The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
North of 60 Mining News - August 2, 2024
Panther says airborne infrared s8urveys and satellite hyperspectral imaging identified helium anomalies likely associated with the radioactive decay of uranium at the Fireweed prospect in western Alaska.
Panther Minerals Inc. July 29 reported that a long-wave infrared survey and interpretation of high-resolution hyperspectral satellite imagery has provided further evidence of known and new uranium prospects across the northern portion of the Boulder Creek project in western Alaska.
Located roughly 100 miles northeast of the Gold Rush town of Nome and about 30 miles north of the village of Elim, the 22,400-acre Boulder Creek project was discovered by Houston Oil & Minerals in the 1970s.
Drilling completed during the 1980s outlined 1 million pounds of triuranium octoxide (U3O8) in a historical resource averaging 0.27% U3O8 in the Boulder Creek deposit at the southern end of Panther's property.
Panther's current work is focused on the Fireweed prospect, an earlier-staged uranium target toward the northern end of the project that shows the potential to be larger than the historical Boulder Creek deposit.
During exploration in 2007, Triex Minerals collected 21 samples ranging from 0.14 to 0.81% U3O8 along a 2,000-meter-long prospective area at Fireweed.
Historical airborne geophysical surveys flown by Triex identified radiometric anomalies at Fireweed that are larger and stronger than at the Boulder Creek deposit.
Earlier this year, Panther hired DIRT Exploration, a South African firm that specializes in remote sensing data, to conduct the long-wave infrared survey and interpretation of high-resolution hyperspectral satellite imagery over the northern portion of the Boulder project where Fireweed is located.
In its initial report, DIRT identified helium anomalies coincident with radiometric geophysical anomalies and rock samples previously collected by Triex. DIRT says the helium is likely produced by radioactive decay of uranium. Because signatures from gases such as helium penetrate vegetation, they are a useful exploration tool.
The survey also identified a helium anomaly about 3.7 miles (six kilometers) east of Fireweed that Panther plans to investigate with on-the-ground exploration later this year.
In the meantime, the company continues to compare patterns and trends identified in the multiple satellite images supplied by DIRT with geological information and the original 2006 radiometric survey completed by Triex.
"We are very positive about the satellite imagery attained from the DIRT report, which gives us a more visual overview of the prospective Fireweed target on our Boulder Creek project," said Panther Minerals CEO Rob Birmingham. "With ongoing historical compilation of data from the projects previous operators, adding updated materials through new technology will provide us crucial information as we advance future work programs."
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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