Arkle Resources has intersected uranium mineralisation along a 2.9-kilometre stretch of an ancient river channel at its Erongo Uranium Project in Namibia, with all 12 mineralised intervals beginning within five metres of the surface and more than three-quarters of the interpreted channel still to be tested.
The London-listed exploration company announced on 12 October 2026 that laboratory results from its first phase of drilling on the Paleo East target, within exploration licence EPL 8995, confirmed uranium mineralisation across six of the ten drilling lines, known as fences, and in four additional holes between them.
The strongest interval returned six metres grading 102 parts per million (ppm) uranium oxide (U₃O₈) from surface in drill hole R057, including four metres at 136 ppm from a depth of one metre.
Another hole, R003, intersected three metres at 99 ppm from three metres below surface, including a one-metre interval grading 262 ppm at a depth of four metres.
The results establish uranium mineralisation over approximately 23% of the interpreted 12.7-kilometre Paleo East channel, leaving 9.8 kilometres available for further exploration.
Arkle chief executive Rory Harding said the findings confirmed uranium across a substantial portion of the channel tested so far, while demonstrating the shallow nature of the mineralisation.
“Six of the ten fences we drilled across the Paleo East channel returned uranium, along close to three kilometres of its length, and every one of the twelve mineralised intervals starts within five metres of surface. Carnotite is visible in eight holes from a metre below surface, and the best grade, 262 ppm in hole R003, sits only four metres down.”
Carnotite is a uranium-bearing mineral associated with the calcrete deposits found in parts of Namibia’s Erongo Region. Arkle reported visually identifying the mineral in eight drill holes, although laboratory assays are required to establish uranium grades.
The Paleo East target forms part of an ancient drainage system extending from north-east to south-west through Arkle’s exploration ground towards Orano’s Trekkopje uranium deposit, approximately 10 kilometres to the west.
Trekkopje contains a reported 340 million tonnes grading approximately 120 ppm U₃O₈, with most of its mineralisation occurring within 15 metres of the surface.
Arkle considers the geological setting of Paleo East comparable to Trekkopje because both are associated with shallow, calcrete-hosted uranium mineralisation deposited within ancient drainage channels.
However, the company cautioned that similarities in geology and individual drill grades do not establish comparable resources or commercial potential. No mineral resource has yet been estimated on Arkle’s exploration licences.
Harding said the extent of the shallow mineralisation was significant because deposits of this type depend on the volume of mineralised material as well as uranium grade.
“The channels run north-east to south-west with the regional drainage, through our ground and on towards Trekkopje some ten kilometres away, and we have drilled a little under a quarter of the Paleo East channel so far. Calcrete deposits like Trekkopje are low-grade, bulk-tonnage systems in which the volume of near-surface channel fill matters as much as grade, so it is significant that all of the mineralisation we have found starts within five metres of surface.”
Arkle is preparing a second phase of exploration that will include closer-spaced drilling across the mineralised sections of Paleo East and additional holes to investigate the remaining 9.8 kilometres.
The company intends to revise its interpretation of the channel’s depth using information from electromagnetic surveys and the drilling completed so far.
The initial programme found that the channels were deeper than previously interpreted, suggesting a greater volume of sediment filling the ancient drainage system.
Arkle also plans shallow trench sampling between mineralised drill holes to help identify locations for further drilling.
The company said the first phase was designed to establish the presence and distribution of uranium rather than define a mineral resource.
Drilling at the Paleo East and Paleo West targets comprised 1,558 metres in 78 vertical reverse-circulation holes, completed at the end of July 2026.
Of this total, 66 holes covering 1,390 metres were drilled at Paleo East, while 12 holes covering 168 metres were completed at Paleo West.
All holes were shallower than 30 metres and extended into the underlying basement rocks.
The programme formed part of 2,712 metres drilled across three targets on EPL 8995, with laboratory results from the company’s separate ULG target still outstanding.
Arkle submitted 206 samples for laboratory analysis, including 185 from Paleo East and 21 from Paleo West.
At Paleo West, the highest laboratory result was 31 ppm U₃O₈, below the company’s 40 ppm reporting threshold, meaning the initial drilling did not establish reportable mineralised intervals at that target.
The company nevertheless intends to reassess Paleo West as part of its next phase of exploration.
Harding said the drilling programme had provided information needed to improve the company’s geological interpretation and plan more detailed work.
“Drilling out paleochannels like these requires relatively close-spaced drilling over a wide area, but the purpose of this first wide-spaced programme was to confirm the extent of the mineralised channels and to guide our interpretation of the basement architecture. We are now recalibrating the channel-depth interpretation and designing infill drilling across the mineralised sections of the channel, and the results for the ULG target, approximately twelve kilometres to the west-southwest, will follow shortly. Beyond the Paleo East target, we have at least three further paleochannel targets across the licences, including on EPLs 8298 and 8290, which we plan to work through in the same way.”
Arkle’s exploration programme also covers additional ancient drainage channels within its wider Erongo licence package.
These include targets on EPL 8298, known as Marenica South, and EPL 8290, known as Trekkopje North.
The company plans further geological interpretation, surface mapping and geophysical surveys, including additional horizontal-loop electromagnetic survey lines over the Marenica South targets.
It will also review airborne radiometric data across its licences to identify potential mineralisation that may not produce strong surface readings.
The regional geological setting is important because uranium mineralisation in calcrete deposits is generally associated with groundwater movement through ancient drainage systems.
Arkle believes the channels crossing its licences form part of the same regional drainage system associated with established uranium deposits, including Trekkopje and Elevate Uranium’s Marenica deposit.
According to Arkle’s announcement, Marenica’s mineral resource was updated in 2026 to 52.8 million pounds of U₃O₈ at an average grade of 180 ppm, using a 100 ppm reporting cut-off.
