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ECLIPSE
Advancing a sm
MINING | ECLIPSE METALS
E METALS
morgasbord of uranium/gold tenements in Australia’s Northern Territory
Eclipse Metals listed on the ASX at the beginning of 2011 with a smorgasbord of highly prospective uranium tenements in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia. Just a few months later, however, the Fukushima disaster in Japan destroyed confidence in the nuclear energy industry and severely dented global uranium demand in the short to mid-term. In response to this, Eclipse focused on packages of alternative commodities across the NT and Queensland, including manganese, vanadium and precious metals like gold, platinum and palladium. But, in recent years the rapidly expanding global anti-climate change movement has led to an increased understanding of the role of nuclear energy in a low carbon world and with it the return of palatable investor attitudes towards uranium exploration. As such, Eclipse reignited its interest in the uranium tenements in the NT and
has made substantial progress in unlocking these for exploration access since 2018.
MINING | ECLIPSE METALS
A geologist’s heaven
In the Alligator Rivers region,
mineral resource projects in
Eclipse entered into a joint
the region has been securing
Eclipse’s current and primary
venture (JV) with Rio Tinto in
legal exploration agreements
focus is with several uranium,
2016 - a deal that gave the major
with first the Traditional
gold and palladium tenements
access to Eclipse’s uranium
Owners of the region and
in the West Arnhem Land
tenements within an area it
second the Northern Land
region of the NT, East of
had christened the Liverpool
Council (NLC).
Darwin. These prospects are
Project.
Rivers Uranium Province
However, during the ensuing
(ARUP), an area which Eclipse
two-year period Rio Tinto
Working with the Traditional Owners
director Carl Popal describes as
failed to secure project
Over the course of 2019
‘a geologist’s heaven’.
development consent from
Eclipse worked closely with
the local Traditional Owners
the Traditional Owners of
“West Arnhem is a well sought-
in West Arnhem Land. Eclipse
the region and was delighted
after area in the exploration
decided not to renew the
to announce the conclusion
mining world. 96% of past
agreement with Rio Tinto in
of negotiations on a long-
uranium production and 95%
late 2018, instead choosing to
awaited Aboriginal Land
of known uranium resources in
pursue the development rights
Right Agreement for its Devil’s
the NT comes from the ARUP.
independently.
Elbow prospect.
“Most of our neighbours are
West Arnhem Land resembles
In December 2019, consent
big players such as Cameco and
an interesting hotchpotch
was granted by the Traditional
Rio Tinto. They and others have
of natural wonders, large
Owners and ratified by the
delineated some big uranium
scale mineral deposits and
NLC Executive Council. The
deposits like Ranger, which is
ancient indigenous cultures,
subsequent agreement allows
the biggest uranium mine in
of which around 12,000 of the
the company to explore and
the Southern Hemisphere and
total population of 16,000 are
mine within the prospect for
Nabarlek - the world class, high
aboriginal peoples.
its entire lifetime.
mine. But having said that,
Therefore, one of the biggest
In this news release Popal said:
it’s still a very pristine area to
challenges faced by mining
“This bilateral agreement is
explore.”
companies wanting to develop
certainly a great achievement
located within the Alligator
grade uranium and copper
MINING | ECLIPSE METALS
for the company. The terms
on the Ranger geological fault
of the agreement are quite
line between the Alligator
viable in the current market
River and Goomedeer river.
In search of the big monster
develop the Devil’s Elbow’s full
Devil’s Elbow was first
“Both Uranerz and Cameco
potential, and perhaps turning
discovered by Uranerz
could see there was something
it into a world-class mining
Australia back in the late 1970s
there [at Devil’s Elbow] and
project.”
and early 80s and subsequently
delineated the target zone but
further explored by uranium
they were limited to access the
The Devil’s Elbow prospect
giant Cameco between 2002
ground for drilling. We were
is situated near the shear
and 2008. Samples from
fortunate to pick it up from
zone on the Northern side of
shallow trenching yielded
one of the local prospectors
MacArthur Basin encroaching
high-grade uranium of up to
who was very close to the
on the Pine Creek Oregon and
5.8%, plus precious metals
Traditional Owners.
economy, allowing us to
assays including up to 31.8 g/t
gold and 28.02 g/t palladium.
MINING | ECLIPSE METALS
“We’d been told that Cameco were challenged by the Traditional Owners and they were limited to access the ground to the South of Ranger Fault line,” Popal explains. The Ranger fault line is a 60 km line with five exploration licences to the North, but none to the South as Cameco were previously limited to land access to explore the targeted areas. Since early 2013 Eclipse has conducted extensive and detailed historical data review over the Devil’s Elbow area and its surrounding tenements, and based on these results
“West Arnhem is a well sought-after area in the exploration mining world. Most of our neighbours are big players such as Cameco and Rio Tinto. They and others have delineated some big uranium deposits in the past”
the company has delineated
“Those anomalies were never
project - another Ranger or
several new drill targets to
explored because Cameco
Nabarlek could be in that
the South of the Ranger Fault,
were not able to access that
area. A conceptual target was
which warrant significant
area. But, when we had the
delineated by Cameco but
follow-up exploration activity.
JV with Rio Tinto, we sat
never drill tested.”
down with their geologist and These anomalous structural
geophysicist and discussed this
zones to the South of the
particular area.
Rubbing shoulders with giants
displayed in red, yellow and
“Cameco and Rio Tinto both
The world class Ranger
green patches of a regional
believe that somewhere
Uranium Mine is located
radiometrics map displayed on
within that area there is
within the Kakadu National
page 60.
potential for a monster of a
Park, approximately 65
Devil’s Elbow tenement are
MINING | ECLIPSE METALS
km from the Devil’s Elbow
for uranium, but also for gold
in February 2020. The
Prospect, and is operated by a
and palladium across the
extensive data reveals several
subsidiary of Rio Tinto, while
tenement area.
untested targets which will
the Nabarlek Uranium Mine is
be incorporated into Eclipse’s
around 41 km from Eclipse’s
“One of the challenges in that
existing data and mapping
tenement.
area is the fact that it’s under
over the course of this year.
the sea and the tides go up Nabarlek was a very successful
and down throughout the day,
Elsewhere, the company
project with close to US$1
so it’s a tough place to work
has a project further South
billion of value extracted from
during the wet season. There
in central NT called the
the ground between the years
are also massive crocodiles
Ngalia Basin, which is highly
of 1972-79 before the uranium
[not alligators as the name
prospective for uranium and
ore was stockpiled for milling
suggests! - ed] in the area. The
palladium mineralisation.
and processed in the early 80s.
window of opportunity is from
Eclipse will work on the Ngalia
about May-December.
Basin and the Devil’s Elbow
“The Nabarlek and Ranger
prospect in 2020, albeit with
deposits are in fairly close
“We hope to pick up on
a predominant focus on the
proximity to Devil’s Elbow
Cameco’s geophysical results
project in West Arnhem Land.
along the same geological
and expand on the anomalies
system. Nabarlek in particular
towards the South. Subsequent
was a very rich deposit at
to that, also there are some
surface, and there is potential
clear target areas which we can
that in Devil’s Elbow we could
go out and drill. The important
have something similar in
thing for us is to expand on
size.”
the geophysical mapping to
ECL IPSE METALS
AT A G L A N C E
delineate further targets.” Now that Eclipse has secured a lifetime agreement to explore
In addition, Eclipse recently
and mine at the Devil’s Elbow
received some additional
prospect, the company aims
geophysical data on the Devil’s
to execute a work programme
Elbow prospect that was
in 2020 which will include
classified information until
detailed exploration not just
it was released by Cameco
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aj
Published by Anderson Murray Media Ltd
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