Hathor investors unmoved by high-grade results from Roughrider East

Vancouver – The first set of assay results from the winter drill program at Hathor Exploration‘s (HAT-V) Midwest Northeast project indicate the new Roughrider East zone should contribute handsomely to the growing uranium resource at the Saskatchewan discovery.

In November Hathor drilled hole 170 as a 200-metre eastward step out from its Roughrider deposit, probing an alteration target, and hit 28 metres grading 12.8% U₃O₈ at 300 metres depth. The high-grade hit prompted Hathor to focus almost half of its subsequent winter drill program stepping back from that discovery towards the Roughrider zone to test for continuity,

Of the 30 holes drilled in that effort, radioactivity readings for 25 drill cores ranged from anomalous to off the charts. Now assay results are available for the first 15 holes, which were concentrated on two drill fences close to the discovery hole, and the results indicate another high-grade uranium system that is now separated from the Roughrider deposit by just 100 metres.

The fence of drill holes located 25 metres west of hole 170 returned 22.5% U₃O₈ and 2.27% copper over 12 metres from 286 metres down hole 610, 11.75% U₃O₈ and 0.91% copper over 19 metres starting 311 metres down hole 612, and 1.6% U₃O₈ and 0.4% copper over 81 metres from 260 metres down hole 607. A final hole on this fence, hole 615, has not yet been assayed but Hathor says it contained 23 metres of anomalous radioactivity within an 81-metre segment of continuously altered rock.

Nearby, hole 604 returned 9.15% U₃O₈ over 8 metres from 289 metres depth while hole 608 cut 5.34% U₃O₈ over 15.5 metres starting 294 metres downhole.

Four of the first 15 holes did not return any anomalous radioactivity. Assays have yet to be received for the remaining 15 holes drilled at Roughrider East as well as for th 46 holes drilled at Roughrider as both infill and expansion holes.

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. 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. A single intercept, from hole 159, sits halfway between the zones and returned 75 metres of alteration containing 1 metres of 1.16% U₃O₈. Hathor says this hit “underscores the potential for 400 metres of continuity spanning the Roughrider uranium deposit and Roughrider East,” though the pod-like nature of Athabasca uranium deposits means the company has its work cut out in proving that up.

Canaccord mining analyst Eric Zaunscherb follows the Hathor story and wrote the following in reaction to the assay results:

“Results were truly excellent, better than telegraphed by scintillometer results and demonstrating a copper grade well above the Athabasca Basin norm… In our opinion, the strength of the alteration intensity, mineralization grades, and presence of copper at the Roughrider East zone indicate a very strong mineralizing system, one that may be stronger that at the main Roughrider zone.”

Later, Zaunscherb addressed the presence of copper: “We are not aware of another Athabasca Basin uranium deposit exhibiting such strength in copper… we take this as an indicator of the vigour of the mineralizing system active here as opposed to a potential for economic copper production.”

Hathor’s share price did not change on news of its Roughrider East results, though in the two days following it added 6¢ to reach $1.87. The company has a 52-week share price range of $1.30 to $2.43 and has 101 million shares outstanding. Terra Ventures (TAS-V), which owns a 10% stake in Midwest Northeast, lost a penny over the three days to close at 41.5¢.

The market’s non-reaction to Hathor’s results highlights the blasé regard investors currently hold for all things uranium. The metal’s spot price has been stuck between US$40 and US$45 per lb. U₃O₈ for months, despite predictions from many analysts that supply shortages loom in the medium term.