The last batch of holes from a summer drilling campaign on the Moore Lake uranium project in Saskatchewan contains more encouraging results for partners International Uranium (IUC-T) and JNR Resources (JNN-V).
The best results came from holes nos. 100 and 88, which tested the Maverick main zone. Hole 100 cut 7.8 metres grading 2% U3O8, including a 2.8-metre section running 4.54% U3O8 and 3% nickel.
Some 5 metres to the south of previously sunk hole no. 55 (6.2 metres of 5.1% U3O8, including a 4.4-metre interval running 7%) returned 4.8 metres running 0.66% U3O8, 1.5 metres of 1.58%.
Hole no. 98, which tested an east-west trending splay off the main conductor, encountered 58 metres grading 0.14% U3O8. While nearby hole no. 98 failed to return significant uranium mineralization from the main west-southwest oriented conductor, it did intersect graphitic pelites with anomalous pathfinder elements, including uranium.
The high-grade Maverick zone was first intersected in 2002 by hole 25, which included a 0.4-metre interval running 12% U3O8. The holes also yielded anomalous silver, copper, nickel, lead, cobalt, vanadium, arsenic, zinc and boron values.
Meanwhile, two holes sunk west of the main zone missed their target, though no. 826 cut geochemically anomalous sandstone followed by a broad zone of strongly altered and structurally disrupted graphitic pelites.
Four follow up holes on the Maverick Northeast area are highlighted by hole no. 533, which returned 2 metres of 0.24% U3O8.
Drilling on the Nutana grid on the western and northwestern contact between the Maverick granite and the Lower Wollaston Group metasediments cut similar graphitic pelites containing pathfinders.
Hole no. 829, the southernmost hole on the eastern conductor, intersected the unconformity 20 metres deeper than projected, suggesting a significant structural offset.
In all, the partners say the Maverick Main zone has been intersected over 350 metres worth of strike. The zone is one of three (the newly discovered 527 and 525 zones were announced in November) occurring over a 1.7-km length of the 6.5-km-long Maverick structural corridor. More than half of the corridor remains undrilled.
The partners plan to have three drill rigs working on a 15,000-metre winter drill program in early January. Work over the winter will also include line cutting and ground geophysics.
The pair also plan a $250,000 winter exploration program for a 300-sq.-km group of claims in the Bell Lake area. The claims were combined under a recently inked deal that has IUC as operator and 60% owner. JNR has a 40% stake and retains a 2% net smelter return royalty on the Bell Lake and La Rocque Lake claims (Bell Lake and La Rocque Lake were already under option to International Uranium). The Ward Creek claims are also subject to a 2% NSR, payable to a third party.
The Bell Lake project is situated around 75 km northwest of Cameco‘s (CCO-T, CCJ-N) Rabbit Lake mine, and around 5 km from Cameco’s La Rocque Lake uranium zone.
The project consists of nine claims totaling 29,952 hectares and includes all of IUC’s Ward Creek claims and JNR’s Bell Lake and La Rocque Lake claims. The latter two were under option to IUC.
International Uranium can earn a 51% interest in Moore Lake by spending $2.2 million over two years; it can then boost its stake to 75% by spending $2.2 million over two more years.
Shares in International Uranium were 23, or 3.6%, higher at $6.68 in late afternoon trading in Toronto following the news on Dec. 21; JNR was 7, or 8.3%, better at 91 in Venture-Exchange action.
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