Standard Uranium Ltd (TSX-V:STND, OTCQB:STTDF) has updated investors on exploration activities at the Sun Dog uranium project in the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, with option partner Aero Energy.
Aero Energy has the option to earn full ownership of the project by funding C$6.5 million in exploration over three years, making cash payments and issuing shares.
Standard Uranium highlighted that an airborne VTEM survey is underway at Sun Dog to pinpoint graphitic rocks which are favorable for hosting significant concentrations of uranium.
It said this modern electromagnetic survey will infill and improve upon historical surveys of the project.
The results of the VTEM Plus survey will be leveraged for geophysical interpretation and modelling and integrated with the project’s existing datasets to identify and prioritize drill targets for an upcoming drill program, set to kick off in early June.
“The 2024 exploration program will leverage the results of the modern VTEM Plus survey currently underway, in addition to the combined uranium expertise of our joint technical team with partners at Aero Energy,” Standard Uranium CEO Jon Bey said.
“The summer of 2024 will be an exciting time for active exploration in the Uranium City region and we are eager to get our drills spinning.”
Aero Energy CEO Galen McNamara highlighted that the largely underexplored project is “highly prospective” for shallow high-grade uranium mineralization.
“The VTEM Plus survey covering both the Sun Dog and Murmac projects is nearing completion, and we expect the results to identify a significant number of high-priority drill targets for follow-up during our planned drill program scheduled to begin in early June,” McNamara said.
“We look forward to sharing target information more specifically in the coming weeks as we advance towards our maiden drilling program.”
The Sun Dog project has a history of production, hosting the Gunnar Mine which produced 18 million pounds of U3O8 (uranium) between 1953 and 1981, Standard Uranium noted.
Recent exploration by the company has focused on the most promising historical target areas, testing the down-dip extensions of structures hosting uranium at surface aiming to identify high-grade unconformity mineralization and basement “roots” of the mineralizing systems underlying the Athabasca sandstones.
As an emerging project generator in the Athabasca Basin, Standard Uranium has successfully completed four joint venture earn-in partnerships on their Sun Dog, Canary, Atlantic and Ascent projects totaling over $31 million in work commitments from 2024 to 2026.