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Westmoreland Uranium Project
Technical Reports
Westmoreland Uranium Project NI 43-101 PEA/Scoping Study – April 2016
Westmoreland Metallurgical Results – June 2011
Westmoreland Resource Estimate – May 2009
Westmoreland Preliminary Assessment Report – 2007
| Location | Northwest Queensland, Australia, adjacent to Northern Territory border |
|---|---|
| Ownership | 100% Laramide Resources Ltd. |
| Proposed Mine Type | Open cut mine |
| Commodities | Uranium |
| Current Status | PEA/Scoping Study Complete; Further exploration on satellite deposits |
| Mineral Resources (Restated 2016 in Scoping Study) | An Indicated Mineral Resource totalling 36.0 million pounds of uranium contained in 18.7 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.089% U3O8 and an Inferred Mineral Resource totalling 15.9 million pounds of uranium contained in 9.0 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.083% U3O8 |
Overview
Westmoreland ranks as one of the best development stage uranium assets in the world not controlled by a senior producer or utility. The Westmoreland Project tenements are contiguous and are located as a group approximately 400 kilometres north-northwest of Mt Isa. Laramide’s wholly owned subsidiary, Tackle Resources Pty Ltd, owns 100% of Westmoreland, which is proposed to be developed as a conventional, open-cut deposit.
The Project is at an advanced exploration and development stage, with significant exploration and development work undertaken by previous owners including Rio Tinto. Since 2005, Laramide has further advanced the Westmoreland Project through a series of drilling campaigns, updated resource estimates, environmental studies and metallurgical studies – all of which have been completed pursuant to JORC and 43-101 standards.
The Westmoreland project is located in northwest Queensland, a world-class mining province with favorable infrastructure and logistical support. In northwest Queensland near the Northern Territory border, the project is not far from the northern coast. It can be accessed both from the city of Mt Isa (350 km) which has an airport and from Karumba (260 km), which has a port facility. Karumba can be accessed via the town of Burketown (130 km), which is located near the coast on the Burke River.
Key Attributes:
- 51.9 million pounds of uranium (U3O8) (JORC and NI 43-101 compliant resource), including 36 million pounds U3O8 Indicated contained in 18.7 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.089% U3O8 and a further Inferred 15.9 million pounds U3O8, contained in 9.0 million tonnes at an average grades of 0.083% U3O8
- An open cut mine with resource expansion potential, a low stripping ratio and high recoveries, and 80% of the estimated resource is within 50m of the surface
- Large land package covers 548.5 km2
- Compelling economics even at lower uranium prices
- PEA shows project to produce approximately 3.5 million pounds average annual production
- Metallurgical test work demonstrates high uranium recovery utilizing conventional technologies
-
Geology and Mineralization
The Redtree deposit is where the bulk of the Westmoreland resource base is located (~50%). The deposit flanks the Redtree dyke located north of the NW-trending Namalangi fault and is characterised by a mix of horizontal and vertical lenses of continuous mineralisation in distinctly coarse pebble conglomerates with grades ranging from 0.15% to >2% U3O8. Mineralisation is generally shallow, within 10m of surface and is associated with chlorite/hematite alteration. We note that the Redtree dyke (20m-30m wide) broadly extends for 7km from Redtree to Junnagunna and has utilised the same structures as the uranium mineralisation, but does not appear to be related, although spatially associated. The Huarabagoo deposit is ~3km NE of Redtree along the Redtree dyke and straddles the contact of the Seigal Volcanics with the Westmoreland Conglomerate. Mineralisation has been identified in outcrop towards the southern end and is concealed towards the north under shallow colluvium. Mineralisation occurs in 20m thick lenses, which extend to 100- 200m length and to a depth of 80m. The strongest mineralisation was found to be associated with chlorite/hematite altered coarse pebbly sandstones similar to Redtree. The Junnagunna deposit occurs at a fault intersection west of the Redtree dyke zone and south of the northwest trending Cliffdale fault. Mineralisation is generally flat lying on either side of the Redtree dyke and ranges in thickness from 0.5m to 20m in thickness beneath the Seigal-Westmoreland contact. The deposit is covered by alluvium/colluvium clays and sand and weathered Seigal Volcanics. The Longpocket deposits 8km from Junnagunna may offer additional exploration upside.
- Recent Exploration
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Mineral Resource Estimates
The May 2009 Mineral Resource estimate for Westmoreland has been reviewed to ensure compliance with JORC 2012 and is restated as the 2016 Mineral Resource. The mineral resource estimate has been classified under the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum’s (CIM) code of mineral classification and complies with National Instrument NI 43-101. The 2016 mineral resource estimate for Westmoreland is outlined in the following tables (refer to notes and other details in Section 14 of the NI 43-101 Technical Report).
Westmoreland Mineral Resource Estimates – Indicated Category, 2016
Resource Category Deposit Tonnes Grade %
(U3O8)M lbs
U3O8Indicated
cut-off 0.02% U3O8Redtree (Garee) 12,858,750 0.09 25.5 Huarabagoo 1,462,000 0.08 2.7 Junnagunna 4,364,750 0.08 7.8 Subtotal 18,685,500 0.09 36.0 Note: reported tonnage and grade figures have been rounded off from raw estimates to the appropriate number of significant figures to reflect the order of accuracy of the estimate. Minor variations may occur during the addition of rounded numbers. Westmoreland Mineral Resource Estimates – Inferred Category, 2016
Resource Category Deposit Tonnes Grade %
(U3O8)M lbs
U3O8Inferred
cut-off 0.02% U3O8Redtree (Garee) 4,466,750 0.07 6.6 Huarabagoo 2,406,000 0.11 5.8 Junnagunna 2,149,500 0.08 3.6 Subtotal 9,022,250 0.08 15.9 Note: reported tonnage and grade figures have been rounded off from raw estimates to the appropriate number of significant figures to reflect the order of accuracy of the estimate. Minor variations may occur during the addition of rounded numbers. 1 Footnote: The preliminary economic assessment is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the preliminary economic assessment will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
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