Vancouver — With uranium prices reaching multi-decade highs of more than US$18 per lb., UEX (UEX-T) is stepping up exploration work and increasing its holdings in the Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan.
The company has inked an agreement with Japan-Canada Uranium Company (JCU) to acquire a 25% interest in the Beatty River project, ownership of which is currently split between JCU, with 49%, and Cogema Resources, with 50.71%. In return, UEX is required to spend $865,000 on exploration by the end of 2008.
Cogema plans to maintain its interest and will match UEX’s spending. Since the late 1980s, Cogema has carried out airborne and ground geophysics, as well as drilling, on the property.
Meanwhile, exploration results from UEX’s Hidden Bay project, a joint venture with Cameco (CCO-T), have been received. Cameco carried out sonic drilling on the West Bear deposit, which hosts an estimated reserve of 131,000 tonnes grading 0.44% U3O8, or 1.3 million lbs. of yellowcake. Mineralization occurs at depths of 15-26 metres, making Hidden Bay the shallowest uranium deposit yet discovered in the basin.
The drilling was designed to confirm and upgrade previous results, and the results point to substantially higher uranium grades. Also, the deposit is now believed to have excellent potential for expansion.
West Bear will be subjected to further drilling in preparation for an updated resource estimate and possible prefeasibility study. Any development plans would benefit from the deposit’s proximity to processing facilities.
UEX was formed by Pioneer Metals (PSM-T) and Cameco in 2002 to explore uranium deposits in the Athabasca Basin. Pioneer transferred its uranium projects to UEX for 46.5 million shares, which were subsequently redistributed to shareholders. Cameco transferred its advanced-stage Hidden Bay project in exchange for 31 million shares, making it the largest stakeholder in the company.
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