Transcription of The Stock Network Interview with Alligator Energy (ASX:AGE), Managing Director Dr Andrea Marsland-Smith
Lel Smits: Alligator Energy has found uranium a kilometre beyond its earlier drilling at the Sandfire Uranium Project near Wyala with two rigs still turning in South Australia. The company is now focused entirely on South Australian uranium after selling its Northern Territory assets and has collected the final payment from that sale. Ahead of appearing at IMARC and the Mining Rockstars Investor event in Sydney, I’m joined by Alligator Energy CEO and Managing Director Dr Andrea Marsland-Smith to discuss the latest drilling and the path to a mining lease.
Andrea, welcome back to the Stock Network.
Andrea Marsland-Smith: Thanks, Lel. Thanks for having me.
Lel Smits: Now, two holes about 100 metres apart hit uranium well beyond your previous drilling. Andrea, what does that tell you about the size of the system? Also, how do you think it’s going to shape that next year’s resource update?
Andrea Marsland-Smith: Yeah, so one of the key things of getting access to the southern area of Blackbush was to examine the extent of the mineralisation south of Blackbush. So we’re very pleased that the results prove that, yes, the system extends and not only two, three or four hundred metres, but we’ve hit it just drilling a kilometre out.
So now we’ve got 1600 metres of extension of the existing Blackbush mineralisation. There’s opportunity for us to keep stepping out further, but I think in the short term, now we’re going to see if we can prove up a resource base in that area. So it’s about trying to add on pounds by area, slowly growing the resource base of the deposit.
So we’re starting off Blackbush, 18 million pounds. We’ve got another 12 from Blackbush around four or five kilometres south. The infill drilling between those two areas now show that, yes, we’ve got mineralisation.
So there’s upside from there and we’ve also demonstrated scale. So we’re on a very good pathway to increasing our resource base. And in terms of moving Soundfire really through feasibility and the mining lease, the feasibility study is now drawing on your field trial results with the mining lease application running alongside of it.
Lel Smits: Andrea, what does this study need to prove before the board can really make a decision to build?
Andrea Marsland-Smith: It’s really, it does come down to economics at the end of the day. And a scoping study was undertaken on December 23. The economics were really robust at that stage at $65 a pound.
And the long-term uranium price is now $95 a pound. So those numbers would improve. But also there’s been cost escalation in that time period, as everyone would know.
So we’re working through that escalation. But ISR is a cheaper mining method in terms of capital and operating costs. So this project will still stack up, but it’s just working through those numbers.
And we’ll deliver that in a year or so. But the field recovery trial results are very key to getting the estimations right. And we’re very glad that we undertook that.
So we go into it with our eyes open and understand exactly the cost base of the project.
Lel Smits: Well, Andrea, I appreciate the update. Look forward to hearing more when you’re on stage at IMARC and the Rockstars Mining Investor event.
Andrea Marsland-Smith: Look forward to it, Lel. Thanks. See you then.
Ends