Forsys Metals has launched a major drilling campaign at its Namibplaas deposit in Namibia aimed at upgrading more than 41 million pounds of inferred uranium resources to the higher-confidence indicated category.
The TSX-listed uranium developer has commenced a 44-hole drilling programme covering 9,333 metres as part of efforts to advance the Namibplaas deposit and strengthen the overall resource base of its Norasa Uranium Project.
“At the Namibplaas project, exploration is divided into two key targets: Target 1 (Namibplaas Main) will utilise a comprehensive 44-borehole, 9,333-metre drilling campaign to upgrade the bulk of the deposit’s 42 million pounds of uranium resource from the Inferred to Indicated category, while Target 2 (Area-A) will initially feature two planned boreholes to confirm discovery potential before committing to further drilling,” the company said.
A successful programme would move the Norasa Uranium Project closer to the significant milestone of 100 million pounds of indicated uranium resources.
The drilling campaign follows the signing of a land lease agreement, with an option to purchase the 6,714-hectare Namibplaas PTN-1 farm, which covers 93% of Exclusive Prospecting Licence 3683.
The agreement gives Forsys full access to the licence area and allows exploration activities to proceed without restrictions.
“By securing a land lease agreement with an option to purchase the 6,714-hectare Namibplaas PTN-1 farm property, which covers 93% of EPL 3683, Forsys has gained unfettered access to the licence area, allowing them to resume their drilling programme with the key objective of expanding and upgrading the total uranium resource,” the company said.
Namibplaas forms part of the broader Norasa Uranium Project and is located approximately five kilometres from the company’s fully permitted Valencia deposit.
Valencia holds a 25-year mining licence valid until 2033 and has previously returned high-grade uranium intersections, including 210 parts per million uranium over 253 metres at Valencia South.
Forsys intends to integrate Namibplaas and Valencia into a single development plan should resource continuity be confirmed through the current drilling campaign.
The company is also evaluating a range of technologies aimed at lowering future development and operating costs across the project.
“To maximise efficiency, the project is targeting resource expansion opportunities through new drilling around both the Valencia and Namibplaas sites, while simultaneously exploring solar PV potential to reduce energy costs and deploying advanced technologies, such as electric heavy mining equipment, truck scanning, ore sorting, HPGR crushing and heap leaching, to drastically lower capital and operating costs,” the company said.
The expansion plans come as the uranium sector continues to benefit from growing global demand linked to nuclear energy expansion, decarbonisation targets and rising electricity consumption.
Forsys estimates that global uranium supply could fall short of demand by approximately 150 million pounds by 2040, creating opportunities for new uranium projects to enter production.
With uranium prices currently trading at around US$84.25 per pound, the company believes the expansion of Namibplaas could help position the Norasa project to benefit from tightening global supply conditions.
