"Following the positive results of the updated pre-feasibility study announced in February and based on our view that the uranium market fundamentals are demonstrating continued improvement, we have decided to move straight on to the completion of the feasibility study required to secure project financing.
"A key benefit from the updated PFS was the simplification and optimisation of the project, which has also simplified the scope of the remaining test work expected to be completed in support of a feasibility study.
"As a result, our priorities for the advancement of Madaouela include a drilling programme designed to further our understanding of the molybdenum mineralisation of the project and confirmatory metallurgical test work," said Daniel Major, CEO.
GoviEx has planned a 13,000m drilling programme, with a combination of rotary mud and diamond core drilling, to an average depth of 100m. This drilling programme, located at the Miriam deposit, will focus on three main objectives:
- Drilling a 50m grid within the planned open-pit shape to confirm an indicated mineral resource for molybdenum mineralisation. The process flowsheet has been designed to recover molybdenum as a by-product based on the molybdenum content reported in the previous test work.
- Final corroboration of the geotechnical slope design for Miriam, which was steepened from 51 degrees to 53 degrees in the updated PFS.
- Verification of whether Miriam dewatering is sufficient to support process water requirements rather than developing a standalone well field as is currently assumed given the reduced water usage defined in the Updated PFS. Positive results, if they are achieved, will potentially permit reduced operating and capital costs associated with water supply, and could also lower the potential environmental impact.
The planned drilling programme will be performed by l'Entreprise Sidi Abdoul Aziz de Forage, and FORACO NIGER S.A.. ESAFOR, a Nigerien drilling company, has completed substantial previous drilling for GoviEx, having completed over 620,000m of exploration and resource drilling on the project area. FORACO, a Nigerien subsidiary of Foraco International SA, a French drilling company, has concluded extensive exploration work on a number of nearby uranium deposits in Niger. The first drill rig is expected on-site at the start of May and it is anticipated that the total programme will last approximately five months.
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