Valor unearths spectacular grade uranium-copper rock chips

ASX-listed explorer Valor Resources has snared a suite of uber-impressive grade rock chips grading up to 6.13 per cent uranium oxide and an eye-catching 61.7 per cent copper at its Surprise Creek project in Canada.

Legacy drilling at the tenure returned several compelling uranium intercepts, including 2.1m at 4.37 per cent from 57m, indicating the surface results could be just the tip of the iceberg.

Other notable uranium assays include 6.13 per cent, 3.96 per cent and 1.83 per cent uranium oxide. Curiously, the samples were laced with copper mineralisation that ran up to 1.31 per cent – potentially setting up the operation as a two-pronged source of both in-vogue commodities.

According to the company, the rock chips were collected near the Athabasca Basin, one of Canada’s premier districts for mineral exploration and a key supplier of the world’s uranium.

A handful of additional samples collected around the proximal Surprise Creek Fault returned grades in excess of 1 per cent uranium oxide.

Historical drilling at the Surprise Creek Fault target delivered a raft of solid strikes, including 0.9m at 7.5 per cent uranium oxide, inside of the larger 2.1m intercept going 4.37 per cent from 57m.

The historic results were generated in the late 1960s and since then, the area has seen no modern uranium exploration.

Samples acquired in an area south-west of the Surprise Creek target delivered healthy copper grades, that, unlike its neighbouring counterparts, were free of uranium.

The feature copper result was a rock sample running an extraordinary 61.7 per cent copper and was supported by a myriad of additional impressive specimens grading 27.6 per cent, 9 per cent, 4.93 per cent and 3.94 per cent copper.

Valor says it has now pegged an additional claim further north and has already committed to a follow-up geological mapping and sampling program.

Valor Resources Executive Chairman, George Bauk said: “We are seeing two potential target types emerge – one primarily for uranium with associated copper in the northern part of the project and another in the south and central part of the project comprising just copper.”

Canada’s Athabasca Basin has historically been responsible for about 20 per cent of the world’s uranium supply and boasts some of the planet’s most productive energy assets.

Since the late 1960s close to two dozen major uranium deposits have been found in the region and about half of them rank amongst the globe’s best in terms of grade.

Depending on which report you read, demand for copper is expected to rise about 30 per cent by 2030 and the uranium market is tipped to follow suit as economies continue to weigh up their importance in a low-carbon world.

Valor looks to be on the money here in terms of commodity, country and timing and if grade is King, then this project is starting to take on a distinctly regal feel.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au