- Oro Verde has provided an update on the progress of its rare earth project in Uganda
- The first drilling program at the project has been completed on time and on budget
- A total of 48 holes have been drilled to target the shallow mineralisation with results due soon
- Oro Verde is now working towards the completion of a scoping study in mid-2020
- The company has ended the day up 10 per cent with shares trading for 1.1 cents a share
Oro Verde has provided an update on the progress of activities relating to the Makuutu Rare Earth project.
Located 120 kilometres east of the capital city of Kampala in eastern Uganda, the Makuutu project is significant in size – covering an area of 132 square kilometres.
In relation to its size, Makuutu is believed to be one of the largest ionic clay deposits outside of China with an exploration target of 270-530 million tonnes grading 0.04-0.1 per cent TREO (total rare earth oxides).
Oro Verde has completed the initial 750-metre drilling program at the Makuutu project with 48 holes being drilled.
The program consisted of 41 core holes and three window sampler holes in tenement RL 1693 to aid in resource definition, and four holes in tenement EL 1766 to test for rare earth mineralisation potential.
The holes in tenement RL 1693 were generally drilled in a 400-metre spacing and between existing RAB (rotary air blast) drilling holes to allow for greater coverage.
However, the holes in tenement EL 1766 were drilled in areas of radiometric anomalies where clay-hosted rare earth mineralisation is anticipated.
The final stage of drilling in Uganda will now be prepared and packaged for laboratories in Australia for testing and analysis.
Oro Verde anticipates receiving the first assay results shortly when it will then inform the market of the results.
A portion of the samples has been delivered to ALS Metallurgy in Perth to establish appropriate metallurgical treatment techniques for the recovery of rare earths.
After that, metallurgical variability will be undertaken to characterise the recovery of rare earths across the Makuutu prospect.
This will enable Oro Verde to continue discussions with interested parties in rare earths as well as have an understanding of the value of the rare earths that are hosted in the project.
This is an important step towards the completion of the scoping study.
“The on-site team at Makuutu have worked diligently to complete this drilling program on schedule and collect quality data and core samples,” Executive Director Marc Steffens said.
“Our focus now shifts to validating drilling results and working towards a maiden JORC-compliant mineral resource, gaining further insights to the amenability of Makuutu project mineralisation to metallurgical treatments, and developing a high-level understanding,” he added.
Oro Verde is now working towards the completion of a scoping study in mid-2020, and it is believed the company is on track for completion at this time.
The company has ended the day up 10 per cent with shares priced at 1.1 cents apiece in a $22.02 million market cap.