UEX Reports N.I. 43-101 Compliant Mineral Resource Estimate for the Raven Deposit of 9.15 million pounds of U(3)O(8) in the Indicated category, and 1.13 million pounds of U(3)O(8) Inferred at a cutoff grade of 0.05% U(3)O(8), and the latest resource for the West Bear Deposit
Trading Symbol: UEX-TSX
VANCOUVER, Jan. 5 /CNW/ - UEX Corporation ("UEX") is pleased to announce that it has received a National Instrument 43-101 ("N.I. 43-101") Mineral Resource Estimate report from Golder Associates Ltd. ("Golder") of Burnaby, BC, for the Raven Deposit ("Raven"), and updated resources for the West Bear Deposit ("West Bear"). The two deposits are located within UEX's 100%-owned Hidden Bay Project in the eastern Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan, Canada.
The new Raven resource estimate contains 3.97 million tonnes grading 0.105% U(3)O(8) in the Indicated category containing 9.15 million pounds of U(3)O(8), and 0.49 million tonnes grading 0.104% U(3)O(8) in the Inferred category containing 1.13 million pounds of U(3)O(8) at a cutoff grade of 0.05% U(3)O(8). The new resources at Raven are in addition to a previously reported N.I. 43-101 compliant Mineral Resource Estimate at the adjacent Horseshoe Deposit which comprise 3.58 million tonnes grading 0.24% U(3)O(8) in the Indicated category containing 18.69 million pounds of U(3)O(8), and 0.31 million tonnes grading 0.21% U(3)O(8) in the Inferred category containing 1.43 million pounds of U(3)O(8) reported on September 29, 2008, and documented in a technical report dated November 13, 2008 which is filed on SEDAR. These Horseshoe resources substantially exceeded the non-N.I. 43-101 compliant historical Gulf Minerals Canada ("Gulf") resource on Horseshoe of 13.6 million pounds U(3)O(8) at grades of 0.17% U(3)O(8).
Total contained Indicated uranium resources at the West Bear Deposit have not significantly changed from the December 2007 N.I. 43-101 compliant resource calculation, and stand at 78,914 tonnes containing 1.58 million pounds U(3)O(8) grading 0.908% U(3)O(8) at a cutoff of 0.05% U(3)O(8). A supporting technical report reviewing all resources on the Hidden Bay Project will be filed on SEDAR shortly. Geological aspects and drilling results from Raven are also documented in the November 12, 2008 technical report on the Horseshoe and Raven deposits which is filed under UEX's disclosures on SEDAR.
Indicated resources in the new N.I. 43-101 compliant resource estimate at Raven are comparable in contained uranium to the historical, non-43-101 compliant resource of 9.4 million pounds of U(3)O(8) reported in the Gulf historical resource, which comprised 3.06 million tonnes grading 0.14% U(3)O(8). The additional Inferred resources expand the deposit beyond the historical figures. In addition, western and eastern portions of the Raven deposit are both open, and further stepout drilling which will commence in January 2009 is anticipated to increase the mineral resource inventory of the deposit. As with the previous Horseshoe resource, expansions to the resource base at Raven have come through the tracing of mineralization into areas previously untested by historical drilling, and establishment of better continuity of mineralization between the widely spaced historical drill holes. At a lower cutoff grade of 0.02% U(3)O(8), resources at Raven increase to 7.60 million tonnes containing 11.57 million pounds U(3)O(8) in the Indicated category at a grade of 0.074% U(3)O(8), and 0.83 million tonnes containing 1.42 million pounds U(3)O(8) at a grade of 0.078% U(3)O(8) in the Inferred category.
"With the new resource calculation at Raven, UEX has now exceeded its objective of identifying 30 million pounds of U(3)O(8) in resources on the Hidden Bay Project" said Stephen Sorensen, President and CEO of UEX. Sorensen went on to say that "since mineralization at Raven and Horseshoe is still open, and additional mineralization at Horseshoe Northeast is currently being defined, UEX's goal for 2009 is to establish resources of 40 million pounds of U(3)O(8) on its Hidden Bay Project."
UEX is considering a few production options which include a toll milling arrangement with one of the operators of the two active uranium mills in the region, namely Cameco Corporation's ("Cameco") Rabbit Lake mill less than 5 kilometres to the northeast of the Raven and Horseshoe Deposits, and AREVA Resources Canada Inc.'s ("AREVA") McClean Lake facilities located 12 kilometres to the northwest of these deposits, or potentially constructing a stand-alone facility which could process ore from all of UEX's Hidden Bay deposits. In all scenarios, given the Horseshoe and Raven Deposits' location in impermeable basement rocks, any open pits created by mining either deposit will be evaluated as tailings disposal facilities for UEX's deposits, and for other operators in the area.
With over 90% of resources at the Horseshoe and Raven Deposits already in the Indicated category, feasibility level mining and economic assessment work can commence in parallel with resource expansion and drilling. UEX anticipates updating N.I. 43-101 compliant resources on the Horseshoe and Raven Deposits after the completion of recently announced winter 2009 drilling program of approximately 25,000 metres. This program will test open and partially defined areas of mineralization which lie beyond the current resource limits.
Raven Resource Calculation Details
The January 2009 Raven resource estimate was prepared by K. Palmer, P. Geo., of Golder, an independent Qualified Person as defined by N.I. 43-101. The resource calculation utilized 187 diamond drill holes (45,300 metres from holes RU-001 to RU-160, and RV-001 to RV-028) drilled between 2005 and 2008, to define the deposit at 7.5 to 50 metre drill centers. The resource estimate was calculated using a minimum cutoff grade of 0.02% U(3)O(8) utilizing a geostatistical-block model technique with ordinary kriging methods and the DATAMINE Studio 3 software package.
Details of the resources at different cutoff levels are provided in Tables 1 and 2 below. The bulk of the resource is in Indicated category at a 0.05% U(3)O(8) cutoff. At a cutoff grade of 0.10%, most of the contained U(3)O(8) in the Indicated Resource is within areas averaging 0.165% U(3)O(8).
Table 1
January 2009 Indicated Mineral Resources at the Raven Deposit
with tonnes and grade at various U(3)O(8) cutoff grades.
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Cutoff Tonnes Dry Density U(3)O(8) (%) U(3)O(8) (lbs)
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0.02 7,602,400 2.46 0.074 11,572,000
0.05 3,967,600 2.46 0.105 9,154,000
0.10 1,446,900 2.46 0.165 5,273,000
0.15 598,500 2.47 0.229 3,019,000
0.20 286,400 2.48 0.291 1,838,000
0.25 154,000 2.48 0.350 1,189,000
0.30 85,500 2.48 0.412 777,000
0.35 52,000 2.49 0.470 539,000
0.40 31,800 2.49 0.532 373,000
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Table 2
January 2009 Inferred Mineral Resources at the Raven Deposit
with tonnes and grade at various U(3)O(8) cutoff grades.
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Cutoff Tonnes Dry Density U(3)O(8) (%) U(3)O(8) (lbs)
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0.02 833,200 2.41 0.078 1,418,000
0.05 494,000 2.42 0.104 1,134,000
0.10 146,200 2.45 0.189 611,000
0.15 81,200 2.47 0.244 437,000
0.20 40,100 2.47 0.316 279,000
0.25 20,700 2.47 0.401 183,000
0.30 14,600 2.46 0.454 146,000
0.35 11,400 2.46 0.489 123,000
0.40 9,100 2.47 0.518 104,000
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The current resources at Raven are still open to the west and east into areas that were included within the historical resources defined by Gulf. Historical drilling results include several significant drilling intersections by Gulf that lie beyond the limits of the current resource, including intercepts of 0.21% U(3)O(8) over 15.54 metres in hole LB-031, 0.52% U(3)O(8) over 3.35 metres in hole LB-038, and 0.16% U(3)O(8) over 13.72 metres in hole LB-048, which suggest that mineralization at Raven may extend for at least 200 metres westward from the current resource outline.
West Bear Resource Calculation Details
The updated January 2009 West Bear resource estimate was also prepared by K. Palmer, P. Geo., of Golder. The resource calculation utilized the results from 216 drill holes totaling 6,400 metres which were completed during 2005 and 2007 sonic drilling programs. The resource estimate was calculated using a minimum cutoff grade of 0.01% U(3)O(8) utilizing a geostatistical-block model technique with ordinary kriging methods and the DATAMINE Studio 3 software package.
The new resource reported below reflects the remodeling of the deposit after significant resampling of drill core was undertaken to better define mineralization outlines. The changes in volume, with corresponding decrease in grade with respect to the December 2007 N.I. 43-101 compliant Indicated Resource (73,800 tonnes grading 1.00% U(3)O(8), containing 1.61 million pounds of U(3)O(8) using a cutoff grade of 0.15% U(3)O(8) - see December 13, 2007 news release), reflect incorporation of lower grade material in the new resource outlines. All resources at West Bear are classified as Indicated; details at different cutoff levels are provided in Table 3 below:
Table 3
January 2009 Indicated Mineral Resources at the West Bear Deposit
with tonnes and grade at various U(3)O(8) cutoff grades.
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Cutoff Tonnes Dry Density U(3)O(8) (%) U(3)O(8) (lbs)
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0.01 209,655 1.99 0.36 1,654,594
0.02 188,137 1.99 0.40 1,646,208
0.03 112,950 1.99 0.65 1,605,245
0.04 85,265 2.02 0.84 1,584,573
0.05 78,914 2.03 0.91 1,578,500
0.10 76,067 2.03 0.94 1,574,010
0.15 70,316 2.04 1.01 1,557,586
0.20 63,767 2.04 1.09 1,532,152
0.25 57,332 2.04 1.19 1,500,142
0.30 52,067 2.04 1.28 1,468,219
0.35 47,764 2.04 1.37 1,437,236
0.40 43,560 2.05 1.46 1,402,640
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Hidden Bay Project - Total Resources
With the new N.I. 43-101 compliant resources reported here for the Raven and West Bear Deposits, and the September 2008 N.I. 43-101 compliant resource at the Horseshoe Deposit, total resources on the Hidden Bay Project at a cutoff of 0.05% U(3)O(8) now stand at 29.43 million pounds U(3)O(8) Indicated and 2.56 million pounds U(3)O(8) Inferred. Note that the total resources exceed 30 million pounds U(3)O(8) in the Indicated category if a 0.02% U(3)O(8) cutoff grade is considered for Raven. A summary of resources is illustrated in Tables 4 and 5 below:
Table 4
Total N.I. 43-101 compliant Indicated Mineral Resources on the
Hidden Bay Project, January 2009,
at a cutoff grade of 0.05% U(3)O(8).
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Deposit Tonnes U(3)O(8) (%) U(3)O(8) (lbs)
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Horseshoe 3,577,700 0.237 18,693,000
Raven 3,967,600 0.105 9,154,000
West Bear 78,914 0.908 1,578,500
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Total - all deposits 7,624,214 0.175 29,425,500
Horseshoe & Raven only 7,545,300 0.168 27,847,000
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Table 5
Total N.I. 43-101 compliant Inferred Mineral Resources on the
Hidden Bay Project, January 2009, at a cutoff grade of
0.05% U(3)O(8). No resources classified as Inferred are present at
the West Bear Deposit.
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Deposit Tonnes U(3)O(8) (%) U(3)O(8) (lbs)
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Horseshoe 311,200 0.208 1,426,000
Raven 494,000 0.104 1,134,000
West Bear 0 0.000 0
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Horseshoe & Raven total 805,200 0.144 2,560,000
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About the Horseshoe and Raven Deposits
Mineralization at the Horseshoe and Raven Deposits comprises shallow dipping zones of hematization with disseminated and veinlet pitchblende-boltwoodite-uranophane that are hosted by folded arkosic quartzite gneiss. Mineralization comprises a combination of disseminated pitchblende-chlorite-hematite, and narrower, higher grade nodular and veinlet pitchblende in hematite-clay alteration. Within the resource areas above, mineralization at Horseshoe has been defined to date continuously over a strike length of approximately 600 metres and a dip length of up to 300 metres, occurring at depths of 100-420 metres below surface. At Raven, which lies 0.5 kilometres west of Horseshoe, mineralization has been defined over a strike length to date of approximately 700 metres at depths below surface of 100 to 300 metres in two dominant, subhorizontal zones. The deposits are located less than 5 kilometres south of Cameco's Rabbit Lake operations, and 12 kilometres southeast of AREVA's McClean Lake operations. Both are hosted by competent basement rocks that could be amenable to both open-pit and conventional underground ramp access mining methods, pending a positive feasibility study.
Raven and Horseshoe mineralization comprises pitchblende and other uranium oxides and silicates without potentially deleterious nickel-arsenide minerals that may affect extraction and pose tailings disposal problems. As reported in the September 29, 2008 news release, representative samples derived from composited drill core assay rejects from the Horseshoe Deposit, and from three HQ diameter metallurgical holes from both the Horseshoe and Raven Deposits, have undergone preliminary testing for leach and effluent treatment conditions and grindability analysis under the direction of Melis Engineering Ltd. at SGS Lakefield Research Limited in Lakefield, Ontario. Leaching tests on composites indicate that the uranium in the Horseshoe and Raven Deposits is easily leached under relatively mild atmospheric leach conditions. The excellent extraction levels are comparable to other metallurgically simple basement-hosted deposits in the region, including the nearby Eagle Point Deposit.
In progressing toward a combined feasibility study on the Horseshoe and Raven Deposits, environmental baseline studies were commenced by Golder in 2006, and Golder continues to collect biological, hydrogeological and other environmental data. During the 2007 and 2008 drilling programs, geotechnical studies of the area of the deposits also commenced, assessing rock properties and hydrogeology. Further baseline and geotechnical studies are scheduled for 2009 following the input of more detailed information on the project design generated from initial scoping work prior to commencement of the full feasibility study. Several additional infill holes were drilled to upgrade inferred portions of the Horseshoe Deposit to Indicated status in October 2008, which confirmed mineralization continuity in the two largest inferred zones at Horseshoe; results will be reported when received.
About the West Bear Deposit
The West Bear Uranium Deposit is in the southern portion of the Hidden Bay property, where it lies within a very thin cover of Athabasca sandstone and underlying basement pelites straddling the unconformity. Mineralization occurs at a vertical depth of between 10 and 31 metres (or approximately 33 to 100 feet) from surface and is one of the shallowest, undeveloped uranium deposits in the prolific Athabasca Basin. Combined with the relatively soft nature of the host rocks and overburden, UEX believes that the deposit could be mined using low cost, open pit techniques within a very short timeframe. The deposit is located close to two existing uranium mills, Cameco's Rabbit Lake Mill and the McClean Lake Mill, operated by AREVA.
Golder is carrying out an environmental baseline study ("EBS") and a feasibility study for West Bear Deposit. The EBS has been underway at West Bear since August 2005 and Golder has now collected all necessary biological, hydrogeological and other environmental data for use in the West Bear feasibility study.
The technical information in this document has been compiled and reviewed by D. Rhys, P. Geo., a qualified person as defined by N.I. 43-101.
About UEX
UEX is a Canadian uranium exploration and development company actively involved in 19 uranium projects, including seven that are 100% owned and operated by UEX, one joint venture with AREVA that is operated by UEX, ten joint-ventured with AREVA and one under option from Japan-Canada Uranium Company, Limited, which are operated by AREVA. The 19 projects, totaling 374,513 hectares (925,442 acres), are located in the eastern, western and northern perimeters of the Athabasca Basin, the world's richest uranium belt, which accounts for approximately 23% of the global primary uranium production. UEX is currently developing several uranium deposits in the Athabasca Basin which include the Kianna, Anne and Colette Deposits at its Shea Creek Uranium Project, a joint venture with AREVA in the western Athabasca Basin, and the West Bear, Raven and Horseshoe Deposits located at its 100%-owned Hidden Bay Project in the eastern Athabasca Basin. UEX's exploration and development budgets planned for 2009 total approximately $16.5 million, of which UEX will be responsible for approximately $10.9 million, with additional funds available for potential expansion pending the drilling results.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF UEX CORPORATION
Stephen H. Sorensen,
President & CEO
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" that are based on UEX's current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding UEX's outlook for our future operations, plans and timing for the commencement or advancement of exploration activities on our properties, and other expectations, intention and plans that are not historical fact. The words "estimates", "projects", "expects", "intends", "believes", "plans", or their negatives or other comparable words and phrases are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on certain factors and assumptions and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from UEX's expectations include uncertainties relating to interpretation of drill results and geology, continuity and grade of deposits, fluctuations in uranium prices and currency exchange rates, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in UEX's Annual Information Form and other filings with the securities commission on SEDAR. Many of these factors are beyond the control of UEX. Consequently, all forward-looking statements made in this news release are qualified by this cautionary statement and there can be no assurance that actual results or developments anticipated by UEX will be realized. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, UEX disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
%SEDAR: 00017609E
Source: Canada News Wire (Jan 05, 2009 09:08:00 EST) News by QuoteMedia www.quotemedia.com
