The Thunderball prospect is a high grade uranium occurrence discovered by Thundelarra in late 2008.To date the Company has drilled a total of 23 reverse circulation (RC) and 15 diamond holes at Thunderball with a high proportion of holes intersecting significant uranium mineralisation. Drill results from Thunderball are amongst the highest grade uranium intercepts reported in Australia and include:
· 11 metres at 3.4% U3O8 in hole TPCDD026
· 15 metres at 1.5% U3O8 in hole TPCRC019
· 12 metres at 0.62% U3O8 in hole TPCDD028
· 5 metres at 0.76% U3O8 in hole TPCRC008
· 3 metres at 0.66% U3O8 in hole TPCDD032
Mineralisation at Thunderball is located along a northerly trending anticlinal axis and consists of veins and disseminations of uraninite (pitchblende) hosted within a folded brittle ductile shear that appears to plunge approximately 40 degrees to the north. The highest grade mineralisation occurs at or near the hinge zone of the interpreted anticlinal structure.
Importantly drilling has intersected two parallel stacked zones of mineralisation with the lower high grade zone hosted within a fine grained tuffaceous sequence consisting of interbedded tuffs, cherts, shales and siltsones. Upper zone mineralisation is hosted within a black carbonaceous shale and siltstone sequence. These units are interpreted to occur at the Gerowie Tuff _ Mount Bonnie Formations boundary. Grades in the upper zone have strengthen as drilling has extended to the north. One of the most recent holes, TPCDD031, returned a one metre interval of 3,646 ppm U3O8 within an upper zone intersection of two metres at 2,151 ppm U3O8.
High grade uranium has now been defined over a strike length exceeding 200 metres and mineralisation remains open to some degree in all directions.
Information from drilling completed to date is being combined with extensive geophysical data captured in recent months to prepare a detailed structural model of the prospect and identify the principle controls on mineralisation. Specialist consultants from SRK Consulting are working with Thundelarra’s geologists on this project.
The modelling will be used to aid design of the next drilling program, scheduled to commence at the beginning of April 2010. It is Thundelarra’s objective to calculate an inaugural resource for Thunderball before year end.
The modelling of mineralisation at Thunderball is also expected to contribute to the understanding of other uranium occurrences identified by Thundelarra in the Hayes Creek Project area. A number of these will be drilled as part of a major drilling campaign to be undertaken by the Company in the Pine Creek region during 2010. |
