Tournigan acquires portfolio of uranium claims

Vancouver — Tournigan Gold (TVC-V) has agreed to acquire a portfolio of uranium mining claims in Wyoming.

The Vancouver-based company inked a deal with Sweetwater River Resources to acquire six groups of claims in the Shirley Basin, the Great Divide Basin and the Green River Basin.

Mines in the state have produced 193 million lbs. of uranium oxide, mostly from open pits but also from underground and in situ leach operations.

Four mines in the Shirley Basin produced uranium between 1960 and 1980. The Great Divide Basin, too, hosts a past producer, and was explored considerably during the last uranium boom. The Sweetwater claims in the Green River Basin include portions of a 13-mile-long zone prospective for uranium mineralization.

Five of the six groups of claims host “drill-documented” uranium mineralization, while two contain historic resource estimates. Major mining and oil-and-gas companies previously explored some of the properties.

Tournigan recently acquired four uranium deposits in the Slovak Republic, where the company also holds the advanced Kremnica gold project. The company applied for, and was granted, three exploration licences by the government for annual licence fees of $12,000. No other consideration was paid. The properties contain resources that are not yet compliant with National Instrument 43-101.

The company plans to acquire more uranium mining claims in the western U.S. while it explores the properties in Wyoming.Tournigan can earn 85% of the Wyoming properties by paying US$50,000, spending an initial US$90,000 on exploration and acquisitions, issuing 200,000 of its shares to Sweetwater, and making modest anniversary payments. The company can acquire the remaining 15% interest for shares, based on an independent valuation.