JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) - Aim- and ASX-listed Forte Energy said on Friday that it had drilled 30 holes or a total of 2 500 m at it A238 uranium prospect in Mauritania since drilling started last month.

The uranium company plans to carry out 5 000 m of reverse drilling as the first phase of its drilling programme at the A239 prospect in west African country.

Forte Energy said that drilling had initially focused on confirming the extent of the thick central core that was identified during the last round of drilling and then on defining the full strike length of the mineralised structure. The company said that a strike length of over 3,5 km would be covered by the first phase.

"The work is expected to be completed within days, and the focus will then shift to better defining the depth extensions of the main central zone."

For this, Forte Energy said that it would undertake a combination of RC and diamond drilling. The company planned that 1 500 m diamond drilling would be completed for resource calculation purposes and added that the diamond rig was expected to be mobilised to site within ten days.

Meanwhile, the company said that the first batch of 530 samples, representing 17 holes had already been prepared at its new facility in Zourerate.

These samples must now pass through Mauritanian customs before being shipped to Ireland.

"It is expected that the samples should arrive at the laboratory in Ireland by the end of next week, after which assay turnaround is expected in the coming weeks," concluded Forte Energy.

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