ATHA Energy Corp. (CSE: SASK) (FRA: X5U) (OTCQB: SASKF) discovered uranium mineralization at numerous areas throughout the North Valour-East Project in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca basin in the company’s North Rim Exploration district.
The company released the results from its large-scale electromagnetic (EM) surveys at North Valour on Wednesday.
The North Valour Project comprises fourteen mineral claims, totalling 63,843 hectares, situated approximately 10 km and 4 km away from the former Gunnar and Gulch uranium mines. Exploration teams have identified uranium mineralization at various locations within the property, including outcrops and boulders, as well as historical intersections at depth through diamond drilling.
So far, the team has received and processed full results from five out of seventeen project areas, resulting in the identification of 291 km of conductive lineaments and the definition of 25 prospective targets across the North Rim, East Rim, and Cable Bay exploration districts.
Wednesday’s announcement covers six of these prospective targets, which coincide with uranium mineralization. Additional EM surveys on the remaining twelve projects have been completed and are being processed. The company anticipates that these results will provide clarity on the prospectivity of the largest exploration portfolio in the Athabasca basin.
Meanwhile, the remaining part of ATHA’s first phase of the greenfield strategy will involve integrating the 2023 geophysics and regional geochemistry. The company intends on having this finished for Q1, 2024.
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ATHA to use its enhanced cash position to fund growth
ATHA also anticipates its forward momentum in the Athabasca basin will proceed because of the benefits of two recent acquisitions.
The company anticipates its recently announced acquisition of Latitude Uranium (CSE: LUR) (OTCQB: LURAF) and 92 Energy (ASX: 92E) (OTCQB: NTELF) to equip the newly expanded company with a diversified portfolio of uranium projects across the exploration risk curve.
Additionally, it provides the bump in cash position and other enhancements to its balance sheet should help with exploration.
“Today’s news compliments the transformational transaction recently announced with 92 Energy and Latitude Uranium,” Troy Boisjoli, CEO of ATHA, said.
“Upon transactions completion ATHA offers substantive uranium exploration exposure across an unparalleled exploration portfolio. This comes at a time when the world is now entering what is anticipated to be an unprecedented upswing in the uranium cycle – one we feel is just the beginning.”
Moving forward, ATHA has designed its exploration approach to maximize exposure by making investments in early-stage projects. Its approach is also to expand known uranium deposits and discover new ones to deliver advanced exploration upside.
Upon completing its acquisition transactions with 92E and Latitude, ATHA intends to leverage its projected CAD$65 million pro-forma cash position to pursue a fully-funded growth strategy with a primary focus on three key areas.
ATHA aims to expand deposits and discoveries within the Angilak Deposit, CMB Discoveries, and the GMZ Corridor, home to the Gemini Discovery. These areas hold substantial potential, with historical resource deposits that have remained underexplored, offering promising prospects for resource expansion and new discoveries on a regional scale.
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Beaverlodge has been producing uranium since 1900’s
Exploration at the North Rim property has been going on since the early to mid-1900’s. Production only stopped at the mines close to Uranium City when the Eldorado mining and milling facility closed in the 1980’s.
The aggregate conductivity in the area, along with a prolific history of uranium discoveries, and the limited exploration suggests that the Beaverlodge Mining District is still strong candidate for exploration eight decades after it first went into business, according to Doug Adams, ATHA’s vice president of exploration.
“Taking into consideration the numerous surface uranium showing in the area and their affinity to known structures the focus will be to build out the structural model and to look deeper,” Adams said. “The first step in developing that model is this EM survey.”
Uranium mineralization in the Beaverlodge Mining District is controlled by geological structures, with mineralization found in vein-filled fractures, breccias, and faults. The North Rim District, despite its high prospectivity, remains significantly underexplored using modern exploration techniques.
Additionally, the presence of existing infrastructure, mining method innovation, and proximity to the surface further contribute to the district’s potential.
The exploration program for the North Rim District encompasses 688,268 acres of ATHA-owned claims and employs a combination of survey types.
ATHA Energy Corp. is a sponsor of Mugglehead news coverage
