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Strathmore Minerals Corp (the "Company") is pleased to announce that permitting activities have been initiated on the Company's third uranium recovery project: the SKY ISR PROJECT. Sky is the Company's first project in Wyoming to begin the data collection activities for permitting purposes. The intent is to develop the Sky project as a satellite ISR operation. The 100% owned Sky uranium property is located about 25 miles east of Riverton, on the western edge of the Gas Hills Uranium District in Fremont County, Wyoming. The property comprises 50 unpatented mining claims totaling 418 hectares (1,033 acres) and is located on lands owned by the Federal government and administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM).Uranium mineralization was discovered here by Exxon in the 1970's. Additional exploration was completed by Pathfinder (now AREVA) in the 1980's. Strathmore acquired the claims in early 2004 prior to the strong upturn in uranium prices. (See Press Release dated May 19, 2004 on the Cedar Rim Claims acquisition.)
In conjunction with the initiation of permit activities, the Company has completed and SEDAR filed an independent National Instrument 43-101 technical report for the SKY property. The 43-101 report provides an Indicated mineral resource estimate totaling 948,098 lbs. U3O8 contained within 668,688 tons at an average grade of 0.07%. An additional 54,496 lbs U3O8 have been classified as an Inferred mineral resource. Further details on the quantity and grade for each mineral resource category are summarized in the following table:
Indicated Mineral Resource:
Cutoff |
Tons |
Ave. Grade (%) |
Pounds |
Ave. Thick. |
GT |
0.03% @ 3ft |
668,688 |
0.07% |
948,098 |
6.3ft |
0.45 |
Inferred Mineral Resource:
Cutoff Grade |
Tons |
Ave. Grade (%) |
Pounds |
Ave. Thick. |
GT |
0.03% @ 3ft |
55,086 |
0.05% |
54,496 |
3.5ft |
0.17 |
This report was prepared by Charles D. Snow, Certified Professional Geologist (CPG, Wyoming), who is a qualified person under National Instrument Policy 43-101. Mr. Snow has over 40 years of uranium exploration and mine development experience in the Gas Hills and Shirley Basin uranium districts, two of the largest producing uranium districts in the world during the last uranium cycle. In addition, Mr. Snow was involved with and directed much of the world's first in-situ leach mining of uranium deposits in Shirley Basin dating back to the early 1960s.
The new resource estimates are based on 161 exploration drill holes completed by previous mining companies. Strathmore owns this drilling data, which includes gamma and electric logs, drill hole location maps, cross-sections, drill hole data sheets and historical resource estimate reports. For the mineral resource estimates, polygons, which were centered on the drill holes, were constructed by using perpendicular bisectors halfway between adjacent drill holes (also called areas of equal influence [AOI]). Uranium content was calculated from the gamma-ray logs for each hole by converting counts per second to % eU3O8 (equivalent). Thickness and grade of the mineralized intercepts were assigned to each polygon for determining tonnage, with an assumed tonnage factor of 16 cubic feet per ton. A grade cutoff of 0.03% eU3O8 and a thickness cutoff of 3 feet were used to calculate the resource; selected because it is recognized that low grade deposits which lie below the water table within sandstones confined by shale are amenable to recovery by the in-situ leach process. Historical drilling was conducted on a 200 foot by 200 foot grid, with some offset drilling of 50-100 feet. The AOI of each polygon was limited by either adjoining drill holes or the maximum capped size of the indicated (40,000 ft2) or inferred (160,000 ft2) resource.
In the technical report, Mr. Snow writes:
"From a review of all the available data it is concluded that the exploration drilling, log interpretation, map posting and the new resource calculations presented herein are consistent when compared to the historical resource calculated by Pathfinder Mines and their predecessors....It is also concluded that there is a very good potential to drill additional mineralization on the Property." Historical drilling defined significant mineralization at depths of 950 feet, contained within sandstone units of the Eocene Wind River Formation. A core study reviewed by Mr. Snow and cited in the technical report determined high permeability (average 3,500 milidarcies) and porosity (30%) for the uranium-hosting sandstones, which are confined by layers of shale up to 15 feet thick. : "Good permeability contrast between the host rock and the enclosing clays, lack of swelling interstitial clay of mineralized sands, and amenability to the environmentally acceptable lixiviant sodium carbonate/bicarbonate does indicate that in-situ leaching is a feasible method of mining."
Strathmore has begun the permitting process and plans for exploration and groundwater delineation testing are in progress. Pump tests and mandatory, year-long baseline studies of the groundwater characteristics are scheduled for later this spring. Permitting activities completed to date include archaeological, floral and faunal studies, and the necessary exploration and Plan of Operation permit applications have been submitted to the State and Federal regulatory agencies. As a result of these preliminary permits and the Company's understanding of the SKY uranium deposit, ongoing geological and engineering studies for an In-Situ Recovery Project have already exceeded the recommendations made by Mr. Snow in the 43-101 technical report.
David Miller, President and COO for Strathmore commented that he is "very pleased with the thoroughness of the 43-101 technical report. Mr. Snow is one of the preeminent uranium geologists in the world, having worked extensively in the nearby Gas Hills uranium district where 100 million pounds of uranium concentrate were mined. I am very pleased with the progress made by the Strathmore team at the SKY project, and I look forward to updating our shareholders on our exploration discoveries and groundwater delineation work planned for this spring."
The 43-101 technical report for the SKY property can be viewed in its entirety on the SEDAR website www.sedar.com and the Company's website www.strathmoreminerals.com.
The Company is also pleased to announce the hiring of additional staff members in the Riverton, Wyoming exploration office and Santa Fe, New Mexico mine development office. Mr. Matt Hartmann joins the Santa Fe office as the Senior Development Geologist. Matt's previous experience includes overseeing a variety of geological and environmental drilling projects at Los Alamos National Laboratory, primarily in support of permitted low-level radiological waste facilities. Matt also brings significant drilling, hydrological, and geological characterization experience to Strathmore. He will continue his work on the Company's advanced stage projects. Matt holds a degree in Geology from The Ohio State University, and is a licensed Professional Geologist in the State of Wyoming. Mr. Beau Pitt has accepted the position of Geologist with the Company, having recently graduated from the University of Wyoming and Mary Sue Renfo; a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) will be responsible for cost accounting and administrative services in the Riverton office. In addition, the Company has ordered the purchase of a Geophysical Logging Unit from Century Geophysical of Oklahoma. It is the intention of the Company to have Mr. Pitt oversee and operate the logging unit during planned drilling activities on the SKY and JEEP properties. (See press release dated: November 2, 2006)
The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in NI 43-101 and reviewed by David Miller, President and Chief Operating Officer for Strathmore Minerals Corp., a qualified person under NI 43-101 guidelines. It should be noted that mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability as defined by NI 43-101 guidelines.
STRATHMORE MINERALS CORP. is a Canadian based resource company specializing in the strategic acquisition, exploration and development of uranium properties. Headquartered in Kelowna, British Columbia, the Company also has U.S. based Development offices in Riverton, Wyoming and Santa Fe, New Mexico. STRATHMORE MINERALS CORP. Common Shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "STM".
This news release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
"David Miller"
David Miller, President and COO
For Investors Relations:
Bob Hemmerling/ Craig Christy
1-800-647-3303
info@strathmoreminerals.com
www.strathmoreminerals.com
THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.
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