UEX Corporation (UEX:TSX) (“UEX” or the “Company”), is pleased to
announce plans to spend approximately $4.25 million on the 2019
winter drill program on the West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Deposit (the
“Deposit”) located on the Company’s 100% owned West Bear Property.
Drilling is anticipated to commence in early January.
The 2019 winter exploration program will consist
of approximately 17,000 m of drilling in approximately 110-160
holes. The program will focus on extending very high-grade cobalt
mineralization currently defining the western end of the West Bear
Co-Ni Deposit along strike to the west. Drilling will also focus on
extending high-grade mineralization down-plunge and along strike to
the southeast (see Figure 1).
Significant drill results from the 2018 program
included hole WBC-012 that assayed 4.90% Co and 2.08% Ni
over 8.0 m from 77.0 to 85.0 m (see UEX News Release dated
April 19, 2018) and hole WBC-001 which intersected 2.00%
cobalt and 1.26% nickel over a 10.5 m core length between
46.0 m and 56.5 m (see UEX News Release dated April 9, 2018).
The goal of the winter program will be to drill
the West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Deposit to such an extent that the
Company will be able to commence studies to determine the viability
of the Deposit in the second half of 2019.
Since completing the 2018 drill program at the
Deposit, the UEX team has been reviewing historical exploration
results in the immediate area. Results from UEX’s 2004 – 2006 sonic
drilling programs, where holes were drilled 100-500 m west of the
Deposit have led the Company to believe that there is excellent
potential to expand the cobalt-nickel mineralization along strike
to the west. UEX’s sonic drilling program was undertaken to define
the nearby West Bear Uranium Deposit, a classic unconformity-style
uranium deposit, ranging in depth from 15-30 m below surface. The
sonic holes were able to penetrate only 5-10 m below the uranium
mineralization into the underlying basement rocks. The key fault
structure that hosts the West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Deposit, where
mineralization occurs at vertical depths between 18-85 m, remains
largely untested by drill holes. Almost all sonic drill holes
completed by UEX along this 500 m strike length encountered cobalt
and nickel mineralization that extended below the uranium deposit
to the end of the drill hole. The area downdip of these Co-Ni
mineralized holes remains open for expansion and is the highest
priority target area this winter.
UEX believes the West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Deposit
has potential to develop into a significant cobalt deposit with
several potential advantages:
- High Grades
- Cobalt grades from several of UEX’s drill holes compare
favorably to the grades of many global and North American
deposits.
- Open-Pit Amenable
- Open in All Directions for Expansion
- Historical Focus on Unconformity Uranium Targets
Avoided Co-Ni Opportunities
- Historical drill holes did not test the clay-altered host fault
structure down-dip from the unconformity, the host environment for
the West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Deposit.
- Mining Friendly Location
- Located in Saskatchewan, the world’s second most attractive
mining investment jurisdiction according to the Fraser Institute’s
2016 Survey of Mining Companies.
- Potential Secure and Ethical North American Cobalt
Source
- Could help alleviate concerns regarding supply security and
ethical sourcing of cobalt seen in other jurisdictions.
About the West Bear Cobalt-Nickel
Deposit
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 7,657.3 hectares
comprising of 23 contiguous areas to which UEX has title.
The West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Deposit is located
within an area of the Athabasca Basin that has excellent
infrastructure. The Deposit is situated within 10 km 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.
UEX, through its wholly-owned subsidiary CoEX
Metals Corporation, commissioned a $1.6 million exploration program
in 2018 designed to assess the continuity of cobalt mineralization
in basement rocks. The program was designed to follow-up results
from 2005 that identified the potential for economically
significant cobalt mineralization. Many of the 41 drill holes
testing the Deposit in 2018 were very high grade and expanded the
size of the mineralized zone. The drill program was successful at
expanding the West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Deposit which now has a
strike length of over 250 m and a dip length of over 100 m and
remains open for expansion in all directions.
On July 10, 2018, the Company announced a maiden
inferred resource estimate for the West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Deposit
of 390,000 tonnes grading 0.37% cobalt and 0.22% nickel, which
equates to 3,172,000 pounds of cobalt and 1,928,000 pounds
of nickel. The West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Deposit mineral
resources were determined using a cut-off grade of 0.023 percent
cobalt equivalent (“CoEq”), using the equation CoEq = Co + (Ni x
0.2). Only mineralization located within a conceptual open pit was
included in the final resource estimate.
A sensitivity analysis completed by SRK
Consulting (Canada) Inc. within the Technical Report for the West
Bear Cobalt-Nickel Project, Saskatchewan, Canada dated August 7,
2018 (filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com) demonstrates the high-grade
nature of the West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Deposit. Compared to the base
case resource estimate, over 96% of the contained cobalt still lies
within the conceptual pit shell when cut-off grades are increased
to 0.09% CoEq (278,837 t at 0.50% Co and 0.29% Ni equaling 3.07
million pounds Co and 1.78 million pounds Ni).
Qualified Persons and Data
Acquisition
Technical information in this news release has
been reviewed and approved by Roger Lemaitre, P.Eng., P.Geo., UEX’s
President and CEO and Trevor Perkins, P.Geo., UEX’s Exploration
Manager, who are each considered to be a Qualified Person as
defined by National Instrument 43-101.
About UEX
UEX (TSX:UEX, OTC:UEXCF.PK, UXO.F) is a Canadian
uranium exploration and development company involved in eighteen
uranium projects, including seven that are 100% owned and operated
by UEX, one joint venture with Orano Canada Inc. (“Orano”) and ALX
Uranium Corp. (“ALX”) that is 50.1% owned by UEX and is under
option to and operated by ALX, as well as eight joint ventures with
Orano, one joint venture with Orano and JCU (Canada) Exploration
Company Limited, which are operated by Orano, and one project
(Christie Lake), that is 60% owned by UEX with JCU (Canada)
Exploration Company Limited which is operated by UEX.
The company is also involved in one
cobalt-nickel exploration project located in the Athabasca Basin of
northern Saskatchewan. The West Bear Project was formerly part of
UEX’s Hidden Bay Project and contains the West Bear Cobalt-Nickel
Deposit and the West Bear Uranium Deposit.
The eighteen projects are located in the
eastern, western and northern perimeters of the Athabasca Basin,
the world's richest uranium belt, which in 2017 accounted for
approximately 22% of the global primary uranium production. UEX is
currently advancing several uranium deposits in the Athabasca Basin
which include the Christie Lake deposits, the Kianna, Anne, Colette
and 58B deposits at its currently 49.1%-owned Shea Creek Project
(located 50 km north of Fission’s Triple R Deposit and Patterson
Lake South Project, and NexGen’s Arrow Deposit) the Horseshoe and
Raven deposits located on its 100%-owned Horseshoe-Raven
Development Project and the West Bear Uranium Deposit located at
its 100%-owned West Bear Project.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE
CONTACT
Roger LemaitrePresident & CEO(306)
713-1401
Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains statements that
constitute "forward-looking information" for the purposes of
Canadian securities laws. Such statements are based on UEX's
current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections. Such
forward-looking information includes statements regarding the West
Bear Co-Ni Deposit drill program, UEX's drill hole results,
uranium, cobalt and nickel prices, outlook for our future
operations, plans and timing for exploration activities, and other
expectations, intentions and plans that are not historical fact.
Such forward-looking information is based on certain factors and
assumptions and is subject to risks, uncertainties and other
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking
information. Important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from UEX's expectations include uncertainties
relating to the, interpretation of drill results and geology, assay
confirmation, additional drilling results, continuity and grade of
deposits, fluctuations in uranium, cobalt and nickel prices and
currency exchange rates, changes in environmental and other laws
affecting uranium, cobalt and nickel exploration and mining, and
other risks and uncertainties disclosed in UEX's Annual Information
Form and other filings with the applicable Canadian securities
commissions on SEDAR. Many of these factors are beyond the control
of UEX. Consequently, all forward-looking information contained in
this news release is qualified by this cautionary statement and
there can be no assurance that actual results or developments
anticipated by UEX will be realized. For the reasons set forth
above, investors should not place undue reliance on such
forward-looking information. Except as required by applicable law,
UEX disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise
forward-looking information, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
A photo accompanying this announcement is
available
at: http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cd3e5a37-be26-4ac1-9381-74eaec8a392a
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