The style of low-grade uranium mineralisation within extensive, organic-rich siliciclastic rocks is similar to sandstone-hosted uranium districts in the western United States. These districts have produced significant amounts of uranium from conventional and low-impact, low-cost in-Situ Recovery (ISR) operations. The potential for ISR amenable uranium mineralisation has never been evaluated in the Bay St. George Sub-basin.
Based on regional maps the widespread nature of the noted uranium occurrences and the volume of potential host-rock is significant in this area and could represent an economic uranium target. ISR is a globally accepted extraction process to remove uranium with wellfield technology, eliminating the need for open pit or underground mining.
Previous work in the area was focused primarily on red-bed copper potential of the Bay St. George Sub-basin, but also identified a strong correlation between high-grade copper and strongly anomalous uranium coincident with an airborne radiometric anomaly within the Codroy Uranium Property. Shell Oil geologists noted “Potential for sedimentary hosted uranium deposits in the Carboniferous of Newfoundland similar to the Pugwork – Tatamagouche type occurrences in Nova Scotia. Noting a close association of limestone or limy beds with most of the Codroy Valley uranium mineralization and hypothesized that the fluids, from which the limestones were precipitated, were uranium enriched and acted as a source of uranium” 1. The uranium mineralization occurs in a thick sequence of sandstones, siltstones and conglomerates with the best anomalies associated with carbonaceous material. Carbonaceous rock chip values from the prospect known as Codroy 4 returned values to 2.2% uranium. This prospect has yet to be drill tested. Some of the better historic rock chip samples from surface mineralisation at the Limestone, Seythestone and Stephen’s Brook locations within the limits of the property returned copper values of 0.5% to a maximum of 1.6% with accompanying uranium values from 26 to 93 ppm.
At the Codroy Valley 6 prospect significant copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and uranium (U) values were reported from oxidized grey siltstone, sandstone and conglomerate:
Results of geochemical analyses of rock samples from the Codroy 6 prospect:
| Sample # | Cu (ppm) | Pb (ppm) | Zn (ppm) | U (ppm) |
| 152 | 7000 | 330 | 2940 | 20.0 |
| 153 | >20,000 | 520 | 2680 | 435.0 |
| 154 | 10,800 | 580 | 2420 | 78.0 |
| 3522 | >20,000 (%4) | 520 | 5800 | 400.0 |
Two limited phases of drilling have been completed in the area. Shell drilled two holes within the property in 1981 and Cornerstone Resources drilled 5 holes within the property in 2006. These widely spaced reconnaissance holes, several kilometers apart from one another, do not represent an adequate test of the sedimentary formations hosting the anomalous metal values.
The region is underlain by the Carboniferous-age sub-aerial sedimentary rocks that fill the Bay St. George Sub-basin. The area was originally explored for sediment-hosted copper mineralization. However, the early regional evaluation programs highlighted anomalous uranium concentrations often accompany the copper mineralisation in outcrop, drill-core, and stream sediment samples. C2C. intends to evaluate the potential for economic uranium mineralisation in the area and its potential amenability to In-Situ Recovery (ISR) techniques.
The Codroy Uranium Property is underlain by Bay St. George sub-basin, the northeast extension of the regional-scale Maritime Basin. The 10 km thick succession Carboniferous-age sedimentary rocks form the Anguille, Codroy, and Barachois groups. The most prospective portion of the stratigraphy is the Codroy Group are the Mollichignick Member of the Robinsons River, Woody Cape, and Friars Cove formations. The Mollichignick Member is a 2,300 m thick succession of red siltstone and red to grey micaceous sandstone. The succession is interpreted to have been deposited as a basin-fill sequences with coarsening-up sequences at the base and braided stream and floodplain deposits in the upper portions of the member. Mineralisation within the succession occurs as disseminated chalcocite, chalcopyrite, pyrite, and malachite with yet to be identified uranium mineral(s). Mineralisation typically forms within reduced portions of the grey, micaceous sandstone beds, which commonly contain woody trash. Previous work in the area concentrated on the potential for copper mineralization in the Mollichignick Member but noted that anomalous uranium has a strong correlation with copper in rock samples. The known mineralised outcrops occur within a 15-20 km2 airborne radiometric anomaly.
1Sherwin, J. G., 1981: Report on geological mapping, prospecting and geochemical sampling work for licence 1245 on claim block 1511 in the Codroy area, Newfoundland. Bondar-Clegg and Company Limited, Northgate Exploration Limited, and Shell Canada Resources Limited Unpublished report [GSB# 011O/14/0102]