Uracan cuts more uranium at North Shore

Uracan Resources (URC-V) has intercepted uranium on the Double S zone at its North Shore project in Quebec, extending the known mineralized zone. The latest round of drilling returned mineralized widths in drill-core ranging between 3-182 metres, and grading between 0.01-0.1% uranium oxide.

So far, Uracan has reported 17 assays from the 21-hole, 4,800-metre program. The company highlights a number of holes. Hole 62 cut 182 metres grading 0.015% uranium oxide from a depth of 95 metres. (A part of this hole was reported in February. The intercept is the widest encountered so far.) Hole 78 returned 72 metres of 0.014% uranium oxide from 46 metres depth. Hole 80 intercepted 39 metres of 0.014% uranium oxide from near surface, plus 30 metres of 0.023% uranium oxide from 149 metres, plus two intercepts totaling 26 metres of 0.01-0.033% uranium oxide. And hole 72 cut 40 metres of 0.021% uranium oxide from 164 metres.

Mineralization on the Double S zone continues to occur as broad, multiple-stacked mineralized zones in granites and pegmatites. The drill program was designed to determine the up-dip and strike extension potential of the mineralization that had been defined previously. Drilling was carried out over an area of 1,000 metres by 250 metres to the west and north of the known mineralization. Uracan says that the drilling was successful, in that it outlined additional mineralization on Double S.

The 990 sq. km North Shore project is on the north shore of the St. Lawrence Seaway in eastern Quebec, and the mineralization found so far is 8 km from the Seaway. In addition to the resource estimated on the Double S zone, the company has released estimates for two other zones, the TJ zone and the Middle zone. Together, inferred resources on the three zones total 155 million tonnes grading an average 0.012% uranium oxide, for 41 million lbs. uranium oxide at a cutoff grade of 0.009%. Uracan’s strategy for North Shore is to define near-surface uranium resources that are bulk-minable in an open pit.

According to Uracan’s website, the project is a part of the Turgeon Lake intrusive complex in the Grenville Province of the Canadian Shield. Grenville features complex, irregular folded structures, numerous gneiss domes and basins, and variable intrusive rocks ranging from gabbros to alkali-rich rocks.

The website also says that the project area is underlain by geological units potentially hosting significant uranium mineralization, including uranium veins and disseminations linked to pegmatites and granitic gneisses. Meta-sedimentary rocks are mineralized in uranium and rare earth elements, and porphyritic granitoids are noted as carrying copper-gold and copper-molybdenum.

Uracan has also found uranium mineralization on the Costebelle claims group, 65-115 km northeast of the Turgeon Lake claims. The company is also exploring the Pipewrench Lake project, 120 km south of the Athabasca basin, Saskatchewan.

At presstime, Uracan shares were trading at 34¢. The shares have been trading in a 12-60¢ range over the past 12 months. The company has 91 million shares outstanding, or 120 million shares fully diluted. On January 31, the company had working capital of $5.3 million.