Okapi Resources Ltd (ASX:OKR) has closed its agreement with ALX Resources Corp (TSX-V:AL) to acquire six advanced exploration projects in Canada’s Athabasca Basin, the world’s premier high-grade uranium district.
The Athabasca Projects includes 75 granted mineral claims covering more than 55,000 hectares with all six projects along the margin of the basin or in the Carswell Impact Structure.
Depth to the unconformity is relatively shallow being 300 metres or less and typically closer to 100 metres, making them ideal for targeting shallow high-grade uranium deposits.
“Excellent geological potential”
Okapi Resources managing director Andrew Ferrier said: “We are excited to close the acquisition of the six high-grade exploration properties in the Athabasca basin, the world’s premier uranium district.
"Our detailed due diligence over the past two months has demonstrated the excellent geological potential across all six properties.”
Exploration programs
Okapi will now embark on phased and integrated explorations programs on the newly acquired projects over the next 12 months.
Two properties – Middle Lake and Newnham Lake – have been prioritized for drilling as soon as the necessary drilling permits have been received from the Government of Saskatchewan, while also coordinating and consulting with First Nations to ensure that stakeholders are properly represented.
In the interim, Okapi is working on a comprehensive compilation, review and reinterpretation of historic exploration program data with a view to creating updated geologic models moving toward the goal of generating drill targets on all six properties.
Location of Okapi’s Athabasca Basin projects.
Drill permits lodged
"The initial focus of the team’s work will be on the Middle Lake and Newnham Lake projects that have the hallmarks for potential tier-1 uranium discoveries,” Ferrier said.
"The team has pre-emptively lodged permits to drill on the Middle Lake Project and is currently in the process of also lodging permits to drill at Newnham Lake. This will likely provide the opportunity and flexibility to drill either one of both the targets in the North American summer and following winter.
"We look forward to establishing Okapi in the Athabasca Basin and starting a strong and lasting relationship with all the stakeholders related to the projects.”
Latest technologies
Okapi will apply the latest image interpretation and modelling technologies to remotely identify underlying potential for economic uranium mineralization in both the Athabasca Group sediments and the Pre-Cambrian Basement rocks below the unconformity.
This will be followed up with conventional surface-based exploration methods using portable, hand-held devices to identify near surface uranium, thorium and other pathfinder elements. The exploration field data will then be incorporated into the already developed geologic models and applied to drill targeting.
Okapi has worked closely alongside a highly reputable technical services firm based in Saskatchewan to assist in ranking and prioritising the properties by geological prospectivity.
Due diligence has shown that there are numerous high priority targets across the properties and the company will focus on drilling on two of the six properties - Middle Lake and Newnham Lake - identified as having the best exploration potential.
Middle Lake Project
The Middle Lake Project adjoins the former Cluff Lake Mine. The Cluff Lake Mine was operated by Orano (formerly Areva), the French multinational nuclear fuel company, from 1980 to 2002 producing 64.2 million pounds of U3O8 at 0.92% U3O8.
This project comprises three claims totalling 4,833 hectares and borders the Cluff Lake Mine property on two sides.
Middle Lake is also 10 kilometres north of Orano-UEX’s Shea Creek deposit (resources of 96 million pounds at 1.3% U3O8), 75 kilometres north of NextGen’s Arrow Deposit (resources of 337.4 million pounds at 1.8% U3O8) and 75 kilometres from Fission Uranium Corp’s Triple R Deposit (resources of 135.1 million pounds at 1.8% U3O8).
Boulder-trains with grades of up to 16.9% U3O8 have been discovered in the northern portion of the Middle Lake Project. In the southern area there are six sandstone boulders together that assayed between 0.32% and 3.7% U3O8 with adjacent basement boulder assaying 8.95% and 1.72% U3O8.
Newnham Lake Project
Newnham Lake consists of 14 claims totalling 16,940 hectares and straddles the north-eastern margin of the Athabasca Basin. It is underlain by a series of graphitic metapelites where several fault zones have been identified along strike and cross cutting the basement rocks.
Multiple intercepts with grades between 1,000ppm U3O8 and 2,000ppm U3O8 have been intersected in relatively shallow historical drilling within a 25-kilometre folded and faulted conductive trend.
Importantly, the depth to the Athabasca Basin unconformity at Newnham Lake is approximately 100 metres deep, mitigating the need to drill deep holes in order to discover either sandstone or basement hosted uranium mineralisation.
Other projects that Okapi intends to focus on following the two priorities are Perch, Lake Edward Bay, Kelic Lake and Argo.
The company will also be looking to consolidate and expand its holdings in the Athabasca Basin through some highly accretive acquisitions during 2022.
Location of Okapi’s North American uranium projects.
“Directly on strategy”
"Closing this transaction is directly on strategy for Okapi as we continue to look to acquire assets under the right circumstances and to provide shareholders with diversified exposure to the uranium space in North America,” Ferrier said.
"We continue to believe that uranium is currently in an upward trend and Okapi is currently assembling and developing the right portfolio of assets to create value for shareholders.”
Overview of Athabasca Basin
The Athabasca Projects are all in Saskatchewan, Canada. Saskatchewan was ranked as the number one region globally for mining investment opportunity in the Mining Journal’s 2020 World Risk Report.
Athabasca Basin is home to the world’s largest and highest-grade uranium mines including Cameco’s McArthur River and Cigar Lake uranium mines. Cigar Lake and McArthur River contain total mineral reserves of 165.6 million pounds at 15.9% U3O8 and 391.9 million pounds at 6.9% U3O8 respectively.