ATHA Energy Corp. (CSE: SASK) (FRA: X5U) (OTCQB: SASKF) reported results from an electromagnetic survey conducted on its East Apex project and discovered a series of high-priority targets and structural corridors.
On Wednesday, the Athabasca Basin uranium explorer announced that it identified a total of 18 prospective mining targets in the East Rim, North Rim and Cable Bay districts in its vast land package. The new results are part of the company’s maiden exploration program this year comprised of 17 surveys covering four exploration districts within the jurisdiction. Those surveys collectively represent the largest survey ever conducted in the region.
ATHA identified three high-priority target areas and four primary structural corridors at the East Apex project. The company is currently in the midst of processing survey data from 12 other projects in the Basin.
East Apex sits 33 kilometres from the past-producing Key Lake mine operated by Cameco Corporation (TSX: CCO) (NYSE: CCJ) between 1983 and 2002. The North Target identified at East Apex yielded grab samples with radioactivity as high as 2,500 counts per second (cps).
The project is located within the East Rim of the Athabasca Basin, which is home to Cameco’s Cigar Lake and McArthur River mines. Those two operations are the highest-grade and largest high-grade uranium mines in the world. The majority of uranium in the Basin is contained in its eastern side and it has substantial infrastructure to support mining and exploration.
Initial survey results over the East Apex project. Map via ATHA Energy
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East Apex hosts rare earth elements too
ATHA’s survey in the East Rim covered over 1 million acres of claims 100 per cent owned by the company. East Apex spans approximately 118,000 acres and contains rare earth elements in addition to uranium mineralization.
ATHA says the recent surveys conducted at East Apex and a series of other projects represent the first modern electromagnetic survey ever completed in the project areas. The East Apex survey completed by Expert Geophysics Limited found that the area was ample for the discovery of basement-hosted uranium mineralization.
The company benefits from a 10 per cent carried interest on certain portions of land packages held by NexGen Energy Ltd. (TSX: NXE) and IsoEnergy Ltd. (TSX‐V: ISO). ATHA does not need to contribute financially to NexGen or IsoEnergy’s exploration efforts.
NexGen Energy is the second-largest uranium operator in the Athabasca Basin behind Cameco.
ATHA’s CEO Troy Boisjoli recently attended the annual Red Cloud Mining Showcase in Toronto where he discussed the company’s strategic position in the Athabasca Basin, how the company expects to have a more robust portfolio of targets by the end of H1 next year and more.
“Consistent with results from previous surveys, Expert’s MagnetoTellurics survey has identified four primary structural corridors on East Apex. The northeast trend of the Wollaston lithologies appears to be offset where a series of northwest oriented structures cross a mag high in the eastern part of the property,” said ATHA’s Vice President of Exploration, Doug Adams.
“These lineaments extend towards Key Lake and represent a prospective structural corridor. Orthogonal to these northwest corridors are discrete magnetic lows trending to the northeast, parallel with the Wollaston stratigraphy,” added Adams.
“Displacement seen within the magnetics along the inferred stratigraphy coincident with conductors identified in the very low-frequency data will require additional follow-up geophysics, geochemistry and radiometrics to further prioritize these targets for 2024 exploration.”
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