New High-Grade Cobalt-Nickel Discovered at Michael Lake Hole grades 2.08% Co and 3.58% Ni over 4.5 metres within broader interval
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - TheNewswire - March 8, 2021 - UEX Corporation (TSX:UEX ) ( OTC:UEXCF) (“UEX” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that a new zone of cobalt-nickel mineralization was intersected at Michael Lake with the fourth hole of its 2021 winter uranium-cobalt exploration drill program on the West Bear Property (see Figure 1) . Drill hole MIC-004 intersected mineralization that grades 0.52% Co and 1.01% Ni over 23.5 m from 44.0 to 67.5 m within intensely altered basement rocks. Two separate subintervals within this mineralized zone returned assay grades of 2.08% Co and 3.58% Ni over 4.5 m (from 46.5 m to 51.0 m) and 0.93% Co and 0.79% Ni over 3.5 m (from 54.5 m to 58.0 m). The mineralization in MIC-004 occurs at a relatively shallow depth, from about 38 to 58 m below the surface and is located approximately 7 km east-northeast of the West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Deposit along the eastern flank of the prospective West Bear Dome (See Figure 2).
Table 1 - Assay Results from Drill Hole MIC-004 at Michael Lake on the West Bear Project
| Hole | Depth | Core Length | Cobalt | Nickel |
| From (m) | To (m) | (m*) | (wt% t ) | (wt% t ) |
| MIC-004 | 44.0 | 67.5 | 23.5 | 0.52 | 1.01 |
| | including | 46.5 | 51.0 | 4.5 | 2.08 | 3.58 |
| | including | 54.5 | 58.0 | 3.5 | 0.93 | 0.79 |
| * True widths are estimated to be >90% of core length |
| t Composite assays calculated using a cut-off grade of 0.023% CoEq where CoEq=Co%+(Ni%x0.2) |
The actual dip of the mineralization has yet to be confirmed. However, mineralized core lengths reported in this news release are expected to be greater than 90% of the core length based on core measurements and the dip of the drill hole.
In the Company’s news release of January 27, 2021, UEX announced that Phase I of the Company’s winter 2021 exploration drill program testing targets in the Michael Lake and Huggins Lake areas on the West Bear Project was underway. The Michael Lake and Huggins Lake areas are considered prospective for both uranium and cobalt-nickel deposits in basement rocks. The Company has re-allocated resources from the other planned target areas on both the West Bear and Hidden Bay Projects scheduled for drilling testing during the winter drill program in order to further evaluate the potential of this exciting new high-grade unconformity related Cobalt-Nickel prospect.
The assay interval returned by hole MIC-004 is impressive both in its length and grade and is the second location of high-grade cobalt-nickel mineralization found to date on the West Bear Project. To have encountered high grade cobalt-nickel mineralization at Michael Lake, being only the second target area drill tested by the Company on the prospective West Bear Dome, validates the approach and understanding our Exploration Team has developed to explore for this emerging and previously unknown style of cobalt-nickel deposit . We are excited to see what the potential is of the Michael Lake Target as we drill more holes in the area.
Sample Collection and Compositing
Samples for assaying are selected using a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (“XRF”) Spectrometer to aid in the identification of mineralized intervals. Selected drill core is then split in half sections on site and one half is collected for analysis with the other half core remaining on site for reference. Where possible, samples are collected at a standardized 0.5 m interval through zones of mineralization but respect geological units and intervals.
The samples are shipped to the Geoanalytical Laboratory at the Saskatchewan Research Council (“SRC”) in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Analysis at the SRC laboratory for Cobalt and Nickel was completed using the ICP-OES method with an Aqua Regia digestion. The SRC Geoanalytical Laboratory is an ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited facility (#537) by the Standards Council of Canada.
Assay intervals were composited using a cut-off grade of 0.023% Cobalt equivalent (CoEq) using the equation CoEq = Co + (Ni x 0.2). All depth measurements and sample intervals reported are down-hole measurements from drill core.
Qualified Persons and Data Acquisition
The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Roger Lemaitre, P.Eng., P.Geo., UEX’s President and CEO, and Chris Hamel, P.Geo., UEX’s Exploration Manager, who are each considered to be a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
About the West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Project
The West Bear Property is an advanced exploration project located in the eastern Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan, Canada that contains both the West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Deposit and the West Bear Uranium Deposit. The Property is approximately 740 kilometres north of Saskatoon, west of Wollaston Lake and measures approximately 11,104 hectares comprising of 27 contiguous areas to which UEX has 100% ownership, with the exception of Mineral Lease 5424 in which UEX owns a 77.575% interest. The Deposit is located within an area of the Athabasca Basin that has excellent infrastructure and is situated within 10 kilometres of an existing all-weather road and power lines that service Cameco Corporation’s nearby Cigar Lake Mine and Rabbit Lake Operation, as well as Orano’s McClean Lake Operation.
The West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Deposit currently has a strike length of over 600 metres and a dip length of over 100 metres. On April 15, 2020, the Company announced an updated indicated resource estimate for the Deposit of 1,223,000 tonnes grading 0.19% cobalt and 0.21% nickel, which equates to 5,122,000 pounds of cobalt and 5,662,000 pounds of nickel The West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Deposit mineral resources were determined using a cutoff grade of 0.023 percent cobalt equivalent (“CoEq”), using the equation CoEq = Co + (Ni x 0.2).