RELATED INFORMATION  NIGER MALI

West Africa Super-Project

The region of west Africa is as important to the future uranium supply markets as the established and fledgling uranium fields of the Athabasca Basin in Canada, the Wyoming [roll-front] and Colorado Plateau sandstone fields of North America, the central oblasts of Kazakhstan and the southern hemisphere uranium fields of Namibia and Australia.

Niger's uranium production is set to rise from approximately 3,000tU per annum to 7,000tU per annum in the coming years as new mines come on stream. Exploration activity is similarly set to escalate with the improved access to free ground for junior companies and exploration initiatives including the recent completion of a €34,000,000 joint EEC-Niger aeromag/radiometric mega-survey, conducted over prospective ground east of Niger’s uranium mines.

Oklo's ground occurs within the EEC survey area.

Mali too is encouraging foreign investment with attractive exploration licensing policies. Large areas may be applied for in Mali with relatively low dollar commitments. Although tenure is short in these circumstances there is adequate time to undertake first-pass exploration. Oklo has adapted this strategy in Mali.

In the past, the exploitation of uranium in west Africa was almost exclusively the dominion of Cogema (Compagnié Générale des Matières Nucléaires) - now named Areva, the French Government uranium mining and nuclear power utility. Since long-lasting independence and the adaption of modern Mining Acts, however, many countries of the region have encouraged foreign participation in uranium exploration. This is particularly the case in Niger and Mali. Oklo has long recognised the uranium credentials of this region as an enduring producer and the exploration opportunity it represents as an under-explored region.

Oklo has for this reason developed a large land holding in Mali and Niger, now comprising our West Africa Super-Project, with a total area 22,264 km² (19,930 km² - granted).

The region, comprising L’Adrar Des Iforas of north-east Mali, the Hoggar Massif of southern Algeria and the Aïr Massif of central Niger, forms a very large crystalline basement shield of Pan African-age (Late pre-Cambrian; 550 to 650 million). It comprises various radiometrically anomalous granites and moderate to high grade metamorphic lithologies geologically analogous to the Pan African-age Damara region in Namibia. The Damara hosts numerous hard-rock and surfical uranium deposits including the Rössing Mine, the largest open pit uranium mine in the world, and Langer Heinrich (34,000 tU), the second largest calcrete hosted palaeo-channel uranium deposit in the world. It is felt that these types of deposits might also occur in west Africa.