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A-Cap Energy kicks off 2023 uranium drilling in Botswana

Thu 19 Jan 23, 12:33pm (AEST)
A hard-rock nugget of uranium ore is juxtaposed against a black background
Source: iStock

Key Points

  • A-Cap Energy kicks off 2023 drilling at Letlhakane project
  • Letlhakane is described as one of the world’s top 10 largest undeveloped uranium deposits
  • Project straddles Botswana’s north-south infrastructure corridor including sealed roads and national grid transmission lines

ASX-listed uranium explorer A-Cap Energy (ASX:ACB) has kicked off its 2023 drilling campaign for uranium at the company’s Letlhakane Uranium Project

A-Cap will launch into a 1,500 metre diamond drill program to collect up to 2 tonnes of core samples for assay.

Further ore beneficiation (read: uranium grade refinement and improvement) studies are underway at Letlhakane which will incorporate the core collected, as well as overhead development studies analysing the optimal path to a potential commercial mine.

A-Cap describes Lelthakane as one of the world’s top ten largest undeveloped uranium deposits. 

“Letlhakane’s 2016 Feasibility Study which forecast an annual production of 3 million pounds (Mlbs) from open pit mining,“ A-Cap Energy MD Dr. Andrew Tunks said. 

Ideal location 

The company highlights proximity to sealed roads incorporating Botswana’s north-to-south infrastructure corridor, as well as transmission lines. In other words, they can get trucks in and out, and keep the lights on. 

Drilling was suspended at the project back in 2018 after publishing a feasibility study in 2016.

“[Our understanding] has improved remarkably since that time leaving our technical team very confident that we can improve the project’s economics significantly,” Tunks added.

Works were suspended in 2018 due to an unfavourable uranium outlook, but in recent years (and especially following the energy volatility that defined 2022) the company is risk-on for uranium drilling and exploration. 

Investors can expect newsflow on operations at Letlhakane over the coming weeks and months as news on grades, metallurgical test results, and updated development studies come to the fore. 

Want to know more? 

Market Index readers can use our free company data to make a set of initial considerations on the performance of A-Cap Energy including but not limited to: 

  • Share price of 8.8c*

  • Market cap of $108.4m*

  • One year returns down -43.2% 

  • Year to date performance up 25.7% 

  • Average 4 week volume of 619,725 shares 

  • Ranked 50 of 174 Energy sector companies 

  • Company held $10.2m in cash at end of September quarter

  • It spent $628,000 over the same period 

  • It spent $1.3m in investing activities over the same period 

*As at 1150 AEST Thursday 19 January 2023 

Take a look at ACB's one year chart
Take a look at ACB's one year chart

 

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Written By

Jonathon Davidson

Finance Writer

Jonathon is a journalism graduate and avid market watcher with exposure to governance, NGO and mining environments. He was most recently hired as an oil and gas specialist for a trade publication.

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