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Taylor Ranch Uranium Project, Colorado, USA

The Taylor Ranch Uranium Project is located in close proximity to the Hansen uranium deposit in the Tallahassee Creek District of Colorado, USA. The Hansen deposit was discovered in 1977. It contains circa 30 million pounds of U3O8 at a grade of approximately 0.08% U3O8. A bankable feasibility study had been completed and all permits for mining the Hansen deposit had been approved in the early 1980’s, but no mining was undertaken because the global uranium price collapsed around the same time.

 


Location of the Taylor Ranch Uranium Project, Colorado, USA.

 

 

In December 2006 Black Range Minerals acquired a 100% interest in the uranium exploration and mining rights to a 4,300 acre property located immediately north of the Hansen deposit. This area had been relatively poorly explored during the 1970-80’s, but was known to host considerable extensions of the same mineralising system that formed the Hansen deposit.


In the following months, through to July 2007, the Company systematically secured a 100% interest in adjoining and adjacent properties comprising a further 5,200 acres. These additional areas encompass some or all of the mineralisation at the North Hansen, Northwest Hansen, Picnic Tree and High Park uranium deposits, which were all also discovered in the 1970-80’s.


The Company now holds a 100% interest in the mineral rights on approximately 9,500 acres in the Tallahassee Creek District.


 

 


Black Range Minerals' landholdings at the Taylor Ranch Uranium Project, Colorado, USA.

 


Previous Exploration

Historic exploration in the Tallahassee Creek District during the 1970’s and 1980’s focused on the Hansen deposit but considerable exploration was undertaken on the surrounding areas now held by Black Range Minerals.


Approximately 1,000 holes had been drilled on the Company’s licences previously, for more than 140,000 metres. Extensive uranium mineralisation had been delineated over more than seven kilometres of strike immediately to the north of the Hansen Deposit, the majority of which is now held under licence by Black Range Minerals.


Six other uranium deposits had been delineated in close proximity to the Hansen deposit, namely the Noah, Northwest Taylor, North Hansen, Northwest Hansen, Picnic Tree and High Park uranium deposits. The Company has secured licences that encompass large proportions of, or all of the mineralisation at these deposits.


The Company has secured a large amount of historic data pertaining to these deposits, including extensive drilling data, metallurgical test work results, reports on mining and feasibility studies, and extensive environmental studies.



Company’s Exploration and Development Activities

The Company commenced an extensive drilling programme at the Taylor Ranch Uranium Project in April 2007. It has had as many as four drilling rigs operating on the project simultaneously. To date more than 70 holes have been completed for over 23,000 metres. The drilling programme continues.


The objective of the drilling programme was initially to confirm historic results. Comparable results were returned in early holes, so attention quickly turned to infill and extensional drilling.


Infill drilling has successfully delineated coherent high grade zones of uranium mineralisation within the Noah and Northwest Taylor Deposits. Infill drilling is yet to be undertaken at the other deposits.


Extensional drilling has successfully delineated considerable additional uranium mineralisation. In September 2007 the Company announced that it had discovered the new “Boyer Uranium Deposit” while systematically following up a historic intersection of high-grade uranium mineralisation in previous wide-spaced drilling between the Northwest Taylor Deposit and the Northwest Hansen Deposit. Mineralisation at the Boyer Deposit remains open to the south, so drilling is now focusing on the 1,000 metre long corridor between the Boyer Deposit and the Northwest Hansen Deposit where no holes have been drilled previously. The discovery of the Boyer Deposit has proven to be a major discovery for the Company (see JORC Resources, below).

 

 

 

Drilling at the Taylor Ranch Uranium Project, Colorado, USA.

 

JORC Resources

Integration of new drilling data with historic data has facilitated the calculation of JORC Code compliant resources for the majority of the Taylor Ranch Uranium Project.


Applying an exceptionally high cut-off grade of 0.075% (750ppm) U3O8, the high grade component of the JORC Code compliant resource base comprises:


8.4Mt at 0.12% U3O8 for 22.2 million pounds of U3O81
1Applying a cut-off grade of 0.075% U3O8


In total, the global JORC Code compliant resource base for the project comprises:


132.8Mt at 0.027% U3O8 for 79.6 million pounds of U3O82
2Applying a cut-off grade of 0.01% U3O8

Or

36.9Mt at 0.059% U3O8 for 48.1 million pounds of U3O83
3Applying a cut-off grade of 0.025% U3O8


The discovery of the Boyer Uranium Deposit, announced in September 2007, has added 24.5 million pounds of U3O8 to the Company’s global resource base, including more than 9 million pounds of U3O8 when applying an exceptionally high cut-off grade of 0.075% (750ppm) U3O8.


Considerable potential remains to expand on the resource base. A resource calculation is currently in progress for the High Park Uranium Deposit. In addition mineralisation remains open to the south of the Boyer Deposit. The 800 metre long corridor extending south from the Boyer Deposit to the North Hansen Deposit is a high priority exploration target that is effectively untested with drilling.

 

 

 

Long section through the Boyer Uranium Deposit.

 

 

Project Development

Having delineated such a large resource base, which includes a sizeable high grade component, the Company has commissioned a scoping study to evaluate the development of the Taylor Ranch Uranium Project. Independent consultants, including SRK Consulting, Harrison Western Engineering and Tetra Tech are conducting studies including resource/reserve calculations, mine design and engineering, metallurgical test work and geotechnical and hydrological studies.


The scoping study is evaluating the development of the Company’s defined resources. Initial indications are that a staged development approach should be adopted. This approach would potentially entail an initial mining operation comprising:

 

  • Underground mining for the first three to five years of operation
  • Extraction of 300,000 - 500,000 tonnes of ore per annum
  • Ore grades of 0.12% U3O8 - 0.15% U3O8
  • Initial production of 1.0-1.25 million pounds of U3O8

 

Subsequent expansion would potentially comprise:

 

  • Expansion of mining operations
  • Extraction of ~1,000,000 tonnes of ore per annum
  • Ore grades of 0.10% U3O8 – 0.12% U3O8
  • Possible metal recoveries of 95% with conventional milling
  • Production of 1.5-2.0 million pounds of U3O8

This scenario would result in the production of approximately 15 million pounds of U3O8 in the first 10 years of the mining operation, to be sold directly into the burgeoning US domestic market.


Metal recoveries of approximately 95% are envisaged with conventional milling methodologies, based on details contained in a previous feasibility study completed on the adjacent Hansen Uranium Deposit, which hosts a very similar style of mineralization within the same geological formation. Estimates of probable capital and operating costs are now being determined.


The Company has applied for necessary permits to undertake an extensive drilling programme during the forthcoming summer season. It is anticipated that this programme will commence in the second quarter of 2008.