quakes99 wrote: Here's the 2nd piece. Note that this week we heard that the Ground Geophysics survey started last week at PLS, and drill crews are already preparing the initial drill sites to start any day now, and the share price has risen by 33% since this was written. ;-)
Having gone over the bigger macroeconomic picture with respect to the Uranium sector, and looking at the charts showing pretty much all the major U stocks tracking together with the changing U Spot price and sentiment, the question then becomes how will a company like Fission get the extra torque that will allow it to run faster than all the other boats cruising along on the URA river? Every U boat will be pulled along by that U price current, so how does Fission crank up the extra horsepower needed to attract a bigger chunk of the Uranium investment dollars that will eventually flood the market? What will it take to create more torque when Ross and his team step on the gas?
As we've seen, a string of successful drill programs does little to move the needle away from the rest of the pack when the U sector current is running in a strong downward direction. Adding more unloved uranium just doesn't raise the project appeal. BUT,
once the current shifts direction to where Fission is running with the current rather than against it, I believe we will see the fundamental strengths of PLS and Fission allow the FCU share price to move much higher, much faster. In fact, here at close to the bottom of the Uranium price cycle, the potential for that to happen now in Q1 2017 is much greater than it has been for a long time, imho.
What are those strengths that differentiate it from other U explorers?
Fission has discovered the largest near-surface high-grade Uranium deposit since Key Lake 40 years ago. With a trend of 2.63km in length, PLS now has the largest footprint of any deposit in the Athabasca Basin. Being shallow and near-surface, the economic value is as high or higher than any other Uranium discovery given its Open Pit mine potential for lowest cost production on the planet.
What sets the value of any Uranium deposit is not its size, or even its grade... it's the rate at which it can print money for its owners as it goes into production. The costs per lb, CAPEX and OPEX, is what sets its asset value, especially in a rising U price environment. Open Pit capable mines are the first to be developed, the low hanging fruit, because they are historically much simpler and cheaper to mine than deposits deep underground.
Fission continues to hold the largest Net Cash position of any Uranium explorer in the Basin. No debt, no annual interest payments, no dilution through debt conversion... enough cash to pay for 3 more years of exploration and development without diluting existing shareholders through more equity financings. It really doesn't get any better than that. And with the world's fastest growing Nuclear reactor builder, CGN, as a strategic investor, the story gets even better.
Through a series of very successful drill programs since the PEA release 15 months ago, 2 new major high-grade discovery zones have been added to PLS that have not yet been captured in an NI 43-101 Resource Estimate update. One is on land, over 500m west of Patterson Lake, which has the potential to significantly alter both the mine plan and economics, dropping the intial CAPEX costs and increasing the life-of-mine and profit potential.
Dundee Capital Markets believes that PLS is now near 160M lbs rather than the 108.3M lbs that were used to generate the PEA's economic viability numbers (see their latest Analyst report). That's something to keep in mind when you look at the chart of FCU versus the URA ETF. The FCU share price has not varied from the URA mean because the resource size, as published on SEDAR, has not really changed in 2 years. If that RE grows by 50% this year then that would certainly decouple Fission from its bond to URA and establish a new higher valuation, imho. Can't wait!
But what about the near term in Q1 2017? What catalysts might push Fission's share price higher this quarter?
I was very surprised that Ross broke with a long tradition and put out a News Release in December to announce the upcoming Winter Drill Program in January. He's not done that before. They've also left the drill program's budget open-ended, with the potential to add more holes if there is exploration success and signs of a U market rally getting underway. I take those as positive signs that Fission's team thinks the upcoming program has some strong potential for new discoveries, which is clearly the direction Ross is moving in this new program.
A picture says a thousand words, and this map of the Winter program says it all.
Of the 34 holes planned, 23 are on land... leaving only 11 to be drilled on ice. Fission is definitely moving the focus onto land-based targets in this program. And look at how widely scattered they are around the PLS property! Those eager for drill holes in the middle of the high-grade Uranium boulder field are getting their wish, and those wondering if PLS continues into NXE territory are also getting a couple of holes right at the eastern FCU/NXE claim boundary. Clearly, Ross and his team feel that at this point in time it is "New Discoveries" that have the most potential to move the needle, and are deploying resources accordingly.
And speaking of the Boulder Field, see how it is spread out over a 4km long area? Compare that with the relatively small, narrow, PLS discovery running off to the East. Seems extremely unlikely that only the Triple R deposit has provided the glacier-scraped source of that very large Boulder Field. This Winter we may find out one way or another if other major shallow deposits exist along the many new conductor targets being tested. Exciting times!
Those of you who have been following resource stocks over the years know that major resource investment conferences also come into play in an explorer's game plan. We have 2 such significant events on the near-term horizon:
The Cambridge House - Vancouver Resource Investment Conference is coming up on January 22-23rd. At last year's VRIC event it was the CGN strategic investment that was announced just prior to the conference. What news will be scheduled to coincide with this year's event? I already have my ticket and am looking forward to attending the presentations and getting some one-on-one face time with Ross. I count a record 11 Uranium explorers that will be in attendance, running booths and giving presentations:
ALX Uranium
Brazil Resources
CanAlaska Uranium
Denison Mines
Fission Uranium
GoviEx Uranium
Noka Resources
Skyharbour Resources
UEX
UR-Energy
Uranium Energy Corporation
https://cambridgehouse.com/event/54/vancouver-resource-investment-conference-2017/exhibitors After that is the major PDAC event in Toronto on March 5-8th. In the past, Fission has used that event as an opportunity to announce new discovery holes and showcase their latest exploration results. I'm hoping that PDAC will provide that opportunity once again.
https://www.pdac.ca/convention/attendee-info/schedule-at-a-glance?dt=03%2f06%2f2017 In fact, I think PDAC could be a major catalyst for all Uranium explorers in the Athabasca Basin given that NexGen has stated their intention to publish an updated Arrow Resource Estimate by the end of March. What better venue to announce the results for all major resource investors to see? If that happens then I can see a number of possible scenarios unfold.... new M&A potential could come into play if NexGen is able to come out with an Indicated resource greater than 50%... other area plays like Fission, Purepoint, ALX, Forum, UEX may all get a share price boost, especially if U prices have begun to rally.
Very shortly we will see an announcement from Fission that drilling is once again underway at PLS. With 2/3rds of the holes being drilled on land there is no need to wait for optimal ice conditions in order to proceed. A moving-loop ground geophysics program will be run in the coming days, which is to better pinpoint the exploration holes to be drilled. I expect that drilling will begin in the R840W zone while that ground geophysics survey is underway, so the first results in should be some high-grade hits in that land-based zone... fingers crossed!
The potential for rising U prices, while exploration drilling is underway, is definitely not something that we have experienced in the past few years. If a U price rally begins to pick up steam then this could be a great time to be an investor.... or not... you'll have to decide that for yourself based on your own crystal ball, research, analysis and due diligence.
In any event, wishing Ross and his outstanding technical team the best of luck in the coming weeks. Cheers and a Happy and Prosperous 2017!
Fission Targets High-Priority Exploration and Zone Growth Areas
December 20, 2016
Aggressive follow-up focusing on regional hot spots outside of the Triple R deposit identified during successful Summer 2016 program
KELOWNA, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Dec. 20, 2016) - FISSION URANIUM CORP. (TSX:FCU)(OTCQX:FCUUF)(FRANKFURT:2FU) ("Fission" or "the Company") is pleased to announce preparations have begun for a 34 hole, 10,105m, winter program at its PLS property in Canada's Athabasca Basin. The program is currently budgeted at $6.5m and may be increased at a later date. It includes multiple regional exploration targets outside of the Triple R deposit, identified during summer drilling. In addition, drilling will target the expansion of new zones at both ends of the 2.63km mineralized trend, for possible inclusion in a future resource estimate update. Other activities will include continued baseline environmental studies and community and government engagement.
Key Highlights
- 15 holes consisting of both diamond drill core ("DDH") and Reverse Circulation ("RC") holes will focus on key regional exploration targets
- 19 DDH holes focused on growing and connecting the new high-grade zones on the 2.63km trend that have the potential to be included in a future Triple R resource estimate update
- 28.5 line-km of ground-based Small Moving Loop Time Domain Electromagnetic (SMLTEM) survey aimed at identifying areas of stronger, wider mineralization
Ross McElroy, President, COO, and Chief Geologist for Fission, commented
"This program will follow up on a number of very high-priority regional exploration targets identified during the successful summer program. It will also focus on growing the high-grade, near-surface R800W and R1620E zones at the western and easternmost ends, respectively, of our 2.63km mineralized trend. These zones are presently not included in the Triple R deposit resource estimate."
Program Details
- Large Regional Focus with fifteen regional exploration holes in 8 core holes and 7 Reverse Circulation ("RC") holes, will test a series of high-priority exploration targets.
- DDH exploration holes will be targeted as follows:
- 2 holes testing a new area of interest approximately 600m west of the R840W zone
- 2 holes on the west end of the Patterson Lake Corridor
- 3 holes on a parallel EM conductor located approximately 4km to the north of PLG-3B
- 1 hole on an EM conductor located between Patterson Lake and Forest Lake Corridors.
- RC exploration holes will be targeted as follows:
- 2 holes at the east end of the Patterson Lake Corridor
- 3 holes at the western end of the Patterson Lake Corridor
- 2 holes near the High-Grade uranium boulder field
- Growing and connecting the zones with 19 holes targeting the R840W and R1620E high-grade, shallow mineralized zones along the 2.63km mineralized trend, which remains open in multiple directions.
- Ground Geophysics to help locate and prioritize new drill targets, consisting of a 28.5 line-km of ground-based Small Moving Loop Time Domain Electromagnetic (SMLTEM) will be conducted in early January 2017. This survey will aid in the proper identification and localization of basement EM conductors, which are critical in early stage exploration drilling.
Stay long and prosper!