Vancouver —
The deposit was first staked by Lacana Mining in 1976, then optioned to a group including Norcen Energy Resources, Campbell Chibougamau Mines, E&B Explorations, and Ontario Hydro. The property was subjected to 21,000 metres of drilling (500 holes), culminating in a reserve estimate of 2.2 million tonnes grading 0.214% U3O8. The estimate was based on a cutoff grade of 0.025% U3O8 and is not compliant with National Instrument 43-101. A positive feasibility study followed in 1979.
Then, in 1980, under intense pressure from environmental groups and a royal commission, the provincial government imposed a moratorium on all uranium exploration and development lasting several years. Exploration never really recovered after the moratorium lapsed in 1987, mainly because the price of uranium plummeted to below US$10 per lb. U3O8.
Blizzard is a secondary-type deposit in a Tertiary paleo-drainage channel. Uranium mineralization is believed to have been concentrated by leaching of nearby intrusive rocks with elevated uranium content, then capped and preserved by younger volcanic rocks.
Equal partners Santoy and Sparton are earning a 100% interest in the project from an independent prospector who recently registered the claims covering the deposit through the province’s electronic staking procedure. However, the previous owner of the property has filed notice with the gold commissioner, under the B.C. Mineral Title Act, claiming “superior right, title and interest” to the claims.
The earn-in terms for the duo includes cash payments of $450,000 over four years, the issuance of 500,000 shares of Santoy and 2 million shares of Sparton over two years, a $1.5-million work program, and advanced royalty payments of $50,000 per year following the fifth year of the agreement. Also, a royalty is payable on sales from any production.
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