No Economic Uranium Yet at Walbiri South, But Prospect’s Potential Remains Intact

Exploration Breakthrough at Walbiri South

Energy Metals Limited (ASX: EME) has announced encouraging results from its inaugural reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at the Walbiri South prospect, located within the Ngalia Basin in the Northern Territory. Situated just 2km south of the established Walbiri uranium deposit, this new target area has been confirmed to host the critical stratigraphic unit known as the B-Sandstone, which is associated with uranium mineralisation in the region.

The drilling campaign, completed in November 2024, comprised six RC holes averaging 190 metres in depth, designed to test the geological and geophysical model that suggested a stratigraphic extension of the mineralised package from the nearby Walbiri deposit. While no economic-grade uranium intersections were encountered, the presence of the B-Sandstone unit across a 400-metre strike length was successfully demonstrated, validating the prospectivity of the area.

Geological Context and Significance

The Ngalia Basin is a well-known uranium province hosting several significant deposits, including Bigrlyi and Walbiri, which are tabular sandstone-hosted uranium-vanadium deposits of Carboniferous age. The Walbiri South prospect lies outside a culturally sensitive heritage site that has restricted exploration at Walbiri itself, providing Energy Metals with a strategic opportunity to advance exploration without such constraints.

Drilling intersected the B-Sandstone and the underlying Beta Shale marker unit consistently across all holes, confirming the geological continuity of the host rocks. Gamma logging and geochemical assays revealed anomalous uranium levels up to five times background, alongside elevated vanadium, sulphur, and total organic carbon, key indicators that the geochemical environment is conducive to uranium mineralisation.

Next Steps in Exploration

Energy Metals’ Exploration Manager, Dave Nelson, emphasised the broader implications of these results, noting that the successful identification of the host stratigraphy at Walbiri South not only confirms the prospect’s potential but also highlights the wider uranium discovery opportunities across the Ngalia Basin. The company plans to undertake broad-spaced reconnaissance drilling to test the full estimated 5-kilometre strike extent of the B-Sandstone horizon at Walbiri South in 2025.

Following this, more focused drilling will aim to delineate zones of anomalous uranium and assess the potential for an economic deposit. The strategic approach reflects a methodical progression from geological validation to resource definition, mindful of the complex structural setting influenced by the Mt Eclipse Syncline and associated faulting.

Implications for Investors and the Uranium Sector

While the absence of immediate economic mineralisation tempers near-term expectations, the confirmation of a key host unit and encouraging geochemical signatures at Walbiri South represent a meaningful step forward. The Ngalia Basin remains a compelling uranium province, and Energy Metals’ ability to explore outside heritage-restricted zones could unlock new value for shareholders.

Investors will be watching closely as the company advances its exploration program, with the potential for Walbiri South to emerge as a significant new uranium discovery in a market increasingly attentive to supply security and nuclear energy demand dynamics.