U3O8
Corp. reports positive metallurgical test results from the
Laguna
Salada Project, Argentina
Corroborates
potential for low-cost uranium-vanadium project
Toronto, Ontario ?
March 2, 2011 ? U3O8 Corp. (TSX Venture: UWE), a Canadian-based
company focused on exploration and resource expansion of uranium and associated
commodities in South America, reports positive results from the first
metallurgical tests on uranium- and vanadium-bearing gravels from the Laguna Salada Project, Chubut Province,
Argentina, which show that:
?
Uranium and vanadium grades can be increased between 4
and 12 times simply by screening;
?
Uranium leach recovery from upgraded material was
between 74% and 96%; and
?
Vanadium leach recovery from upgraded material was
between 71% and 86%.
?U3O8 Corp?s initial metallurgical test results mark an important
step towards demonstrating the economic viability of Laguna Salada,
adding yet another positive attribute to this potentially low cost project? said Richard Spencer, U3O8 Corp?s
President and CEO. ?Firstly, the mineralized
layer at Laguna Salada lies near the surface of
flat-topped mesas and mining could simply lower the profile of the mesas.
Secondly, the uranium-vanadium occurs in soft, unconsolidated sandy gravel that
should be amenable to low-cost mining techniques that require no blasting and
crushing. Thirdly, our metallurgical tests show that simple and
inexpensive screening results in a concentration of the uranium-vanadium into a
small component of the original gravel.?
Dr. Spencer continued, ?These metallurgical results show good recoveries
for both uranium and vanadium using an acid leach. Other similar deposits use
an alkaline leach and our tests using this approach are in progress. Further
test work will be ongoing in 2011 to optimize the recovery of uranium and
vanadium. Coffey Mining, of Australia, is incorporating these preliminary
beneficiation and uranium-vanadium extraction results into its calculation of a
proposed National Instrument 43-101 (?NI 43-101?)
resource estimate on Laguna Salada that is due out
shortly.?
Metallurgical Test
Work
The Laguna Salada Project contains slightly different types of gravel
that occur in two distinct areas. Both gravels are soft and
unconsolidated. A composite sample from each area was excavated with a
backhoe and sent, without any processing or crushing, to SGS Lakefield?s laboratory in
Lakefield, Ontario, for metallurgical testing. The metallurgical tests involved
three components as follows:
1. Wet Screening of Mineralized Gravel
The gravel samples
from both areas were screened to determine the extent to which the fine powdery
uranium-vanadium mineral, carnotite, could be separated from the coarser pebbles and sand
grains in the gravel. In each case, the gravel was tumbled and wet screened
through successively smaller mesh sizes. Optimal results were achieved by
screening the samples through a 0.15 millimetre (?mm?)
mesh.
?
Results from the Guanaco area show that the coarse
material can be screened from the sample, leaving between 70% and 100% of the
fine-grained carnotite concentrated in only 8% of the
weight of the original sample. Therefore, the carnotite
can be upgraded as much as 12 times by tumbling and wet screening the raw
mineralized gravel.
? Results from the Lago Seco
area show that between 88% and 100% of the carnotite
can be concentrated in 23% of the original sample, which corresponds to about a
four time increase in grade by screening the raw sample that was excavated from
the field.
2. Acid
Leach Test
The fine-grained
material that contains up to 100% of the uranium and vanadium screened from the
original raw sample was then subjected to an acid leach test to determine the
extent to which the mineralization can be recovered.
? The sample from the Guanaco area showed 74% uranium and 86% vanadium
recovery after a leach time of 36 hours with 23.6 kilogram/tonne (?kg/t?)
sulphuric acid consumption per tonne of the raw mineralized gravel.
? The sample from
the Lago Seco area showed 96%
uranium and 71% vanadium recovery with 49.2 kg/t of acid consumption per tonne
of the raw mineralized gravel.
3. Carbonate
Leach Test
Carbonate leach
testing on the fine-grained samples is underway to determine the extent to
which uranium and vanadium can be recovered using alkaline fluids as opposed to
acid. Results are due in late March.
Table 1 ? Summary of Provisional Metallurgical Tests from the
Laguna Salada Project
Sample Area
|
Screen Test
|
% Metal Recovery
after 36 Hour Leach
|
Sulphuric Acid Consumption
|
Up to 100% of the carnotite (uranium-vanadium mineral) concentrated in
the following % weight of the original sample
|
Uranium
|
Vanadium
|
Per tonne of gravel as excavated
|
Guanaco
|
8%
|
74%
|
86%
|
23.6kg
|
Lago Seco
|
23%
|
96%
|
71%
|
49.2kg
|
Table 2 ? 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 ppm-m (parts
per million - metre) before screening of the mineralized gravel to increase the
uranium and vanadium grades.
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).
This table shows the average grade and average thickness of all the trenches
within each of the three groups or contour-bounded intervals. 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.
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, is in effect 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, both of which are due to be mined 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 late 2011.
Mr. John Goode,
P.Eng., a Qualified Person within the definition of that term in NI 43-101 of
the Canadian Securities Administrators, has overseen the metallurgical test
work carried out by SGS Lakefield, and verified the technical information
relating to the tests from which results are reported in this press
release. Dr. Richard Spencer, P. Geo., 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 relating to the Laguna Salada Project and
the grade-thickness information provided above.
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 uranium 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.
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.
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
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..