enCore Energy Corp. (NASDAQ: EU) (TSXV: EU) a United States uranium producer, announced today on-going positive results from its Alta Mesa In-Situ Recovery Central Processing Plant and Wellfield drill program. Drilling, designed to expand the producing wellfield capacity, continues to significantly exceed the cutoff grade thickness requirements for In-Situ Recovery of uranium. The Company also reports that production from its first wellfield continues to progress with increases to the number of Alta Mesa production and injection wells on schedule for 2024 and continuing into 2025.
Significant operational highlights include:
Wellfield delineation drilling commenced in the spring of 2023 at Alta Mesa Wellfield 7 along a previously defined ore body consisting of stacked roll fronts. The NI 43-101 Technical Report dated January 19, 2023, and titled “Technical Report Summary for the Alta Mesa Uranium Project, Brooks and Jim Hogg Counties, Texas, USA” (“Technical Report”) stated that Wellfield 7 contains 1.292 million pounds U3O8 indicated resources and 0.175 million pounds U3O8 inferred resources with an average grade thickness ranging from 0.59 to 0.68 GT using a 0.3 GT cutoff. As has been observed from historic drilling at the Alta Mesa Project, the density of drilling necessary to install an ISR wellfield provides the opportunity to identify higher grade portions of the ore body than initially estimated with the broader spaced drilling programs used to support the Technical Report. The Alta Mesa Drilling Table below continues to support that observation. As drilling continues during additional wellfield development in Wellfield 7, we expect that we will continue to observe results that could lead to an average GT significantly higher than the average GT reported in the Technical Report.
To view the Alta Mesa CPP and Wellfield maps please visit: bit.ly/3fV9fTg.
Alta Mesa Wellfield Drilling Update
The Alta Mesa Wellfield drilling operations , commenced in March 2023, are advancing rapidly with 80 holes drilled since the previous update (March 18, 2024). In total, 749 drill holes have been completed through mid-September 2024. At present there are seven (7) drill rigs in full operation at Alta Mesa, with plans to double that number over the next twelve (12) months.
Significant Alta Mesa CPP Wellfield 7 Drilling
Drill Hole | Goliad Sandstone Horizon |
Depth (ft) |
Grade % U3O8 |
Thickness (feet) |
Grade Thickness (GT) |
Total Hole GT |
164-117 | LCU2 | 491.0 | 0.162 | 5.0 | 0.81 | |
161-119 | LCU2 | 494.0 | 0.092 | 9.0 | 0.828 | |
183-97 | LCU2 | 511.0 | 0.051 | 6.5 | 0.329 | |
174-96 | LCU2 | 508.5 | 0.129 | 6.0 | 0.776 | |
170-100 | LCU2 | 508.0 | 0.145 | 3.0 | 0.435 | |
LCL1 | 515.0 | 0.069 | 3.5 | 0.242 | 0.677 | |
181-93 | LCL1 | 517.0 | 0.424 | 7.5 | 3.179 | |
180-89 | LCU1 | 497.5 | 0.211 | 7.5 | 1.580 | |
163-118 | LCU2 | 494.5 | 0.125 | 6.0 | 0.752 | |
172-97 | LCL1 | 507.5 | 0.185 | 2.0 | 0.370 | |
161-118 | LCU1 | 485.5 | 0.111 | 2.5 | 0.277 | |
LCL1 | 503.0 | 0.055 | 5.5 | 0.301 | 0.578 | |
172-96 | LCU2 | 507.5 | 0.157 | 8.0 | 1.260 | |
171-100 | LCU1 | 489.5 | 0.106 | 6.0 | 0.633 | |
172-97 | LCL1 | 507.5 | 0.185 | 2.0 | 0.370 | |
162-117 | LCU2 | 495.5 | 0.179 | 5.0 | 0.895 | |
161-1182 | LCU1 | 489.0 | 0.138 | 5.5 | 0.758 | |
LCU2 | 495.0 | 0.238 | 12.0 | 2.857 | 3.615 | |
171-95 | LCU2 | 502.5 | 0.137 | 5.5 | 0.756 | |
181-92 | LCU1 | 495.0 | 0.362 | 5.0 | 1.811 | |
181-90 | LCU2 | 501.0 | 0.141 | 3.5 | 0.493 | |
177-88 | LCU2 | 503.0 | 0.203 | 4.5 | 0.912 | |
183-96 | LCL1 | 522.0 | 0.108 | 6.0 | 0.647 | |
LCL2 | 529.0 | 0.291 | 9.0 | 2.617 | 3.264 | |
172-98 | LCU2 | 500.0 | 0.236 | 4.0 | 0.946 | |
181-91 | LCL1 | 518.0 | 0.306 | 6.5 | 1.988 | |
191-89 | LCU2 | 510 | 0.201 | 3.5 | 0.705 | |
173-96 | LCL1 | 516.5 | 0.130 | 3.5 | 0.454 | |
171-96 | LCU1 | 488.5 | 0.228 | 6.5 | 1.485 | |
176-90 | LCU2 | 508.5 | 0.134 | 3.5 | 0.468 | |
193-112 | LCL2 | 534.0 | 0.235 | 7.0 | 1.644 | |
181-89 | MCM1 | 427.0 | 0.125 | 3.5 | 0.439 | |
163-118 | LCU1 | 493.5 | 0.092 | 3.0 | 0.275 | |
LCU2 | 499.0 | 0.472 | 4.5 | 2.125 | 2.400 | |
– | All intercepts are located in the Alta Mesa Wellfield 7 which hosts mineralization within the Goliad Formation. The Company has identified five saturated (required for ISR), mineralized sandstone horizons within the Goliad Formation lying approximately 400 to 535 feet below the surface. The water level is located approximately 120 feet below the surface. Grade Thickness is Grade % U3O8 multiplied by the thickness of the mineralization. ISR recoverable uranium with a Grade Thickness of >0.3 is considered suitable for inclusion in a wellfield. |
Alta Mesa In-Situ Recovery Uranium Central Processing Plant & Wellfield
The Alta Mesa CPP and Wellfield hosts a fully licensed and constructed ISR uranium plant, located on 200,000+ acres of private land in the state of Texas. Alta Mesa is enCore’s second producing location and operates under a 70/30 joint venture between enCore Energy Corp. and Boss Energy Limited (ASX:BOE) (OTCQX:BQSSF) with enCore Energy as the managing operator.
Total operating capacity at the Alta Mesa CPP is 1.5 million lbs. U3O8 (uranium) per year with an additional drying and packaging capacity of more than 0.5 million lbs. U3O8. The Alta Mesa CPP historically produced nearly 5 million lbs. U3O8 between 2005 and 2013, when full production was curtailed as a result of low uranium prices.
Alta Mesa CPP and Wellfield highlights:
Alta Mesa & Mesteña Grande Mineral Resource Summary (0.30 GT cutoff)1,2 |
Tons
|
Avg. Grade
(% U3O8) |
Pounds
|
Total Measured Mineral Resource1 | 54,000 | 0.152 | 164,000 |
Alta Mesa Indicated Mineral Resource | 1,397,000 | 0.106 | 2,959,000 |
Mesteña Grande Indicated Mineral Resource | 119,000 | 0.120 | 287,000 |
Total Measured & Indicated Resources | 1,570,000 | 0.109 | 3,410,000 |
Alta Mesa Inferred Mineral Resource | 1,263,000 | 0.126 | 3,192,000 |
Mesteña Grande Inferred Mineral Resource | 5,733,000 | 0.119 | 13,601,000 |
Total Inferred Resources | 6,996,000 | 0.120 | 16,793,000 |
1,2 Represents that portion of the in-place mineral resource that are estimated to be recoverable within existing wellfields. Wellfield recovery factors have not been applied to indicated and inferred mineral resources. As reported in the NI-43-101 Technical Report Summary for the Alta Mesa Uranium Project, Brooks and Jim Hogg Counties, Texas, USA completed by Doug Beahm, PE, PG, of BRS Engineering. (Effective January 19, 2023). |
John M. Seeley, Ph.D., P.G., C.P.G., enCore’s Manager of Geology and Exploration, and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure in this news release on behalf of the Company.
About enCore Energy Corp.
enCore Energy Corp., America’s Clean Energy Company™, is committed to providing clean, reliable, and affordable fuel for nuclear energy as the only United States uranium producer with multiple production facilities in operation. The enCore team is led by industry experts with extensive knowledge and experience in all aspects of In-Situ Recovery (“ISR”) uranium operations and the nuclear fuel cycle. enCore solely utilizes ISR for uranium extraction, a well-known and proven technology co-developed by the leaders at enCore Energy.
Following upon enCore’s demonstrated production success in South Texas, future projects in the production pipeline include the Dewey-Burdock project in South Dakota and the Gas Hills project in Wyoming. The Company holds other assets including significant New Mexico resources, non-core assets and proprietary databases. enCore is committed to working with local communities and indigenous governments to create positive impact from corporate developments
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