Uranium in Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin - Update on Summer & Q2 2013 Activity

The Athabasca Basin in Northern Saskatchewan has well established mining infrastructure, a stable investment environment and the presence of the majors, including Cameco Corp., Rio Tinto Plc and AREVA SA. Activity in the Athabasca Basin continued at a feverish pace through summer 2013. Highlights include:

• Cameco Corp. - Cigar Lake

Cameco continues to target Q4 2013 to produce the first packges pounds, with a 2018 target of 36 million pounds.

• Fission Uranium Corp. and Azincourt Uranium Inc. - Patterson Lake North Project 

Canadian junior Fission Uranium Corp. and its joint venture partner, Azincourt Uranium Inc. completed an airborne geophysical survery of their Patterson Lake North property. Ross McElroy, President, COO, and Chief Geologist for Fission, noted, "Earlier exploration work, and the property location, leads us to consider Patterson Lake North to be highly prospective. The latest survey is an important components before drilling begins this winter and we are looking forward to making use of the airborne geophysical results as we continue to prioritize our list of key drill targets."

• Fission Uranium Corp. and Alpha Minerals Inc. - Patterson Lake South Project

A $6.95 million CAD program will encompass 36,089 feet of drilling that will be used to test for continued expansive delineation of the site’s three high-grade uranium zones. The project consists of 17 mineral claims spanning approximately 76.6 acres.

• NexGen Energy Ltd. - Radio and Rook I Projects

Canadian junior NexGen Energy Ltd.’s Rook 1 project (immediately adjacent to Fission/Alpha’s Patterson Lake South project) continues to identify targets. Weather permitting, drilling will continue to late September. NexGen Energy Ltd. has, after three increases, now reached nearly $5 million CAD by way of private placements. The company doubled the offer to $3.53 million CAD on August 1, increased it to $4.12 million CAD on August 14 and, the following day, raised that to $5 million CAD. The Radio project continues development and is located on the same east-west corridor that is interpreted as hosting the Roughrider project. Summer drilling was completed at Radio at the end of July.

• Lakeland Resources Inc. - Riou Lake Project

Lakeland Resources offered private placements up to $1.25 million CAD on August 16. Proceeds will go to Athabasca Basin exploration and general working capital. With nine uranium properties, Lakeland’s initial focus will be the Gibbon’s Creek area of its Riou Lake project on the northern Athabasca Basin’s edge, says corporate communications manager Roger Leschuk. Lakeland Resources is backed by a seasoned technical team and advisory board, including Richard Kusmirski, past exploration manager for Cameco, and Thomas Drolet, a uranium and nuclear energy specialist with over 40 years in the energy sector.

• Ashburton Ventures Inc. - Sienna Project

Asburton completed the first phase of exploration on their Sienna claims. Exploration has commenced on the Sienna West claims, Ashburton Ventures announced August 13.

• Denision Mines - Wheeler River Project

Denison commenced a summer exploration campaign involving diamond drilling, geophysical surveying and linecutting on eight properties in the Athabasca Basin. To date, the highlight of the program has been the intersection, at Phoenix A, of 43.2% eU3O8. Denison reported expanded mineralization at the recently discovered 489 Zone on the Wheeler River property. Drilling at the 489 Zone continues to show positive indications for the potential discovery of higher grade mineralization. Denison Closed a $15 million CAD flow-through share offering, which will fund the Company’s Canadian exploration programs through to the end of 2014. Denison completed the acquisition of a portfolio of assets from Fission Energy Corp., which included its 60% interest in the Waterbury Lake uranium project, its interests in all other properties in the eastern part of the Athabasca Basin, Quebec and Nunavut, as well as its interests in two joint ventures in Namibia.

• Brades Resource Corp. - Lorne Lake Project

Brades Resource marked its entry into Saskatchewan with the Lorne Lake acquisition announced July 16. The approximately 39,450-hectare property shows “extensive regional faulting and lineaments and covers one of only three identified cross-cutting major fault structures located in the western Athabasca Basin,” as well as “favourable magnetic geophysical data,” the company stated.

• Aldrin Resource Corp. - Triple M Project

Aldrin closed a $957,880 CAD private placement in July. The money will go to exploration on the company’s Triple M project, option payments on the property and general working capital. Aldrin is currently conducting airborne magnetic and electromagnetic surveys on the property, with early results indicating two basement conductive trends. The company is planning a winter program for January 2014.

• SkyHarbour Resources Ltd. - Western Athabasca Syndicate Project.

Skyharbour closed a private placement of 5.31 million flow-through units at $0.08 CAD for $425,000 CAD on August 14. As part of the four-company Western Athabasca Syndicate exploring the Patterson Lake South-area’s largest land package, Skyharbour is now fully financed for its portion of a $6 million CAD, two-year program, president/CEO Jordan Trimble stated. The syndicate, which includes Skyharbour, Athabasca Nuclear, Noka Resources and Lucky Strike Resources has “about 150 years of uranium exploration experience focused on the Athabasca Basin,”

• Zadar Ventures Ltd. - PNE Project

Fieldwork has commenced at he PNE project. Zadar has also recently signed option agreements with both Canterra Minerals and Triex Minerals for five large and strategically located uranium projects.

• Athabasca Uranium Inc. - Fisher River, McGregor Lake, Keefe Lake Projects  

Athabasca Uranium reported preliminary results of airborne geophysics over parts of three projects on the Athabasca Basin’s southeastern edge. At Fisher River the survey found a single conductive zone about 4,500 metres by 1,500 metres, starting about 200 metres in depth. The company considers it prospective for uranium as it’s located within a magnetic low at the edge of a magnetic feature. Another conductor starting about 200 metres’ depth was found at McGregor Lake. Fisher River and McGregor Lake will be considered for this year’s drill campaign. At the Company’s flagship Keefe Lake Project, preliminary interpretation has identified a series of subtle northwest-trending conductive anomalies, lying within a wide magnetic low, between the Keefe Lake Alteration Zone and Cameco’s Harrigan Deposit. A phase 3 drilling program is slated for later in 2013.

• Forum Uranium Corp.  - Highrock South

Towards the Athabasca Basin’s southeast corner, Forum Uranium picked up the Highrock South property, adding another 1,381 hectares to its Key Lake area holdings. The company’s July 17 announcement states the property “is a continuation of the prospective Key Lake/Black Forest conductive trend” that hosted Cameco Corp’s former deposits and the geology “compares favourably” with Patterson Lake South. Highrock South lies about 15 kilometres south of the world’s largest high-grade uranium mill. Forum recently announced a $1.5 million CAD non-brokered private placement and an increasing financing to $2.25 million CAD.

• Unity Energy Corp. - McKenzie Lake

Unity Energy is a tier-two listed issuer that focuses on uranium exploration in the Athabasca Basin and has 10 different uranium exploration sites in the area. One of its primary assets is the McKenzie Lake property, which spans 22.2 acres on the southeastern side of the basin. Exploration continues on the McKenzie Lake property.

  

Sources: various publically available press releases, reports and news items