Quaterra Resources Inc. announced yesterday the discovery of a new breccia pipe with high-grade uranium mineralization from a geophysical anomaly tested by drilling on the company's Arizona Strip Project. The AZ Dept. of Mines and Mineral Resources says the company’s discovery of a hidden breccia pipe (the A-1 anomaly) in April using the VTEM (airborne time domain electromagnetic system) technique was the first new breccia pipe discovered in the region in 18 years. [right, credit Quaterra Resources]
According to the company’s press release, discovery hole A-20-01, the first hole to test the A-20 anomaly, intercepted a thickness of 34.5 feet averaging 0.37% U3O8 at a depth of 1,442 feet, including a high-grade zone of 6.5 feet averaging 0.63% U3O8 at a depth of 1,443 feet. The hole also intercepted a deeper zone of 13.0 feet averaging 0.46% at a depth of 1,567 feet that includes a higher grade interval of 10.0 feet averaging 0.58% U3O8.
The A-20 target is the second of more than 200 moderate-to high-priority VTEM geophysical anomalies defined on Quaterra's 85 square mile property.
Unlike the A-1 structure, A-20 is not a hidden pipe. However, because of its subtle surface expression it remained undetected until Quaterra's VTEM survey. Additional drilling at A-20 will be deferred until later this year. The Company is accelerating testing of additional high-priority VTEM anomalies and is currently drilling a third VTEM target.