Cogema discovers new Midwest zone

An exploration drilling program by Cogema Resources at the Midwest project in northern Saskatchewan has intersected a new mineralized zone about 3 km northeast of the known Midwest resource.

A 17-hole drill program indicated the new mineralization, called the Mae Zone, over a 100-metre strike length. It has not yet been possible to demonstrate the zone’s size or shape, but it is believed to be northeast-striking and steeply northwest-dipping. It has been found in both the Athabasca sandstone and the underlying basement rocks, and on the unconformity between them.

Midwest already has a resource of 306,000 tonnes grading 4.4% U3O8. Cogema, a unit of French power utility Areva (arvcf-o), is operator and 69% owner; Denison Mines (DEN-T, DNMIF-O) owns 25%, and a consortium of Japanese power utilities owns 6%.

The uranium grades of the new mineralization at the Mae Zone have only been measured from down-hole radiometric measurements and await confirmation by chemical analyses.

Most holes intersected the zone over a 1- to 8-metre core length with radiometrically measured grades between 1% and 3% U3O8. There were, however, at least four thicker and higher-grade intersections including two recent holes that intersected 15.3% U3O8 over 12.5 metres and 12.4% U3O8 over 6.1 metres.

Denison Mines, which announced the discovery, also announced a new resource estimate on the Sue D uranium deposit at the McClean Lake property, also in northern Saskatchewan. (Cogema is 70% owner and operator, Denison owns 22.5%, and the Japanese utilities the rest.)

The deposit now sports an indicated resource of 123,000 tonnes grading 1.05% U3O8, plus inferred resources of 24,000 tonnes grading 0.39%.