UEX Corporation (UEX:TSX) (“UEX” or the “Company”), through its 100%-owned subsidiary, CoEX Metals Corporation (“CoEX”) is pleased to announce the second tranche of assay results have been received for nine additional holes from the Phase 1 winter drilling program on the 100%-owned West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Prospect, located in the eastern Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan.
The Company completed 41 holes totaling 4,457 m on its West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Prospect located on the West Bear Project (the “Project”). On February 28, 2018, UEX announced that it had commenced a $1.5 million 3,500 m, 30-40 drill hole program at West Bear with the objective of expanding the size of the high-grade cobalt and nickel mineralized zone. Phase 1 drilling activities at West Bear have now been concluded in preparation for the spring thaw.
With the addition of this second tranche of assay results, UEX now has complete assay data from a total of 12 of the 41 holes drilled this winter. The assay results of the first three holes were previously announced in UEX’s News Release of April 9, 2018, and included an intersection of 2.00% Co and 1.26% Ni over 10.5 m from 46.0 to 56.5 m in hole WBC-001. Cobalt mineralization was encountered over significant widths in eight of the nine holes from the second tranche of samples.
Hole WBC-012 encountered 1.78% Co and 1.06% Ni over 22.5 m from 73.5 to 96.0 m and included a subinterval of 4.90% Co and 2.08% Ni over 8.0 m from 77.0 to 85.0 m.
Hole WBC-009 intersected two separate zones of mineralization with the lower zone returning 1.26% Co and 0.59% Ni over 9.5 m from 57.5 to 67.0 m that included a subinterval of 3.78% Co and 1.47% Ni over 3.0 m from 62.0 to 65.0 m.
Hole WBC-010 also encountered two mineralized intervals. The upper interval returned 0.56% Co and 0.28% Ni over 11.5 m from 40.5 to 52.0 m that included 1.64% Co and 0.58% Ni over 3.5 m from 40.5 to 44.0 m. The lower interval encountered 0.87% Co and 1.26% Ni over 1.5 m.
The first twelve holes have been successful at growing the West Bear Co-Ni Prospect by as much as 45 m in the down-dip direction (see attached figure) and up to 10 m in the up-dip direction towards the unconformity. The West Bear Co-Ni Prospect remains open for expansion along strike to the east and west and in the down-dip direction.
The drilling program has also led to the discovery of an upper lens of higher grade cobalt-nickel mineralization that occurs along the upper contact of a distinct graphitic unit, the West Bear Graphitic Package, which dips 15-25 degrees to the south. Previously, high-grade mineralization had only been confirmed along the lower contact of the graphitic unit. Lower grade mineralization is often found scattered throughout the interval between the upper and lower mineralized zones.
So far, the results achieved at West Bear are truly remarkable. The discovery of an upper lens of high-grade cobalt and nickel mineralization overlying the previously known high-grade zone and the presence of scattered mineralization between these high-grade lenses has us very excited about the potential of the West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Prospect.
– Roger Lemaitre, President & CEO
The table below summarized the assay results received to date.
Table 1 – Results from the Second Tranche of Assay Samples – West Bear Co-Ni Prospect
Based upon the dip of the mineralization and dip angle of the drill holes, true widths are expected to be 90-95% of core lengths.
WBC-017 was drilled to test the up-dip projection of mineralization in WBC-016 at the unconformity but failed to encounter the West Bear Graphitic Package which subcropped just south of WBC-017.
CoEX has yet to receive complete assay results for holes WBC-003, 004, 006, 007, 008, 013 and the remaining 23 holes that were drilled during the winter campaign.
Sample Collection and Compositing
Samples are selected using a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (“XRF”) Spectrometer to aid in the identification of mineralized intervals. Selected drill core is then split in half sections on site and one half is collected for analysis with the other half core remaining on site for reference. Where possible, samples are collected at a standardized 0.5 m interval through zones of mineralization but respect geological units and intervals.
The samples are shipped to the Geoanalytical Laboratory at the Saskatchewan Research Council (“SRC”) in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Analysis at the SRC laboratory for Cobalt, Nickel, Lead, Zinc, and Arsenic (wt %) was completed using the ICP-OES method with an Aqua Regia digestion. The SRC Geoanalytical Laboratory is an ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited facility (#537) by the Standards Council of Canada.
Assay intervals were composited using a cut-off grade of 0.01% Cobalt. All depth measurements and sample intervals reported are down-hole measurements from drill core. True thickness of the ore zones has yet to be determined and is estimated at 90-95% of core thickness.
Qualified Persons and Data Acquisition
Technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Roger Lemaitre, P.Eng., P.Geo., UEX’s President and CEO and Trevor Perkins, P.Geo., UEX’s Exploration Manager, who are each considered to be a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
About UEX
UEX (TSX:UEX, OTC:UEXCF.PK, UXO.F) is a Canadian uranium exploration and development company involved in sixteen uranium projects, including six that are 100% owned and operated by UEX, one joint venture with Orano Canada Inc. (“Orano”) that is 90.1% owned by UEX and is under option to and operated by ALX Uranium, as well as eight joint ventures with Orano, one joint venture with Orano and JCU (Canada) Exploration Company Limited, which are operated by Orano, and one project (Christie Lake) under option from JCU (Canada) Exploration Company Limited and operated by UEX.
The company is also involved in one cobalt-nickel exploration project located in the Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan. The West Bear Project was formerly part of UEX’s Hidden Bay Project and contains the West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Prospect and the West Bear Uranium Deposit. The seventeen projects are located in the eastern, western and northern perimeters of the Athabasca Basin, the world’s richest uranium belt, which in 2016 accounted for approximately 23% of the global primary uranium production. UEX is currently advancing several uranium deposits in the Athabasca Basin which include the Christie Lake deposits, the Kianna, Anne, Colette and 58B deposits at its currently 49.1%-owned Shea Creek Project (located 50 km north of Fission’s Triple R Deposit and Patterson Lake South Project, and NexGen’s Arrow Deposit) the Horseshoe and Raven deposits located on its 100%-owned Horseshoe-Raven Development Project and the West Bear Uranium Deposit located at its 100%-owned West Bear Project.
Source: UEX Corporation