DevEx, Barkly map kilometre-scale NT uranium targets

Fresh off an oversubscribed A$8 million initial public offering in late January, Barkly Rare Earths is starting to hit its straps in the Northern Territory, with partner DevEx Resources homing in on a growing pipeline of drill-ready uranium targets at the Murphy West project.

DevEx says ongoing soil sampling has unearthed several kilometre-scale, multi-element anomalies, with several overlapping radiometric uranium anomalies and interpreted fault zones first highlighted in its 2024 airborne magnetic work.

DevEx is exploring Murphy West under an earn-in joint venture over Barkly’s tenure, struck in late 2023. The deal gives DevEx the right to earn up to a 75 per cent interest in the project’s uranium rights by spending A$3.5 million over five years.

Barkly’s JV partner is leaning on a geochemical recipe first developed across Laramide Resources’ 65.8 million pound Junnagunna uranium deposit at Westmoreland in Queensland. Laramide discovered that a specific mix of element signatures – a pathfinder index – can survive beneath cover and weathering, effectively flagging hidden uranium mineralisation below.

‘We look forward to transitioning to our first phase of drilling at Murphy West.’

DevEx Resources managing director Marnie Finlayson

The Pathfinder Index being used across Murphy West deliberately excludes uranium and blends bismuth, magnesium, vanadium, zinc, beryllium, potassium, nickel, copper, iron and chromium to help rank which radiometric and structural targets look most convincing on the ground.

From 890 soil samples collected so far to test 20 priority radiometric targets, five areas have been ranked as ready for first-pass drill testing. Additional follow-up geochemistry is planned to determine whether other anomalies can be upgraded to the 2026 program.

With drilling permit applications being prepared for lodgement, DevEx wants everything lined up for a multi-target shallow drill campaign when the next field season rolls around.

DevEx Resources managing director Marnie Finlayson said: “These encouraging results add to our growing pipeline of exploration targets across the district-scale Murphy West project. This exciting regional exploration initiative forms part of DevEx’s broader uranium strategy to target large-scale uranium discovery opportunities in world-class geological settings.”

Murphy West sits on the uranium-endowed margin of the McArthur Basin – a geological setting the partners reckon closely mirrors Canada’s renowned Athabasca Basin. The combination of favourable rocks and big regional structures gives the JV a genuine shot at a shallow uranium find.

Notably, DevEx believes its tenure covers strike extensions of the same uranium-friendly stratigraphy seen to the east, including units associated with Laramide’s Westmoreland uranium project.

DevEx also points to similarities between Westmoreland on the basin’s southern margin and the Alligator Rivers uranium province on the north-western flank.

To turn the big-picture geology into drill collars, DevEx has gone back to basics – radiometrics and structure. Since regional radiometric surveys played a key role in the original Westmoreland discoveries, the company has also flown similar surveys over Murphy West to help pinpoint the best places to test.

For Barkly, the recent results are a timely reminder that its post-listing story isn’t just about rare earths. If its kilometre-scale anomalies translate into uranium in the ground, Murphy West could quickly become one of those NT plays the market keeps on speed dial.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au