CXX in the newsCanadian-listed companies lead global search for uranium
Publisher: u308.biz
The onset of summer has triggered a flurry of exploration news from uranium exploration projects, with drill rigs turning once again on ground that in most cases hadn't been explored for decades. Surging demand and prices for uranium combined with uncertain supply have helped revive uranium exploration with a vengeance in Canada, and around the world. Canadian-listed companies appear to be at the forefront of the action, with Australian companies not far behind.
Historic uranium districts in the United States are also springing back to life, thanks mostly to Canadian junior companies. As an example, Strathmore Minerals Corp. has assembled historical exploration data, including feasibility reports from the 1970s and '80s, for its Juniper Ridge, Wyoming, joint venture with Yellowcake Mining Inc. Data from 961 of the more than 2,000 holes drilled on the property have been recovered, 588 of which had uranium intercepts exceeding 0.02% U3O8 (the best intercept is 15 ft. of 0.36% U308). The partners will use the data to guide ongoing development drilling and pre-permitting work and to calculate a preliminary resource estimate.
Vancouver-based Thelon Ventures Ltd. plans to form a joint venture with International Range Corp. and earn a 50% interest in the Four Corners uranium project in Utah's Green River District. The companies signed a letter-of-intent agreement for the proposed joint venture, which would focus on exploring ground situated in a historic uranium mining district. According to the US Dept. of Energy, the Green River District had historic production of 2.5 million pounds of U3O8 (0.2% average grade), plus significant amounts of vanadium, and also hosts "significant" remaining resources.
The historic Elliot Lake uranium district in Ontario is also making a modest comeback, though grades here are typically below those reported from mines and advanced projects in Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin, one of the world's richest and most prolific uranium mining districts. Pele Mountain Resources has expanded an 11-hole drilling program to at least 25 holes totaling about 4,000 metres at its Elliot Lake uranium project, which hosts a NI 43-101-compliant inferred resource of more than 33 million pounds of U3O8 (30.05 million tonnes grading 0.05%). The additional holes will upgrade a portion of inferred resources to the indicated category, help advance the project to a scoping-stage evaluation, and accelerate overall development timelines.
International Arimex Resources --- undaunted by its recent drubbing in the market for mixed results (defined as geologically interesting, but not exciting) from a recent drilling program --- has staked another 5,682 hectares of ground in the southwestern part of the Athabasca Basin, which brings the company's total land package in the region to 24,540 hectares. The newly staked claims are contiguous to ground held by JNR Resources and International Uranium Corp. Arimex is planning an exploration program for the newly staked ground, and also plans to resume exploration at its Key Lake Property where a recent program identified a 700-metre long electromagnetic conductor that parallels the Key Lake Fault Zone (hosting mineralization at the Key Lake Mine).
Crosshair Exploration and Mining Corp. reports that winter drilling has returned "the highest uranium grades and largest intercepts ever" from the Lower C Zone at its Central Mineral Belt property in Labrador. The company believes that the zone is a more significant target than indicated by historic drilling by Shell Canada Resources, and considers the results "highly significant" because they increase the economic potential of the C Zone by verifying a second zone of uranium mineralization sub-parallel to the "more robust" Upper C Zone.
Crosshair's 9,400-metre winter program included 23 widely spaced holes that intersected the Lower C Zone and confirmed the continuity of uranium mineralization for more than 800 metres along strike and 675 metres down-dip. Grades averaged 0.047% over an average intercept of 4.25 metres, with the highlight being Hole ML-63, which returned 11.05 metres of 0.128% U3O8 within 43.45 metres of 0.041% U3O8. The zone remains open for expansion along strike and down-dip.
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