UEX Corp T.UEX

New Uranium Discovery !

[yellowcake]

News from Canada NewsWire UEX and COGEMA Make New Uranium Discovery in Athabasca Basin 09:44 EDT Tuesday, October 12, 2004 Trading Symbol: UEX-TSX VANCOUVER, Oct. 12 /CNW/ - UEX Corporation ("UEX") is pleased to announce that unconformity-type uranium mineralization has been discovered at the Black Lake Uranium Project ("Black Lake") in the northeast section of the Athabasca Basin located in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. Black Lake is a joint venture between UEX and COGEMA (70% UEX - 30% COGEMA), of which UEX is the operator. To view a map of Black Lake and a project drilling plan, please access the following link: https://files.newswire.ca/372/BlackLakeProject.pdf or following this news release, refer to UEX's website at www.uex-corporation.com under "Latest Updates". Hole BL-18, the seventh hole of an eight-hole program, encountered unconformity-type uranium mineralization in the sandstone, immediately above the basal Athabasca unconformity at a vertical depth of 310.5 metres. Composited geochemical analyses from this intersection average 0.694 % U3O8 over 4.4 metres between 310.5 and 314.9 metres, including 0.848 % U3O8 over 3.3 metres between 311.0 and 314.3 metres, and 1.086 % U3O8 over 1.5 metres between 312.8 and 314.3 metres. Maximum grade in these intervals is 1.96% U3O8 over 0.5 metres between 313.3 and 313.8 metres. Under the supervision of Sierd Eriks, P. Geo., UEX's project geologist and a qualified person as defined by N.I. 43-101, core was split, half core from each interval sealed in sample bags, and submitted to the Saskatchewan Research Council in Saskatoon, SK for analysis. After preparation, uranium and base metal concentrations were determined using fluorimetry and ICP analysis. "This discovery validates UEX's commitment to its exploration efforts in the northern rim of the Athabasca Basin," said Stephen Sorensen, President and CEO of UEX. "The Black Lake discovery opens up the potential of a large, underexplored area of the Athabasca Basin." The 2004 summer exploration program consisted of 3812 metres of diamond drilling in eight drillholes. Drillhole locations were selected by UEX's exploration team in conjunction with COGEMA's exploration department, headed by Jean-Claude Rippert, COGEMA's Vice-President, Exploration. UEX's exploration team consists of consulting geologists David Rhys and Sierd Eriks, and consulting geophysicists Patrick McGowan and Kevin Cameron. Holes BL-18 and BL-19 targeted an area where significant faulting and highly prospective sandstone alteration including dravite, had been previously intersected above the Eastern conductor in the northeastern portion of Black Lake. Several widely-spaced hole locations, the sites of holes BL-12 to BL-17, drilled 0.4 kilometres to 2.2 kilometres southwest of BL-18, were of a reconnaissance nature, testing the Eastern and Western conductors, which strike southwest for at least 12 kilometres. These interpreted discrete conductors lie parallel to each other, between 200 and 600 metres apart. The discovery hole BL-18 was chosen upon a recommendation by David Rhys, M.Sc., P.Geo. in consultation with other members of UEX's exploration team, to test an area 70 metres to the west of the Eastern conductor, where hole BL-11 had encountered favourable alteration and anomalous boron concentration that were interpreted to increase to the west. BL-18 was also planned to test a theory that the Eastern and Western conductors are in fact the edges of one wide conductive unit. BL-18 did encounter massive graphite between the two interpreted discrete Eastern and Western conductors, which suggests that future diamond drilling should explore the area between the conductors, considering the mineralization present in the hole. Uranium mineralization in BL-18 predominately occurs as pervasive, dark grey impregnation of the basal Athabasca sandstone with pitchblende stringers, beginning at 310.5 metres, which continues to the unconformity with basement rocks at 314.9 metres. Uranium minerals are interpreted to be coffinite and pitchblende by initial visual determinations. In a manner comparable to known deposits in other parts of the Athabasca Basin, pervasive red hematization in the sandstone occurs immediately above the mineralized intersection, and alteration-related bleaching of the paleoweathering profile has removed the normally developed oxidized red zone in the basement rocks beneath the mineralization. The BL-18 mineralized intersection also contains highly anomalous concentrations of up to 0.77% arsenic, 0.41% copper, 0.19% lead and 0.42% nickel, which are characteristic elements associated with unconformity- type uranium deposits in other areas of the Athabasca Basin. The disseminated style of mineralization, lack of faulting and the presence of probable coffinite in the BL-18 intersection suggest that it may represent a peripheral, lower grade style of mineralization to a more typical, and higher grade mineralizing system. Major deposits in the Athabasca Basin, such as McArthur River and Cigar Lake, are generally developed over strike lengths of less than 1 kilometre, comprising low grade mineralization surrounding a much smaller high grade core where the bulk of the mineralization is contained. By comparison, the discovery hole at the McArthur River deposit, MAC-196, intersected distal low grade mineralization comprising 0.5% U3O8 over 0.9 metre prior to the discovery of the main high grade core to the P2 North orebody. The need for additional permitting and specific equipment for drilling mineralized areas prevented immediate follow up drilling of BL-18 as part of this drilling program. Hole BL-19, drilled 400 metres to the northeast of BL-18, and holes BL-16 and BL-15, drilled 400 and 800 metres southwest of hole BL-18 all intersected variable degrees of dravite veining and alteration in the Athabasca sandstone column accompanied by brittle faulting, and locally developed pyrite alteration, the most significant of which was intersected in hole BL-19. UEX is awaiting complete geochemical results for these holes. With previous drill holes BL-03, BL-05, BL-08 and BL-11 in this area, these collectively extend the area affected by dravite-bearing faulting to 1.2 kilometres along a north- northeast trending strike that is developed above basement graphitic conductors, which is open to the northeast and southwest. The mineralized intersection in BL-18 lies immediately to the grid west of these holes. If the dravite development represents a peripheral associated style of alteration to the intersection in this hole, as is commonly associated with high grade, unconformity-type uranium deposits, the great extent of this alteration forms a positive indicator for potential continuity and size of any deposit which the newly discovered mineralization at BL-18 may be a part of. The other holes in the summer program, holes BL-12, 13, 14 and 17 were drilled 0.4 kilometres to 2.2 kilometres southwest of the BL-18 discovery, as part of an ongoing systematic drill testing of the approximately 18 kilometre long conductor system present at Black Lake. Graphitic conductors were intersected in all holes with the exception of BL-19; geochemical results are pending. With the new discovery, the exploration potential of these conductors has been enhanced since unconformity deposits frequently occur in a series of zones along such graphitic features. Further testing is planned for future programs, since only very widely spaced holes have been completed to date in these parts of the property. 2005 Winter Program Follow up drilling during the 2005 winter program is planned to further trace this new discovery, with drillhole fences at 50 metre spacing testing along the trend of northeast striking basement graphitic conductors to the west of the dravite-bearing drill holes over a 300 metre strike length. In addition, several widely-spaced drillholes will continue to systematically test the Eastern and Western conductors which strike southwest for at least 12 kilometres. The 2004 summer drill program has shed new light on the nature of the basement at Black Lake. The presence of massive graphite in the basement section of BL-18, 70 metres west of the Eastern conductor, indicates that the previously defined Eastern and Western conductors (see UEX News Release dated June 30, 2004) may in fact represent the edges of a wide package of graphitic metapelites, as the geophysical signature of a wide basement zone can easily be interpreted as two parallel conductors. Alternative transient electromagnetic (TEM) survey configurations are planned to resolve these ambiguities. In the winter of 2005, a combination of "moving loop" and "fixed loop" TEM surveys are planned to initiate the definition of the true conductivity structure along the full 23 kilometre strike length of Black Lake. Pending the results of test surveys, a state of the art airborne TEM system, Fugro Airborne's MEGATEM system, may be employed to define the general location of the conductive trend beyond the current limit of reconnaissance TEM coverage in order to design an optimal ground TEM survey grid. As a result of the favorable exploration results from the drilling program, UEX, on behalf of the Black Lake joint venture, has staked an additional 20,000 hectares surrounding Black Lake. Technical portions of this news release were prepared by David Rhys, M.Sc., P.Geo., an independent qualified person as defined by N.I. 43-101. About COGEMA ------------ COGEMA, a uranium exploration and mining company, is a subsidiary of AREVA, a worldwide expert in the energy field with a strong industrial presence in over 40 countries. The AREVA group, through COGEMA has significant interests in several uranium deposits in the Athabasca Basin, including the producing McClean Lake Deposit operated by COGEMA, the producing McArthur River Deposit operated by Cameco Corporation, and the Cigar Lake Deposit, which is scheduled for production in 2007. About UEX --------- UEX is a uranium exploration company formed under an agreement between Pioneer Metals Corporation and Cameco. Cameco, the world's largest supplier of uranium, is UEX's largest shareholder and manages exploration at UEX's Hidden Bay Project. UEX began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange in July 2002 and is actively involved in the exploration and development of uranium projects in the Athabasca Basin. UEX has 13 uranium projects either 100% owned, joint ventured or under option totaling approximately 248,000 hectares (613,000 acres) located in the eastern, western and northern perimeters of the Athabasca Basin, the richest uranium belt in the world. UEX presently has a cash position in excess of $17.0 million (CDN). ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF UEX CORPORATION "signed" Stephen H. Sorensen, President & C.E.O. /For further information: Stephen H. Sorensen, President & C.E.O., UEX CORPORATION, SUITE 1007 - 808 NELSON ST., VANCOUVER, BC V6Z 2H2, PH: [phone], FAX: [phone], email: uex(at)intergate.ca, Website: www.uex-corporation.com/