The project was placed in care and maintenance, then passed through other hands until it was eventually bought from Uranium One by Boss and Wattle Mining – now a Boss subsidiary – in November 2015 for $9 million.

At about their closest relevant points, the two palaeochannel sections in Marmota’s ground are separated by a distance of about 19km. The bigger, south-western part, about a 17km-long stretch of the palaeochannel, encloses Marmota’s Bridget, Saffron and Yolanda prospects.

Together, they comprise an estimated exploration target of between 22 million and 33 million pounds at a grade ranging between 400 parts per million and 700ppm uranium oxide. The Saffron prospect, about 4km south of Bridget, has an inferred resource of 5.4 million pounds weight at a grade of 557ppm uranium oxide.

The three prospects are arrayed along a 10km stretch of the channel in Marmota’s ground, leaving plenty of room for other possible discoveries between them and at the north and south ends of the current string of prospects.

The much smaller north-western extremity of Marmota’s tenure – which was the principal subject of the stage-four review – also encloses a small section of the Yarramba Palaeochannel and is estimated to measure only about 4km by 4km within Marmota’s tenement. But importantly, the review area juts out into the channel zone to within as little as 2km away from Boss’ Jason’s and Jason’s South channel uranium targets.

Boss only recently completed drilling at its Jason’s prospect. Jason’s uranium resource numbers point to an inferred 10.5 million pounds at a grade of 790ppm uranium oxide.

That is a handy bit of free geochemistry right on Marmota’s doorstep.

The most interesting discovery arising from the review is an apparent bifurcation – or confluence – in the Yarramba Palaeochannel system. It shows the system splitting around a massive, interpreted gravity basement high that sits beneath both Marmota’s and Boss’ ground. It suggests a high probability for an extension, branch or tributary running into Marmota’s ground off the main ancient palaeochannel that carries the Jason’s mineralisation.

Tantalisingly, another parallel, linear, channel-like gravity depression of almost identical proportions is reflected in the gravity imagery, just 1.2km east of the new channel discovery.

Whatever happens with Honeymoon, it stands as a beacon in the centre of the other developing projects within its sphere of influence, especially at a time when the uranium price – for the first time since May 2007 – is powering the light.

And Marmota is well-placed to share in the glow.

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