EL 22784 and EL 22785 Muralidbar Project Final report 29 August 2008 to 28 August 2009

Abstract

Muralidbar is a uranium exploration project covering exploration licences EL 22784 (29 blocks) and EL 22785 (74 blocks), covering a total area of 255.28 km, which were granted to Cameco Australia Pty Ltd (Cameco) on 29th August 2005. The project is located approximately 250 km east of Darwin. Cameco relinquished 4 of the 29 blocks from EL 22784 and 19 of the 74 blocks from EL 22785 in August 2008. Exploration work conducted on the Muralidbar project during the four years of tenure comprised regional outcrop and stream sediment sampling, Tempest and HyMap hyperspectral surveys. 95 outcrop samples were collected from 2006 to 2009, to determine alteration patterns, background geochemistry and to delineate uranium anomalies as an indicator for potential uranium mineralisation. 29 stream sediment samples were collected in 2007. The best uranium result from the outcrop and stream sediment sampling was 62.3 ppm U3O8, from sample MD064004, a weathered basalt sample collected at the Saratoga airborne radiometric anomaly in southern portion of EL 22784. Samples with uranium content between 1 and 40 ppm U3O8 are associated with weathered volcanic rocks, laterite or ferruginous gravel, with one exception being MD060001. Sample MD060001 is of ferruginous Cretaceous sandstone from the Saratoga anomaly area and returned 19.8 ppm U3O8. The elevated uranium content is interpreted to relate to scavenging of uranium leached from the volcanic rocks. The TEMPEST survey conducted in 2007 failed to identify any electromagnetic response and is attributed to a lack of graphite within the basement rocks. The HyMap hyperspectral survey identified several targets characterised by strong or potentially interesting spectral signatures. No hyperspectral anomalies of clear hydrothermal origin were identified in the survey. There have been no encouraging results returned from the exploration work carried out in the Muralidbar tenements to date. Cameco Australia surrendered EL 22784 and EL 22785 on 28 August 2009.