Alligator Energy (ASX: AGE) has secured a substantially expanded tenement footprint at its 100%-owned Big Lake Uranium Project in South Australia.
The company has submitted applications for 11 new tenements, now covering 10,802 sq. km.
CEO, Greg Hall, said the expansion decision is based upon both the recent success in reprocessing publicly available seismic data and the recognition of emerging mineral exploration opportunities related to the deeper “granite wash” geology of the underlying Cooper Basin.
Petroleum companies have only recently recognised and mapped the coarse aprons of alluvial “granite wash” that surround the radiogenic granites and the interfingering relationship with the highly permeable Patchawarra Formation.
This formation is now an important emerging producer of oil and gas and is being actively explored as a favourable petroleum play in the Cooper Basin. It is widely distributed across the Moomba/Big Lake area that Alligator currently holds tenure over its Big Lake Project and extends beyond to the south.
Mr Hall said Alligator believes that this buried radiogenic granite wash provides a source for uranium to naturally leach into the groundwater which then propagates upwards into overlying near-surface sediments that Alligator will be exploring for ISR-type uranium deposits.
“Based on the desktop analysis performed to date and our dedicated senior geologists’ recognition of the importance of the granite wash play, Alligator has applied for additional exploration tenure to the south and west of the current licence,” Mr Hall said.
“It has significantly expanded the uranium exploration search space in the Cooper Basin, reaffirming Alligator’s first-mover advantage there. We have commenced background analysis of available data and planning an expanded exploration effort in what is quickly becoming a significant opportunity for the company.
“We are also continuing to liaise and negotiate an exploration agreement with the local indigenous groups.”
New applications and expanded footprint at Big Lake
Alligator Energy has applied for 11 new mineral exploration licences in the Cooper Basin region of South Australia to augment its existing EL6367 title.
These applications substantially expand the footprint of the Project to cover a large proportion of the newly recognised ‘granite wash play’. Alligator’s Big Lake Project area now encompasses 10,802 sq. km (increased from 818 sq. km) and positions the company well as a first mover into this frontier uranium province.
Going forward
The seismic response of the contact between granites and wash-sediments is anticipated to be clearly imaged, identifiable and laterally interpretable in the reprocessed seismic data.
It is likely that the process of mapping the distribution and thickness of the ‘granite wash’ will be a first order control on the focus of further exploration.
Alligator is currently reprocessing seismic data incrementally on its current tenure and this will be rolled out to the new tenement applications once granted.
Alligator has also commenced capturing the relevant data from historic petroleum and mineral exploration wells. This exercise will expand in line with the additional data that pertains to the newly applied tenure. A combination of these data sources will inform drilling program design and implementation.
For further information please visit: https://alligatorenergy.com.au/