TSX-V-listed uranium explorer and developer GoviEx Uranium reports that positive results have been obtained from the recent geophysics programme at its Falea polymetallic project, in Mali.

The Falea project encompasses the Bala, Madini and Falea licences.

Exploration work at the site has found a large, chargeable body highlighted underneath the Falea deposit, which is over 2 km in length and 500 m wide on the Falea tenement.

The Falea polymetallic deposit, containing uranium, copper, silver and gold, has been defined at or near the unconformity between the Taoudeni basal sediments and the underlying metamorphic rocks of the Birimian-aged sequences by extensive drilling that stopped only a few metres beyond the orebody within the Birimian rocks.

GoviEx believes the Falea deposit results from mineralising fluids intruded through the faults in the area to deposit suitable trap sites at the unconformity with the overlying rocks.

However, the explorer notes that historical drilling programmes have not tested the presence of mineralised bodies below the unconformity within the Birimian.

GoviEx executive chairperson Govind Friedland says the Falea project already contains an indicated resource containing 17.4-million pounds of triuranium octoxide (U₃O₈), 24.4-million pounds of copper and 16.1-million pounds of silver, as well as an inferred resource of 13.4-million pounds of U₃O₈ and with copper and silver mineralisation.

A drill core assay programme in 2020 also highlighted gold mineralisation associated with the faulting, he says.

“This induced polarisation [IP] survey clearly highlights the exploration potential for the Falea project both for further unconformity based targets and deeper chargeability targets with uranium, copper, silver and gold mineralisation achievable.”

The IP and resistivity surveys, completed in 2020 and this year by Germany-based Terratec Geophysical Services, were aimed at identifying the fault structures and the presence of chargeable bodies, which can be a proxy for the presence of mineralised bodies below the unconformity.

A total of 245 line kilometres were covered over 27 blocks for the gradient IP and resistivity and an additional six high resolution (HIR) IP profiles were completed.

The results from this work has defined a large IP chargeable anomaly, which extends southward for over 2 km from the Falea deposit and which has not yet been drill tested by GoviEx.  

Further, GoviEx highlights that a number of fault structures can be seen in the HIR IP data, thereby suggesting that such structures acted as feeders to the Falea deposit, and may still host mineralisation.

Meanwhile, a survey undertaken this year also targeted the Bala licence, about 8 km south of the Falea deposit, where no historical drilling has been carried out.

Previous field work has interpreted faulting from magnetic data, as well as radiometric and radon anomalies at the surface of this target in which an area of 4 km² was selected to determine if any IP or resistivity anomalies would be present. This was followed by two HIR IP lines, which would define apparent depths of anomalies.

The results of the gradient IP and resistivity show the presence of a large chargeable body in the north-eastern side of the survey area, which can be seen also on the HIR IP sections.

GoviEx notes that the presence of fault structures can also be seen and are similar in orientation to what is seen further north.

To date, the IP work has been successful, highlighting a large chargeable body underneath the Falea deposit, which is over 2 km in length and 500 m in width on the Falea exploration permit.

Also, this anomaly and others, now identified over the Falea project, highlight the potential of other targets which GoviEx will be busy prioritising over coming months.

On the Bala exploration permit, there is a potential chargeable body to the northeast and with a much shallower depth to basement than on the Falea exploration permit. 

The Falea and Bala exploration permit areas remain highly prospective for unconformity-type polymetallic uranium/copper/silver deposits.