Projects Overview

Berkeley Resources Limited has a dominant land holding in Spain with advanced uranium exploration projects in the Salamanca, Caceres, Toledo, Barcelona and Lleida (Lerida) provinces.

Berkeley's flagship Salamanca Uranium Project includes the Salamanca State Reserves (in which Berkeley has a right to acquire a 90% interest) as well as a large parcel of wholly owned permits. The Salamanca Uranium Project includes:

  • Águila area deposits (State Reserves) with Mineral Resources of 22.2 Mlbs (10.1 Kt) at an average grade of 418ppm U3O8 (200ppm cut-off), including 22% Measured and 40% Indicated Resources;
  • Alameda area deposits (State Reserves) with Mineral Resources of 24.4 Mlbs (11.0 Kt) at an average grade of 455ppm U3O8 (200ppm cut-off), including 75% Indicated Resources;
  • Villar area deposits (State Reserves) with an Inferred Mineral Resource of 4.9 Mlbs (2.2 Kt) at an average grade of 446ppm U3O8 (200ppm cut-off);
  • Retortillo area deposits (100% Berkeley) with Mineral Resources of 22.5 Mlbs (10.2 Kt) at an average grade of 512ppm U3O8 (200ppm cut-off), including 27% Indicated Resources;
  • The right to use the Quercus Uranium Processing Plant (which currently lacks a comminution circuit), along with associated infrastructure, permitted to produce 2.1 Mlbs (0.95 Kt) pa of U3O8 per annum; and
  • Substantial exploration potential in the State Reserves and Berkeley's wholly owned holding, including a number of less vigorously evaluated deposits.

Berkeley commenced a Feasibility Study in May 2009 which is expected to take up to 18 months.

Berkeley has a number of other projects in Spain including the Caceres VI Project where an initial Inferred Mineral Resource of 9.2 (4.2 Kt) Mlbs U3O8 at an average grade of 371ppm U3O8 (200ppm cutoff) for the Gambuta deposit has been estimated.

The locations of Berkeley’s projects in Spain are shown above.

All of the Berkeley projects have been extensively explored in the past by reputable uranium explorers – notably the Junta de Energia Nuclear (“JEN”) predecessors to ENUSA (the Spanish national uranium company) who also undertook extensive exploration campaigns and Areva NC (the world’s largest ore producer or second largest uranium producer, depending on the measure used). As a result, a large volume of data was available, which Berkeley has purchased.

Since acquiring these projects, Berkeley has undertaken a substantial exploration program, with highly encouraging progress, including:

  • Compilation and interpretation of a very substantial database of historical exploration results throughout Spain;
  • Undertaken combined diamond and reverse circulation drilling campaigns (>35,000m) at Salamanca I and II (now part of the Salamanca Uranium Project), Caceres III and Caceres VI projects;
  • Over 5,000 line kilometers of airborne radiometric and magnetic surveys have been flown over the Salamanca I, Salamanca II and Caceres VI projects highlighting the exploration potential of these tenements and generating a significant number of strong anomalies;
  • Completion of a Scoping Study at Salamanca I (now part of the Salamanca Uranium Project) confirming the potential economic viability of the project with forecast cash operating costs of US$25/lb and capital for a new process plant totaling US$109m; and
  • Generating a total Mineral Resource base, reported in accordance with the JORC Code (2004), of 83.2 Mlbs (37.7 Kt) U3O8 (200ppm cut-off) with 6% Measured, 40% Indicated and 54% Inferred. 

Berkeley boasts an outstanding management team with considerable uranium and general mining experience around the world.

Spain is a country with a substantial domestic uranium demand and a recent uranium mining history.

The information in this section of the website that relates to Exploration Results, Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves is based on information compiled by Dr. James Ross, who is a Fellow of The Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and a consultant to Berkeley Resources Limited. Dr. Ross has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Dr. Ross consents to the inclusion in the Projects section of this website of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears..