Laramide Resources sees great potential for expansion at Westmoreland

Laramide Resources (TSX: LAM, FSE: L4RA, WKN: A1H8DW) has drilled over 4,000 metres of diamond drilling as part of the 2023 drilling campaign at the Westmoreland project in north-west Queensland. They were drilled on the Amphitheatre, Long Pocket, Black Hills and Huarabagoo targets and confirmed significant uranium mineralisation.

It has taken a long time for Laramide Resources to receive the results from the laboratory. But now that the results are finally in, it can be said that the wait was worth it, as the drilling was successful and intersected significant mineralisation with significant uranium grades at all deposits.

Fifteen holes were drilled at Long Pocket and three more at the Black Hills uranium project. All Black Hills exploration holes intersected significant mineralisation. For example, BH23DD001 intersected 3.0 metres of 259 ppm uranium oxide (U3O8) at a depth of 29 metres. Drill hole BH23DD001 intersected 6.05 metres of 218 ppm uranium oxide at a depth of 120.12 metres. One 0.98 metre section even contained a uranium concentration of 505 ppm.

Laramide Resources was able to report two metres with 591 ppm uranium oxide for drill hole BH23DD002. Here, mineralisation was encountered at a depth of 209 metres, with a 0.9 metre long interval showing an elevated uranium concentration of 1,154 ppm. Drill hole BH23DD003 was also successful with 3.0 metres of 1844 ppm (0.18 per cent) uranium oxide. They were intersected at a depth of 88 metres, with the uranium concentration rising to a pleasing 2,671 ppm over two metres.

Some of the mineralisation begins just a few metres below the surface

The assay results from the Long Pocket deposit confirm Laramide Resources that the near-surface uranium mineralisation continues in a north-easterly direction. Here, one metre of 545 ppm uranium oxide was encountered in drill hole LP23DD002 and 0.68 metres of 980 ppm uranium oxide in LP23DD006. These discoveries were already very close to the surface at depths of 42 and 81 metres, but were significantly undercut again in LP23DD008 with 0.73 metres of 149 ppm U3O8 at a depth of only 4.93 metres and 0.96 metres of 109 ppm at a depth of 21.54 metres.

The objective of the drilling on these targets was to explore opportunities to extend the known mineralisation at Long Pocket ahead of initial mineral resource modelling planned for 2024 and to investigate potential extensions in the corridor towards the Black Hills uranium project. Long Pocket is a potential satellite deposit located seven kilometres east of the Westmoreland project and has been explored in the past by previous operators including QML, Rio Tinto and Laramide.

Laramide Resource is planning the first delineation of a resource at Long Pocket in 2024

For Marc Henderson, President and CEO of Laramide Resources, the exploration results were a success and cause for celebration: “We are pleased to have received further positive results from our 2023 drilling campaign at Westmoreland, which was completed in October. The results are very encouraging as they increase confidence that the Westmoreland project has the potential to expand uranium mineralisation with satellite deposits in addition to the known 51.9 million pounds of mineral resources.”

The results are not only encouragingly consistent with previous results, but also support the Company’s plans to commence modelling a maiden resource in the Long Pocket area in 2024. This ‘Long Pocket area’ includes Black Hills to the north and the newly discovered U-Valley to the south. Recent results include significant grades from Black Hills that warrant further investigation. It is therefore reasonable to expect that the Black Hills prospect will be a high priority in the 2024 field season.