Westmoreland Uranium Project
Technical Reports
| Location | Northwest Queensland, Australia, adjacent to Northern Territory border |
|---|---|
| Ownership | 100% Laramide Resources Ltd. |
| Proposed Mine Type | Open cut mine |
| Commodities | Uranium |
| Current Status | Further exploration on satellite deposits |
| Mineral Resource Estimate (effective date of January 31, 2025) | Indicated Resources of 27.8 million tonnes at an average grade of 770 ppm U3O8 for 48.1 million contained Lbs. of 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:
- The updated 2025 MRE now reports 65+ million pounds, comprising a total Indicated Resource of 48.1 million pounds of U3O8 and Total Inferred 17.7 million pounds across four deposits: Redtree, Huarabagoo, Junnagunna and Long Pocket.
- A potential open cut mine with resource expansion potential, a low stripping ratio and high recoveries
- Large land package covers 1,034.82 km2
- Metallurgical test work demonstrates high uranium recovery utilizing conventional technologies
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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
An update to the Mineral Resource Estimate for the Westmoreland Uranium Project, Queensland, Australia has been prepared by Addsion Mining Services of the United Kingdom on behalf of Laramide Resources Ltd. (“the issuer”). The issuer is a dual listed entity on the TSX and ASX stock exchanges of Canada and Australia respectively, as such the estimate is reported in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, (“NI 43-101”) and prepared under Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (“CIM”) Definition Standards. CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources (2014) and Best Practices Guidelines outline by CIM (2019) have been followed. The estimate is also reported in accordance with The Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (‘the JORC Code’ 2012 edition.)
The updated Mineral Resource Estimate has an effective date of January 31st, 2025, and is reported above a cut-off grade of 200 ppm U3O8 and comprises of:
- Indicated Resources of 27.8 million tonnes at an average grade of 770 ppm U3O8 for 48.1 million contained Lbs. of U3O8.
- Inferred Resources of approximately 11.8 million tonnes at an average grade of 680 ppm U3O8 for 17.7 million contained Lbs. of U3O8.
The updated estimate supersedes all previous estimates. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues. It is important to note that currently, only exploration, and not mining for uranium is permitted in Queensland, Australia. However, it is reasonable to expect that the policy may change in the future as there is a historical precedent for uranium mining within the State.
Table 1 sets out the Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources by deposit. Readers are encouraged to review the accompanying notes and explanatory text in support of the estimate.
Table 1 Mineral Resources by deposit for the Westmoreland Uranium Project, Queensland, Australia. Reported above a cut-off grade of 200 ppm U3O8. Effective 31st January 2025.
Deposit Tonnes Density g/m3 U3O8 ppm U3O8 MLbs. Indicated Redtree 14,000,000 2.5 880 27 Huarabagoo 2,500,000 2.6 890 4.9 Junnagunna 10,000,000 2.5 640 15 Long Pocket 1,300,000 2.5 420 1.2 Total Indicated 27,800,000 2.5 770 48.1 Inferred Redtree 3,000,000 2.5 800 5.2 Huarabagoo 3,100,000 2.6 870 6.0 Junnagunna 3,000,000 2.5 620 4.2 Long Pocket 2,700,000 2.5 380 2.3 Total Inferred 11,800,000 2.5 680 17.7 Notes To Mineral Resource Estimate
1. Numbers are rounded to reflect that an estimate of tonnage and grade has been made, as such products may have discrepancies. Tonnages are expressed in the metric system, concentrations as parts per million (ppm), equivalent to grammes per tonne, and contained metal as pounds (Lbs.).
2. The Independent Qualified Person as defined by CIM definition Standards, and the Independent Competent Persons as defined by the JORC code 2012 edition is Mr. Richard Siddle MSc, MAIG. Mr. Siddle is a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientist (#6802) and Director of Addsion Mining Services Ltd of the United Kingdom, Mr. Siddle has been working continuously for Addison Mining Services as a Minerals Resource Geologist since November 2014.
3. Mr. Siddle completed a site visit to the project area between the 21st and 23rd of January 2025, and inspected representative sections of drill core, visited rehabilitated drill sites and inspected selected outcrop geology. Discussions were held with the issuer’s technical teams and exploration and socio-environmental considerations discussed. No items of material concern were identified which are not discussed within the accompanying documentation.
4. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The quantity and grade of reported Inferred Resources in this Mineral Resource Estimate are uncertain in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define these Inferred Resources as Indicated or Measured, however it is reasonably expected that the majority of Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continued exploration. Additional drilling, bulk density determination and improved topographic surveys are required to increase the confidence in the Mineral Resources; increased levels of information brought about by further drilling may serve to either increase or decrease the Mineral Resources. No Measured Resources are reported.
5. Reasonable Prospects of Eventual Economic Extraction contemplates mining by open pit mining methods with mineral processing by conventional leaching. Mining costs are estimated at approximately US$3/t, mineral processing at US$30/t and general and administrative cost at US$5/t processed. Considering a U3O8 price of US$80/Lb. a breakeven cut-off grade of 200 ppm is used for reporting.
6. Pit optimization tests showed that all mineralized material above cut-off grade within the Redtree, Junnagunna and Huarabagoo deposit block models has reasonable prospect of being extracted by open pit methods. At Long Pocket an ultimate pit shell was used to constrain the estimate of reported Mineral Resources.