Powerhaus Uranium Sends Crews Onto 9km² Terrace With Assays Due Late Q4
Key Takeaways
- Powerhaus has crews on the ground at Terrace del Molle, surveying an initial 9 km² of a roughly 17 km² calcrete terrace, the first field activity since its 24 August 2026 ASX listing.
- Earlier Cerro Tacho grab samples returned 523 ppm and 344 ppm U₃O₈, which the company calls among the highest-grade calcrete-hosted results at Central Malbec, though grab samples only show single points.
- The program runs from a 400 m x 400 m radiometric grid to shallow sampling at about 0.5 m depth, funded from the $9 million IPO raise.
- Assay results are expected in late Q4 2026, with 4,000-5,000 m of Salamanca Formation drilling targeted for November 2026, subject to environmental permits.
- Trenching in Q1 2027 and possible drilling in Q1-Q2 2027 both depend on earlier results, and no resource estimate exists for the project.
Field crews mobilised at Terrace del Molle uranium target
Powerhaus Uranium (ASX: POW) has mobilised field crews and started a staged radiometric survey and grab sampling program at Terrace del Molle, part of its 100%-owned Central Malbec Project in Chubut Province, Argentina. The work covers an initial 9 km² of a terrace that extends over approximately 17 km².
Terrace del Molle is described as the largest continuous calcrete terrace identified to date at Central Malbec. Calcrete is a hardened, calcium-rich layer of near-surface sediment, and it is the host rock this program is built around.
Previous surface grab samples from Cerro Tacho, on the southern extension of the terrace, returned 523 ppm and 344 ppm U₃O₈. The company describes these as among the highest-grade calcrete-hosted results reported to date at Central Malbec. Grab samples are single hand-collected samples, so they show what is present at one spot rather than across the whole terrace.
For investors, the timing matters. This is the first field activity since the ASX listing on 24 August 2026, and it is funded from the $9 million raised in the IPO. That tells you the company is moving on the exploration plans set out at listing.
Siobhan Lancaster, Managing Director
“We’re pleased to have crews on site and work underway at Terrace del Molle just a month after listing on the ASX. Getting crews into the field soon after the IPO reflects our commitment to delivering on the exploration program we outlined to investors.”
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How the staged calcrete program works
The program moves from broad scanning to targeted sampling. The company set out the stages as follows:
- A ground radiometric survey along lines forming an initial 400 m x 400 m grid across the surveyed portion of the terrace.
- Additional radiometric measurements at closer spacing where elevated uranium responses are detected, to better delineate the most anomalous zones.
- Shallow excavation and grab sampling of selected anomalies at an average depth of approximately 0.5 m.
The excavation is designed to expose and sample material beneath the soil cover and to assess how the radiometric response varies with depth. The results provide a basis for prioritising targets for follow-up exploration work, which makes this a reconnaissance step rather than a measure of scale.
The 9 km² survey area falls within one of Powerhaus’s granted Malbec Centro exploration permits (cateos). Cerro Tacho sits within the area covered by the adjacent Tacho I exploration permit application.
What is calcrete-hosted uranium?
Calcrete-hosted uranium is mineralisation found close to the surface within Quaternary calcrete terraces. Quaternary refers to the most recent geological period, so these are young surface deposits.
Because the target sits so near the surface, it can be tested with shallow excavation and trenching rather than deep drilling. That generally means faster, lower-cost first-pass testing than deeper targets, though this is an investor’s inference rather than a company statement.
The style of mineralisation the program aims to identify is calcrete with visible yellow carnotite, a secondary uranium mineral. Powerhaus considers it similar in geological setting to the Laguna Salada deposit, about 125 km northeast, which has a historical NI 43-101 estimate (not reported under the JORC Code). The company states that the comparison does not imply equivalent mineralisation, scale or economic potential at Malbec, and no resource estimate exists for Powerhaus.
Key milestones ahead for Powerhaus
The company’s milestone timeline runs from the current fieldwork through to possible follow-up drilling in 2027. Several steps carry conditions, which are shown below.
| Timing | Milestone | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2026 | Field crews mobilised; radiometric survey and grab sampling underway | Now underway |
| Nov 2026 | Salamanca Formation drilling (4,000-5,000 m) to test the roll-front uranium target | Subject to receipt of environmental permits |
| Q4 2026 | Terrace del Molle assay results expected to be reported | Expected late Q4 2026 |
| Q1 2027 | Planned mechanical trenching (2-3 m) | Subject to initial reconnaissance results |
| Q1-Q2 2027 | Possible follow-up drilling program | Depending on trenching results |
The announcement’s highlights refer to planned mechanical trenching and sonic drilling in 2027, while the body text describes a systematic drilling program. Drilling would initially be undertaken on a 400 m x 400 m grid, with closer-spaced drilling used to delineate zones returning higher uranium grades.
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Dual-target exploration strategy at Central Malbec
Central Malbec hosts two distinct uranium target types, and the company is working on both:
- Near-surface calcrete-hosted mineralisation within Quaternary calcrete terraces, which is the subject of the current program.
- A deeper sandstone-hosted roll-front target in the Palaeocene Salamanca Formation, based on a roll-front exploration model potentially amenable to in-situ recovery (ISR).
Two parallel work streams give you more than one source of potential newsflow through to 2027, from survey and assay updates to drilling activity.
The Malbec Project is 100%-owned by Powerhaus and comprises four granted exploration permits (cateos) and 16 exploration permit applications, covering approximately 2,000 km².
The near-term markers are clear. Assay results from the grab sampling are expected in late Q4 2026, and drilling at the Salamanca Formation target is targeted to start in November 2026, subject to receipt of environmental permits.
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