VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - June 24, 2013) - Skyharbour Resources Ltd. (News - Market indicators)(PINKSHEETS:SYHBF) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (the "MOU") relating to its 161,755 hectare property package located in the Patterson Lake region, and Athabasca Nuclear Corp.'s (TSX VENTURE:ASC) 125,375 hectare Preston Lake Property also located in the Patterson Lake region of the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan. The MOU also includes Lucky Strike Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:LKY) and Noka Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:NX) which are currently optioning into Skyharbour's property package.
The purpose of the MOU is to facilitate the formation of a joint venture syndicate of the four companies with their respective corporate and geological teams to collectively explore the largest land package (approx. 287,130 hectares or 709,500 acres) in the western Athabasca Basin near Alpha Minerals and Fission Uranium's recent high grade discovery at their Patterson Lake South ("PLS") property.
Background:
- Skyharbour holds a 100% interest in a total of seven individual properties consisting of 45 mineral claims covering 161,755 hectares (approx. 399,700 acres) located in the Athabasca area in the Province of Saskatchewan (the "Skyharbour Property Package").
Skyharbour's Patterson Lake area claims map:
http://skyharbourltd.com/_resources/projects/SYH-Patterson-Lake-Claims-Map-New.jpg
- As previously announced on May 14, 2013 and May 16, 2013, Lucky Strike Resources ("Lucky Strike") and Noka Resources ("Noka") each have options to earn a 25% interest in the Skyharbour Property Package by making cash and stock payments up front to Skyharbour and by funding a combined $2,000,000 in work commitments over the next two years.
- Athabasca Nuclear holds a 100% interest in a property, Preston Lake (the "Athabasca Nuclear Property"), consisting of 36 mineral claims covering 125,375 hectares (approx. 309,800 acres) which are in close proximity to the Skyharbour Property Package.
Athabasca Nuclear's Preston Lake Project claims map:
http://www.athabascanuclear.com/projects/Sask_property_locations_west.pdf
Proposed Transaction Terms:
- Skyharbour proposes to enter into an option agreement (the "Athabasca Nuclear Agreement") with Athabasca Nuclear on similar terms and value to the Lucky Strike Agreement and the Noka Agreement, wherein Athabasca Nuclear will be granted an option to earn a 25% interest in the Skyharbour Property Package with the resulting effect that the interests of the parties in the Skyharbour Property will be Skyharbour (25%), Athabasca Nuclear (25%), Lucky Strike (25%) and Noka (25%).
- Contemporaneously, Athabasca Nuclear will grant Skyharbour, Lucky Strike and Noka an option to each earn a 25% interest in the Athabasca Nuclear Property with the resulting effect that the interest in the Athabasca Nuclear Property will be Athabasca Nuclear (25%), Skyharbour (25%), Lucky Strike (25%) and Noka (25%).
- The transaction would result in a total of $6,000,000 in work commitments over the next two years on the combined Skyharbour Property Package and Athabasca Nuclear Property (collectively referred to as the "Property"). Lucky Strike and Noka each need to incur $1,000,000 in first year exploration expenditures and $1,000,000 in second year exploration expenditures. Skyharbour and Athabasca Nuclear each need to incur $500,000 in first year exploration expenditures and $500,000 in second year exploration expenditures. This amounts to $3,000,000 in work commitments in the first year and $3,000,000 in the second year.
- Skyharbour, Athabasca Nuclear, Lucky Strike and Noka will thereafter associate themselves as a joint venture for the purpose of jointly exploring and developing the combined 287,130 hectare Property (approx. 709,500 acres).
- Upon each party exercising their options in full, the parties' respective interests in the Property will be Skyharbour with 25%, Athabasca Nuclear with 25%, Lucky Strike with 25% and Noka with 25%.
The above proposed transaction is subject to the completion of the Definitive Agreement by the parties contemplated to be completed by June 30, and following receipt of regulatory approval to the transaction.
Jordan Trimble, President and CEO of Skyharbour, stated: "This MOU represents one of the final steps in the formation of a four-company JV syndicate that we feel offers the best prospects of making a new uranium discovery in the Patterson Lake region of the Athabasca Basin. Lucky Strike, Noka and Athabasca Nuclear are value-add partners for Skyharbour as they bring with them strong technical expertise, proven management teams and financial capital to help create synergies both in the field and corporately. With the Preston Lake Property, the syndicate's total land package would represent the largest land position in the emerging Patterson Lake area with over 700,000 acres of prospective ground strategically located around Alpha / Fission's recent high grade uranium discovery. In accordance with our plan to utilize the refined exploration methodology that led to the PLS discovery, a regional airborne geophysical survey is underway on our properties which will be followed by field work this summer."
"Skyharbour's management believes this deal is accretive to shareholders as it further improves our chances of making a new discovery with an expanded geological team while mitigating company-specific risk. It provides us with exposure to additional highly prospective land and sets the stage for a minimum of $6,000,000 in combined exploration expenditures over the next two years, $5,000,000 of which is being funded by the partner companies. In the current market environment, we believe this is the most cost-efficient and operationally-effective structure to conduct a large exploratory program without substantial equity dilution to Skyharbour's shareholders."
Preston Lake Property:
The 125,375 hectare Preston Lake Project is centered approximately 26 kilometres southeast of the Patterson Lake South uranium discovery area and is directly contiguous to claims held by Fission Uranium, Forum Uranium and NexGen Energy. The claims are accessible by road with primary access from the all-weather Highway 955, which runs north through the Patterson Lake South discovery through to the former Cluff Lake mine. Some of the property's claims are underlain by Phanerozoic rocks (limestone and sandstone) similar to the Patterson Lake discovery area. At Alpha and Fission's high grade PLS discovery, it is interpreted that the uranium has been mobilized along the fault zones and has been concentrated in the sandstone under the limestone.
Athabasca Nuclear has completed an initial review of historic exploration data on the Preston Lake Property and has identified a number of potential areas for follow up. One high-priority area has clusters of anomalous uranium in lake sediment samples, anomalous uranium values in rock samples (up to 5.6 ppm U3O8), and the presence of kilometre-scale northeast-southwest trending graphitic faults associated with sulphides and anomalous radioactivity as identified with scintillometers. A review of historic data has also identified a significant uranium in lake sediment anomaly in the western part of the property. A sample collected by the Geological Survey of Canada returned a value of 5.4 ppm U3O8, considered to be significant in an area with a background uranium value of 1 ppm U3O8. This high uranium value may indicate either the down-ice glacial transport of uranium boulders from source or an in-situ source of uranium. For comparison, the highest value down-ice from the Patterson Lake South discovery is 3.2 ppm U3O8. Management cautions that past results or discoveries on proximate land are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved on these properties.
Uranium, the Athabasca Basin and Skyharbour's Property Package:
The Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan hosts the world's largest and richest high-grade uranium deposits accounting for approximately 20% of global primary uranium supply. Athabasca uranium deposits have grades substantially higher than the world average grade of about 0.14% U3O8. The two dozen or so known uranium deposits within the Athabasca Basin have average grades of more than 3.0% U3O8.
The Patterson Lake area has received escalating exploration attention and claim acquisition activity as a result of the new, shallow discoveries made by Alpha and Fission which includes the recently reported drill interval of 6.26% U3O8 over 49.5 metres in drill hole PLS 13-053. This mineralized zone is located approximately 400 metres to the northeast of discovery hole PLS 12-024 which returned 2.49% U3O8 over 12.5 metres. Consistent high grade, near surface U3O8 assays from Alpha and Fission demonstrates the potential for high grade uranium mineralization on the margins of the underexplored western side of the Athabasca Basin. There are still areas in the Athabasca region that are highly prospective and underexplored for high grade uranium as illustrated by Alpha's and Fission's recent discovery.
In early 2013, Skyharbour began to acquire uranium properties on what it considers to be highly prospective ground within the Patterson Lake area and the eastern flank of the Athabasca Basin culminating in seven properties totaling approx. 161,755 hectares of land. Six of the properties consisting of approx. 156,992 hectares of ground are strategically located to the north, south, east and west of the Patterson Lake South uranium discovery on the western flank of the Athabasca Basin. The properties were acquired for their proximity to the PLS discovery and interpreted favourable geology for the occurrence of PLS style uranium mineralization. A small amount of historical Diamond drilling on two of the properties successfully confirmed the presence of graphite-bearing conductors in the region which are the primary targets at the high grade uranium PLS discovery to the north.
Skyharbour's early and low cost entry into the region will help to unlock shareholder value as exploratory work programs aim to make new discoveries. The Company has commenced the first phase of exploration on its Patterson Lake properties starting with an airborne geophysical survey to be followed up with a field program. EM and magnetometer surveys are being carried out to define basement conductors similar to the structures hosting the PLS discovery zones and a radiometric survey will help locate uranium boulder trains and in-situ uranium mineralization.
Qualified Person:
Robert Marvin, P.Geo., CPG, geologist for Skyharbour is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has approved the technical information in this release.
About Skyharbour Resources Ltd.:
Skyharbour Resources Ltd. is a uranium exploration company with a large, geologically prospective land package consisting of seven properties in the Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan. The Company's goal is to increase shareholder value through new discoveries and developing exploration projects in geopolitically favourable jurisdictions. The Company has 35.8 million shares outstanding.
To find out more about Skyharbour Resources Ltd. (News - Market indicators) visit the Company's website at www.skyharbourltd.com.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jordan P. Trimble, President and CEO
NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward-looking statements. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further information.
