Share placement to boost South Australian exploration

DIVERSE metals and uranium explorer Marmota Energy will undertake a non-renounceable rights issue to raise about $3 million through the placement of almost 76 million ordinary fully-paid shares, as it looks to fund a number of exploration activities around its South Australian project portfolio.
The new shares are expected to commence trading on the ASX on June 27.
The funds raised, together with the company’s existing cash reserves, will be used towards drilling programs at its Western Spur iron project, Melton and West Melton copper projects and Indooroopilly copper-gold project.
The company will embark on a comprehensive geophysical data acquisition and reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at Western Spur to confirm the extent and quality of iron mineralisation at depth as described by Western Mining Company following previous drilling completed in 1981.
The geophysical acquisition, which  was due to start in June 2012, will be used to complete final drill pattern design.
A staged, 30-hole RC drilling program augmented with severaldiamond holes is planned for late July.
The 393 square kilometre Western Spur iron project – also considered prospective for uranium and other base metals – is about 60km northwestof Lake Frome in the northeast of South Australia, immediately adjacent to Marmota’s uranium-rich Frome Embayment tenements. A conservative low-end composifigure of 60 million tonngrading between was estimated for three Western Spur prospects sampled by Marmota
during 2011.
However, the company reported that mineralisation could potentially extend along strike to the southwest for about 8km, resulting in a high-end tonnage estimate of 125mt. Results from the program will support the development of the Western Spur exploration targetto achieve JORC  inferred resource status.
The funds towards retention of lease process works to facilitate field leach trials at the Saffron uranium deposit at Marmota’s flagship Junction Dam uranium project.