ATHA Energy Corp. (TSX-V: SASK) (OTCQB: SASKF) (FRA: X5U) is giving the explorer Riverboat Energy the option to take a majority stake in one of its early-stage Athabasca Basin uranium properties.
The companies finalized the deal on May 20. It will enable Riverboat to acquire up to 70 per cent of ATHA’s 30,000-hectare Vista project by spending C$9.3 million on it over the next three years.
ATHA has crafted a couple of option agreements recently as part of its business strategy. The company gave Inspiration Energy Corp. (CSE: ISP) the opportunity to take an equivalent majority stake in two of its Saskatchewan assets last month.
ATHA’s 2024 exploration program, the largest to date, continues to progress seamlessly. The prospector is completing a 10,000-metre drill program at Nunavut’s Angilak project starting in June.
It will be followed by another extensive drill program in August at the Gemini property in the Athabasca Basin.
Read more: ATHA Energy employs machine learning to pinpoint Athabasca Basin uranium targets
Read more: ATHA readies equipment for June drilling at new Nunavut uranium project
Saskatchewan Mining Week under way until Jun. 1
This year’s theme is “Critical Careers for Critical Minerals.” Canada identified uranium as being one of its 31 critical minerals in a 2022 report. Its ascending demand and value make it more and more critical all the time.
“The mining sector continues to be one of Saskatchewan’s pivotal economic drivers,” Nathaniel Huckabay, Chair of the Saskatchewan Mining Association, said, “directly employing over 11,000 people and consistently ranking among the province’s top contributors to GDP and direct government revenues.”
#SaskatchewanMiningWeek2024 kicked off today with the Hon. Jim Reiter, Minister of Energy & Resources, @SKGov along with SMA Chair Nathaniel Huckabay, Westmoreland Mining Poplar River Mine & Dr. Larry Rosia, President & CEO, Saskatchewan Polytechnic.
#SK #mining #careers pic.twitter.com/9tUJOuZEcT— Sask Mining Assoc. (@SaskMiningAssoc) May 27, 2024
Canada’s Fraser Institute ranked the province as the third-best mining jurisdiction in its Annual Survey of Mining Companies report last year. Based on overall investment attractiveness, Saskatchewan was surpassed only by Utah and Nevada.
The uranium deposits in the country have 100 times higher grades on average than anywhere else on Earth. Canada is the world’s second-largest producer of the commodity and exports 85 per cent of its uranium to the United States, Europe and Asia.
The nation is estimated to have over 690,000 tonnes of uranium resources. The top-producing companies in the country are Cameco Corporation (TSX: CCO) and Orano Canada.
ATHA Energy is a sponsor of Mugglehead news coverage
rowan@mugglehead.com
