Significant Conversion of Inferred to
Indicated Expected to Impact Mineable Reserves
TORONTO, May 23, 2023
/CNW/ - Global Atomic Corporation ("Global Atomic" or the
"Company"), (TSX: GLO) (OTCQX: GLATF) (FRANKFURT: G12) announced
today that the Company has updated its Mineral Resource Estimate
("MRE") for its Dasa Project in the Republic of Niger.
The new MRE was calculated by AMC Consultants, ("AMC"), of
Perth, Western Australia, incorporating drill, probe
and chemical assay data compiled from an extensive 16,000-meter
drill program initiated in September
2021, that focused on infill drilling to upgrade Inferred
Resources to the higher resource classification of Indicated, which
allows these resources to be included in an updated Mine Plan and Mineral Reserve.
In addition, all geotechnical data derived from drill core was
incorporated. The geological model of the Dasa Deposit continues to
demonstrate excellent continuity and the next phase of drilling in
now being planned.
It is important to note that unlike the 2019 MRE the new MRE is
focused solely on an Underground Mine Model and does not include
open pit modelling of near surface mineralization. As shown in
Table 2 below, this had the effect of increasing tonnage with
varying impact on grade depending upon the applied cut-off
grade.
Table 1: Dasa Mineral Resources as at May 12, 2023
Category
|
Tonnes Mt
|
eU3O8 ppm
|
Contained
Uranium eU3O8
Mlb
|
Indicated
|
10.09
|
4,913
|
109.3
|
Inferred
|
4.45
|
5,243
|
51.4
|
1.
Ordinary Kriging (OK) method used to interpolate uranium grades
in a block model.
2.
Mineral Resources are based on CIM definitions.
3.
Assumes all resources to be mined from a ramp access,
underground mine.
4. A
cut-off grade of 1,480 ppm eU3O8 has been applied for underground
resources.
5. A
bulk density of 2.36t/m3 has been applied for all model
cells.
|
Global Atomic President and CEO, Stephen G.
Roman commented, "The results of the drill program were
successful in significantly increasing Dasa's Indicated Resources,
much of which is expected to be upgraded to a Mineable Reserve when
included in the planned revision to Dasa's Mine Plan and Updated Feasibility Study.
The drilling also gave us a big boost in additional Inferred
Resources with excellent grades that will be the target for further
drilling."
"The Company intends to update the Dasa mine plan and
Feasibility Study by the end of this year, using the new MRE as
well as actual costs for mining and capital costs for the
processing plant. As the current Feasibility Study is
based on a US$35/lb uranium sale
price and spot prices are now above US$50/lb, there will be an opportunity to lower
the cut-off grade, increase the mineable reserves and improve Dasa
Project economics."
In the following table, the Indicated Resource using a cut-off
grade of 1,500 ppm eU3O8, has increased by
50%, showing an excellent conversion factor from Inferred.
Table 2: Comparative Grade / Tonnage Report at Varying
Cut-Off Grades
|
|
May 2023 Revised
Estimate
|
July 2019
Estimate
|
%
Change
|
|
Cut-Off Grade
|
Category
|
Tonnes
(Mt)
|
Uranium
Content
eU3O8
ppm
|
Contained
Uranium
eU3O8
Mlb
|
Tonnes
(Mt)
|
Uranium
Content
eU3O8
ppm
|
Contained
Uranium
eU3O8
Mlb
|
Contained
Uranium
eU3O8
Mlb
|
|
|
|
100
|
Indicated
|
103.6
|
803
|
183.5
|
81.6
|
718
|
129.1
|
42 %
|
|
Inferred
|
71.0
|
636
|
99.5
|
96.1
|
606
|
128.4
|
-23 %
|
|
320
|
Indicated
|
44.9
|
1,602
|
158.5
|
32.0
|
1,530
|
108.0
|
47 %
|
|
Inferred
|
25.4
|
1,435
|
80.4
|
35.0
|
1,333
|
102.7
|
-22 %
|
|
1,200
|
Indicated
|
12.6
|
4,201
|
117.1
|
7.9
|
4,483
|
78.0
|
50 %
|
|
Inferred
|
5.9
|
4,320
|
56.1
|
8.4
|
3,783
|
69.9
|
-20 %
|
|
1,500
|
Indicated
|
10.1
|
4926
|
109.6
|
6.2
|
5328
|
73.1
|
50 %
|
|
Inferred
|
4.4
|
5349
|
51.5
|
6.3
|
4563
|
63.7
|
-19 %
|
|
2,500
|
Indicated
|
5.7
|
7,258
|
91.0
|
3.6
|
7,849
|
61.9
|
47 %
|
|
Inferred
|
2.4
|
8,211
|
43.2
|
3.4
|
6,838
|
51.4
|
-16 %
|
|
10,000
|
Indicated
|
0.9
|
22,185
|
43.5
|
0.6
|
24,401
|
31.1
|
40 %
|
|
Inferred
|
0.6
|
18,362
|
25.3
|
0.8
|
14,598
|
25.3
|
0 %
|
|
Based on Dasa's previous MRE, that was effective as of June 1, 2019, the Company identified specific
areas of Indicated Resources and significant areas of Inferred
Resources, particularly in the lower left-hand side of Figure 1
below and between Zones 2 and 3. This information
guided the location of infill drilling as part of the 16,000-meter
drill program.
Drill cores from the program were assayed at ALS Labs in
Vancouver, Canada, by wavelength
dispersion X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry for Uranium on pressed
powder pellet for all the samples then on disc (pulp sample +
lithium borate flux; mixture fused at 1050 – 1100°C) for all
samples grading above 1,500 ppm.
The assaying carried out by ALS and the high-grade samples above
12% uranium content by SGS Lakefield laboratory were validated and
used to calculate a new Gamma Probe / Assay correlation line. The
newly derived equivalent grades were used for the 2023
MRE. Figure 2 shows a significant conversion of
Inferred to Indicated Resources and the potential for an expansion
of Dasa's Mineral Reserve.
QP Statement
This news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. A.
Christophe Din, MSc, MAusIMM,
Exploration Manager for Global Atomic Corporation, who is a
"qualified person" under National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of
Disclosure for Mineral Properties. Mr. Din holds a Diplôme de
Formation Spécialisée from École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de
Paris and is a member of the
Australian Institute of Geoscientists.
Disclosure in this news release pertaining to mineral resources
has been reviewed and approved by Dmitry
Pertel, M.Sc., MAIG, a "Qualified Person" as defined in in
National Instrument 43-101. Dmitry is Principal Geologist
with AMC Consultants Pty Ltd. of Australia. He is a
registered Professional Geoscientist and a graduate of Saint
Petersburg Mining University and a member of the Australian
Institute of Geoscientists (AIG) with 34 years of work experience
since graduation.
About Global Atomic
Global Atomic Corporation (www.globalatomiccorp.com) is a
publicly listed company that provides a unique combination of
high-grade uranium mine development and cash-flowing zinc
concentrate production.
The Company's Uranium Division includes four deposits with the
flagship project being the large, high-grade Dasa Project,
discovered in 2010 by Global Atomic geologists through grassroots
field exploration. With the issuance of the Dasa Mining Permit and
an Environmental Compliance Certificate by the Republic of
Niger, the Dasa Project is fully
permitted for commercial production. The Phase 1 Feasibility
Study for Dasa was filed in December
2021 and estimates yellowcake delivery to utilities to
commence in 2025. Mine excavation began in Q1 2022.
Global Atomic's Base Metals Division holds a 49% interest in the
Befesa Silvermet Turkey, S.L. (BST) Joint Venture, which operates a
modern zinc production plant, located in Iskenderun, Türkiye. The
plant recovers zinc from Electric Arc Furnace Dust (EAFD) to
produce a high-grade zinc oxide concentrate which is sold to zinc
smelters around the world. The Company's joint venture partner,
Befesa Zinc S.A.U. (Befesa) holds a 51% interest in and is the
operator of the BST Joint Venture. Befesa is a market leader in
EAFD recycling, with approximately 50% of the European EAFD market
and facilities located throughout Europe, Asia
and the United States of
America.
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SOURCE Global Atomic Corporation