Sparton and Santoy consolidate Blizzard holdings

Vancouver Sparton Resources (SRI-V) and Santoy Resources (SAN-V) have consolidated their joint-venture holdings in the Blizzard uranium deposit in the Greenwood mining district of southeastern British Columbia.

Blizzard is a secondary-type uranium deposit located in a paleo-drainage channel of Tertiary age. The advanced project was poised for production in the late 1970s by a consortium of companies that included Ontario Hydro. The government of the day pulled the plug on the project in 1980 by imposing a moratorium on exploration and development of uranium projects in the province. That moratorium has since expired.

A 1979 feasibility study estimated that Blizzard hosted a resource of 2.2 million tonnes grading 0.214% U₃0₈, using a cutoff grade of 0.025% U₃0₈. This estimate pre-dates and is not compliant with National Instrument 43-101 reporting standards. The partners have retained an independent Qualified Person to prepare a NI 43-101 report for the project.

The unitization agreement — designed to simply ownership of the project — allows Santoy to earn a 100% interest in return for one million shares and one million warrants (exercisable at 75 per share), $50,000 cash, and a production royalty of 50 per pound of uranium. Santoy must also assume Sparton’s obligations to the underlying vendor.

Santoy will also support the underlying vendor’s position in a title dispute with a previous property owner who claims “superior right, title and interest” to the claims. The previous owner filed a notice with the Gold Commissioner alleging the properties were lost due to computer errors involving the conversion of pre-existing claims to cells that comprise the province’s online staking system. Santoy claims the property was properly filed for and recorded by the vendor.

Santoy has other uranium projects in Canada, the United States, and Central America, but views the Blizzard project as well-suited to production using an ‘in situ’ solution-mining process. The company plans to carry out engineering studies to investigate the viability of this recovery method, which involves minimal surface disturbance.