 178 TOTAL 4,115.5 km2 5 FROME BASIN PROJECT – Quasar-Alliance JV Total Total Area (km2) Exploration Licences (EL) ** 1 780 Mining Leases (ML) 1 122.1 TOTAL 780 km2 FROME BASIN PROJECT – 100% Quasar Total Total Area (km2) Exploration Licences (EL) 2 1,051 TOTAL 1,051 km2 TOTALS Total Total Area (km2) Exploration Licences (EL) ** 10 5,816.9 Mining Leases (ML) 3 300.1 • Active exploration since 2002. • Sedimentary uranium focussed exploration programs. • Exploration investment since 2002 approximately +$150M. • Total planned exploration budget 2015 (excluding JV) ~$3.47M. • CSIRO Collaborative Project • Approximately 36 Mlbs of in-place resources discovered in 100% HGR tenements (not all amenable to ISR) ** EL underlies ML
- 5. 5 • Northern Flinders Ranges – rated one of the 5 most naturally radioactive places in the world • Surface could contain ~1Mlbs based on airborne radiometric data (within drainage area) • In the last 5.3Ma (time of last uplift and erosion – Skirrow, 2009) significant amount of uranium has been mobilised into the basin (Skirrow, 2009 & Quigley et al, 2006) • In-ground resources discovered to date (not all in-ground resource amenable to ISR) ü Pepegoona E & W 3.5 Mlbs ü Pannikan 3.9 Mlbs ü Beverley 25.9 Mlbs ü Other ~3 Mlbs(?) ü Four Mile East (FME) & Four Mile West (FMW) 71 Mlbs* (Indicated & Inferred) ü FMNE (Four Mile North East) 70-80 Mlbs** (Exploration Target) Total ~177-187 Mlbs • Is there more and where is it? Skirrow, R.G., 2009 (editor) GA Record 2009/40, p110 * Alliance Resources Ltd, Annual Report 2014 ** Alliance Resources Ltd, ASX Announcement 24 February 2015 Airborne Radiometrics (U channel) Why are we looking in the Frome Basin?
- 6. Roll-front in an open cut mine – South Texas Upper and Lower Limbs • generally narrow, weakly mineralised, dominated by daughter products • Strong –ve DEF Roll • strongly mineralised – roll-front ore zone • strong +ve DEF Redox Front • precipitation uraninite or coffinite at redox front/boundary • moderately to strongly mineralised • weak –ve DEF Protore • weakly mineralised • +ve DEF What are we exploring for ? DEF = Disequilibrium Factor (ratio PFN grade vs. γ grade) DEF > 1.0; +ve DEF = uranium enriched DEF < 1.0; -ve DEF = uranium depleted DEF = 1.0; equilibrium
- 7. 7 0.5–+5km Bulldog Shale Namba Formation 60m 5-6m 3-4m 250m 25-50m A A’ • Deposits occur at the redox – front and described as similar in occurrence to a string of pearls • Roll-fronts are typically thin and often complicated in nature • Are commonly stacked, with occurrence of multiple sub-rolls Roll-Fronts in Reality – not that simple
- 8. 8 • Regional exploration to initially define redox-front • Great start - extensive drillhole database • approximately +15,000 holes • majority within Beverley and Beverley North MLs • historical drilling • Majority of historical holes limited to testing of Namba Formation – an issue when exploring the Eyre Formation • HGR-QSR exploration holes drilled to Bulldog Shale • Redox boundary defined by broad spaced (+1km) drilling over approximately 110km length within northern tenements. • Re-reduction a consideration– looking at geochemical finger-printing • Potential for Beverley style palaeochannel mineralisation still considered high Where to start ?
- 9. 9 How hard is it ! PR1108 • June 2009 - Regional drill program • PR1084 – no mineralisation intersected, reduced sediments • All drillholes on section intersected reduced sediments • July 2009 – weak mineralisation intersected at base of Namba Formation • PR1108 – 0.8m @ 0.07 eU3O8 PR1084 400m
- 10. 10 PR1126 • August 2009 - first ore intercept within Eyre Formation • PR1126 – 2.8m @ 0.14 pU3O8 Pepegoona How hard is it ! • June 2009 - Regional drill program • PR1084 – no mineralisation intersected, reduced sediments • All drillholes on section intersected reduced sediments • July 2009 – weak mineralisation intersected at base of Namba Formation • PR1108 – 0.8m @ 0.07 eU3O8 400m
- 11. 11 PR1132 Pepegoona • September 2009 - first major ore intercept • PR1132 – 4.6m @ 0.36 pU3O8 • August 2009 - first ore intercept within Eyre Formation • PR1126 – 2.8m @ 0.14 pU3O8 How hard is it ! • June 2009 - Regional drill program • PR1084 – no mineralisation intersected, reduced sediments • All drillholes on section intersected reduced sediments • July 2009 – weak mineralisation intersected at base of Namba Formation • PR1108 – 0.8m @ 0.07 eU3O8 400m
- 12. 12 Pepegoona • Further drilling defined Pepegoona Deposit How hard is it ! • September 2009 - first major ore intercept • PR1132 – 4.6m @ 0.36 pU3O8 • August 2009 - first ore intercept within Eyre Formation • PR1126 – 2.8m @ 0.14 pU3O8 • June 2009 - Regional drill program • PR1084 – no mineralisation intersected, reduced sediments • All drillholes on section intersected reduced sediments • July 2009 – weak mineralisation intersected at base of Namba Formation • PR1108 – 0.8m @ 0.07 eU3O8 400m
- 13. 13 • February 2010 – restart regional drill program • PR1218 – no mineralisation intersected, reduced sediments PR1218 Pepegoona 400m How hard is it...to miss!
- 14. 14 • February 2010 – restart regional drill program • PR1218 – barren PR1219 • March 2010 – first intercept At Pannikan • PR1219 – 6.6m @ 0.24 pU3O8 400m How hard is it...to miss!
- 15. 15 • February 2010 – restart regional drill program • PR1218 – barren • March 2010 – first intercept At Pannikan • PR1219 – 6.6m @ 0.24 pU3O8 • Pannikan drill out completed by end March 2010 Pepegoona MISSED by <200m 400m How hard is it...to miss! Pannikan
- 16. 16 Pannikan • Large “classic” roll front or wedge-shaped “geochemical” cell encompassing nearly the entire Eyre succession • Highest grades hosted by carbonaceous sands • Multiple stacked rolls Pepegoona West • Series of relatively competent multiple stacks of roll- fronts hosted within the Eyre Formation Pepegoona • Multiple stacked roll fronts (staggered) • Hard to predict behavior due to the interference of abundant reductants (pyrite) • Complex network of thinner, less competent roll fronts Pepegoona Beverley North Deposits
- 17. Pannikan Deposit 17 Downhole geophysical logs from wellfield drilling are correlated to enable grade and resource determination Roll Protore Limbs Roll Limb
- 18. 18 Statistical Analysis • Statistical analysis of drill data is undertaken on; • Grade • Thickness • GT • DEF to determine distribution, trends and correlations • statistical analysis enables us to understand spatial relationships in order to properly use geostatistical methods • roll front grade is very positively skewed and requires log normal kriging or multi-indicator kriging PFN reading error Is this indicative of another grade population? Is high grade data missing or Is this another population?
- 19. 19 Geology Front Mapping – GT Contouring GT Contouring for Resource Estimation and Wellfield Planning • Map • Redox-front • DEF • GT values • Interpreted roll-front characteristic
- 20. 20 GT Contouring for Resource Estimation and Wellfield Planning • Map • Redox-front • DEF • GT values • Interpreted roll-front characteristic • Contour • Contour GT values • Each roll-front must be mapped separately • Why GT Contouring • Defines the geometry of the roll-front • Cumulative GT • doesn’t take into account the nature of the roll- fronts (e.g. stacked roll-fronts or sub-rolls) • represents a 2D grade distribution but no continuity between roll-fronts especially when roll-fronts are of varying depth • will over-estimate resource in early exploration stages of stacked fronts Geology Front Mapping – GT Contouring
- 21. 21 Predictive Flow Modelling for Wellfield Design Injector Well Extractor Well Balance Line Grade Thickness Contour Wellfield Design & Planning • Wellfields designed to maximise recovery and lower costs • Traditional 5 and 7 spot patterns may work for “blob” interpretation but not for complex sinuous roll- fronts Custom Pattern 7-Spot Pattern
- 22. 22 Predictive Flow Modelling for Wellfield Design Wellfield Design & Planning • Wellfields designed to maximise recovery and lower costs • Traditional 5 and 7 spot patterns may work for “blob” interpretation but not for complex sinuous roll- fronts Injector Well Extractor Well Balance Line Grade Thickness Contour Custom Pattern 7-Spot Pattern
- 23. 23 7-Spot Pattern • 40 wells (7 extractors, 33 injectors) • 30m well spacing • Installation cost ~$3.6M • Under leach ?? Injector Well Extractor Well Balance Line Grade Thickness Contour Custom Pattern • 28 wells (9 extractors, 19 injectors) • 28 – 34m well spacing • Installation cost ~$2.52M • Under leach ?? versus Modelling Resource Under Leach Custom Pattern 7-Spot Pattern
- 24. 24 Custom Pattern 7-Spot Pattern Mineralisation not initially swept is swept by later role reversals 7-Spot Pattern • 40 wells (7 extractors, 33 injectors) • 30m well spacing • Installation cost * - $3.6M • Under leach – 1,264,000 lbs Custom Pattern • 28 wells (9 extractors, 19 injectors) • 28 – 34m well spacing • Installation cost * - $2.52M • Under leach – 1,323,000 lbs versus Injector Well Extractor Well Balance Line Grade Thickness Contour Modelling Resource Under Leach
- 25. Geophysics – Seismic Interpretation, Palaeochannels 25 POONTANAFAULT POONTANAFAULT Stratigraphy picked from drilling WEST EAST POONTANAFAULT NAMBA Channels EYRE
- 26. Thankyou