Blue Sky Uranium Corp. (TSX-V:BSK, OTCQB:BKUCF) announced it has acquired two new projects in Argentina's Neuquén Basin, covering nearly 80,000 hectares.
In a statement, the junior resource company said the projects are prospective for uranium deposits amenable to In Situ Recovery (ISR).
Blue Sky acquired the option to earn a 100% interest in the nearly 20,000-hectare Corcovo project in eastern Neuquén Basin, Mendoza.
Uranium anomalies have been detected at depth in oil and gas wells, suggesting potential for ISR uranium deposits.
The company said the project benefits from new mining promotion initiatives by the provincial government and historical uranium exploration data from the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA).
Blue Sky also acquired 100% control over the nearly 60,000-hectare Chihuidos project in the central Neuquén Basin.
Recognized by CNEA in the 1960s and 1970s and later explored by Cameco Corp, Chihuidos is located on a topographic high with surrounding airborne radiometric anomalies and surface uranium occurrences, indicating a preserved uranium mineralized system at depth.
Blue Sky has started the permitting process for field programs and is updating and verifying the database for both projects, including historical bore-hole surveys and seismic data from oil and gas exploration.
Nikolaos Cacos, Blue Sky CEO told shareholders that it was the right time for the company to look for new properties to add to its longer-term pipeline as the Ivana deposit, part of its flagship Amarillo Grande project, moves into prefeasibility.
“Both Corcovo and Chihuidos provide us with excellent prospects for identifying ISR-amenable uranium resources and we look forward to repeating the exploration success that we have had at AGP,” the CEO said in a statement.
Similar to the surficial mining targets at AGP, ISR-amenable uranium deposits provide the opportunity for low-cost, low-impact production and the potential for shorter development timelines. Not surprisingly, ISR is the most commonly used production method in uranium mining globally, and projects amenable to these recovery methods are highly sought after for future production.
Cacos explained that ISR-amenable uranium deposits, like those at Amarillo Grande, offer low-cost, low-impact production with shorter development timelines and are highly sought after in the uranium mining industry due to their efficiency and global prevalence.
Blue Sky now has over 480,000 hectares in Argentina with uranium potential across multiple provinces.
The option agreement includes payments totaling US$400,000 over three years and a 1% NSR, which Blue Sky can buy back for US$500,000. A US$500,000 payment to the vendor is due upon commercial production.