Uranium Energy Corp. reported drill results from its Roughrider Project located in Northern Saskatchewan, Canada. Both exploration and metallurgical sample drilling have been successful at intersecting uranium mineralization.
The Athabasca Basin is a world-class uranium district in the northern portion of the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta in Canada, occupying an area of about 100,000 square kilometres. The unique geology of the Athabasca Basin often results in deposit grades that exceed the world average of uranium deposits of 0.2% U3O8 by up to 100 times. All of Canada's current uranium production occurs from the mines located in the Athabasca Basin. According to the World Nuclear Association, the Athabasca Basin was responsible for producing 15% of the world's uranium production in 2022. Uranium mineralization in the Athabasca Basin occurs in fault structures that penetrate the interface between the sandstone and underlying basement rocks. Uranium can be found at the interface, known as the unconformity, or up to several hundreds of metres below the unconformity surface in the underlying basement rock and fault structures. The uranium concentrations in the holes presented above from the radiometric equivalent uranium grade ("REG"), denoted as eU3O8, were determined in-situ within the drill hole. The eU3O8 grades were estimated in-situ within the drill holes using calibrated down-hole radiometric gamma probes lowered down into the hole. This is a measuring method commonly used by uranium explorers and miners in the Athabasca Basin. The probe records the amount of radioactivity present in the rock adjacent to the probe as it moves up and down the hole. The standard and shielded probes were calibrated prior to the commencement of the current drill program at the Saskatchewan Research Council's ("SRC") test pit facility in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and the Hi-Flux probes are calibrated at Alpha Nuclear in Saskatoon. Using down-hole probes to calculate radiometric equivalent grades is a common practice used by uranium mining companies in the Athabasca Basin. Down-hole probes can accurately measure uranium concentration by measuring the light flashes that occur every time the probe's scintillator is struck by a gamma radiation particle emitted from uranium crystals. The number of light flashes are 'counted' by a photomultiplier tube. Due to a process called 'saturation' that occurs when light emitted by the probe's scintillator overwhelms the photomultiplier tube's ability to 'count' individual light flashes, it can sometimes be difficult to accurately determine radiometric equivalent grades in high-grade intervals. Samples from all holes have been collected for assay analysis to confirm these equivalent grades. The samples will be analyzed at SRC's Geoanalytical The Roughrider Project is a uranium project located in the eastern Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan, Canada; one of the world's premier uranium mining jurisdictions. The project is located approximately 13 kilometres west of Orano's McClean Lake Mill, near UEC's existing Athabasca Basin properties. The depth to mineralization at the project is approximately 200 m and hosted primarily in the basement rocks below the unconformity. The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Chris Hamel, P.Geo., UEC's Vice President Exploration, Canada, who is a Qualified Person for the purposes of SEC Regulation S-K 1300.