PLN grows Namibian uranium position
PLN picks up Gaobis uranium project in Namibia
Project a natural extension to existing project in the country's south
Plan is now to double down on high-priority drill targets
The project adds ~350sqkm of prospective ground in proximity to the company's Warmbad project.
Namibia, which is the world's third-largest uranium producer, contributing ~11 % of global output, offers a stable, transparent regulatory environment for uranium development.
The geological setting of Gaobis mirrors the world-class Rössing mine and Henkries uranium deposit, which Pioneer (ASX:PLN) said highlighted strong potential for alaskite and paleochannel-hosted uranium mineralisation.
It's also a natural extension of Warmbad, providing exploration potential and a clear pathway to rapid resource growth.
Historic drilling results confirm mineralisation and include 23.9m at 100ppm U₃O₈ and 22.59m at 141ppm.
The company plans to target a 1.7km-long radiometric anomaly as well as several walk-up, shallow drill targets primed for exploration.
Building a big uranium district
The company said picking up the project was part of a strategic expansion of the existing Warmbad project and further strengthened its portfolio of critical minerals essential to the global transition toward a low-carbon future.
'The Gaobis uranium project is an extension of the Warmbad project with excellent historic drill intercepts in alaskite granite from surface,' CEO Michael Beven said.
'The mineralisation associated with the historic drilling is open in all directions with the strongest radiometric anomalies along the fold hinge still untested.
'The addition of Gaobis provides Pioneer the opportunity to rapidly expand its uranium inventory by building on the previous work completed by Xemplar Energy once all required exploration permitting is complete.'
Pioneer will now engage with Namibia authorities to advance permitting and development activities and refine the priority drill targets.
This article was developed in collaboration with Pioneer Lithium, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
AIM-listed Ariana Resources eyes ASX
Ariana Resources' ASX listing ambitions took a huge step forward with lodgement of its prospectus outlining an offer of 53.57m CDIs at 28c each for an IPO of $10-15m The offer follows the AIM-listed gold producer's fast-paced wholesale bookbuild to support its dual listing on the local market Funds will be put towards exploration at the feasibility-stage 1.1Moz Dokwe project, where Ariana aims to complete a DFS by mid-2026 Special Report: Gold producer Ariana Resources plc has filed its prospectus for its run at the ASX, offering CDIs at 28c each in its bid to raise a minimum of $10 million and a maximum of $15 million. The public offering has just opened ahead of Ariana's mid-September ASX debut. Lodgement of the prospectus follows a high-speed bookbuild for the company that's already listed on London's AIM with a strong register, including major miner Newmont. AIM-listed Ariana Resources is seeking a dual listing on the ASX as it launches an IPO raise a minimum of $10 million to fund progress at its Zimbabwe development asset and boost production across its gold portfolio. The company has lodged its prospectus with ASIC, outlining its plans to offer 53.57m CDIs at 28 cents apiece in an IPO led by Shaw and Partners and co-managed by Leeuwin Wealth. The offer has just opened and is set to close on 14 August. CDIs are a simple mechanism allowing international companies to list on the ASX and for Ariana the ratio of shares to CDI is ten to one. The offer price of 28c is equivalent to a 15.6 per cent discount to the last traded price on AIM on 25 July of 1.6 pence. It closed on 5 August at 1.7 pence. After the institutional bookbuild opened and closed within just a day last week, Ariana's market capitalisation implied by the offer is A$64 million. The company expects to start trading on the ASX on September 15 under the ticker AA2. Not your typical ASX explorer IPO Ariana already boasts a solid production base and development assets in Europe. It's also the 100 per cent owner of the Dokwe project, Zimbabwe's largest undeveloped gold project with a Measured, Indicated and Inferred JORC Resource of 1.1Moz. The company's current register includes Newmont, with the gold heavyweight currently a 4 per cent shareholder, whilst Ariana directors and management have their own skin in the game with a total of 24 per cent between them. The raise follows the recent run of success for juniors including Tali Resources (ASX:TR2), Ballard Mining (ASX:BM1) and Broken Hill Mines (ASX:BHM). All have surged on debut, mirroring strong interest in ASX listed goldies as the metal records a price rise of about 28 per cent this year. Strong track record Underpinning Ariana's robust support is production from the Kiziltepe gold-silver mine in Turkey, which has enabled the company to be consistently profitable since 2016 and pay GBP 7.74 million (A$15.8 million) in dividends since 2021. The 2024 depleted resource at Kiziltepe stands at 3.3Mt at 1.63 grams per tonne (g/t) gold for 171,700oz. Annual production in 2024 was 20,866oz. The nearby Tavsan mine is nearing its first gold pour with its processing plant expected to achieve operational status by the end of this month. Ongoing resource and exploration drilling is also under way at Tavsan, which boasted a 2024 Resource of 7.7mt at 1.26 g/t for 311,000oz of gold. Way to grow Ariana will put the IPO funds towards advancing its portfolio of projects, but it's at the Dokwe gold project the company is looking for material growth. Just 110km from Zimbabwe's second city Bulawayo, Dokwe has a current JORC resource of 1.1Moz and a definitive feasibility study (DFS) scheduled to be released by mid 2026. The company released an updated pre-feasibility study (PFS) for the Dokwe North deposit in June 2025, based on a conservative gold price of US$2,750/oz. This yielded a post-tax Net Present Value (10%) of US$354 million and a healthy 75 per cent internal rate of return. Current production projections are for 60,000oz annually, but Ariana is examining ways to increase this to up to 100,000oz per year over a 10-year mine life as it progresses the DFS. Multi-million ounce potential Key to its resource growth outlook is a significant gold and soil anomaly Ariana identified just 125 metres northeast of the Dokwe North planned pit rim in July. This indicates the potential for additional discoveries within close range of the planned development for Dokwe to host a multi-million-ounce exploration and development opportunity. The area is now a priority for drill testing. Managing director Dr Kerim Sener said: 'Similar systems are evident in exposed sections of the belt, and we believe this region remains one of the most prospective, yet underexplored gold provinces in southern Africa. 'This latest discovery is an exciting new development for Dokwe, which could greatly improve our plans for the project.' Also importantly, the newly updated economic model does not yet factor in the Dokwe Central resource as it had not been estimated in accordance with JORC 2012 at the time of the PFS release. This article was developed in collaboration with Ariana Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing. This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
The Australian
2 hours ago
- The Australian
REE grows Cummins Range gallium value
Special Report: RareX now considers gallium to be a core value stream for its Cummins Range project in the East Kimberley region of WA after re-assaying of previous drilling returned wide, high-grade intersections of the critical mineral. RareX's re-assaying of 2020 infill drilling at Cummins Range returns wide, high-grade gallium intersections Notable results such as 115m at 146g/t gallium elevate the critical mineral to being a 'core value stream' Re-assaying is continuing with another 26 holes to go The role of gallium in Cummins Range has risen quickly since the company first found it unexpectedly in historical data in April 2025. Back then, the data confirmed values of up to 6826g/t Ga2O3, raising the likelihood that the project could have yet another valuable product in addition to rare earths, phosphate and scandium. This led RareX (ASX:REE) to kick off a program of re-assaying drill holes from its 2020 infill drill program with the first 15 holes yielding hits such as 99m at 106g/t gallium and 74m at 123g/t gallium. The results placed Cummins Range amongst the highest grade gallium projects in Australia, adding to its position as one of the country's most significant undeveloped REE deposits. REE has now received a further 970 gallium re-assays from 16 holes that continued this trend of wide, high-grade gallium results including a top hit of 115m at 146g/t Ga2O3, 3.4% total rare earth oxides and 369g/t Sc2O3 from a down-hole depth of 22m. Managing director James Durrant said the results confirmed Cummins Range as one of Australia's most advanced and highest-grade gallium deposits. 'The consistency of high-grade results across multiple holes and long intercepts removes any remaining doubt. Gallium is now a core value stream,' he added. 'We are advancing both conventional and alternative processing pathways with Gega Elements, SGS Lakefield and others to unlock the full value of the contained metals — rare earths, gallium, scandium and phosphate.' This is hugely significant as gallium is used in semiconductors, LEDs and solar tech, leading to its place on the critical minerals lists for Europe, North America and Australia. Gallium intercepts at Cummins Range. Pic: RareX Cummins Range project The carbonatite at Cummins Range hosts a resource of 524Mt at 0.31% TREO, 4.6% phosphate and 70g/t Sc2O3. Despite historical RC drilling, conducted between 2007 and 2012 by Navigator Resources and Kimberley Rare Earths being mostly assayed for gallium, the 30,000m of drilling completed by the company since acquiring the project in 2019 has not been assayed for gallium. This led to the company's decision to re-assay the 2020 infill drill program that had been designed to upgrade the inferred REE resource to the higher confidence indicated category. A total of 2,080 assays from 29 drill holes have now been received and results have confirmed high-grade gallium over wide intervals. The most elevated results are coincident with high-grade rare earth and scandium content that have been upgraded due to a combination of residual or eluvial and chemical weathering. Gallium is dominated by China, which controls 98% of global production, meaning that any alternative sources will likely be viewed favourably by countries looking to build alternative supply chains. Demand for the critical mineral has expanded dramatically across numerous high-tech sectors, contributing significantly to the upward pressure on prices. The global gallium market is projected to grow from $2.32 billion in 2024 to $2.91 billion in 2025, representing a compound annual growth rate CAGR of 25.4%. Upward price pressure is likely to persist as demand continues to expand across the semiconductor, telecommunications, defence and renewable energy sectors. REE continues re-assaying its infill drilling results with 26 holes remaining. This article was developed in collaboration with RareX, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing. This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Expert reveals blast risk for new 15,000-home Melbourne suburb
A former explosives engineer who worked in the mining sector before becoming a real estate guru has issued a stark warning for a new mega suburb planned for Melbourne's north. Just the prospect of nearby explosive work at a neighbouring quarry, coupled with people who don't understand it, could be enough to hit home values and the ability to onsell residences nearby. Even with the likelihood blasting will be done so safely it has no risk of physically impacting homes. The Victorian Government this week approved plans for a new 15,000 home precinct to Melbourne's north — as well as a basalt quarry to help build infrastructure as well as properties. Authorities have planned a 250m 'blast buffer', and the nearest houses will be about 500m away with estate amenities filling the remaining space between them and the excavation site. Real estate investment expert, and former explosives engineer Jane Slack-Smith said even with the buffer zone it would be a case of 'buyer beware'. I've got sti 'It could be a good solution for getting into a first home, and having a lovely experience — but when they come to sell, it's probably going to negatively impact their selling price,' Ms Slack-Smith said. 'The public perception is the thing that causes the worst situation here. Even though the reality is that we need the quarry to build the homes.' The property investment expert said she had finished her explosives career about 20 years ago, after starting as one of the first two women handling detonations in NSW coal mines in 1989. As she was transferring to a career in property investment advisory, her former industry was beginning to use sophisticated digital blasting technology that could effectively direct which way shockwaves from explosives travel — to the extent that certain blasting could be done 'in your backyard' without most people noticing. Ms Slack-Smith she believed the technology had come a long way since then. 'That could minimise blast noise and vibrations,' she said. 'But a homeowner about to buy in a housing estate, they don't know that. 'You talk to someone about explosives and the only stories that people know are the big bangs. 'So there's always a worry that there will be buyer expectations around buying in the area.' And it's unlikely the first homebuyers heading into the estate will be able to wait out the quarry, which is slated for operation through to 2052. Most homebuyers live in a residence for seven to 11 years. The quarry is likely to also create dust and noise, with expectations the operators will be taking steps to address these where possible. The approval of the quarry has frustrated existing local residents who had been fighting against its establishment for about four years — including two prior rejections by Mitchell Shire Council, who had warned of impacts on traffic, air quality and potentially the health and wellbeing of current and future residents. The 1279ha wider Beveridge North West Precinct Structure Plan that the quarry and homes will be part of will also pave the way for eight schools, four town halls and shopping centres, a series of parks and reserves and is ultimately expected to house 47,000 people. The approval was announced on Tuesday by Victorian planning minister Sonya Kilkenny who said there would be a staged rollout of the schools and other amenities — while the quarry was essential for building many of the homes and could lead to reduced construction costs. 'There is a quarry in this PSP that has been there, identified in the plan for many years, and part of that is ensuring that when you've got supply of materials, local construction, materials that are close to demand, it also means you can reduce the cost of the housing, reduce the cost of construction, which ultimately makes the homes cheaper to build and cheaper then to buy,' Ms Kilkenny said. Housing Industry Association Victorian executive director Keith Ryan said it was likely increased materials for civil works would allow for more rapid delivery of the infrastructure needed to support new homes and potentially home features like driveways. In the absence of economic modelling, Mr Ryan was not sure how much of a benefit this would provide to the homebuyers, but said there would be wide benefits from the creation of a new quarry — though there might still be questions of labour availability. He added that with a number of quarries already operating near homes around Victoria, and having done so historically, there was a prospect home values might not suffer. 'When people look at these homes in the future, they might not know the quarry is there unless they drive right past it,' Mr Ryan said. It won't be the first time explosives and new housing have been mixed, with developer Stockland laying 600m of underground explosives to precision blast in sewerage lines for a Truganina housing estate in 2019. In the span of 10 seconds the detonations prepared the ground for the infrastructure for a section of the 138ha Grandview estate, expected to house about 4500 residents — a fraction of what is to come in the new precinct at Beveridge.
