Deep Yellow closes in on second Namibian uranium discovery

A year ago Deep Yellow’s share price was bottom dwelling at around 28c a share – fast forward to today and it is more like $1.16.

The Uranium developer deployed a classic countercyclical play, snapping up and developing uranium assets when the uranium price was also cellaring at around US$25 a pound and some pundits were predicting its long-term demise.

However, with the uranium price threatening the magical US$50 a pound mark again after touching it briefly last month, it is game on for Deep Yellow who got way out ahead of the pack when others could not raise a brass razoo for the controversial energy metal.

The company recently rounded off the first phase of drilling at its Barking Gecko discovery in Namibia with an impressive 13 out of 14 holes drilled intercepting significant primary uranium oxide mineralisation. One previous hole that delivered 62 cumulative metres at 537 parts per million uranium oxide was extended and now sits at a cumulative 70m across four intersections grading 503 ppm uranium oxide over an 83m zone.

Barking Gecko forms part of the Nova joint venture that consists of two tenement positions on the coastal plain of Namibia in southern Africa. The JV tenure is located approximately 40km to the east of the country’s port at Walvis Bay, with both tenements sitting contiguously with Deep Yellow’s colossal Tumas calcrete uranium project which boasts 68.4 million pounds of yellow cake. The JV is a partnership between Deep Yellow, who owns 39.5 per cent and manages the JV, JOGMEC who owns a 39.5 per cent interest and Nova Energy and Sixzone Investments that own 15 and 6 per cent respectively.

Exploration across the Nova JV is targeting high-grade, hard-rock uranium mineralisation, as opposed to the near-surface calcrete deposits of the Tumas paleochannel.

Whilst the Namibian coastal plain is famous for its uranium-bearing ephemeral river channels, which host both the famed Langer Heinrich and Tumas deposits, the mineralisation at Barking Gecko comes from a primary source. Interestingly, the evolving deposit shows marked similarities to the world-class Rossing and Husab uranium mines which are located less than 50km to the north-east of the project area.

Primary uranium mineralisation at Rossing and Husab is sourced from a suite of rare granitic intrusive rocks coined “alaskites”. Alaskites are depleted in mafic, or dark coloured minerals and rich in both feldspars and quartz. These intrusives may be enriched in uranium and often swarm into zones of strong structural control, including broad fault and shear zones.

Rio Tinto’s massive Rossing open pit, situated 70km east of Swakopmund has been in operation since 1976 and processes around 20 million tonnes of ore per annum. The mine produces more than 2,400 tonnes of uranium oxide a year, making it one of the world’s largest uranium mines, providing something of an enviable model for Deep Yellow’s discovery at Barking Gecko.

The latest results from the emerging discovery come from the recently completed14-hole, 3,561 metre drilling program designed to follow-up a string of tantalising shallow intercepts across the discovery including 10m at 326 ppm uranium oxide from 63m.

Other notable intercepts from the program include 14m at 381 ppm uranium oxide from 130m and 29m at 529 ppm uranium oxide from 151m.

The company says drilling has defined mineralisation over an area of 700 metres by 200 metres and displays “exceptional thickness and grade”. Management said further work will be required to evaluate the economic significance of the Barking Gecko deposit and will include a Phase two, 3,500 metre drilling program due to commence early next year.

Deep Yellow appears to be on the cusp of delineating another significant uranium deposit in Namibian real estate that hosts a swag of world-class deposits. With the recent surge in the uranium price buoyed by the push towards nuclear energy and depleting global stocks, Deep Yellow looks poised to ride the uranium backed green-energy boom – and it is just getting started.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au