U3O8 Corp. cuts 8.7 metres at 0.106% (2.1 pounds per short ton) U3O8
at Aricheng Epsilon
Seventh uranium-bearing structure increases the size potential of
the Kurupung uranium district
Toronto, Ontario ? November 18, 2009 ? U3O8 Corp. (TSX Venture: UWE), a Canadian uranium exploration company, reports significant uranium mineralization from Phase I scout drilling on the Aricheng Epsilon target in the Kurupung Batholith, in the basement near the Roraima Basin in Guyana (Figure 1). Aricheng Epsilon marks another new mineralized zone that has been identified in the current scout drilling campaign, which aims to establish the potential size of the Kurupung system, a promising uranium district in South America. Geologically similar albitite-hosted deposits elsewhere in the world typically contain resources in the 50 to 130 million pound range.
?Aricheng Epsilon is the seventh structure that we have demonstrated to contain consistent uranium mineralization in the Kurupung Batholith,? said Dr. Richard Spencer, U3O8 Corp?s President and CEO. ?The success of hitting uranium of potentially economic grade in the initial holes in two out of three targets underscores the predictive power of geophysics as a targeting tool in identifying additional mineralized areas. Aricheng Epsilon adds to our pipeline of targets awaiting infill drilling, as we advance on our goal of demonstrating the potential of the Kurupung to host a large uranium resource of comparable size to albitite-hosted uranium systems worldwide. We plan to drill four more targets before year-end.?
Table 1 ? Assay Results for Aricheng Epsilon
Summary of significantly mineralized intercepts cut in the five bore holes (818 metres) drilled in the Phase I program at Aricheng Epsilon.
Note: lb/st is an abbreviation for pounds per short ton. 1 short ton = 2,000lbs or 0.907 metric tonnes.
Aricheng Epsilon
The majority of uranium-bearing structures drilled to date in the Kurupung district are located in weakly magnetic corridors within the granitic batholith. The Aricheng Epsilon target lies at the point of convergence of several geophysical features ? a characteristic shared with other mineralized structures in the batholith. Aricheng Epsilon and the uranium-bearing zone at Aricheng West lie within a broad, northeast trending, weakly magnetic zone which appears as a blue corridor in the magnetic data (Figure 2A). Aricheng Epsilon is located where a relatively conductive zone evident in VLF-EM (Very Low Frequency Electromagnetic) data coincides with scattered radiometric anomalies that lie within this weakly magnetic zone some 100-300 metres west of Aricheng West (Figure 2B).
Scout drilling identified two uranium-bearing structures at Aricheng Epsilon as follows:
? Principal structure ? An east-northeast trending principal structure marked by brecciation and albite-chlorite-hematite-calcite alteration was intersected. Holes ARW-017, ARW-018 and ARW-019 hit significant uranium grades (Table 1) interpreted to lie within a mineralized shoot, while holes ARW-020 and ARW-021 intersected the poorly-mineralized western extension of this structure. Further drilling will be required to establish the width and plunge direction of the higher-grade mineralized shoot at Aricheng Epsilon.
? Secondary structure ? Hole ARW-017 intersected a second significantly mineralized structure, which ground magnetic data suggest may have a northeast trend. Additional drilling is required to confirm the orientation and extent of uranium mineralization in this structure.
Phase I scout drilling at Aricheng Epsilon (five bore holes for 818 metres ? drill hole locations shown in Figure 3A) has delineated uranium mineralization (Figure 4):
? over a strike length of approximately 100 metres and is open along strike to the east; and
? to approximately 80 metres below surface and is open at depth.
U3O8 Corp?s current interpretation is that Aricheng Epsilon forms the western extension of an east- trending structural zone that contains two uranium mineralized shoots: one at Aricheng Epsilon and the second at Aricheng West (Figure 3B). Further scout drilling will be required to confirm this interpretation as well as to determine whether the 100 metre gap between the Aricheng West and Aricheng Epsilon areas contains uranium.
Potential quantity and grade are based on drill results that define the approximate length, thickness, depth and grade of the target, but are considered conceptual in nature. To date, there has been insufficient exploration drilling to define a mineral resource in the Aricheng Epsilon and Aricheng West structures, and it is uncertain if further exploration drilling will result in a mineral resource being defined in these areas.
Wild Cow Target
Wild Cow is a third target that was tested in the current scout drilling program. Wild Cow is characterized by hydrothermal breccias that outcrop sporadically over 300 metres along the edge of a conspicuous northeast trending zone of low magnetism. The breccias are cemented by silica-hematite and associated with extensive albite alteration of the breccia fragments and enclosing monzonitic rock. The breccias are variably radioactive up to 3,000 counts per second. The magnetic low on which the breccias lie extends through the Wild Cow area to the mineralized Aricheng Alpha structure some 2.8 kilometres to the northeast (Figure 1). (Assay results at Aricheng Alpha were press released on October 15, 2009). Five bore holes, for 790 metres, were drilled at Wild Cow and did not intersect significant mineralization. Further drilling may be undertaken at Wild Cow upon better understanding of the detailed structure of the area.
Pipeline of Uranium-Bearing Structures
Aricheng Epsilon is the seventh structure that U3O8 Corp?s exploration in the Kurupung Batholith has shown to contain consistent uranium mineralization, and adds to the pipeline of targets ready for infill drilling and subsequent potential resource estimation (Figure 5).
? Initial resource estimates ? Aricheng South and Aricheng North were the first two structures to have National Instrument 43-101 resources defined, and mineralization remains open in both structures with potential for resource growth upon further drilling.
? Approaching resource estimation ? The mineralized structures at Aricheng West and Accori North C are ready for additional infill drilling to achieve the drill density required before advancing to potential resource estimation.
? Awaiting infill drilling ? Accori South, Aricheng Alpha and Aricheng Epsilon are positioned for Phase II drilling to determine the extent of uranium mineralization which, if results are positive, would warrant further drilling to move towards possible resource estimation.
A cluster of uranium-bearing structures is emerging in the approximately 35 square kilometre area of Aricheng (Figure 1), which underscores the potential of the 360 square kilometre Kurupung Batholith to host a significant uranium resource. The Accori Area is another area with multiple mineralized structures, and early exploration is ongoing in other parts of the Kurupung. Uranium zones located in multiple structures are typical of sizeable albitite-hosted deposits elsewhere in the world.
Geophysical Targeting Techniques
U3O8 Corp. has significantly advanced its targeting techniques in the Kurupung beyond the methods originally used by Cogema in the1980?s. Targets, such as Aricheng Epsilon, are being identified by integrating three geophysical methods from data sets that cover the entire district. The principal geophysical targeting tools are magnetics and VLF-EM, while radiometric data, which are easily masked by soil, humus, vegetation and water, are used as a secondary tool.
Magnetic Data Delineate Demagnetized Faults (Figure 2A) ? The Kurupung Batholith consists of homogeneous granitic rock that should have a relatively uniform magnetic signature. Instead, airborne magnetic data show the batholith consists of uniformly magnetic areas separated by corridors of low magnetism. Most uranium-bearing structures drilled by U3O8 Corp. to date lie within these weakly magnetic corridors. Measurements on drill core from these areas show that the magnetism of the granite decreases sharply in faults that contain uranium. Therefore, U3O8 Corp. is tracing out where demagnetized faults are located in the batholith as corridors of potential uranium mineralization. Although target selection takes into account that only parts of the demagnetized faults may contain uranium, drilling of some of these new targets may fail to identify mineralization.
Conductive Zones in VLF-EM (Figure 2B) ? Ground VLF-EM surveys over areas that have been drilled by U3O8 Corp. show that uranium-bearing shoots are located where slightly conductive zones intersect, or coincide with, demagnetized fault zones evident in the magnetic data. Therefore, U3O8 Corp. is using the VLF-EM data to identify points where conductive zones cut the magnetite-deficient faults as new targets for scout drilling.
Quality Assurance & Quality Control
Diamond drilling at Aricheng Epsilon was undertaken with U3O8 Corp?s own drill rig that produced NQ (47.6 millimetre diameter) core. A down-hole spectral gamma probe was used on the five bore holes to determine the extent of the mineralized interval by providing an estimate of the grade based on the radioactivity measured. Core from the mineralized interval was halved with a Diamond saw on-site and half core samples were delivered to ACME Laboratory?s preparation facility in Georgetown, Guyana. Sample blanks and certified standards were inserted at an average frequency of 1 per 25 samples. Sample pulps were then shipped by ACME to their analytical facility in Vancouver, BC, Canada, for analysis for uranium by ICP-MS after hot, four-acid digestion. The other half of the core is logged and stored on-site, providing a complete record of the geology and mineralized zones drilled.
Mr. Richard Cleath (M.Sc.), Vice President of U3O8 Corp., a Qualified Person within the definition of that term in National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators, had overall responsibility for all aspects of target selection and drilling of the Aricheng Epsilon target. Mr. Cleath has supervised the preparation of, and verified, the technical information in this release.
Figure 1 ? Map of Airborne Magnetic Data and Interpreted Structures in the Kurupung Batholith
Map of airborne magnetic data from the Kurupung Batholith overlain with interpreted structures (black lines) that extend between the bounding shear zones of the batholith. Cool colours represent rocks with little magnetism while warm colours represent magnetic rocks. White irregular areas outline the footprints of uranium mineralization drilled by U3O8 Corp. at Aricheng North, Aricheng Epsilon, Aricheng West, Aricheng Alpha, Aricheng South and Accori North C.
Most uranium found by U3O8 Corp. to date lies within demagnetized faults which appear as cool coloured areas in the magnetic data. The interpreted principal faults are marked by black lines. The mineralized zone at Aricheng Epsilon (labelled in red and whose assay results are reported in this press release) is located near the western margin of an extensive magnetic low in the Aricheng West?Aricheng Alpha area of the Kurupung Batholith.
A cluster of uranium-bearing structures is emerging in the approximately 35 square kilometre area of Aricheng (marked by a blue box) and underscores the potential of the Kurupung system to host a significant uranium resource. The Accori Area is another area with multiple mineralized structures, and early exploration is ongoing in other parts of the Kurupung. Uranium zones located on multiple structures are characteristic of albitite-hosted deposits elsewhere in the world, which typically contain resources in the 50 to 130 million pound range.
Figure 2 ? Geophysical Surveys Indicate Common Cross-Cutting Features for New Targets
Figures 2A and 2B show views of a small area of the airborne magnetic and ground VLF-EM (Very Low Frequency-Electromagnetic) surveys undertaken by U3O8 Corp. in the Aricheng Area of the Kurupung Batholith. The black areas show the footprints of uranium mineralization drilled by U3O8 Corp. at Aricheng Epsilon, Aricheng West, Aricheng Alpha and Aricheng South. In Figure 2A, warm colours represent magnetic rocks while cool colours represent rocks with little magnetism. In Figure 2B, warm colours represent slightly conductive zones while cool colours are less conductive.
Substantially all the uranium found by U3O8 Corp. to date lies within demagnetized faults (Figure 2A ? blue areas in the magnetic data and the principal interpreted faults are marked by white-dashed lines). Therefore, zones of weak magnetism are areas that may contain uranium mineralization.
An empirical observation from the drilled areas is that uranium-bearing shoots are located where conductive zones (red and pink in Figure 2B) identified in VLF-EM data coincide with, or intersect, ribbons of low magnetism (blue areas in Figure 2A highlighted by white-dashed lines), which are interpreted as demagnetized faults. Targets for scout drilling were selected (shown in black circles on Figure 2B) where conductive zones cut demagnetized faults. Aricheng Epsilon is the latest target to be drill tested and was found to contain significant uranium mineralization (assay results reported in this press release).
Figure 3 ?Drill Hole Locations at Aricheng Epsilon
3A. Plan view of the location of the five Phase I bore holes drilled at Aricheng Epsilon (results reported in this press release). The collar position of each hole is shown as a dot and the extent of each inclined hole is shown as a black line. U3O8 grade (%) is shown as a histogram along the trace of the bore hole. The coloured background is magnetic data from a field survey (dark blue represents the least magnetic areas while green areas have higher magnetism). Radiometric data is marked by contour lines.
3B. Wider view of figure 3A above shows the location of Aricheng Epsilon relative to the uranium zone drilled at Aricheng West. These areas lie about 100 metres apart.
U3O8 Corp. identified Aricheng Epsilon based on VLF-EM anomalies coinciding with, or cutting across weakly magnetic zones. The validity of the target was confirmed by radiometric anomalies that roughly coincide with conductive zones defined by VLF-EM and areas of low magnetism.
Figure 4 ? Long Section of the Aricheng Epsilon Structure
A provisional long section of the Aricheng Epsilon structure shows the distribution of grade-thickness values (the product of the width of the mineralized interval and its U3O8 grade in %) on a vertical projection of the structure. The coloured circles demarcate the pierce points on the structure. A pierce point is the approximate location at which each bore hole intersects the structure.
Figure 5 ? Pipeline of Uranium-Bearing Structures in the Kurupung Uranium District
Diagram shows the long sections and exploration status of the seven consistently mineralized structures identified by U3O8 Corp?s drilling to date in the Kurupung Batholith ? Aricheng North, Aricheng South, Aricheng West, Accori North C, Accori South, Aricheng Alpha and Aricheng Epsilon. In its current scout drilling program, U3O8 Corp. is focused on identifying additional uranium-bearing structures to build on its pipeline of targets ready for infill drilling and subsequent resource estimation, and outline the potential size of the Kurupung system in the short-term.
Exploration of a target typically progresses from right to left: scout drilling to confirm the presence of uranium, infill drilling to establish the size and grade of the principal mineralized zones, followed by additional infill drilling as required for resource estimation.
About U3O8 Corp.
U3O8 Corp. is a Canadian uranium exploration company based in Toronto, Canada. Currently focused on uranium exploration in the Roraima Basin in Guyana, South America, U3O8 Corp?s primary business objective is to explore, develop and acquire uranium projects in the Americas. The company is funded with over $5 million held solely in cash and Canadian chartered bank-backed Guaranteed Investment Certificates.
U308 Corp. has exclusive uranium exploration rights in an area covering approximately 1.3 million hectares that straddles the edge of the Roraima Basin in Guyana. The company is advancing a two-pronged exploration strategy that focuses on:
? Exploration for multiple uranium-bearing structures within structural systems in the basement adjacent to the Roraima Basin with the concept that the individual breccia zones could potentially aggregate to a significant total resource; and
? Exploration for unconformity-related uranium deposits near the base of the Roraima Basin, which are similar to those of the prolific Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan.
For further information on the company?s properties, please refer to the technical reports prepared for the company by Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd. and dated September 15, 2006 as amended and restated December 12, 2006; and the NI 43-101 report entitled ?A Technical Review of the Aricheng North and Aricheng South Uranium Deposits in Western Guyana for U3O8 Corp. and Prometheus Resources (Guyana) Inc.? by Watts, Griffis and McOuat dated January 14, 2009, available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the company?s website www.u3o8corp.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of U3O8 Corp., including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, volatility of commodity prices, risks associated with the uncertainty of exploration results and estimates, currency fluctuations, dependence upon regulatory approvals, the uncertainty of obtaining additional financing and exploration risk. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements.
For information, please contact:
U3O8 Corp.
(416) 868-1491
Nancy Chan-Palmateer Richard Spencer
Vice President, Investor Relations President & CEO
nancy@u3o8corp.com richard@u3o8corp.com
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