Standard Uranium Ltd. (“
Standard Uranium” or the
“
Company”) (TSX-V: STND) (OTCQB: STTDF)
(Frankfurt: FWB:9SU) is pleased to provide a comprehensive summary
of exploration insights and historical data gathered at its Sun Dog
Uranium Project (“
Sun Dog”, or the
“
Project”), currently under a three-year earn-in
option agreement with Aero Energy Ltd. (“
Aero”)
(TSX-V: AERO).
Highlights:
- History
of Production: The project hosts the historical
Gunnar Mine which produced 18M pounds of U3O8
between 1953 and 1981 and was formerly the world’s largest
uranium producer1,2.
- Uranium
Above and Below the Unconformity: Numerous historical
high-grade* uranium showings ranging between 0.10% and
12.39%
U3O8
have been documented at surface3,4. These showings occur in both
basement rocks below the Unconformity and perched within Athabasca
sandstones above the Unconformity thus confirming the
presence of unconformity-related high-grade uranium on the Sun Dog
Project.
-
Radioactivity at the Unconformity: Prospecting
conducted by Standard Uranium has identified anomalous** to strong
radioactivity ranging between 500 cps and >65,535 cps
immediately associated with sandstone and basement faults, and
along the surface expression of the Unconformity at multiple target
areas providing further compelling support for the high
prospectivity of the Sun Dog Project.
-
Favorable Host Rocks: An airborne VTEM™ Plus
survey is currently underway designed to pinpoint graphitic rocks
(conductors) favourable for hosting significant concentrations of
uranium. This modern electromagnetic (“EM”) survey will infill and
improve upon historical surveys which have identified at least
40 km of combined conductor strike length.
- Target
Development & Drilling: The results of the
VTEM™ Plus survey will be subject to geophysical
interpretation and modelling, and integrated with the Project’s
existing datasets, to select and prioritize targets for the
upcoming summer drill program scheduled to begin in early
June.
Jon Bey, CEO of Standard Uranium,
commented: “We are thrilled to return to the Sun Dog
Project and continue advancing our exploration strategy targeting
prospective high-grade uranium targets. The 2024 exploration
program will leverage the results of the modern VTEM™ Plus
survey currently underway, in addition to the combined uranium
expertise of our joint technical team with partners at Aero Energy.
The summer of 2024 will be an exciting time for active exploration
in the Uranium City region and we are eager to get our drills
spinning.”
Galen McNamara, CEO of Aero Energy,
commented: “The Sun Dog Project is highly prospective for
shallow high-grade uranium mineralization and is largely
underexplored. The VTEM™ Plus survey covering both the Sun Dog
and Murmac projects is nearing completion, and we expect the
results to identify a significant number of high-priority drill
targets for follow-up during our planned drill program scheduled to
begin in early June. We look forward to sharing target information
more specifically in the coming weeks as we advance towards our
maiden drilling program”.
Figure 1. Uranium mineralization in Athabasca
Group sandstone above the Unconformity on Stewart Island with
radioactivity exceeding 65,535 counts-per-second.
Sun Dog Project Overview and Historical
Exploration:
The Project is currently under option (the
“Option”) to Aero Energy Ltd. (the
“Optionee”) an arms-length company (TSX-V: AERO).
Pursuant to the Option Agreement, the Optionee will be granted the
option to acquire 100% of the Project located along the
northwestern edge of the Athabasca Basin, by funding C$6.5 million
in exploration expenditures over a three-year period, making cash
payments totalling C$650,000, and issuing C$650,000 in common
shares, over a 2-year period. Following exercise of the Sun Dog
Option, Standard will retain a 2% net smelter returns royalty,
which may be reduced to 1% for a $1,000,000 cash payment.
The Project covers an area of 48,443 acres in
nine mining claims, located 15 km from Uranium City on the northern
margin of the Athabasca Basin. It hosts the historical Gunnar
Uranium Mine, discovered in 1952, which doubled Canada’s uranium
production and became the largest uranium producer globally in
1956. The Gunnar Mine produced approximately 18M lbs of U3O8
between 1953 and 19811,2.
During this time exploration efforts in the area
primarily focused on “Beaverlodge-style” deposits, typically
lower-grade, fault-hosted mineralization visible at the surface.
This approach did not target, and would not have been effective
for, the high-grade "Unconformity-related" basement-hosted deposits
associated with graphitic rocks more recently discovered near the
Athabasca Basin's edge (e.g. Arrow, Triple R).
These deposits are associated with graphite-rich
rocks, evident as electromagnetic (EM) conductors in geophysical
surveys. These graphite-rich rocks, softer than surrounding
quartzite and granitoid lithologies, are not exposed at the
surface. Instead, they are found in deeply weathered valleys,
concealed by glacial till, soil and small lakes. The historical
exploration methods applied included airborne radiometric and
surface prospecting, identifying radioactive anomalies and drill
testing their extents. This approach is not effective for this type
of basement-hosted mineralization.
With only limited previous drilling, the
extensive (>40 km strike length) conductors targeted at Sun Dog
remain largely unexplored, offering significant potential for
future discovery (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Selected uranium occurrences and known
EM-conductors present on the Sun Dog Project
Preliminary Modern
Exploration
Recent exploration efforts by Standard Uranium
have focused on the most promising historical target areas, namely
Skye, Java, and Stewart Island, testing down-dip extensions of
structures hosting uranium at surface with the aim of discovering
high-grade unconformity mineralization and basement “roots” of the
mineralizing systems underlying the Athabasca sandstones.
Prospecting & Surface Exploration
In the fall of 2020, crews collected 56 outcrop
grab samples, 6 boulder samples, and 14 historical core samples
from the Project. These were primarily collected from mineralized
target areas and from historical drill holes completed by former
operators of the project.
Prospecting led to the discovery of a new
high-grade uranium showing named the Haven discovery and several
zones of visible uranium mineralization at surface that returned
uranium assay results of 3.58% U3O8, 1.7% U3O8, and 0.7% U3O8.
Additionally, the analytical results revealed a
correlation between uranium and gold, while boron and other
pathfinder elements highlighted the potential for a robust
alteration footprint associated with uranium mineralization.
Surficial grab samples from faults and veins cutting sandstone
outcrop returned high concentrations of dravite (up to 75%), a
uranium pathfinder mineral commonly associated with uranium-fertile
systems.
In the summer of 2022, Standard Uranium executed
a field mapping and prospecting program to expand upon the results
of the 2020 prospecting program. Scintillometers were used to track
radioactivity with more than 80 new mineralized boulder and bedrock
locations discovered on Johnston and Stewart islands.
The expanded surface expression of
mineralization on south Johnston Island displayed scintillometer
readings >10,000 cps and locally off-scale (>65,535 cps) and
the historical mineralized surface occurrences on Stewart Island
were confirmed with scintillometer measurements ranging from
>500 cps to >65,535 cps. Radioactivity measurements were
collected with hand-held RS-121 or RS-125 scintillometers.
These occurrences provide compelling support for the
presence of high-grade unconformity-associated uranium
mineralization on the project.
Gravity and Magnetic Surveys
In the winter of 2022, MWH Geo-Surveys Ltd.
carried out a ground gravity survey and UAV-borne magnetic surveys
in the areas of Johnston and Stewart islands on behalf of Standard
Uranium.
The gravity survey consisted of 3,388 unique
gravity measurement stations and 155 repeat stations with a station
spacing of 50 to 100 m. The survey identified several variations in
residual gravity and outlined multiple gravity low target areas on
and around Stewart and Johnston islands.
The magnetic survey consisted of 572
line-kilometres of UAV magnetics at a line spacing of 50 m.
Flightlines were flown either southeast or northwest at an
elevation of approximately 48 m above ground level. The survey
effectively mapped magnetic variations corresponding to changes in
lithology and alteration which assisted in drill targeting.
First Pass Drilling
Standard Uranium carried out two drill programs
on the Project during the winters of 2022 and 2023. In total 2,469
m of diamond drilling was completed across fourteen drill holes
(Figure 3).
Drilling focused on testing for zones of
high-grade unconformity-related uranium mineralization with targets
identified based on the ground gravity and UAV magnetic data,
lakebed radiometric anomalies, and resistivity lows, all coincident
with cross-cutting faults and historical surface mineralization.
Several gravity low anomalies have been identified and coincide
with breaks or flexures in electromagnetic conductors under
Athabasca sandstone cover, interpreted to potentially represent
zones of strong alteration in bedrock, specifically clay
alteration, commonly associated with the footprint of high-grade
uranium deposits.
The 2022 and 2023 diamond drill programs were
successful in identifying key geological characteristics
prospective for significant uranium mineralizing systems on the
Project, which in turn will aid in planning and prioritization of
additional exploration targets for follow-up drill programs.
Drilling highlights include5:
- Widespread hydrothermal
alteration zones containing illite-rich and dravitic clays
and abundant iron-oxide minerals intersected in multiple drill
holes, indicating a robust fluid system with prospective chemistry
for uranium.
- Significant structural
influence evidenced to control high-grade uranium
mineralization and anomalous radioactivity in drill holes.
- Reactivated graphitic shear
zones & quartz-hematite breccias intersected over 10s
of metres in several drill holes indicate ideal structural regime
providing the plumbing system for uranium mobilization.
- Favorable
geochemistry returned in multiple drill holes, including
prospective clay spectroscopy results (dravite), elevated
pathfinder elements, and anomalous uranium correlated to lead
isotope ratios which may be used as an additional exploration
vector.
- Elevated
radioactivity over a total of 1.5 metres up to 1,300
cps*** intersected in drill hole SD-23-013 at the Haven discovery.
Assay highlights include 0.042 wt.% U308 from 79.0 to 79.5 m and
0.021 wt.% U308 from 79.5 to 80.0 m.
Figure 3. Historical and Standard Uranium Drill
Holes with Target Areas on the Sun Dog Project
*The Company considers uranium mineralization
with concentrations greater than 1.0 wt% U3O8 to be “high-grade”.**
The Company considers radioactivity readings greater than 300
counts per second (cps) to be “anomalous”.***Natural gamma
radiation in diamond drill core reported in this news release was
measured in counts per second (cps) using a handheld RS-125
super-spectrometer and verified using a down-hole Mount Sopris 32GR
slim gamma probe. The 32GR gamma probe has been calibrated to
optimize the probe for uranium exploration logging and estimating
weight percent U3O8 content. Readers are cautioned that
scintillometer and gamma probe readings are not uniformly or
directly related to uranium grades of the rock sample measured and
should be treated only as a preliminary indication of the presence
of radioactive minerals. All drill hole intersections are measured
down-hole. Core interval measurements and true thicknesses are yet
to be determined.
The scientific and technical information
contained in this news release has been reviewed, verified, and
approved by Sean Hillacre, P.Geo., President and VP Exploration of
the Company and a “qualified person” as defined in NI 43-101.
Historical data disclosed in this news release
relating to sampling results on the Sun Dog Project is historical
in nature. Neither the Company nor a qualified person has yet
verified this data and therefore investors should not place undue
reliance on such data. The Company’s future exploration work will
include verification of the data. The Company considers
historical results to be relevant as an exploration guide and to
assess the mineralization as well as economic potential of the
Project.
About Standard Uranium (TSX-V:
STND)
We find the fuel to power a
clean energy future
Standard Uranium is a uranium exploration
company and emerging project generator poised for discovery in the
world’s richest uranium district. The Company holds interest in
over 209,867 acres (84,930 hectares) in the world-class Athabasca
Basin in Saskatchewan, Canada. Since its establishment, Standard
Uranium has focused on the identification, acquisition, and
exploration of Athabasca-style uranium targets with a view to
discovery and future development.
Standard Uranium has successfully completed four
joint venture earn in partnerships on their Sun Dog, Canary,
Atlantic and Ascent projects totaling over $31M in work commitments
over the next three years from 2024-2027.
Standard Uranium’s Davidson River Project, in
the southwest part of the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, comprises
ten mineral claims over 30,737 hectares. Davidson River is highly
prospective for basement-hosted uranium deposits due to its
location along trend from recent high-grade uranium discoveries.
However, owing to the large project size with multiple targets, it
remains broadly under-tested by drilling. Recent intersections of
wide, structurally deformed and strongly altered shear zones
provide significant confidence in the exploration model and future
success is expected.
Standard Uranium’s eight eastern Athabasca
projects comprise thirty mineral claims over 32,838 hectares. The
eastern basin projects are highly prospective for unconformity
related and/or basement hosted uranium deposits based on historical
uranium occurrences, recently identified geophysical anomalies, and
location along trend from several high-grade uranium
discoveries.
Standard Uranium's Sun Dog project, in the
northwest part of the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan,
is comprised of nine mineral claims over 19,603 hectares. The Sun
Dog project is highly prospective for basement and unconformity
hosted uranium deposits yet remains largely untested by sufficient
drilling despite its location proximal to uranium discoveries in
the area.
For further information contact:
Jon Bey, Chief Executive Officer, and ChairmanSuite 918, 1030
West Georgia StreetVancouver, British Columbia, V6E 2Y3Tel: 1 (306)
850-6699E-mail: info@standarduranium.ca
References
- Gunnar Uranium Mine: From Cold War Darling to Ghost Town, L.
Schramm, Saskatchewan Research Council, 2018.
- Geology and Genesis of Major World Hardrock Uranium Deposits,
United States Geological Survey, Open-File Report 81-166,
1981.
- 2022 Winter Mineral Assessment Report, Sun Dog Property,
Northern Saskatchewan, Canada, Standard Uranium, 2022
- Information obtained from Saskatchewan Mineral Deposit Index,
occurrence number 1254
- Standard Uranium News Release, November 2, 2023
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking
statements” or “forward-looking information” (collectively,
“forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable
securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of
historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on
expectations, estimates and projections as of the date of this news
release. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited
to, statements regarding: the timing and content of upcoming work
programs; geological interpretations; timing of the Company’s
exploration programs; and estimates of market conditions.
Forward-looking statements are subject to a
variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors
that could cause actual events or results to differ from those
expressed or implied by forward-looking statements contained
herein. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove
to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ
materially from those anticipated in such statements. Certain
important factors that could cause actual results, performance or
achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking
statements are highlighted in the “Risks and Uncertainties” in the
Company’s management discussion and analysis for the fiscal year
ended April 30, 2023.
Forward-looking statements are based upon a
number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered
reasonable by the Company at this time, are inherently subject to
significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and
contingencies that may cause the Company’s actual financial
results, performance, or achievements to be materially different
from those expressed or implied herein. Some of the material
factors or assumptions used to develop forward-looking statements
include, without limitation: that the transaction with the Optionee
will proceed as planned; the future price of uranium; anticipated
costs and the Company’s ability to raise additional capital if and
when necessary; volatility in the market price of the Company’s
securities; future sales of the Company’s securities; the Company’s
ability to carry on exploration and development activities; the
success of exploration, development and operations activities; the
timing and results of drilling programs; the discovery of mineral
resources on the Company’s mineral properties; the costs of
operating and exploration expenditures; the presence of laws and
regulations that may impose restrictions on mining; employee
relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and
indigenous populations; availability of increasing costs associated
with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral
exploration and development (including the risks of obtaining
necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government
authorities); uncertainties related to title to mineral properties;
assessments by taxation authorities; fluctuations in general
macroeconomic conditions.
The forward-looking statements contained in this
news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
Any forward-looking statements and the assumptions made with
respect thereto are made as of the date of this news release and,
accordingly, are subject to change after such date. The Company
disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise,
except as may be required by applicable securities laws. There can
be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be
accurate, as actual results and future events could differ
materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly,
readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements.
Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V)
accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
Photos accompanying this announcement are available
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