Noronex’s maiden drilling at Etango North reveals extensive uranium mineralisation within alaskite intrusions, validating its exploration model and highlighting significant upside in Namibia’s key uranium district.
- Maiden RC drilling confirms widespread uranium mineralisation
- Multiple high-grade zones exceeding 100ppm U3O8 identified
- Project adjacent to Bannerman’s large Etango uranium resource
- Noronex exercises option to acquire 51% ownership
- Follow-up drilling and geological evaluation planned
Maiden Drilling Validates Uranium Potential at Etango North
Noronex Limited (ASX:NRX) has delivered a strong first strike at its Etango North Uranium Project in Namibia, with final assays from its maiden Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling program confirming broad uranium mineralisation across multiple prospects. The presence of uranium-bearing alaskite intrusions over down-hole widths of 10-30 metres, including several higher-grade zones exceeding 100ppm U3O8, validates the company’s exploration model and underlines the project’s potential within one of Namibia’s premier uranium districts.
Significant Intersections Highlight District-Scale System
Drilling at the Oasis Dome and Springbok prospects yielded multiple significant uranium intercepts, with standout results such as 4 metres at 270ppm U3O8 from 78 metres and 7 metres at 130ppm U3O8 from 61 metres at Oasis Dome. These uranium-bearing alaskite bodies are spatially associated with interpreted intrusive units and structural corridors, suggesting a large mineralised system extending over several kilometres within the licence area.
While the drilling was designed as a scout evaluation rather than a resource delineation exercise, the breadth and tenor of mineralisation encountered indicate that the radiometric anomalies identified in previous ground spectrometry surveys correspond to meaningful bedrock uranium mineralisation rather than superficial signals.
Strategic Location Adjacent to Major Uranium Projects
The Etango North Project (EPL 6776) is strategically positioned immediately north of Bannerman Energy’s Etango Project, which boasts a substantial Mineral Resource of 416 million tonnes at 225ppm U3O8. It also lies within the Rössing-Husab uranium corridor, home to some of Namibia’s largest hard-rock uranium deposits. This proximity places Noronex’s project in a highly prospective geological setting dominated by alaskite-hosted uranium mineralisation.
Noronex Advances Ownership and Exploration Plans
Following the positive drilling results, Noronex has exercised its option to acquire a 51% interest in the Etango North Project, with plans to further refine geological and structural controls on uranium mineralisation. Upcoming work will integrate geological, geochemical, and geophysical data, alongside detailed mapping and ground spectrometry, to better define the distribution and geometry of mineralised alaskite bodies.
The company is also considering re-assaying selected mineralised intervals using Delayed Neutron Counting (DNC) to improve uranium grade precision. Additional surface reconnaissance and targeted drilling programs are planned to test the continuity and scale of the uranium system across the broader licence area.
Early-Stage Exploration with Significant Upside
Despite the encouraging results, Noronex cautions that true widths of mineralised zones remain uncertain due to the early-stage nature of the drilling and the complex geometry of the mineralisation. However, with only a fraction of the prospective mineralised corridor tested, numerous priority alaskite bodies and structural targets remain untested, representing substantial exploration upside.
Chief Geologist Tony Chisnall emphasised the importance of these results as a foundation for further work, noting that the geological model is proving effective in identifying uranium-bearing systems analogous to Namibia’s major deposits.
Bottom Line?
Noronex’s maiden drilling confirms a promising uranium system at Etango North, setting the stage for targeted follow-up exploration to unlock the project’s full potential.
Questions in the middle?
- How will Noronex prioritise follow-up drilling across the numerous untested alaskite targets?
- What impact might refining uranium grades with Delayed Neutron Counting have on resource estimation?
- How might regional uranium market dynamics influence the development timeline for Etango North?