Laramide Resources (ASX: LAM) has commenced its 2024 drilling campaign at the Westmoreland Project in Northwest Queensland.
The 2024 work plans include up to 12,000m with over 100 drillholes, designed to test multiple targets across the Westmoreland Uranium Project in NW Queensland and into the Murphy Uranium Project in the Northern Territory.
“We are excited to see drilling underway at Westmoreland after a prolonged wet season,” says Laramide’s President and CEO Marc Henderson.
“The 2024 drill programme expands materially on the successful 2023 and 2022 programmes which identified targets for both expansion of existing resources as well as new potential satellite deposits. The goal this year is to investigate whether the three known deposits that were the basis of the 2016 PEA study, can be linked and if so, whether this could substantially increase the deposit size.
“We believe that our large strategic land position has some of the best potential for meaningful resource growth within Australia – and within the uranium sector generally. Furthermore, we believe that our expanding exploration effort comes at an ideal time as nuclear power gains renewed acceptance globally and energy policy considerations everywhere take center stage.”
Current plans call for the first rig to commence drilling at the Amphitheatre Prospect located 16km to the north- east of the Junnagunna deposit. Seven holes are planned to expand on shallow mineralisation identified in 2023 and will target interpreted extensions under alluvial cover to the north.
A second rig is scheduled to arrive in early July and the rigs will then move to the main resource areas to test extensions of mineralisation that potentially link the main deposits of Redtree, Huarabagoo and Junnagunna, and could enhance the economics of the deposit significantly. In addition, drilling at Long Pocket will enable a maiden resource estimation before the end of the year.
The 2024 plan also includes returning to the Murphy Project in the Northern Territory to investigate drilling completed in 20072. A 1,500m drill programme will revisit the areas of interest identified in Laramide’s 2006-2007 exploration programme and includes Mageera which appears to be a geological analogue of Westmoreland. At the southern end of this system lies the Southern Comfort uranium and critical mineral prospect. Drilling at Southern Comfort will be co-funded by the Northern Territory government.
Laramide has also confirmed the award of a second exploration grant from the Northern Territory Geological Survey which will contribute to funding a Gradient Array IP (GAIP) survey at the Crystal Hill critical minerals prospect.
