Ponton Project
Interest: Manhattan 100%
Operator: Manhattan Corporation Limited
Manhattan’s Ponton project is located approximately 200km northeast of Kalgoorlie on the edge of the Great Victoria Desert in WA. The Company has 100% control of around 2,140km2 of applications and granted exploration tenements underlain by Tertiary palaeochannels within the Gunbarrel Basin. These palaeochannels are known to host a number of uranium deposits and drilled uranium prospects.
Manhattan’s Ponton Tenements
The Ponton Project includes the Double 8 uranium deposit that has a JORC Inferred Resource of 17.2Mlb U3O8 at a 200ppm cutoff. The deposit is located on E28/1898 in the QVSNR.
In addition, Exploration Results reported by Manhattan in March 2011 identified Mineralisation Potential totalling 33 to 67Mlb U3O8 at the 200ppm U3O8 cutoff in four prospects at:
• Double 8 of between 2.5 and 5.5Mlb U3O8;
• Stallion South of between 8 and 16Mlb U3O8;
• Highway South of between 8 and 16Mlb U3O8; and
• Ponton of between 15 and 30Mlb U3O8
Stallion, Highway and Shelf prospects have been systematically drilled to a detail that would support resource estimations. Resource estimates will be completed and reported when further secular disequilibrium data are received, models refined and conversion procedures for Manhattan’s down hole gamma probe data finalised. Preliminary information gives a strong likelihood that a disequilibrium factor for these prospects may be significantly higher than the x1.2 currently assumed for the Inferred Resources at Double 8.
Carbonaceous sand hosted uranium mineralisation, below 40 to 60 metres of cover, has now been defined in drill holes along 55 kilometres of Tertiary palaeochannels at Stallion, Stallion South, Double 8, Ponton, Highway South and Highway prospects.
These palaeochannels connect with Energy and Minerals Australia’s lignite hosted Mulga Rock uranium deposits with a combined reported inferred resource estimate of 27,100 tonnes (60Mlb) U3O8.
Manhattan’s 2010 drilling & Double 8 reported inferred resources
Manhattan’s 2010 aircore and sonic drilling program was targeted at sand hosted uranium mineralisation in the 100km of conductive palaeochannels defined by the Company’s airborne EM and magnetic surveys and uranium mineralised sands discovered in previous drilling by Manhattan, PNC Exploration (“PNC”) and Uranerz in the area.
Manhattan’s three Exploration Licence applications that encroach on, or are within, the QVSNR (EL’s 28/1898, 1983 & 2004) were offered for grant by the WA Department of Mines and Petroleum on 20 December 2010. EL28/1979, also partially within the QVSNR, was granted on 21 July 2010. Once granted the consent of the Minister for Mines and Petroleum, with the concurrence of the Minister for Environment, is required to commence exploration activities within the QVSNR. This Ministerial consent for the key licence (E28/1898) is now being sought.