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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.
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