DIR Open-File Reports and Related Links
The following papers and articles relate to exploration work relatively recently conducted by DIR Exploration, Inc. Some of the breccia pipe information is provided here because of the particular difficulty of finding it elsewhere.
Northern Arizona Uranium-Mineralized Collapse Breccia Pipes
Northern Arizona collapse breccia pipes contain uranium ore having a yellowcake full production cost lower than that of Athabasca Basin unconformity deposits. Unfortunately, the Obama Administration has at least temporarily removed these historically mined deposits from any further exploration and mining. USGS reports dating back to the 1990s indicate that more than 40% of the US uranium resource is contained in northern Arizona. On the other hand, industry estimates based on more refined ore body distribution modeling indicate that the locatable uranium resource in northern Arizona approaches 80% of the US total resource.
1986 Canyon Mine Final Environmental Impact Statement
2009 DIR breccia pipe exploration drilling Draft Environmental Assessment
2011 Northern Arizona Proposed Withdrawal Draft EIS
2011 Northern Arizona Proposed Withdrawal Final EIS (version 1)
Archived copy of Environmental Working Group article reporting University of Arizona study showing Colorado River water is not influenced by northern Arizona uranium mining or eastern Utah uranium milling. This inconvenient article was removed from the EWG website by EWG within one week of its posting: EWG2232009.pdf
DIR’s refinement of the USGS estimate of Arizona uranium resource that would be removed by the Northern Arizona Proposed Withdrawal; i.e. USGS estimates 12% while DIR work shows 76%: http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/az/pdfs/withdraw/deis/comments/w-attach.Par.94257.File.pdf/04-25-11_DIR.pdf
Fitzgerald’s 1996 MS thesis on Grand Canyon National Park seep geochemistry in proximity to the Orphan breccia pipe mine: http://public.dirxploration.fastmail.us/South rim aquifers Fitzgerald 96.PDF
EZ-2 breccia pipe ore deposit paper showing change in plunge possible with collapse breccia pipes and illustrating a very frequent cause of exploration drilling error encountered in northern Arizona uranium exploration: Pathfinder_EZ_2_Bent_Bx_Pipe_.PDF
Breccia pipe uranium exploration and mining economics as discussed in an excerpt of a DIR uranium exploration and mining business plan: http://public.dirxploration.fastmail.us/DIR 2010 Business Plan.pdf
Executive summary of confidential 2010 DIR report entitled,”Surface Sampling Breccia Pipe Uranium Mineralization Resource Assessment Method”: http://public.dirxploration.fastmail.us/DIR Pipe Assessment Method Summary.pdf
Sampling and lab techniques used in DIR’s breccia pipe uranium mineralization resource assessment method: DIRRCSamplingandLabWorkProcedure.pdf
DIR Exploration Precious Metals Exploration Work
Due to (the presumably temporary) federal hindrances to exploration for the high grade uranium in northern Arizona, DIR has returned to exploration for low-sulfidation precious metal vein deposits in the western US. Currently (fall 2011), the company is working on adapting its pre-drilling epithermal uranium resource estimation methodology to the low-sulfidation bonanza vein type while also generating new vein prospects.
An early product of DIR’s gold-silver work in this particular mineral exploration direction is discussed in: Gopher Geology 2.pdf
This Awakening/Slumbering Hills mining district prospect is clearly another graben edge low-sulfidation bonanza vein deposit play, like those already discovered and mined in the Midas and Republic mining districts — and in the Awakening/Slumbering Hills District (Sleeper Mine). DIR’s Gopher prospect is currently under lease to Nevada Exploration, Inc., but may again become available for lease in March 2012. Judging by the locations of drill hole collars visible on the surface of the property and reported to the BLM, Nevada Exploration has not — to date — drill-tested any of the graben edge exploration targets identified by DIR in its exploration work report linked above.
