Shares in AIM listed Uranium Resources (LON:URA) rose by 15% to 1.88p this morning on news that the mining group had got grilling work under way at its Mtonya prospect in Tanzania. The Mtonya prospect lies in the Selous Basin in southern Tanzania, a known uraniferous district which has yielded the Nyota deposit for Mantra Resources Ltd as well as numerous other uranium occurrences. The Mtonya group of tenements covers about 625 sq km of Karoo sediments with pronounced surface uranium anomalism.

Uranium Resources said the two-phase drilling programme would involve approximately 3,000m in two drill fences. The programme design is based on a comprehensive analysis of regional geophysical and geological data and the results of previous drilling on the property. In Phase 1, totalling some 1,500m, the company intends to drill three deep diamond core holes to extend already known mineralisation and test new prospective areas. This phase of the programme should be completed between late July and early August 2010. Depending on the results, the company intends to carry out a further 1,500m of diamond core drilling between August and October 2010.

Alex Gostevskikh, the managing director of Uranium Resources, said: “The commencement of this drilling campaign is another milestone for the Mtonya project as it aims to advance us to fully unlocking the area’s potential. We have put a lot of effort in compiling data, studying historical results, and deepening our understanding of the district geology and this programme is a pinnacle of this work. We are confident that results of this drilling will help us establish a sound framework for making Mtonya a world-class project.”

Last October, Uranium Resources acquired full control of its Tanzanian assets by acquiring the outstanding 60% ownership from its former joint venture partner, Indago Resources, for A$2.5m (£1.4m). The deal gave the company 100% ownership of a 12,700 sq km land position within the highly prospective Selous, Luwegu and Ruhuhu basins, where the Mtonya, Ruhuhu and Ruvuma projects are located. The current focus is at Mtonya, which comprises seven licences, where the geology consists of Usagaran orogenic basement rocks in the west and Karoo sediments of the Luwegu Trough of the Selous Basin in the east.

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