Perth-based explorer of critical minerals Valor Resources has narrowed its priority drill targets at the company’s Cluff Lake uranium project in Canada’s world-class Athabasca Basin down from seven to four, following a comprehensive review of all available data.
The data includes an interpretation of new airborne gravity gradiometry and magnetic data, re-processing of historical airborne electromagnetic, or “EM” data and initial field work.
The field work includes some sampling of historical trenches and outcrop, with 20 samples collected in total. Valor says most notable were those collected from Cluff Lake’s Moose Lake prospect, which returned an anomalous rare earths grading up to 9.15 per cent total rare earth oxides. Two Moose Lake targets are now prioritised for drill testing.
Valor Executive Chairman George Bauk said: “The recent site visit has highlighted at least two of these targets as being very exciting walk-up drill targets.”
“The Cluff Lake uranium deposits are basement-hosted deposits with a similar geological and geophysical setting and the project has the potential for both basement and unconformity-style uranium deposits.”
Bauk added the deposits are small in size but economically significant due to their high-grade. He says the company’s exploration programs are being designed and executed with this characteristic in mind.
Valor’s Cluff Lake project comprises 19 wholly-owned contiguous mineral claims covering 575 square kilometres. It is located in northern Saskatchewan and is 7km east of the former-producing Cluff Lake uranium mine that produced 62.5 million pounds of triuranium octoxide at 0.92 per cent between 1980 and 2002.
Moreover, only 5km or so from the south-west boundary of Cluff Lake is the Shea Creek deposit that operator Orano Canada says has an indicated resource of 68 million pounds.
A drill campaign at Cluff Lake is set to begin later this year after a field program, including radon surveys over the targets.
In mid-2022, Valor announced it had employed geological mapping, surface sampling, diamond drilling and re-processed historical geophysical data to identify seven prospective targets at Cluff Lake in the uranium-rich western Athabasca Basin.
The historical data was accumulated from exploration activity between the 1960s and 1980s and Valor says little uranium exploration has been conducted in the region this past two or three decades.
Last year, the company completed an airborne gravity gradiometry survey across approximately 80 per cent of the Cluff Lake project area in what it says was the first modern airborne survey of the area. It comprised 2787 line-kms flown at a line spacing of 200m and Valor says its data reveals several high-order anomalies.
The Athabasca Basin region has produced more than 20 per cent of the world’s primary uranium supply and in the past 50 or so years the region has produced 18 major uranium deposits, including 10 of the world’s 15 highest-grade uranium mines.
Valor describes itself as a new energy exploration company exploring Tier 1 mining jurisdictions for critical commodities for a carbon-free world. It acquired eight projects in the Athabasca Basin in 2021 covering almost 1000sq km in total and it also has copper-silver interests in Peru.
Uranium prices typically fluctuate markedly, often influenced by geopolitical developments and environmental concerns. Russian uranium enrichers are said to be responsible for almost half the world’s supply and calls for sanctions on Russian uranium following that country’s invasion of Ukraine saw spikes of more than US$54 per pound, though today’s price is closer to US$50.
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By Matt Birney
