Uranium-Focused Joint Venture – Exploration Update
Updated : 07:02
13th November 2024
Power Metal Resources PLC
("Power Metal" or the "Company")
Uranium-Focused Joint Venture - Exploration Update
Power Metal Resources plc (AIM:POW, OTCQB:POWMF), the London-listed exploration company with a global project portfolio, is pleased to update the market on forthcoming exploration activities within its uranium-focused joint venture (the "Joint Venture" or "JV") of Power Metal's entire portfolio of uranium licences with UCAM Ltd ("UCAM" or the "Investor").
Sean Wade, Chief Executive Officer of Power Metal Resources plc, commented:
"I am very pleased to be able to update shareholders on the JV's exciting initial plans for its uranium portfolio. We have a substantial budget committed to exploration, we believe, in fact, the second largest currently being deployed in the Athabasca Basin area.
"In order to maximise our chances of discovery, we will continue to undertake the necessary sampling and surveying work before we commence drilling, which we currently anticipate will be in late February/early March of next year.
"I very much look forward to being able to regularly update shareholders on our progress across this licence area."
HIGHLIGHTS
· The JV intends to accelerate the exploration programme on its Badger Lake Property, located 35km from the World Class Arrow and Triple R uranium deposits. This programme will include airborne geophysical surveying, an innovative Ambient Noise Tomography ("ANT") ground geophysics survey, and will aim to undertake a multi-hole drilling programme in February-March 2025.
· The JV has commissioned Axiom Exploration Group ("Axiom") to complete a magnetic and electromagnetic survey over the Badger Lake Property commencing on 14 November 2024. Axiom will then complete similar surveys over the Perch River, East Hawkrock and West Hawkrock Properties in the following weeks.
· The JV has commissioned Fleet Space Technologies Pty Ltd ("Fleet") and Axiom to complete an ANT survey on the Badger Lake Property. This innovative method has been utilised successfully by multiple uranium explorers and developers, including Forum Energy Metal Corp, ATHA Energy Corp and IsoEnergy. This survey is planned for mid-late November 2024.
· The combined radon, soil and biogeochemical sampling program on Badger Lake was completed in late October 2024, with assays pending.
Further Information
Acceleration of the Exploration Programme on Badger Lake
In October 2024, a combined radon, soil and biogeochemical sampling programme was completed on Badger Lake; while the results are pending, a member of the JV's technical team attended the site works. Following this programme, it was decided to accelerate the geophysical programmes and aim to drill in February/March 2025. To facilitate this drilling, the JV has commissioned and accelerated further geophysical programmes to provide technical input to the proposed programme. Additionally, to support the drill permit application, multiple local experts have been engaged, including a First Nations liaison, to assist the JV technical team.
Geophysical Survey of Badger Lake, Perch River, East Hawkrock and West Hawkrock Properties
The JV has commissioned Axiom Exploration Group of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to complete an Xcite™ system helicopter-borne time-domain electromagnetic ("HTDEM") and magnetic airborne geophysical survey of the Badger Lake, Perch River, Hawkrock East, and Hawkrock West Properties.
These methods are industry standard for the exploration of uranium deposits in the Athabasca Basin, and the Xcite™ system offers high-resolution data, rapid mobilisation and quiet data collection. Following the surveys, Axiom will process the raw data in-house and provide it to JV's technical team.
The electromagnetic survey will inform the JV's technical team of the location of areas of conductive material in the basement geology below the sandstones of the four properties. The conductive material within the basement may represent graphitic rocks, which are a target for the exploration of unconformity-related uranium, as the majority of uranium deposits in the Athabasca Basin are located in the vicinity of graphitic rocks.
The magnetic survey will provide information on the structure of the basement geology on the properties. Unconformity-related deposits are typically located in close proximity to major fault structures, which may have acted as fluid conduits, and thus, gaining an understanding of the properties of structural geology is key in drill planning.
Previous exploration on the Badger Lake property suggested the existence of a multiple conductive zones in the basement1,2 but due to the age and low resolution of the surveys, it was unable to provide a definitive conductive axis. Additionally, an untested Dielectric Constant conductive anomaly exists in the centre of the property3.
Ambient Noise Tomography
ANT is a type of ground geophysical surveying; in this method, multiple seismic detectors are placed over an area of interest, where they record the minute movement and activity of seismic waves from earthquakes generated elsewhere on Earth.
Depending on the geology, faults, alteration and other key inputs for drill targeting, the ground below the sensors will deflect and very subtly change the behaviour of seismic waves. These subtle changes are picked up by the seismic detectors, which are then analysed to determine the geological features below the surveyed area.
ANT is a highly innovative and efficient surveying technique with a low environmental impact. It has been used around the world but found particular success in the Athabasca and Thelon Basin, having been successfully employed by Forum Energy Metal Corp4, ATHA Energy Corp5 and IsoEnergy Limited6. Axiom will deploy the ANT survey, with Fleet completing the computational analysis.
REFERENCES
1 COGEMA Resources Inc, Laurie Project Report on GEOTEM Airborne EM and Magnetic Surveys, March, 2002 (74F10-0035R)
2 Kerr Addison Mines Limited, 1978, Airborne Electromagnetic Survey, Lloyd Lake Project Saskatchewan (74F10-0013)
3 https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/power_metal_resources/news/rns/story/xenn32x
5 https://athaenergy.com/atha-energy-provides-updates-on-2024-exploration-program/
6 https://www.isoenergy.ca/news-media/news/isoenergy-generates-six-new-high-priority-drill-targets-at-larocque-east-project-following-ant-surveys
QUALIFIED PERSON STATEMENT
The technical information contained in this disclosure has been read and approved by Mr Nick O'Reilly (MSc, DIC, MIMMM, MAusIMM, FGS), who is a qualified geologist and acts as the Qualified Person under the AIM Rules - Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies. Mr O'Reilly is a Principal consultant working for Mining Analyst Consulting Ltd which has been retained by Power Metal Resources PLC to provide technical support.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR.
For further information please visit https://www.powermetalresources.com/ or contact:
Power Metal Resources plc | |
Sean Wade (Chief Executive Officer)
| +44 (0) 20 3778 1396 |
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nomad and Joint Broker) | |
Ewan Leggat/Caroline Rowe
| +44 (0) 20 3470 0470 |
Tamesis Partners LLP (Joint Broker) | |
Richard Greenfield/Charlie Bendon | +44 (0) 20 3882 2868 |
BlytheRay (PR Advisors) Tim Blythe/Megan Ray |
+44 (0) 20 7138 3204 |
NOTES TO EDITORS
Power Metal Resources plc - Background
Power Metal Resources plc (AIM:POW, OTCQB:POWMF) is a London-listed metals exploration company which finances and manages global resource projects and is seeking large scale metal discoveries.
The Company has a principal focus on opportunities offering district scale potential across a global portfolio including precious, base and strategic metal exploration in North America, Africa, Saudi Arabia and Australia.
Project interests range from early-stage greenfield exploration to later-stage prospects currently subject to drill programmes.
Power Metal will develop projects internally or through strategic joint ventures until a project becomes ready for disposal through outright sale or separate listing on a recognised stock exchange thereby crystallising the value generated from our internal exploration and development work.
Value generated through disposals will be deployed internally to drive the Company's growth or may be returned to shareholders through share buy backs, dividends or in-specie distributions of assets.
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