Hathor fills gaps, extends zone at Roughrider (June 14, 2010)

Strong drill results from the Midwest Northeast uranium project have become the norm but it seems Hathor Exploration (HAT-V) saved the best for last — the final set of results from the winter drilling program at the Roughrider uranium deposit included the highest grade-thicknesses ever encountered at the Saskatchewan property.

Hathor completed a 27,000- metre drill program at the Athabasca basin project over the winter that included infill and step-out holes at the Roughrider deposit as well as expansion holes to prove up a resource at the new Roughrider East zone discovered last fall. Assays are not yet available for the work from Roughrider East, which sits 200 metres away from Roughrider, but assays have now been released for all of the holes at Roughrider.

Four infill holes on the western side of the deposit returned very high-grade intercepts, some from within the zone and some from below the previous boundary. Hole 204 cut 7.5 metres grading 43.64% U₃O₈ from 232 metres depth, within a low-grade portion of the zone. Nearby, hole 205 returned 4.5 metres of 16.44% U₃O₈ from 252 metres downhole and hole 209 hit 23 metres of 24.31% U₃O₈, starting 242 metres downhole and including 9.5 metres of 55.91% U₃O₈. And hole 212 hit 3.5 metres of 10.23% U₃O₈ from 243 metres depth.

Hathor says the new results “confirm significant high-grade mineralization in area classified in the initial resource model as weak or non-mineralized.”

And just two days earlier Hathor had announced another set of results that included new, high-grade intercepts from the central part of the deposit, where the resource grade was low in the initial estimate, and from outside of the resource shell.

In the central portion of the deposit most of the mineralization grades less than 5% U₃O₈ (compared to several high-grade pods within the deposit that grade better than 5% U₃O₈) and the initial resource estimate considered two areas as completely unmineralized because of a lack of data.

Hole 192 intersected mineralization north of the defined resource, returning 26.5 metres grading 3.55% U₃O₈ from 247 metres downhole, including 6 metres of 14.46% U₃O₈. Nearby, hole 191 hit 8 metres of 0.63% U₃O₈ at 238 metres depth, followed a few metres later by 12.5 metres of 2.58% U₃O₈. Hathor says both of these holes intersected mineralization “that was higher grade and wider than that modelled in the initial resource.”

To the southeast, towards the centre of the deposit, four holes hit healthy intercepts within a low-grade segment of Roughrider. Hole 179 intercepted 22.5 metres carrying 2.8% U₃O₈, starting at 229 metres depth and including 5 metres of 6.23% U₃O₈. Hole 182 cut 22.5 metres averaging 2.55% U₃O₈ from 234 metres downhole, followed by six short, lower-grade hits. Hole 185A returned 12 metres of 1% U₃O₈ from 234 metres depth. And hole 195 cut 5 metres of 1.21% U₃O₈ as one of four mineralized segments.

Just to the east, three holes found mineralization in a zone considered unmineralized in the initial resource estimate. Hole 196 cut 16 metres of 2.4% U₃O₈, hole 198 returned 9.5 metres of 2.62% U₃O₈, and hole 187A hit 9.5 metres of 2.64% U₃O₈.

In an earlier set of results from late May, Hathor extended the deposit to the west. Hole 20 cut an impressive 22.5 metres grading 11.31% U₃O₈ west of the current resource boundary and hole 197A hit 17 metres of 15.2% U₃O₈ starting in the zone and extending below. The company also extended one of the high-grade pods at depth when hole 188B returned 7.5 metres of 28.98% U₃O₈.

According to an initial resource estimate, the Roughrider deposit contains 116,000 indicated tonnes grading 2.57% U₃O₈ and 83,000 inferred tonnes averaging 3% U₃O₈, for 12.1 million total contained lbs. of U₃O₈. Hathor has traced the deposit along 200 metres strike; a 100- metre gap now exists between it and the 100-metre strike of the Roughrider East zone.

Hathor owns 90% of the Midwest Northeast property; Terra Ventures (TAS-V) holds the other 10%.

At presstime, Hathor was up 14% to $1.67 on news of the latest drill results. The company has a 52-week trading range of $1.30 -$2.39 and 101 million shares outstanding.