As North America, Europe, and the rest of the developed world push for a carbon-free future, Standard Uranium Ltd (TSX-V:STND, OTCQB:STTDF) is preparing to do its part.
The company is currently exploring for the radioactive metal, the fuel that creates nuclear energy, a fossil-free clean energy source that has a big role to play along with solar and wind power and other renewables in helping governments and businesses achieve zero greenhouse emissions over the coming decades.
Every year, nuclear-generated electricity keeps 470 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere. With such a statistic, there is no question there will be a growing need for more nuclear energy -- whether generated via large complexes or small, go-anywhere modular reactors -- and its uranium-feed source.
“The future for nuclear energy is extremely bright right now,” Standard Uranium CEO Jon Bey told Proactive. “It's probably the No. 1 talked about energy source that is going to be developed over the next 20, 30, 40 years, not only in the US.”
Since 2017, Bey and his team have anticipated uranium’s comeback amid the increasing discussions about using clean-energy technologies such as nuclear to fight global warming and meet carbon-reduction timetables.
Eyeing next big uranium discovery in Saskatchewan
Today, the company is looking to make the next big uranium discovery in the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan where it holds five high-quality projects -- two of which are top priority -- comprising 56,411 hectares in 36 mineral dispositions.
Within the Athabasca uranium district, sits the company’s flagship Davidson River, located near two major uranium projects -- Fission Uranium’s Triple R and NexGen Resources’ Arrow deposits -- that underscore the district’s potential. Comprising 21 mineral claims over 25,886 hectares, the project is highly prospective for basement-hosted uranium deposits yet remains untested by drilling despite its location.
Standard Uranium in late October 2021 wrapped up a 3,828-meter drill program that tested the previously drilled Davidson River’s Warrior and Saint trends as well as the Thunderbird and Bronco trends for the first time.
The company noted that initial assay results from the drill program showed elevated radioactivity, with several high-priority geophysical drill targets successfully intersected along the Saint, Warrior, and Bronco trends. Bey said Standard Uranium is planning a drilling program during the 2Q of 2022 (spring and summer) at Davidson River.
The company’s second project, Sun Dog, is generating some excitement among Bey and his team. In October 2021, management struck an engagement agreement with the Ya’thi Néné Land and Resource Office -- further strengthening its relationships with First Nations and northern community stakeholders in the region.
By securing the agreement, the company not only positioned itself to readily gain tribal approval for future projects, but it also gained access to a 15,770-hectare area that has a high potential for discovery.
“That allows us to move forward with our exploration plans for the Sun Dog Project,” said Bey.
Sun Dog is favorable for the formation of high-grade unconformity-related uranium mineralization. Ground-truth sampling in 2020 at the three main target areas -- Skye, Java, and Haven -- has returned outcrop and boulder grab sample results with highs of 3.58% triuranium octoxide 1.7%, and 0.7% U398 respectively.
Bey went up to the project recently with Standard Uranium vice president Sean Hillacre to check it out. Strong radioactivity readings only confirmed their confidence in the project’s potential.
“With our scintillometer, doing some prospecting, we had remarkable returns along with numbers higher than 60,000 CPS, which stands for counts per second, which are incredible numbers,” he said.
Looking ahead
As a result, the company is planning a winter exploration program, including high-resolution geophysics and diamond drilling, to start in January-February 2022. An inaugural drill program will run through March 2023, and then the company will shift focus to Davidson River for the spring/summer drilling program
But the company also has designs for its three other Athabasca Basin projects -- Canary, Ascent, and Atlantic.
“Those were staked about a year and a half ago,” he said. “We've yet to actually work on those, so we're going to start our initial work on those this summer (2022), and that could be a combination of geophysics and drilling as well. So, 2022 is going to be an exceptional year for exploration at Standard Uranium.”
Bey said the company is well-capitalized as it heads into 2022 and has roughly $4 million in the bank following its recent operations at Davidson River.
“And that puts us in a really good position to complete all the exploration work in the first half of 2022,” he said. “And we anticipate most likely raising more capital into probably Q1 to Q2 of next year, depending on the conditions.”
Going forward, Bey said Standard Uranium is solely focused on its exploration activities and is not influenced by the ups and downs of uranium prices -- which have been languishing at historical lows for the better part of the last decade but have suddenly come back from the dead. Prices have surged by about 40% just in September, outpacing all other major commodities.
“Right now, our primary goal as an exploration company is to make discoveries and then advance those toward a resource stage,” he said.
Contact the author: patrick@proactiveinvestors.com
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