Salamanca 1 Uranium Project (0807Q)
13 Ottobre 2011 - 8:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMBKY
RNS Number : 0807Q
Berkeley Resources Limited
13 October 2011
13 October 2011
ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE
Salamanca 1 Uranium Project
Initiation of Licensing and Permitting on the Retortillo and
Santitad Deposits
Berkeley Resources Ltd ("Berkeley" or the "Company") is pleased
to announce that on Tuesday the 11th October it initiated the
licensing and permitting processes for development of the
Retortillo and Santidad deposits within the Salamanca 1 uranium
project. These deposits will be the first to be developed in a
program focussed on, Berkeley's 100% owned resources.
Salamanca 1 will now be developed as a stand-alone project which
will be completely independent of the Company's joint venture with
ENUSA, also within the Salamanca Province. Independent development
of the Salamanca 1 project simplifies progress to construction and
operation, because licensing and permitting processes will proceed
through the Regional Government of Castilla y Leon. Initial
discussions indicate strong support for the project.
An initial scoping study for the Salamanca 1 uranium project
indicates robust economics, at an initial production rate of around
1.5 million pounds of U(3) O(8) per annum. This initial production
rate is expected to grow as Berkeley's additional 100% resource
areas are developed into the project.
The process will utilise on-off pad, biological heap leaching,
which is particularly amenable to the ore type, and to the region
and its climate. Previous 40 day column test work has yielded
recoveries of at least 90%. A preliminary feasibility study is
scheduled for completion by year end.
A 10,000m program of RC drilling commenced at Retortillo in July
with the aim of upgrading all "inferred"resources to the
"indicated" category. Final resource estimates for the Retortillo
and Santidad deposits are anticipated by late November, when all
chemical assays become available. Progress calculations, based
largely on e-grades and using the zoned block model method employed
at the State reserve deposits (which combines kriging and inverse
distance squared weightings), indicate that the original 2007
estimate (based on a recovered fraction with inverse distance
methodology) overestimated the resource. Whilst the final
difference is uncertain, the Company advises that it expects its
current 100%-owned resources of 31,7m lbs to reduce by about 12%.
The scoping study completed incorporates this. However, all
exploration activity within the Company's 100%-owned licenses
ceased in 2008, and there is considerable potential to increase its
resource inventory.
Berkeley Resources Managing Director, Brendan James stated "In
the September quarterly report, I indicated that over the last
three months, Berkeley Resources has undergone a significant
transformation. Progressing the Salamanca 1 uranium project as an
independent, 100%-owned operation is consistent with this
transformation, and highlights Berkeley's clear intention and focus
to become a profitable, mid-tier uranium production company in the
near term. We have the resources and technical skills to
successfully commission and operate the Salamanca 1 uranium
project. We intend to do just that, to the benefit of our
shareholders and our wide range of stakeholders in Spain."
Enquiries - Managing Director: Brendan James Tel: +34 923 193
903 RBC Capital Markets: Martin Eales Tel: +44 20 7029 7881
The information in this announcement that relates to Exploration
Results, Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves is based on information
compiled by Dr. James Ross, who is a Fellow of The Australian
Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and an employee of Berkeley
Resources Limited. Dr. Ross has sufficient experience which is
relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under
consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to
qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the
'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral
Resources and Ore Reserves'. Dr. Ross consents to the inclusion in
the report of the matters based on his information in the form and
context in which it appears.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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