Tribune Follows the Yellow Brick Road as it Drills for Uranium in the Athabasca
By Sylvia Young
November 15, 2007
No, we’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto, but we are at the scene of a whirlwind of activity along the southern margin of the Athabasca Basin, where Tribune Uranium Corp (TSX.V:TCB) has just begun drilling for uranium at its Botham Lake property. The company is working right next door to Cameco's recent Centennial Zone discovery, which reports 18.3% U3O8 over 5.3 meters. The property is just south of Tommy Davis Bay (Cree Lake), approximately 254 km north-northwest of La Ronge and 53 km west of the Key Lake Uranium Mine.
The company has five projects altogether– three of which are strategically located within the Athabasca Basin: Botham Lake (19,099 ha), Dufferin Lake East (18,790 ha), and North Shore (117,853 ha). Rounding out a well-diversified portfolio are its recently-acquired Quartz and Green claims, in the Reed Lake Mining District of Manitoba, and its Potonico gold/silver project in El Salvador.
So far, nine anomalies at Botham Lake have been identified from the results of an 826 line-km MEGATEM airborne survey conducted in 2006. The work program for the summer and fall of this year involved additional ground prospecting and analysis to identify potential drill targets. So far, 20 high-priority drill targets have been identified on the anomalies. Plans are for a total of 4000m of drilling over four of the nine anomalies (B1, B2, B4, and B9). The company is following the recommendations laid out in its 43-101 report, which states that “additional work is recommended for the Properties, but the work should be focused on drill testing the areas containing the four strongest conductor anomalies, B1, B2, B4, and B9, detected during the airborne GEOTEM survey and the anomalies detected during the ground magnetics and HLEM surveys on the Botham Lake claim block. Secondary (and tertiary, on B1) conductive trends were identified using ground magnetics and HLEM surveys along grids B1, B45, and B79, which were not apparent from the airborne geophysics surveys. Eight to nine diamond drill holes to depths of 600 meters would be recommended to drill test the identified conductor anomalies.”
Saskatchewan is the world leader in uranium production– home to the biggest uranium mines in the world, with resources sufficient for over 40 years at current rates of production. There are three uranium mines currently in production in the Athabasca– Eagle Point, McArthur River and McClean Lake. In 2005, these mines produced 28% of the world’s uranium. As of December 31st 2006, the province’s uranium reserves stood at 673.6 million lbs. of U3O8, with new deposits being continually discovered– with an energy potential estimated at 5.7 billion tonnes of coal or 20 billion barrels of oil.
According to the most recent Uranium in Saskatchewan, a fact sheet produced annually by Saskatchewan’s uranium mining industry, “uranium production from the high grade deposits of the Athabasca Basin began in 1975 at Rabbit Lake. The richest uranium deposits in the world occur at or near the base of the Athabasca Basin sandstone sequence, near the erosional unconformity with the underlying crystalline rocks”. Today, all of Canada's uranium production is from basement- and unconformity-related deposits such as Key Lake, Cluff Lake, Rabbit Lake (all now depleted), and the McClean Lake and McArthur River deposits. Other large, exceptionally high-grade, unconformity-related deposits currently being developed include Cameco’s Cigar Lake (averaging almost 20% U3O8 with some zones running over 50% U3O8). Interestingly enough, due to flooding, production has been delayed at Cigar Lake until 2010– with some analysts suggesting that this setback is an important factor in keeping uranium prices high.
This decade has seen the price of uranium skyrocket from around $15/lb. at the beginning of 2001 to a high of $135/lb. in July of this year before settling back to its current plateau of around $90/lb. This phenomenal rise is a reflection of mounting concerns about pending supply shortages. Already, eighteen nuclear power plants provide about 15% of Canada’s electricity. By 2030, world electricity demand is expected to double– making nuclear an increasingly attractive option to help meet the growing demand for clean, affordable power.
Tribune stands a particularly good chance of achieving success in the Athabasca for several reasons. Management has built a solid property portfolio in the area– with key claims right next door or close to Cameco’s proven deposits. It has successfully negotiated agreements with joint venture partners who are experienced in the Athabasca; namely, Fission Energy on its North Shore property. Mining-friendly governments, a much wider public acceptance of nuclear power than in previous years, and voracious global uranium demand do much to pave the company’s way to production.
The next few weeks will be exciting ones for the company’s investors, and some positive assay results should have them saying– in a twist on the old classic– lions and tigers and bulls– oh my!
This article is intended for information purposes only, and is not a recommendation to buy or sell the equities of any company mentioned herein. It is based on sources believed to be reliable, but no warranty as to accuracy is expressed or implied. The opinions expressed in the article are those of the author except where statements are attributed to individuals other than the author, in which case the opinions are those of the individual to whom they are attributed.
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