UEX Corporation (TSX:UEX) (“UEX” or the “Company”)
is pleased to announce the commencement of its 2020 exploration
programs at the West Bear and Christie Lake Properties, located in
the Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan.
West Bear Property
UEX Corporation is pleased to announce the West
Bear 2020 winter exploration program will commence the first week
of February and consist of approximately 1,900 m of diamond
drilling in 15 holes. The objective of the program is to find
new satellite Co-Ni deposits on the West Bear Project along the
northern rim of the highly prospective West Bear Dome.
The program will focus on the Umpherville Target
Area located 2 km immediately north of the existing high-grade West
Bear Co-Ni Deposit. The Umpherville Target Area has several
geological and structural similarities to the West Bear Co-Ni
Deposit area. Historical drilling in 1977 by Conwest
Exploration encountered strong indicative hydrothermal alteration,
strong radioactivity and an extensive area of geochemically
anomalous nickel over 1 km in strike length that are all features
considered favourable for the discovery of both cobalt-nickel
deposits and uranium deposits. Historical Conwest Hole
ML-77-05 intersected 0.22% eU3O8 over a 5 ft core length at the
unconformity and has yet to be successfully followed-up by drill
holes. Two attempts by Conwest to drill on-section and
down-dip of hole ML-77-05 were unsuccessful when the drill holes
were lost when they encountered wide intervals of intense structure
and clay alteration. The drill program will also test areas
along strike to the northeast of the Umpherville area where
historical anomalous cobalt and nickel has been intersected.
The Company is also updating our Technical
Report to incorporate the results of the 2019 West Bear Property
exploration program. The Company completed 126 holes totaling
11,412.5 m during the 2019 winter drill program and the results
from these holes were announced in the Company’s news releases
dated February 7, March 18, April 1, April 15, April 30, and May
22, 2019 available at www.sedar.com or UEX’s website at
www.uexcorp.com.
Christie Lake Property
UEX will be commencing its 2020 exploration
program at Christie Lake in mid-February. Despite the
discovery of new mineralization along the B Trend in hole CB-141
that averaged 1.17% eU3O8 over 1.9 m from 498.1 m to 499.6 m (see
UEX News Release dated October 29, 2019), UEX will be focusing the
majority of its efforts at Christie Lake in the Ōrora North Area in
2020.
In 2019, the Company completed a property-wide
DC Resistivity survey that defined a strong and wide anomaly (the
Ōrora North Resistivity Anomaly) similar in nature to the
resistivity anomalies occurring over the Ken Pen and Paul Bay
Deposits. The Ōrora North Resistivity Anomaly is located
north of and parallel to the Yalowega Trend, which led to the
interpretation that the Ōrora mineralized trend may be offset by a
north-trending fault. Subsequent drilling of three holes in
the Fall of 2019 at the southwest end of the Ōrora North
Resistivity Anomaly defined a northwest-oriented fault structure
that contained strong hydrothermal alteration and thick dravite
veining, features observed in the three known uranium deposits at
Christie Lake (see UEX News Release dated October 29,
2019).
Recently received geochemical results from
samples collected from within the altered fault structure in the
sandstone column of these three holes show substantial geochemical
enrichment of uranium over wide intervals extending as much as 250
m above the unconformity. The uranium enrichment in each hole
ranges from 3 ppm to 12 ppm uranium over core lengths of 98-180 m,
reaching as high as 44.3 ppm U in one sample. Athabasca
uranium explorers consider 1-2 ppm uranium in the sandstone-hosted
structures to be of exploration interest. Such sandstone
uranium enrichment is often found close to uranium deposits.
To assist the Company in refining drill targets
later this year, UEX is undertaking a Phase I geophysical
exploration program comprised of a fixed loop electromagnetic
survey (“EM”) focused on the Ōrora North area. Additional EM
will be completed in the southern half of the B Conductor
area. A total of 63 line-km of EM surveying will be completed
this winter.
A Phase II program is planned that will consist
of diamond drilling in the Ōrora North area to follow-up the 2019
drilling program after the Company interprets the results of the EM
survey.
JCU (Canada) Exploration Company Limited
(“JCU”), our partner in the Christie Lake Joint Venture, will be
diluting their interest in the project. UEX agreed to
contribute JCU’s share of all 2020 expenditures.
New Mineralized Structure Discovered at
McClean South
UEX completed 3,318 m of drilling in 10 holes in
the fourth quarter of 2019 at the McClean South area of the Hidden
Bay Project. The McClean South area is located immediately
adjacent to and south of Orano’s McClean Lake Operation on-strike
of the mined-out Sue Uranium Deposits. The Sue Deposits are a
cluster of five uranium deposits that occur over a north-south
strike length of 1.7 km hosted within the Sue Fault
structure. The southernmost Sue Deposit, Sue E, was mined by
open pit. The pit’s margins are located within 50 m of the
property boundary.
In the summer of 2019, UEX completed a RadonExTM
radon survey covering the northern part of the Telephone and Sue
Faults in which several radon anomalies were detected between the
two fault structures. Coupled with historic geophysical and
geochemical data, UEX believed that faults oriented in an
east-north-east direction link the Telephone and Sue Faults.
Such linking faults are a key host environment of several of the
economically exploited uranium deposits at Cameco’s Eagle Point
Mine.
The UEX 2019 drill program successfully
intersected two east-north-east oriented fault structures between
the Sue and Telephone Faults. Hydrothermal alteration was
encountered in both faults. One hole, MCS-009, encountered
0.34% U3O8 over 0.4 m from 183.2 m to 183.6 m within an
east-north-east fault approximately 40 m east of the north-east
trending Telephone Fault. The mineralization in MCS-009 is
very encouraging as it indicates that not only are the linking
east-north-east linking structures present, they also have the
potential to host uranium mineralization.
The Company will be further evaluating the
results of the 2019 program at McClean South in advance of a future
drill program.
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 km north of Saskatoon, west of
Wollaston Lake and measures approximately 7,983 hectares comprising
of 24 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 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.
The West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Deposit currently
has a strike length of over 600 m and a dip length of over 100 m.
Prior to expanding the size of the deposit in 2019, on July
10, 2018, the Company announced a maiden inferred resource estimate
for the 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 which does not include any
results from the 2019 drilling program. 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.
About the Christie Lake Project
UEX currently holds a 60% interest in the
Christie Lake Project and has entered into a joint venture with
JCU. The Project is located approximately 9 km northeast and
along strike of Cameco’s McArthur River Mine, the world’s largest
uranium producer. The P2 Fault, the controlling structure for
all of the McArthur River deposits, continues to the northeast
beyond the mine. UEX believes that through a series of
en-echelon steps the northeast strike extension of the P2 Fault not
only crosses the Project but also controls the three known uranium
deposits on Christie Lake, the Ōrora, Paul Bay and Ken Pen
Deposits.
The Christie Lake Project is currently estimated
to contain 588,000 tonnes grading 1.57% U3O8,
which equates to 20.35 million pounds of
U3O8 using a cut-off grade of 0.2%
U3O8 and are documented in the “Technical Report
for the Christie Lake Uranium Project, Saskatchewan, Canada” which
was filed on February 1, 2019 and has an effective date of December
13, 2018. The Technical Report is available on the Company’s
website at www.uexcorp.com and on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com.
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, Trevor Perkins, P.Geo., UEX’s Exploration
Manager, and Chris Hamel, P.Geo., UEX’s Chief Geologist, 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 and cobalt 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 three
cobalt-nickel exploration projects located in the Athabasca Basin
of northern Saskatchewan. The 100% owned 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.
UEX also owns 100% of two early stage cobalt exploration projects,
the Axis Lake and Key West Projects.
Our portfolio of projects is 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.
About JCU
JCU is a private company that is actively
engaged in the exploration and development in Canada. JCU is
owned by three Japanese companies. Amongst these, Overseas
Uranium Resources Development Co., Ltd. (“OURD”) acts as the
manager of JCU. JCU has partnerships with UEX, Orano, Cameco,
Denison and others on uranium exploration and development projects
in the Athabasca Basin of Northern Saskatchewan including
Millennium and Wheeler River and the Kiggavik project in the Thelon
Basin in Nunavut.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT
Roger LemaitrePresident & CEO(306)
979-3849
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, the Christie Lake Property drill
program, the McClean South 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.
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