ValOre Metals Corp. (“ValOre”;
TSX‐V: VO; OTCQB: KVLQF;
Frankfurt: KEQ0) today provided an update on developments
concerning Hatchet Uranium Corp. (“HUC”), in which ValOre currently
holds a 67.5% ownership interest (CLICK HERE for ValOre news
release on May 29, 2024, for HUC incorporation transaction
details).
Hatchet Uranium Corp. has entered into
agreements with Skyharbour Resources Ltd. (“Skyharbour”), whereby
HUC may acquire an 80% interest in Skyharbour’s 9,339 ha Highway
Uranium Property (the “Optioned Highway Property”) and a 100%
interest, subject to a “claw-back” provision for Skyharbour, in
Skyharbour’s Genie, Usam and CBX/Shoe Uranium Projects (the
“Purchased Properties”) totalling 66,358 ha, all located peripheral
to the Athabasca Basin, in northern Saskatchewan, Canada.
Jim Paterson, Chairman and CEO of ValOre
commented: “With this transaction, ValOre shareholders gain growing
exposure to the exciting Canadian uranium exploration sector
through ValOre’s 67.5% ownership interest in Hatchet Uranium Corp.
(“HUC”). We are excited that HUC has formed a partnership with
Skyharbour Resources Ltd., a recognized leader in Canadian uranium
exploration, and HUC has strong support from the Canadian
investment community to advance a growing portfolio of projects in
one of the best places in the world to conduct mineral
exploration.”
HUC and Skyharbour Properties Summary table
Company |
Project |
Option / Purchase |
Claims |
Hectare |
Hatchet Uranium Corp. |
Hatchet Lake |
|
6 |
13,711 |
|
|
|
|
|
Skyharbour Resources Ltd. |
Usam |
Purchase |
12 |
40,041 |
Skyharbour Resources Ltd. |
CBX |
Purchase |
7 |
8,777 |
Skyharbour Resources Ltd. |
Shoe |
Purchase |
1 |
609 |
Skyharbour Resources Ltd. |
Genie |
Purchase |
5 |
16,930 |
Skyharbour Resources Ltd. |
Highway |
Option |
4 |
9,339 |
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
|
|
35 |
89,407 |
|
|
|
|
|
Figure 1: Location Map of Hatchet Lake and
Skyharbour’s optioned and purchased properties
Terms of the Optioned Highway
Property
HUC may acquire an 80% interest in the Highway
Property by (i) issuing common shares in the capital of HUC
(“Shares”) having an aggregate value of CAD $1,050,000; (ii) making
cash payments totaling CAD $245,000; and (iii) incurring an
aggregate of CAD $2,050,000 in exploration expenditures over a
three-year period, as follows:
Date |
Cash Payments |
Exploration Expenditures |
Value of Shares Issued |
On or before the first anniversary of Closing |
$25,000 |
$250,000 |
$25,000(1) |
On or before the second anniversary of Closing |
$20,000 |
$300,000 |
$25,000(1) |
On or before the third anniversary of Closing |
$200,000 |
$1,500,000 |
$1,000,000(1) |
TOTAL |
$245,000 |
$2,050,000 |
$1,050,000 |
(1) Deemed pricing of the Shares is based on the
twenty (20) day volume-weighted average price on either the TSX
Venture Exchange or the Canadian Securities Exchange if HUC shall
list its Shares for trading, being the (“Deemed Price”) or the last
sale price, if not listed on a stock exchange at the time of
issuance.
If the issuance of Shares result in Skyharbour
holding 10% or more of the outstanding common shares of HUC, HUC
will only issue that number of Shares that would result in
Skyharbour receiving 9.9% of the post-issuance issued and
outstanding HUC share capital, and HUC will pay cash in lieu for
Shares not issued.
The obligations of HUC under the option
agreement are subject to the following conditions (i) HUC
completing a financing for minimum gross proceeds of $1,500,000,
(ii) the sale of the Genie, Usam and CBX/Shoe Uranium Projects by
Skyharbour to HUC, and (iii) HUC having listed the HUC Shares on
the TSX Venture Exchange or the Canadian Securities Exchange or
having sold its interest to or combined with a similarly listed
issuer.
Skyharbour shall retain a 2% net smelter returns
royalty from minerals mined and removed from the Highway Property,
of which HUC may purchase one-half, being 1%, at any time for
CAD$1,000,000.
Highway Property Summary
The Highway Property comprises four (4) mineral
claims covering approximately 9,339 hectares located approximately
41 km south of Cameco Corporation’s formerly-producing Rabbit Lake
Mine and 11 km southwest of Uranium Energy Corp.’s West Bear U and
Co-Ni Deposits. Highway 905 transects the property, providing
excellent access for exploration.
There has been limited recent exploration
carried out on the project, but there is the potential for
high-grade basement-hosted uranium mineralization. The Highway
Property is underlain by Wollaston Supergroup metasedimentary
gneisses (pelitic to psammopelitic and psammitic to meta-arkosic)
folded around and overlying an Archean felsic gneiss dome, which
outcrops in the southwestern portion of the property and covers a
northeast trending antiformal fold nose. The Highway Property is
located approximately 7 km east of the present-day margin of the
Athabasca Basin, but the area is believed to have been covered by
Athabasca sandstone in the past.
Figure 2: Highway Property Location Map
Terms of the Purchased
Properties
The Purchased Properties comprise twenty-five
(25) mineral claims covering approximately 66,358 hectares. HUC may
acquire a 100% interest in the Purchased Properties by, on the date
of closing (the “Closing Date”), paying Skyharbour $25,000 and
issuing to Skyharbour such number of units in the capital of HUC
(“HUC Units”) equal to 9.9% of the issued and outstanding Shares
immediately following issuance. Each HUC Unit shall be comprised of
one Share and one share purchase warrant, entitling Skyharbour to
purchase one additional Share for a period of three years at a
price that is a 25% premium to the deemed value of the Shares in
both years 1 and 2, and then increases to a 50% premium to the
issuance value of the Shares in year 3.
Skyharbour shall retain a claw-back provision
whereby, within 90 days after the 3rd anniversary of the Closing
Date. Skyharbour may elect by written notice to HUC of its
intention to purchase back a twenty-five percent (25%) interest in
the Purchased Property by, within 90 days of delivery of such
notice, incurring exploration expenditures or paying cash in lieu
of to fund future exploration, equivalent to fifty percent (50%) of
the total amount that HUC had spent during the term that is three
years from the Closing Date in exploration expenditures on the
Purchased Property. If HUC has not incurred any exploration
expenditures during the three years following the closing date,
then Skyharbour shall automatically receive the 25% interest in the
Property.
The obligation of HUC to acquire the Purchased
Properties is subject to the following conditions (i) HUC
completing a financing for minimum gross proceeds of $1,500,000,
(ii) the closing of the Option of the Highway Uranium Property from
Skyharbour to HUC, and (iii) HUC having listed the HUC Shares on
the TSX Venture Exchange or the Canadian Securities Exchange or
having sold its interest to or combined with a similarly listed
issuer. If the conditions listed in items (i) and (iii) above are
not completed within 18 months, HUC’s right to acquire the
Purchased Property will terminate. If, after 12 months, the
conditions listed in items (i) and (iii) above are not satisfied,
HUC shall pay Skyharbour a monthly fee of $10,000 until such
conditions are satisfied or an aggregate of $60,000 has been paid,
whichever occurs first.
Skyharbour shall also retain a 2% net smelter
returns royalty from minerals mined and removed from the Purchased
Property, of which HUC may purchase one-half, being 1%, at any time
for $2,000,000.
Genie Property Summary
The Genie property consists of five (5) claims
totalling 16,930 ha, located approximately 48 km northeast of
Cameco’s formerly-producing Eagle Point Uranium Mine (Rabbit Lake
Operation) and 40 km north of Wollaston Lake Post. The project is
underlain by Wollaston Supergroup metasedimentary gneisses and
Archean granitoids, with prospective pelitic to psammopelitic
gneisses (including graphitic varieties) and several north-trending
faults related to the Tabbernor fault system being mapped on the
property. The project lies outside the current extent of the
Athabasca Basin but is believed to have been overlain by now-eroded
Athabasca sandstones in the past and has the potential for
high-grade basement-hosted and unconformity-related uranium
mineralization. The property is underlain by a series of linear
magnetic highs (interpreted as granitoids) and magnetic lows
(interpreted as metasedimentary gneisses), cross-cut by a highly
magnetic northwest-trending Mackenzie Diabase dyke.
Previous work on the Genie project includes
limited diamond drilling (three historical drill holes, of which
one was abandoned in overburden) and a variety of airborne and
ground geophysical surveys, prospecting, geological mapping, lake
sediment and overburden sampling, and soil sampling. Most of this
exploration work took place between 1966 to 1980, prior to the
advent of modern geophysical methods and geological models, but in
2014 part of the Genie property was covered by a helicopter-borne
DIGHEM magnetic, electromagnetic, and radiometric survey. The
survey showed a strong central EM conductor following a
magnetically inferred contact on the two northeastern most claims,
which is locally disrupted by several moderately conductive N-S
trending structural breaks, inferred to be faults. This strong
conductor is highly prospective for uranium mineralization, and
drilling done in 1969 and 1971 has confirmed the presence of
graphitic and sulfide-containing pelitic gneisses on the property.
Lake sediment samples, also collected at Genie during the 2014
exploration program, contained up to 63.3 ppm U, further showcasing
the prospectivity of the property.
Figure 3: Genie Property Location Map
Usam Property Summary
The Usam Project consists of twelve (12) claims
totalling 40,041 ha located approximately 16 km northeast of
Cameco’s Eagle Point Mine (Rabbit Lake Operation). The project has
numerous EM conductors that are associated with significant
magnetic lows of the Wollaston Domain. While the project is outside
the current confines of the Athabasca Basin, the area was overlain
by Athabasca sandstones historically. Basement rocks on the
property include Wollaston Supergroup metasediments and Archean
granitoid gneisses, with highly prospective pelitic to
psammopelitic gneisses (including graphitic varieties) making up
the largest proportion of the basement rocks. Several
north-trending faults related to the Tabbernor fault system
cross-cut the property.
Previous work on the project includes diamond
drilling (12 holes), lake sediment sampling, soil sampling,
geological mapping, ground and airborne geophysics, marine seismic,
prospecting, and other geochemical sampling, the majority of which
was done in the 1980's and 1970's. Modern exploration of the
property has been limited to geophysics and ground prospecting. As
such there is a significant untested potential on the project.
Trenching on Cleveland Island uncovered up to 0.31% U3O8 in
mineralized pegmatite, and diamond drilling on Gilles Island
intersected anomalous uranium, indicating that the basement rocks
underling the Usam property are fertile sources of uranium in
addition to containing pegmatite- and granite-hosted U-Th-REE
mineralization. There are also several sedimentary-hosted base
metals (i.e. Cu and Zn) showings on the project and in the
surrounding area, which show similarities to the sedimentary-hosted
Cu mineralization previously discovered by Rio Tinto and its
partners at the Janice Lake Project further southwest in the
Wollaston Domain.
Figure 4 – Usam Property Location Map
CBX/Shoe Property Summary
The CBX property has been recently expanded
through staking to include five (5) additional claims adjoining the
previously staked CBX and Shoe properties, which have been combined
to include a total of seven (7) claims covering 8,777 hectares. The
609 ha Shoe property has remained unchanged, with both CBX and Shoe
now consisting of eight non-contiguous claims totalling 9,386
hectares.
The new claims lie approximately 6.5 km to 25 km
northeast of the Eagle Point uranium mine and cover the northern
shore of Wollaston Lake including parts of Cunning Bay. Outcrop
exposure on the property is poor, but historical mapping and
drilling shows that the newly expanded CBX project is underlain by
a mixture of Wollaston Supergroup metasedimentary gneisses,
Hudsonian intrusives, and Archean felsic gneisses of the Western
Wollaston Domain. Similar lithologies host uranium mineralization
at the Rabbit Lake operation, including the Eagle Point deposit,
and other uranium deposits in the Athabasca Basin and surrounding
regions. The CBX and Shoe properties have had historical
exploration, including airborne and ground geophysical surveys,
lake sediment, soil, and spruce geochemical surveys, till sampling,
prospecting, geological mapping, and a marine seismic survey, but
the majority of this work took place in the 1960's to 1980's, with
limited modern exploration work being carried out on a small
portion of the CBX and Shoe properties.
Figure 5: CBX/Shoe Property Location Map
Quality Assurance/Quality Control
(“QA/QC”)
CLICK HERE for a summary of ValOre’s policies
and procedures related to QA/QC and grade interval reporting.
Qualified Person (“QP”)
The technical information in this news release
has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory
requirements set out in NI 43-101 and reviewed and approved by
Thiago Diniz, P.Geo., ValOre’s QP and Vice President of
Exploration.
About Hatchet Uranium Corp.
Hatchet Uranium Corp. was incorporated by ValOre
on February 7, 2024. Jim Paterson, ValOre’s Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer, serves as HUC’s Chief Executive Officer and sole
director. HUC’s head and registered office is located at Suite 1020
- 800 West Pender Street, Vancouver, BC V6C 2V6.
About Skyharbour Resources
Ltd.
Skyharbour holds an extensive portfolio of
uranium exploration projects in Canada's Athabasca Basin and is
well positioned to benefit from improving uranium market
fundamentals with interest in twenty-nine projects, ten of which
are drill-ready, covering over 580,000 hectares (over 1.4 million
acres) of land. Skyharbour has acquired from Denison Mines, a large
strategic shareholder of Skyharbour, a 100% interest in the Moore
Uranium Project, which is located 15 kilometres east of Denison's
Wheeler River project and 39 kilometres south of Cameco's McArthur
River uranium mine. Moore is an advanced-stage uranium exploration
property with high-grade uranium mineralization at the Maverick
Zone that returned drill results of up to 6.0% U3O8 over 5.9
metres, including 20.8% U3O8 over 1.5 metres at a vertical
depth of 265 metres (see news release dated February 27th, 2017,
titled: “Skyharbour Intersects 20.8% U3O8 over 1.5 Metres in First
Drill Hole at Maverick Zone and Discovers New High-Grade Uranium
Lens on Moore Lake Uranium Project”). Adjacent to the Moore Project
is the Russell Lake Uranium Project, in which Skyharbour is an
operator with joint-venture partner RTEC. The project hosts several
high-grade uranium drill intercepts over a large property area with
robust exploration upside potential. Skyharbour is actively
advancing these projects through exploration and drill
programs.
Skyharbour also has joint ventures with industry
leader Orano Canada Inc., Azincourt Energy, and Thunderbird
Resources (previously Valor) at the Preston, East Preston, and Hook
Lake Projects respectively. Skyharbour also has several active
earn-in option partners, including CSE-listed Basin Uranium Corp.
at the Mann Lake Uranium Project; CSE-listed Medaro Mining Corp. at
the Yurchison Project; TSX-V listed North Shore Uranium at the
Falcon Project; UraEx Resources at the South Dufferin and Bolt
Projects; Hatchet Uranium at the Highway Project and TSX-V listed
Terra Clean Energy (previously Tisdale) at the South Falcon East
Project which hosts the Fraser Lakes Zone B uranium and thorium
deposit. In aggregate, Skyharbour has now signed earn-in option
agreements with partners that total over $40 million in
partner-funded exploration expenditures, over $30 million worth of
shares being issued, and over $21 million in cash payments coming
into Skyharbour, assuming that these partner companies complete
their entire earn-ins at the respective projects.
Skyharbour's goal is to maximize shareholder
value through new mineral discoveries, committed long-term
partnerships, and the advancement of exploration projects in
geopolitically favourable jurisdictions.
Skyharbour’s Uranium Project Map in the Athabasca
Basin:
https://www.skyharbourltd.com/_resources/images/SKY_SaskProject_Locator_2024-02-14_V2.jpg
To find out more about Skyharbour Resources Ltd.
(TSX-V: SYH) visit Skyharbour’s website
at www.skyharbourltd.com.
About ValOre Metals Corp.
ValOre Metals Corp.
(TSX‐V: VO) is a
Canadian company with a team aiming to deploy capital and knowledge
on projects which benefit from substantial prior investment by
previous owners, existence of high-value mineralization on a large
scale, and the possibility of adding tangible value through
exploration and innovation.
ValOre’s Pedra Branca Platinum Group Elements
Project comprises 45 exploration licenses covering a total area of
51,096 hectares (126,260 acres) in northeastern Brazil. At Pedra
Branca, 7 distinct PGE+Au deposit areas host, in aggregate, a 2022
NI 43-101 inferred resource of 2.198 Moz 2PGE+Au contained in 63.6
Mt grading 1.08 g/t 2PGE+Au. ValOre’s team believes the Pedra
Branca project has significant exploration discovery and resource
expansion potential. (CLICK HERE to download 2022 technical report*
and CLICK HERE for news release dated March 24, 2022).
*The 2022 Technical Report entitled “Independent
Technical Report –Mineral Resource Update on the Pedra Branca PGE
Project, Ceará State, Brazil” was prepared as a National Instrument
43-101 Technical Report on behalf of ValOre Metals Corp. with an
effective date of March 08, 2022. The 2022 Technical Report by
independent qualified persons, Fábio Valério (P.Geo.) and Porfirio
Cabaleiro (P.Eng.), of GE21, commissioned to complete the mineral
resource estimate while Chris Kaye of Mine and Quarry Engineering
Services Inc. (MQes), was commissioned to review the metallurgical
information. The Mineral Resource estimates were prepared in
accordance with the CIM Standards, and the CIM Guidelines, using
geostatistical, plus economic and mining parameters appropriate to
the deposit. Mineral Resources, which are not mineral reserves, do
not have demonstrated economic viability, and may be materially
affected by environmental, permitting, legal, marketing, and other
relevant issues. Mineral Resources are based upon a cut-off grade
of 0.4 g/t PGE+Au, correlated to Pd_eq grade of 0.35 g/t, and were
limited by an economic pit built in Geovia Whittle 4.3 software and
following the geometric and economic parameters as disclosed in the
2022 NI 43-101 Technical Report.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
“Jim Paterson”
James R. Paterson, Chairman and CEO
ValOre Metals Corp.
For further information about ValOre Metals
Corp. or this news release, please visit our website at
www.valoremetals.com or contact Investor Relations at 604.646.4527,
or by email at contact@valoremetals.com.
ValOre Metals Corp. is a proud member of
Discovery Group. For more information, please visit:
http://www.discoverygroup.ca/
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for
the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release contains “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws.
Although ValOre believes that the expectations reflected in its
forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements have
been based on factors and assumptions concerning future events that
may prove to be inaccurate. These factors and assumptions are based
upon currently available information to ValOre. Such statements are
subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors
that could influence actual results or events and cause actual
results or events to differ materially from those stated,
anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. A number
of important factors including those set forth in other public
filings could cause actual outcomes and results to differ
materially from those expressed in these forward-looking
statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ
materially from those in forward-looking statements include the
future operations of ValOre and economic factors. Readers are
cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements. The statements in this press release are made as of the
date of this release and, except as required by applicable law,
ValOre does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or to
revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise. ValOre
undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or
statements made by third parties in respect of ValOre, or its
financial or operating results or (as applicable), their
securities.
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7b3f7222-c9ee-4f36-b975-992fa5506544
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d458b3b7-d1a5-4a1b-901a-0504c86c7c3f
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