New uranium find at Alligator

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32702, 3 September 1971, Page 23

New uranium find at Alligator

Another surprise chapter was ladded to the extraordinary story of the Nort hem Territory uranium province: a small Queensland mining company yesterday announced the discovery of another uranium deposit, in what may still prove to be the largest ura iium field in the world.

The find reported by Pancontinental Mining, Ltd, at Alligator River, 130 miles due east of Darwin, is in the vicinity of finds recently reported by Queensland Mines, Peko-Wallsend and Noranda Australia, Ltd.

The company’s report, issued in Sydney, said that up to 69.41bs of uranium 308 a short ton had been taken during trenching operations. Pancontinental began mining operations only in March this year; prior to that it had traded in Brisbane as hardware merchant, under the name Barker Holdings, Ltd. A company spokesman told Reuter that traces of gold had also been found during the trenching operations. These operations involve the digging of ten foot deep trenches across a mining claim, to discover what lies beneath the surface soil.

It is estimated that the uranium field controlled by Pancontinental, Queensland Mines, Peko-Wallsend and Noranda covers an area >6O miles long by about 30 miles wide.

The find comes after last week’s report from Queensland Mines that high uranium values had been obtained from a new anomaly, called Beatrice. This came at

■ the time the Queensland ■ Mines’ board was recon- ; structed becaluse of the ! dramatic disclc Sure about a • month ago that Nabarlek re- , serves were mi ich less than i originally anno meed.