Okapi Resources says its wholly-owned subsidiary Usuran Resources has been granted state approval to dive into a drilling program at its Tallahassee uranium project in Colorado, USA.
The company says the permit will allow its subordinate to plunge up to 18,200m of drilling across 60 holes at the operation with the intent of bolstering the existing resource.
The planned probe will be used for exploration, hydrological testing and a geotechnical investigation of the Taylor-Boyer deposit, part of the larger Tallahassee project. The development work is seen by management as integral to the operation’s ongoing expansion as it moves towards a mining decision.
The permit will be valid until December 31, 2027.
Ongoing work at Tallahassee will see the company apply for an additional licence from the state’s mining division to cover its recently-acquired 51 per cent stake in the nearby Hansen and Picnic Tree deposits. The authorisation could see Okapi and its subsidiary move closer to drilling at the targets.
Management believes the go-ahead is a significant feather in its cap and says the initial permit to drill the prospect opens up a raft of opportunities to expand exploration across one of the globe’s most eminent uranium districts.
Significantly, the company has already got its hands on the private land access agreements with the ground’s landowners that allow it to launch the probe – and now with the state’s blessing the rods could soon be spinning.
Okapi lays claim to a 100 per cent stake in the Taylor-Boyer mineral rights, that encompass more than 7500 acres. The company says a significant portion of the tenure is still classified as untested due to limited previous drilling.
Perth-based Okapi believes through additional drilling it could more adequately define the ground’s mineralisation and bolster its existing resource estimate.
According to Okapi, the Taylor-Boyer deposit lays claim to a total resource of more than 22.5 million tonnes at a grade of 480 parts per million triuranium octoxide for close to 24 million tonnes of triuranium octoxide.
The company recently beefed up its North American energy ground after entering into a binding agreement with STB Minerals to pick up a 51 per cent interest in the nearby Hansen uranium deposit.
The deal pushed the company’s resources at its Tallahassee project by 81 per cent to 49.8 million pounds of triuranium octoxide and boosted the grade by 10 per cent to 540 parts per million triuranium octoxide.
Okapi said at the time the acquisition had “transformed” it into one of the country’s most significant uranium players and that it had pushed it into deep waters reserved for only the sector’s largest players.
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By Matt Birney
