Potential Vanadium Prospect on EL 24837 (Calvert Hills)

Abstract

Southern Uranium Limited (ASX Code: SNU) and joint venture partner Crescent Gold Limited (ASX:CRE) have made a significant discovery of outcropping vanadium and iron mineralisation, now referred to as the Vanadis Prospect, in eastern Northern Territory. The Managing Director of Southern Uranium, Mr John Anderson, said the Vanadis Prospect was located within the joint venture tenement EL 24837 in the Calvert Hills region and had the potential to be a large mineralised system in a new vanadium province. 'This is an exciting development for the Calvert Hills exploration project where the joint venture is searching for Westmoreland-style uranium deposits at the base of the mafic Seigel Volcanics,' he said. 'The Vanadis Prospect has potential to be a large vanadium deposit. The vanadium values obtained from limited outcrop sampling to date are of the order of established vanadium resources such as Windimurra.' Mr Anderson said the discovery had been made after recent drilling in collaboration with the Northern Territory Government had revealed that the Seigel Volcanics extended under cover into the central area of the tenement.' A similar magnetic domain was investigated in the north east corner where we discovered the unmapped outcrops and vanadium mineralisation in an interpreted mafic intrusive complex' he said. 'The joint venture will not only evaluate the vanadium and iron ore potential of this very large mineralised system, but will also consider the conceptual potential of the geological setting for a range of metal targets including uranium, nickel, cobalt and platinoids.' Vanadium is used as an additive to strengthen steel, in the production of aerospace titanium alloys, as a catalyst for production of maleic anhydride and sulphuric acid, in dyes and as target material for X-rays. The previously unmapped outcrops of haematite veined hydrothermal breccia were located in the northeast corner of the tenement. Representative samples of outcrop exposures were collected by rock grab sampling within the 250m by 250m area of best developed outcrop. A total of 16 breccia samples have returned average values of 0.74% V2O5 and 27.7% Fe. Mapping outlined semi-continuous rubble and outcrop of the breccia over an approximate area of 900m by 400m. Outcrop measurements taken with a portable XRF analyser were continuously and highly anomalous in vanadium along the 900m axis of the outcrop. The north eastern boundary of the haematite breccia abuts a white brecciated host rock that is intensely altered by clay and silica. The other outcrop margins pass under alluvial cover. Magnetic and satellite imagery indicate the mineralised breccia system may be even larger with anomalous patterns identified over a 2km by 2km area. Exploration under Calvert Hills EL 24837 is managed by Southern Uranium in Joint Venture with Uranium West Limited, a subsidiary of Crescent Gold Limited. Both parties hold 50% interest with Southern Uranium earning to 75% by spending $400,000 on exploration by mid 2010.