Skyharbour Resources’ (TSX-V:SYH) joint venture partner privately held Orano Canada, has begun a diamond drilling program at the Preston Uranium Project in the Athasbasca Basin, Canada.
The 28 holes for 6,000 to 7,000m drilling program is designed to test high-priority targets across the project, including Johnson Lake, Canoe Lake, and the FSAN target.
At Johnson Lake, drilling will target a broad structural corridor initially uncovered in an airborne versatile time-domain electromagnetic survey. The program aims to test ground conductors at structurally complex intersections, which Skyharbor says is prospective for uranium mineralisation.
At Canoe Lake, the program aims to assess high-priority targets for uranium mineralisation and to further define the target area as a prospective discovery corridor within the Preston Lake Project.
Skyharbor says six zones of interest have been identified based on the review of available airborne and ground geophysical data, characterised by gravity lows near interpreted structural breaks and cross-cutting magnetic features.
Meanwhile at the FSAN Zone, drilling will focus on discrete airborne electromagnetic anomalies. An additional seven to 14 holes will be drilled, which will test gravity low anomalies, areas of magnetic disruption, and sites of high geochemical response.
Skyharbour notes the West and Far West zones have been designated as contingency targets for the program.
In March 2017, Skyharbour signed an option agreement with Orano which provided Orano an earn-in option to acquire a majority working interest in the Preston Project.
Orano fulfilled its earn-in option on Preston by funding expenditure and making required cash payments. Upon completion, C$4.8 million ($7.34 million) in expenditure was spent and a joint venture between both companies and Dixie Gold (TSX-V:DG) was established.
Skyharbour holds a 25.6% interest in the project, while Orano holds 53.3% and Dixie Gold holds 21.2%.
Skyharbour Resources holds an extensive portfolio of uranium projects in Canada’s Athabasca Basin, with interest in 36 projects covering more than 614,000 hectares of land.
Uranium is a radioactive heavy metal that is used in nuclear reactors to generate electrical power.
According to the US Energy Information Administration, uranium production in the US peaked in 1980. In 2023, US nuclear generators used 32 million pounds of imported uranium concentrate and only 0.05 million pounds of domestically produced uranium concentrate.
The US imported uranium concentrate primarily from Canada, Australia, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.
Trading Economics reports uranium futures in the US spiked to US$76 per pound, holding the 10% surge from 16 June when the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust stated it would buy around US$200 million worth of physical uranium for a new fund.
Uranium futures stood at US$78.5 per pound as of 8am AEST on 27 June.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Skyharbour Resources
