U3O8 Corp. (TSX VENTURE:UWE - News), a Canadian-based
company focused on exploration and resource expansion of uranium and
associated commodities in South America, reports that successful exploration
has increased the size of its uranium-vanadium discovery at Laguna Salada, in Chubut Province, Argentina, to 28 square kilometres ("km2") in extent (Figure 1). A
total of 1,090 trenches have been excavated to determine the extent of the
mineralized layer which occurs from surface down to a maximum depth of three metres in unconsolidated sandy gravel. The average
thickness of the mineralized layer is 0.9 metres at
average uranium and vanadium grades of 155 parts per million ("ppm") U3O8 and 842ppm V2O5 respectively at a cut-off
grade of 50ppm U3O8 (Table 1).
"Uranium and vanadium at Laguna Salada occur within a low-grade flat mineralized layer
located just beneath surface in a soft sandy gravel that should be amenable
to simple and low cost mining techniques," said Dr. Richard Spencer,
President and CEO of U3O8 Corp. "Laguna Salada
is comparable to known surficial uranium deposits
in Namibia such as the free-digging Tubas Red Sand at an average grade of
160ppm U3O8(1). Infill trenching is underway towards
our goal of completing a National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101")
resource estimate on the project by the end of 2010. Thereafter, our
exploration will focus on similar targets in the vicinity of Laguna Salada with the objective of increasing the size of the
overall resource in the district."
Table 1 - Summary Trench Results from
the Laguna Salada Project
Summary of assay results from the 465
trenches (of the 1,090 trenches excavated) in the Laguna Salada
Project that have grade-thickness values greater than 50 (parts per million -
metre).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thickness of Grade
Mineralized Zone (ppm)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of
Trenches Average
Grade- in Grade- Density
Thickness Thickness Minimum Maximum Average (tonnes
Interval Interval (m) (m) (m) U3O8 V2O5 Area (m2) /m3)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
GxT 50 -
100 211 0.1 1.6 0.81 96 761 16,500,000 1.68
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
GxT 100 -
250 204 0.2 2.1 0.94 169 864 9,801,000 1.68
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
GxT 250 -
1400 50 0.25 2.4 1.04 524 1,333 1,737,000 1.68
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Area
GxT
greater
than 50 465 0.1 2.4 0.93 155 842 28,038,000 1.68
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The results have been separated into
three groups according to the uranium grade-thickness value from each trench.
Grade-thickness (the uranium grade in ppm
multiplied by the thickness in metres of the
uranium-bearing layer in each trench) provides a way of visualizing the
distribution of uranium as shown in Figure 2. This table shows the average
grade and average thickness of all the trenches within each of the three
groups or contour-bounded intervals (each of which is coloured
differently in Figure 2). The arithmetic average thickness of the
uranium-vanadium- bearing layer in the 465 trenches is 0.93 metres at an average sample grade of 155ppm U3O8 and
842ppm V2O5. The average density of the gravel is 1.68 tonnes
per cubic metre.
Mineralization at Laguna Salada is contained in two flat-topped mesas that are
about 10 metres higher than the surrounding plain. Carnotite, the principal uranium-vanadium mineral at
Laguna Salada, occurs as a powdery filling between
the sand grains in the gravel and also as a partial rim on pebbles. Tests
done at the time of sampling suggest that dry sieving through a quarter-inch
(nominal six millimetre) mesh may provide a simple
and inexpensive means of augmenting the uranium and vanadium grade of the
sand.
Exploration at Laguna Salada has been mainly through mechanized trenching since
the unconsolidated nature of the gravel renders conventional diamond, aircore or reverse circulation drilling an ineffective
means of sampling (Figure 3). The areas that have been trenched at nominal
400 by 400 metre spacing are being in-filled to
nominal 200 by 200 metre spacing in preparation for
the NI 43-101 resource estimation planned for completion by the end of the
year.
Regulatory Update in Chubut Province
The Laguna Salada
Project is located in Chubut Province of Argentina, where an open-pit mining
ban is currently in effect. Draft legislation is under review in the
Provincial Legislature, which proposes that mining carried out in an
environmentally and socially responsible manner be allowed in the central,
semi-desert plain of the region. A similar approach that allows mining in the
central plain, which is an area of low economic viability, has already been
adopted in the adjacent Santa Cruz Province. Laguna Salada
and several other mining projects are situated in this central plain of
Chubut Province including CNEA's (Argentinean National Nuclear Authority)
Cerro Solo uranium deposit and Pan American Silver's Navidad
silver project, which it plans to mine by open-pit methods. Both of these
projects are moving towards production and indications are that a change in
Chubut Province's mining policy may be made in 2011.
Quality Assurance & Quality Control
Exploration trenches were excavated at a
nominal 400 metre by 400 metre
square grid and infilled to a 200 metre by 200 metre grid in the
mineralized areas. The mineralized layer, identified with a scintillometer, was marked in the trench wall and its
thickness and depth below surface recorded before the sample profile was
removed with the bucket of the excavator. Sample material was placed on a
tarpaulin where it was homogenized and quartered, one quarter being bagged
and weighed before being shipped to the laboratory in Mendoza City in
Argentina. Standards, blanks and other control samples constitute
approximately 13% of the total number of samples submitted to the laboratory.
The samples were dried, jaw crushed to -10 mesh
(2.0mm grain size), riffle split and pulverized with a puck and ring to -140
mesh (106 micron grain size). A split of the -140 mesh pulp was analyzed
using Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES) after
four-acid digestion. Samples sent to Alex Stewart Assayers were prepared and
analyzed in Mendoza, while those submitted to ALS Chemex
were prepared in Mendoza City and the pulps analyzed in its assay laboratory
in Lima, Peru.
Dr. Richard Spencer, President & CEO
of U3O8 Corp., a Qualified Person within the definition of that term in NI
43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators, has supervised the
preparation of, and verified the technical information in this release.
About U3O8 Corp.
U3O8 Corp. is a Toronto-based
exploration company, focused on exploration and resource expansion of uranium
and associated commodities in South America - a promising new frontier for
exploration and development. U3O8 Corp. has one of the most advanced
portfolios of uranium projects in the region comprising NI 43-101 compliant
resources in Guyana to significant historic resources in Colombia and
near-resource and discovery potential in Argentina.
For further information on U3O8 Corp's
Laguna Project, refer to the technical report entitled "The Geology of
Uranium Mineralization of the Laguna Salada
Project, Chubut Province, and exploration strategies for exploration of
early- stage properties in Argentina" prepared by Richard Spencer and
Richard Cleath dated March 23, 2010, which is
available on the company's web site at www.u3o8corp.com
or on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Potential quantity and grade is conceptual in nature. There has been
insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource at the Laguna Salada Project to date, and it is uncertain if further
exploration will result in the target being delineated as a mineral resource.
(1) The Tubas Red Sand uranium deposit
referred to in this press release has not been independently verified by U3O8
Corp. and information regarding this deposit is drawn from publicly available
information. There is no certainty that further exploration of U3O8 Corp's
Laguna Salada Project or other targets will result
in the delineation of a similar mineral resource.
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 possibility
that the open-pit mining ban in Chubut Province may not be lifted or amended
on terms that would allow for mining of the Laguna Salada
Project, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions,
volatility of commodity prices, risks associated with the uncertainty of
exploration results and estimates and that the resource potential will be
achieved on exploration projects, currency fluctuations, dependence upon
regulatory approvals, and the uncertainty of obtaining additional financing
and exploration risk. There is no assurance that the Laguna Salada Project will add to U3O8 Corp's resource base in
the short-term, or at all. 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.
To view "Figure 1 - The Laguna Salada Project in Argentina", please visit the
following link:
http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/uwe1027fig1.pdf
To view "Figure 2 - Uranium
Grade-Thickness Map of the Laguna Salada
Project", please visit the following link:
http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/uwe1027fig2.pdf
To view "Figure 3 - Free-Digging
Near Surface Mineralization in the Laguna Salada
Project", please visit the following link:
http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/uwe1027fig3.pdf
To view the photo associated with this
press release, please visit the following link:
http://www.marketwire.com/library/20101026-uwe1027fd_800.jpg
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the
TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release.
Contact:
Nancy Chan-Palmateer
U3O8 Corp.
Vice President, Investor Relations
(416) 868-1491
nancy@u3o8corp.com
Richard Spencer
U3O8 Corp.
President & CEO
(416) 868-1491
richard@u3o8corp.com |