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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Purepoint Uranium Group Inc: Project Status and
Exploration Plans
September 29, 2009 - Purepoint Uranium Group Inc. (TSX:PTU.V) is pleased to provide the
following overview of its current operations and exploration plans for the
coming year.
"As 2008 closed, the exploration industry's
five year bull market came to a hard stop, and Purepoint announced its
decision to dramatically reduce field work and conserve cash until signs of
improvement in the capital markets were apparent" said Chris Frostad,
President and CEO of Purepoint Uranium Group Inc. "Now, as global
economies begin to emerge from that severe recession, Purepoint remains well
positioned as a unique opportunity in Canada's Athabasca Basin uranium
region".
Corporate
Highlights:
- Over a period of five years,
during which the capital markets were providing the lowest cost of
capital the exploration industry has seen in decades, Purepoint resolved
to utilize its own capital to advance its early stage projects while
maintaining a 100% ownership interest; deferring joint venture potential
until higher value could be empirically demonstrated. As a result of
that strategic decision Purepoint is now the only remaining public
exploration junior in the Basin actively advancing a portfolio of 100%
owned, highly prospective uranium projects of proven value;
- Purepoint continues to
closely monitor exploration developments in the Basin and has recently
staked a new block of promising properties within the Basin's primary
mine trend;
- Joint venture discussions
with more than a dozen Asian based companies have recently resumed,
companies which were forced to suspend negotiations last year as global
economies weakened;
- In anticipation of the
pending Canada/India nuclear trade agreement, new discussions with
several large Indian companies have recently commenced;
- Purepoint has now fully
earned an initial 23% in its Smart Lake joint venture with Cameco
Corporation and can earn an additional 27% by spending an additional
$1.9 million by March 31, 2013;
- Purepoint has now fully
earned an initial 20% in its Hook Lake joint venture with Cameco
Corporation and Areva Resources Canada Ltd. and can earn an additional
30% by spending an additional $4.3 million by March 31, 2013;
- At the close of its last
fiscal quarter (June 30, 2009) the company held a working capital
balance in excess of $2.8 million.
Exploration Highlights:
- The company will resume
drilling activities in the upcoming winter season, focusing its efforts
on three high priority projects, Red Willow, Smart Lake and Turnor Lake.
- Re-logging of drill core at
Purepoint's Red Willow project has provided a more detailed
interpretation of the mineralized structures within the Osprey Zone
(assaying as high as 3.03% U3O8 );
- At Purepoint's Smart Lake
joint venture with Cameco a radioactive structure, originally
intersected by SMT08-01, was successfully traced for 50 metres during
the last drill program, returned assays up to 0.19% U3O8 over 0.1 m, and
is associated with the graphitic "Shearwater Conductor" that
has been outlined for over 1.4 kilometers;
- The most recent drill
programs at the company's Turnor Lake project continued to show that
anomalous uranium mineralization is spatially associated with the
unconformity throughout the property. As previously reported, last
year's single drill hole into the Serin Lake Zone intersected an
interpreted uplifted block of basement rocks, an important feature
associated with many high-grade uranium deposits in the Athabasca Basin.
- Purepoint was fortunate to
have recently staked an additional 723 hectares in close proximity to
its Henday Lake project. The entire Henday Block now covers 1,752
hectares within the Athabasca Basin's eastern uranium mine trend and is
situated less than ten kilometers from both Hathor's recently discovered
Roughrider Zone and Denison's Midwest uranium deposit.
Red Willow Project
Last year, a 37-hole diamond drill program totaling
7,160 metres was completed on the Red Willow Property, a large property
containing more than 22 targets, each identified by multiple indicia of Basin
type deposits. This drill program successfully followed up the 2007 Osprey
Zone discovery, discovered two additional radioactive structures within the
Long Lake area, and demonstrated the favourable prospectivity of the Radon
Lake area (see announcement dated June 11, 2008).
Drilling of the Osprey Zone intersected a structure
averaging 0.58% U3O8 over 1.0 metre (RW-19) that included an interval
assaying 3.03% U3O8 over 0.1 metres. The RW-19 intercept is located approximately
80 metres north from the Osprey zone discovery hole RW-07, which returned
0.20% eU3O8 over 5.8 metres in 2007. Hole RW-13 returned 0.27% U3O8 over 1.2
metres that represents a 20 metre step-out south of RW-07. The 2008 Osprey
drilling results indicate that significant uranium intercepts are related to
a 40 - 50 metre wide pyritic/graphitic shear zone. The prospective shear zone
remains unexplored to depth and along most of its strike length.
First pass drilling within the Long Lake area
intersected a 1.6 metre radioactive structure in LL08-05 (including 269 ppm U
over 0.5 m) and two narrow mineralized structures in LL08-07 (611 ppm U and
237 ppm U over 0.1 and 0.2 m, respectively). Two of three eastern
electromagnetic conductors drill-tested in 2008 at Long Lake are now known to
reflect altered, graphitic rocks. These two target areas represent 8.7
kilometers of prospective EM conductors.
At Radon Lake, the VTEM conductor trending southwest
from the lake was explored systematically. Graphitic units were intersected
and anomalous uranium results were returned from RAD-08-01, RAD-08-02,
RAD-08-05, RAD-08-06 and RAD-08-09. Drill hole RAD08-09 provided the best
uranium assay at Radon Lake returning 283 ppm U over 1.1 metres between 106.1
and 107.2 metres. Favourable alteration, including strong chlorite and
hematization, was intersected in most holes. Spring conditions prevented
drill testing the northern extension of the EM conductor.
The most recent drill program at Red Willow
highlighted this property's uranium potential by returning anomalous uranium
concentrations from all three areas drilled. Each of these areas require
further drilling to evaluate their potential while numerous prospective
geophysical targets have yet to be tested by diamond drilling.
Smart Lake Project
The Smart Lake property is situated in the
southwestern portion of the Athabasca Basin, approximately 60 km south of the
former Cluff Lake mine. Depth to the unconformity is shallow, at zero to 350
metres. Aeromagnetic and electromagnetic patterns at Smart Lake reflect an
extension of the unique patterns underlying the Shea Creek deposits (max.
grade of 58.3% U3O8 over 3.5 m) just 55 km north of the property. Recent
exploration by Purepoint and Cameco has firmly established the presence and
location of a number of basement electromagnetic conductors never drill
tested.
Previously reported drill hole SMT08-01 (see
announcement dated November 4, 2008) intersected a major structure between
222.5 and 276.5 m (true width estimated at 20 m) that displayed intense clay
alteration, silicification and hematization. The weak radioactive structure
was brecciated and healed with an overprinting of alteration styles
suggesting multiple episodes of alteration. Three holes were drilled to follow-up
the favourable SMT08-01 structure and successfully intersected it 50 metres
along strike. Drill hole SMT08-05 intersected the radioactive fault between
150.1 and 154.2 m and returned up to 0.22% eU3O8 over 0.2 m. SMT08-06
returned 0.19% U3O8 over 0.1 m from a tension fracture associated with the
SMT08-05 radioactive fault.
The newly discovered radioactive structure at Smart
Lake is associated with graphite and the Shearwater conductor which will aid
ongoing exploration. The Shearwater conductor has been outlined over 1.0
kilometer by a ground EM survey and over 1.4 kilometers by an airborne EM
survey.
Turnor Lake Project
Situated in the eastern side of the Athabasca Basin,
the 100% owned Turnor Lake Project includes five claims with a total area of
9,705 hectares. Depth to the unconformity is shallow at approximately 180
metres.
The property covers known graphitic conductors that
are associated with uranium showings on adjoining properties, namely Cameco's
La Rocque showing (33.9% U3O8 over 5.5 m) to the west and Areva's HLH-50
intercept (5.2% U3O8 over 0.38 m) located to the south. The project lies in
close proximity to several uranium deposits including Midwest Lake, McClean
Lake, Eagle Point, and Collins Bay.
In light of the favourable results returned
throughout the life of this project, all conductors on the property continue
to warrant further diamond drill testing, specifically those conductors
within the Laysan and Serin target zones. Further drilling is required in the
area between drill holes TL-30 and TL-31 and in the vicinity of TL-28, which
returned results showing extensive clay alteration of the sandstone.
Follow-up holes to further test the areas of anomalous halo mineralization
are warranted including the vicinity of TL-39. Drilling will also be
conducted to determine the source of the radon anomaly detected in the
vicinity of drill holes TL-41 and -42.
Henday Block
Purepoint's 100% owned Henday Block is situate
within ten kilometers of both Hathor 's recently discovered Roughrider Zone
and the Midwest uranium deposit owned by Denison Mines Corp., AREVA Resources
Canada Inc. and OURD.
The Henday Lake property falls within the
Mudjatik-Wollaston Tectonic Zone, a northeast trending structural zone along
the eastern margin of the Basin. Over 95% of known Canadian uranium deposits,
and all operating uranium mines in Canada, are located on this trend. The
Mudjatik-Wollaston Tectonic Zone is the NE trending high strain tectonic zone
marking the boundary between the Archean gneisses and granitoids of the
Mudjatik Domain to the west and Archean gneisses, metasediments, and
pegmatite intrusions of the Wollaston domain to the east.
The Henday Block is 1,752 hectares in size, three
times the size of Hathor's nearby Midwest Northeast Project , which hosts
their Roughrider Zone. Only one historic drill hole is known to have been
drilled on Purepoint's Henday property. That hole, drilled by Cogema
Resources in 1998, encountered a steeply dipping, strongly graphitic fault
gouge at the bottom of the hole.
Purepoint is also announcing today that the company
has approved the issuance of a total of 1,280,000 options to certain of its
Board of Directors, management and staff pursuant to its stock option plan.
The options are exercisable at a price of $0.14, are subject to agreed
vesting schedules and expire in five years.
Under Purepoint's stock option plan there are at
present 7,330,803 common shares reserved for issuance, of which only
4,560,000 shares are subject to outstanding option grants.
About Purepoint
Purepoint Uranium Group Inc. is focused on the
precision exploration of more than 55 defined target areas on its eight 100%
owned projects in the Canadian Athabasca Basin, and its two Basin projects
joint ventured with Cameco Corporation and AREVA Resources Canada Inc.
Established in the Basin well before the resurgence in uranium, Purepoint is
actively advancing this large portfolio of multiple drill targets in the
world's richest uranium region.
Scott Frostad BSc, MASc, PGeo, Purepoint's Vice
President, Exploration, is the Qualified
Person responsible for technical content of this release.
Ends
THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES
NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
For further information please contact:
Purepoint Uranium Group Inc.
Chris Frostad, President and CEO
(416) 603-8368
www.purepoint.ca
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