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Thursday, November 12, 2009
Uranerz Announces Drilling Update on Powder River Basin Projects
Casper, Wyoming, November 12, 2009 -- Uranerz Energy Corporation ("Uranerz" or the "Company") (NYSE Amex: URZ; TSX: URZ; Frankfurt: U9E) is pleased to provide an update on its 2009 drilling program on its projects in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming, U.S.A. Between July 4, 2009 and November 3,,2009, on the Arkose Mining Venture properties ("Arkose"), a joint venture between the Company (81%) and United Nuclear, LLC (19%), a total of 315 uranium trend and delineation holes were drilled utilizing three drill rigs and two electric log probing units. Drilling on the Arkose property was conducted at the North Jane, Little Butte, Beecher Draw, Lone Bull, and South Doughstick extension properties. Six monitor wells were also drilled and installed at the Hank property.
At the North Jane property, located southeast of the Uranerz Doughstick area, 20 additional holes were drilled with excellent results in the 100 Sand horizon. The North Jane area is part of the Arkose properties and is adjacent to the trend located at the Company's 100%-owned Doughstick property. A combined National Instrument 43-101 technical report is currently in progress for both the Uranerz Doughstick and the Arkose North Jane properties.
At the Little Butte and Beecher Draw (northwest targets) properties, 185 exploration holes were drilled; only minor mineralization was found in the 90 Sand at these locations. Drilling was also conducted in the Lone Bull property which is located 5 miles southwest of South Doughstick. 27 holes were drilled on wide spaced centers at this location and a mineralized trend in the 100 Sand was found. Additional drilling consisting of 6 holes was also conducted at South Lone Bull on the 80 Sand trend.
Drilling was also conducted along the South Doughstick extension located one mile south of the primary South Doughstick trend. A total of 66 holes were drilled with good results along 5,000 feet of mineralized trend. In addition, 11 delineation holes were drilled at South Doughstick to investigate the development of sands below the primary mineralized host sandstone.
The combined effort for drilling on the Arkose properties from July 4 through November 3, 2009 represents approximately 223,715 feet of drilling with an average depth of 710 feet per hole. The Company has completed the 2009 drilling program.
The objective of the 2009 Arkose drilling program was to find previously unknown or little known uranium mineralization trends and to delineate known trends, which will be used to generate data for permitting and eventual production operations in favorably identified areas. During the period July 4 to November 3, uranium mineralization found ranged from <0.01% eU3O8 to 1.18% eU3O8. A cut-off grade of 0.03% eU3O8 was established for Arkose properties. Approximately 30.2 % of the 315 holes drilled during this period met or exceeded the minimum cut-off grade. Some of the delineation drilling was conducted in rows or fences of drill holes, with each end of the fence being drilled until barren sand was found. This drilling technique typically results in two or more barren holes per fence. A summary table of the most recent best hole results is provided below.
Summary of Best Hole Drilling Results from July 4 through November 3, 2009
|
Hole ID |
Thickness |
Grade (%)* |
Grade-Thickness |
Depth |
|
(ft) |
(GT**) |
(ft to top) |
|
North Jane (Arkose 100 Sand***) |
|
A36-28-041 |
12.5 |
0.086 |
1.08 |
593.0 |
|
A36-28-044 |
21.0 |
0.151 |
3.17 |
555.0 |
|
A36-28-046 |
7.0 |
0.202 |
1.41 |
571.0 |
|
A36-28-051 |
18.0 |
0.155 |
2.79 |
573.0 |
|
Little Butte (Arkose 90 Sand ***) |
|
A25-14-059 |
1.0 |
1.180 |
1.18 |
615.5 |
|
South Doughstick Extension (Arkose 100 Sand***) |
|
A26-05-030 |
13.0 |
0.077 |
1.00 |
515.0 |
* All drill holes are electric logged with a standard suite of logs including resistivity, self-potential, and natural gamma expressed as eU3O8. The gamma detection instruments are calibrated in the Casper, Wyoming, US Department of Energy test pits every 60 days.
** GT represents grade times thickness and is calculated by multiplying eU3O8 grade (in percent) by gamma anomaly thickness (in feet) as determined from downhole radiometric probing. For example, a drill hole that has 10 feet of 0.10% uranium mineralization has a GT of 1.0 and would be considered a good hole by ISR mining standards.
*** The 100 Sand is part of a sequence of sands in the Wasatch Formation which range in ascending order by 10s from 70 to 140 (70, 80, 90, etc.). The 100 Sand is equivalent to the A Sand, which is the principle mineralized sand at the proposed Nichols Ranch ISR uranium facility. The 90 Sand is located 70 to 100 feet below the 100 Sand.
"The drilling results from North Jane and South Doughstick extension properties were welcome additions to the previous great results we received earlier in 2009. Although we have yet to identify significant mineralization in the 90 Sand, undrilled targets in this sand horizon are numerous and should be evaluated in the future," said Kurtis Brown, the Company's Vice President, Exploration.
Mr. Kurtis Brown is a "qualified person" as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101 and oversees the Company's drill programs. He has reviewed the technical disclosure related to the Company's drilling results that are provided in this news release.
About Uranerz
Uranerz Energy Corporation is a U.S.-based uranium company focused on achieving commercial ISR uranium production. The Company controls a strategic land position in the Pumpkin Buttes Uranium Mining District of the central Powder River Basin of Wyoming, U.S.A. Uranerz currently has over U.S. $30,000,000 in its treasury, including the proceeds from its recent public offering.
The Uranerz management team has specialized expertise in the ISR uranium mining method, and a record of licensing, constructing, and operating commercial ISR uranium projects. The Company has entered into long-term contracts for the sale of uranium to two of the largest nuclear utilities in the U.S., including Exelon.
Wyoming has a long and continuous commercial ISR uranium mining history dating back to 1987. Wyoming has the largest reserves, and is the largest producer, of uranium, of any U.S. state.
Uranerz Energy Corporation is listed on the NYSE Amex and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "URZ", and is also listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol "U9E".
Further Information
For further information, please contact the Company's Investor Relations department at 1-800-689-1659, refer to the Company's website at www.uranerz.com, review the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov, or visit the Company's profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com.
This press release may contain or refer to "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable United States and Canadian securities laws, which may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to future production, planned development, capital and operating cost and other projections, resource estimates, our planned exploration and drilling programs and results, the regulatory approval of our planned operations, the expected advantages of in-situ mining in relation to capital costs, operating costs and environmental impact and other plans, estimates and expectations. Such forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, the risks and uncertainties outlined in our most recent financial statements and reports and registration statement filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") (available at www.sec.gov) and with Canadian securities administrators (available at www.sedar.com). Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. We do not undertake to update forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
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