The Vancouver-based junior expects to begin work on its Mbamba Bay uranium property in southern Tanzania before the end of the year.



At the same time, Universal Power is two-thirds of the way through a non-brokered private placement, raising a gross of $2.68 million as of the end of November. The company expects to complete the placement shortly, bringing in an additional $720,000.

As well as getting its African project underway, Universal Power is also planning to start work this spring on its recently-acquired Great Bear iron ore-copper-gold property in Canada's Northwest Territories.

Universal Power completed the acquisition of the 45,000-acre property, covering 20 claim blocks, in October. Great Bear, 430 kilometers north of Yellowknife, lies between Alberta Star Development Corp.?s Eldorado South project and Cooper Minerals Inc.?s Terra properties, both of which saw diamond drilling in the 2007 exploration season.

The Great Bear property is geologically analogous to the Olympic Dam deposit at Roxby Downs in southwest Australia. Olympic Dam is a large deposit of copper, uranium, gold and silver, which supports an underground mine as well as an integrated metallurgical processing plant. It is the world's largest-known single deposit of uranium, although the uranium accounts for only a small part of the mine's revenue.

And Universal Power has also started geophysical work on its Sibley project in northwest Ontario to identify drill targets for this winter. Universal Power has an option to earn a 60% interest in 217 claims units in the Havoc Lake area, near Thunder Bay.

The Sibley Basin is a mid-Proterozoic-age sedimentary basin that has the potential to host unconformity-related uranium deposits such as those found in the uranium-rich Athabasca Basin.

In Tanzania - based on a recently-completed NI 43-101-compliant report - Universal Power expects its Phase 1 exploration on Mbamba Bay to include geological mapping and sampling, a ground radiometric survey, shallow trenching and shallow reconnaissance air blast drilling of about 100 holes.

Phase 1 is expected to cost about $250,000, with a $400,000 deeper 50 hole, reverse circulation drilling program to follow, depending on initial results.

The 960-square-kilometre Mbamba Bay property, one of two held by Universal Power in Tanzania, is near Lake Nyasa in the southern part of the country. Both Mbamba Bay and the smaller Mbinga property are part of the East African Karoo super group, equivalent to the Canadian Shield in containing rich mineral discoveries.

The regional geology of the area is characterized by Proterozoic, metamorphic crystalline basement rocks that are overlain by younger Karoo sedimentary rocks. The area is prospective for both sandstone hosted and igneous-types of uranium deposits.

The sandstone of the Karoo resembles the sandstone in South Africa and in Colorado which hosts uranium deposits.

Airborne radiometric data, collected in the early 1980s, indicates the granites and gneisses are anomalous in uranium, and represent source rocks for redox-style uranium deposits. The southern margin of the depositional basin, including paleo-channels that cut into the basement rocks, are prospective areas for uranium.

In 1979 and 1980, countrywide airborne radiometric surveys, by Geosurvey International, identified radiometric anomalies in the Mbama Bay area. The highest total counts ranged between 2,000 counts per second to 10,000 cps, and were recorded over a granitic area in the southern part of the project.

Detailed geological mapping, trenching and ground radiometric surveys conducted in early 1980, in the Mbamba Bay area, identified 20 metres of upper sandstone and 40 metres of transitional zone, through total thickness of about 100 metres statigraphical column. This is a geological environment considered highly favourable for roll-front-type uranium deposits.

Roll-fronts are named for the crescent shape the uranium (in solution) makes at the interface between oxidizing and reduction conditions within the permeable sandstone or conglomerate host rock.

Universal Power has carried out an extensive literature review, a reconnaissance ground radiometric survey and preliminary logistical planning. The literature review established a geologic framework, as well as an interpretation of the radiometric anomalies originating from the Geosurvey International airborne survey.

The property examination confirmed the location and the validity of the landholdings. During the field visit, several radiometric readings were taken at the anomaly locations identified by the Geosurvey International survey.

Readings ranged up to 3,100 cps.

The company has identified structural trends which appear to extend into the Mbamba Bay project area from nearby Paladin Resources? Kayelekera uranium deposit in Malawi. The Kayelekera deposit has a proven resource of over 25 million pounds of uranium.

Paladin recently approved a Bankable Feasibility Study that indicated a mine life of seven years, and a processing life of 11 years from the existing resource.

Work by Australia's Mantra Resources, near the Mbamba Bay property's western boundary, has returned values of up to 0.68% U3O8, in limited trench and rock chip sampling.

This article is intended for information purposes only, and is not a recommendation to buy or sell the equities of any company mentioned herein. It is based on sources believed to be reliable, but no warranty as to accuracy is expressed or implied. The opinions expressed in the article are those of the author except where statements are attributed to individuals other than the author, in which case the opinions are those of the individual to whom they are attributed.