Tillkännagivande • Jul 17
Arkle Resources PLC Commences Maiden Uranium Drilling Programme At Erongo Uranium Project In Namibia
Arkle Resources PLC announced that the initial c. 1,500 m RC drilling programme at its Erongo Uranium Project in Namibia, announced on 25 June 2026, is proceeding as planned. Carnotite, a secondary uranium mineral, has been visually logged in RC drill chips in three holes across two fence lines. The drill programme is taking place entirely within one of the Company's Exclusive Prospecting Licences, EPL8995. Based on programme efficiencies, the Company has decided to add additional drilling and expand this phase, accelerating some of the planned Third Quarter 2026 drill holes. The initial c. 1,500 m RC programme is proceeding as planned, with 52 holes completed for 1,017 m to date, drilled on fence lines across the interpreted channel positions and completed as depth-to-basement tests. Carnotite, a secondary uranium mineral and the principal ore mineral of surficial uranium deposits in the region, has been visually logged in RC drill chips in three holes across two fence lines, at downhole depths of between 4 m and 15 m. Laboratory assay is required to determine uranium content. The Company has decided to add additional drilling to the initial programme, comprising the western paleochannel target previously mapped by HLEM, across which an initial fence of holes was completed this week, step-out holes on the eastern paleochannel target, and the primary ULG target of EPL8995, brought forward from the planned Third Quarter 2026 follow-on programme representing a first drill test of the target exposed by the recent trenching programme. Downhole gamma ray spectrometer surveying of the completed drillholes began this week, ahead of assay. The GRS results, together with the geological logging, will determine which drill intervals are submitted for laboratory assay. 1,016 one-metre samples collected to date and secured under the Company's QAQC protocols, with selected intervals to be dispatched to Actlabs, Windhoek, for laboratory assay. The number of samples to be assayed will be finalised on review of the downhole GRS survey results and the geological logging. First assay results are expected in early September 2026. Arkle's maiden RC drilling programme on EPL 8995 follows the Phase 1 geophysical interpretation announced on 22 May 2026, which defined drill targets across two distinct uranium mineralisation styles: paleochannel-hosted uranium, analogous to the adjacent Trekkopje and Marenica deposits, and ULG-hosted uranium, consistent with the broader Erongo alaskite uranium province. The initial c. 1,500 m programme announced on 25 June 2026 is proceeding as planned, with 52 holes completed for 1,017 m to date on fence lines across the interpreted channel positions, each hole completed as a basement test. Carnotite has been visually logged in RC drill chips in three holes across two fence lines, at downhole depths of between 4 m and 15 m. The Company has decided to add additional drilling to the programme. The decision to expand the programme reflects the efficiency of completing additional holes while the rig and field team are mobilised on the licence, at low incremental cost within the funded programme, and the value of testing each of the Company's priority targets within a single field programme. An initial fence of holes was completed this week across the western paleochannel target, previously mapped by HLEM, meaning both the eastern and western channel areas have now been drill-tested. Step-out holes are being planned on the eastern paleochannel target, and drill holes on the primary ULG target have been brought forward from the planned Third Quarter 2026 follow-on programme because the recent trenching confirmed and exposed the target at surface, and an early test of the sequence at depth will provide vertical control that directly informs the design of the larger ULG focussed follow-on drill programme. The initial programme of approximately 1,500 m of RC drilling is proceeding as planned and is designed to test surface and legacy downhole radiometric anomalies across the paleochannel targets of EPL 8995. To date, 52 holes have been completed for 1,017 m across multiple fence lines. Holes are drilled on fence lines across the interpreted channel positions and completed as basement tests, at depths of between 10 and 20 m, consistent with the shallow channel architecture indicated by the HLEM profiling. All holes are geologically logged at the rig, with one-metre samples collected under the Company's QAQC protocols. 1,017 lithology intervals have been logged and 1,016 samples collected and secured to date. Carnotite, a secondary uranium mineral and the principal ore mineral at surficial uranium deposits in the region, has been visually logged in RC drill chips in three holes across two fence lines, at downhole depths of between 4 m and 15 m. Visual observations of mineralisation are not a proxy for uranium grade; laboratory assay is required to determine uranium content, and assay results will be reported once received and validated. The western paleochannel target on EPL 8995 was previously mapped by the Company's HLEM profiling, supported by processed airborne radiometric data and surface mapping, and lies approximately 15 km west-southwest of the initial drilling area, on lower ground toward the west of the licence. Additional holes have been drilled across this target, with a fence of six holes drilled on 200 m spacings across the interpreted channel position and completed this week, confirming a cover sequence over basement and providing initial control on the geometry of the interpreted channel. Additional holes are now being planned on the eastern paleochannel target to step out from the existing fence lines and test the interpreted channels along strike.