Highlights:
- Inferred resource increases from 5.12 million pounds U3O8 to 7.09 million pounds U3O8*
- Environmental permitting continues to advance with approval of the mine permit and aquifer exemption
- Several miles of lightly explored, mineralized trends remain to be developed
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX, Nov. 27, 2017 /CNW/ - Uranium Energy Corp (NYSE American: UEC, the "Company" or "UEC") is pleased to announce that the Company has completed an updated National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Properties ("NI 43-101") resource estimate for its Burke Hollow project (the "Project") in South Texas following completion of a recent 132-hole drill campaign. The updated report estimates an Inferred mineral resource of 7.09 million pounds of uranium ("U3O8") at a weighted average grade of 0.088% U3O8 contained within 4.06 million tons.*
This resource update includes the data from 707 drill holes and demonstrates an increase of approximately 2 million pounds (+38%) of U3O8 over the previous Inferred mineral estimate. The mineral resource estimate was completed using methods mandated by NI 43-101 and Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum standards utilizing a grade cutoff of 0.02% U3O8, and a grade times thickness product cut-off (GT) of 0.30. Details of the resource are set out in the table below.*
Concurrent with the resource development and expansion, the Company continues to advance the permitting at Burke Hollow. As previously announced, the Company has secured its final mine permit and aquifer exemption approval and anticipates its Radioactive Materials License to be approved as well.
Andrew Kurrus, VP of Resource Development, stated, "Burke Hollow is a grass roots discovery by the UEC team, and we are very excited about the drilling results to date. We are confident that we will continue to expand the resource by exploring and delineating the multiple mineralized roll fronts on the property. We anticipate that Burke Hollow will, over time, become a significant ISR resource directly in the U.S. This latest drilling program utilized strategic borehole placement as opposed to traditional grid-like hole placements, resulting in more mineralized intercepts, better roll front definition efficiency, and better use of allocated budgets."
Craig Wall, VP of Environmental, Health & Safety, stated, "UEC's proactive approach to permitting Burke Hollow concurrent with the delineation and development of our proposed future Production Area 1 has been effective in speeding up the development of the Project. I expect all of Burke Hollow's major permitting activities to be complete in 2018."
Summary of Burke Hollow Inferred Mineral Resources (PFN)*
Trend | Area (ft2) | Average | Average | Average GT | Contained | Tons |
Lower A1 | 1,287,077.0 | 11.0 | 0.097 | 1.079 | 1,624,844.62 | 837,548.77 |
Lower A2 | 271,257.9 | 8.8 | 0.073 | 0.514 | 163,129.09 | 111,732.26 |
Upper B | 627,764.6 | 7.7 | 0.063 | 0.489 | 359,162.96 | 285,049.97 |
Lower B1 | 470,064.2 | 9.5 | 0.091 | 0.885 | 486,728.00 | 267,432.97 |
Lower B2 | 413,643.3 | 9.5 | 0.091 | 0.846 | 409,432.40 | 224,962.86 |
Graben Totals | 3,043,297.07 | 1,726,726.82 | ||||
Lower B1 | 1,877,345.2 | 9.3 | 0.090 | 0.836 | 1,836,268.89 | 1,020,149.38 |
Lower B2 | 2,097,650.0 | 11.5 | 0.084 | 0.902 | 2,213,733.95 | 1,317,698.78 |
East Side Totals | 4,050,002.84 | 2,337,848.16 | ||||
Graben and East Side (Project) Totals | 0.088*** | 7,093,299.91 | 4,064,574.98 | |||
*All grade values are based on Prompt Fission Neutron ("PFN") logging and denoted by pU3O8
**Rounded to nearest tenth of a foot
***Weighted average grade for project
This updated Inferred mineral resource estimate is based on a total of 329,540 feet of drilling in 707 holes. Resource data was generated from drill hole samples, gamma-ray logging, chemical assays, PFN and the interpretation of a geologic model, which relates to the spatial distribution of uranium in the deposit. An Inferred mineral resource does not have the confidence level to be included with higher classifications of mineral resource and should not form the basis for economic development. An NI 43-101 updated technical report on the Burke Hollow property will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days of this news release.*
2017 Drilling Program
The most recent drilling campaign commenced on April 3rd this year with initial plans to drill up to 100 delineation and exploration holes. Based on continued resource expansion, the team decided to extend the program with an additional 32 delineation and exploration drill holes. A total of 58,020 feet of drilling was accomplished, and the campaign was concluded in early September. Partial results of the drill campaign were reported in a press release dated July 25, 2017, and full results will be presented in the pending NI 43-101 technical report.
The two main objectives of this campaign were to complete the exploration and delineation drilling phase of two closely-related Goliad Formation uranium trends which will constitute Burke Hollow future Production Area 1, and to further extend and expand these open-ended trends within Burke Hollow. These trends had earlier been proven to extend over a distance of 1.7 miles, northwest to southeast, during four previous UEC drilling campaigns beginning in 2012. Based on the recent drilling results to date, the mineralized trends have now been explored and delineated over a distance of 4.5 miles, still showing additional extension potential and strong mineralization. Infill delineation drilling continues as required in order to develop the future Production Area 1 monitoring plan. Both objectives were met and will be presented in the pending NI 43-101 technical report.
The Company's Burke Hollow Project is a 19,335-acre (30.21 sq.-mile) property located in eastern Bee County, Texas. The Project is situated within the prolific South Texas Uranium Belt, and is located approximately 50 miles to the southeast of the Company's Hobson Processing Plant. The Company initiated its exploration drilling campaign at Burke Hollow on May 22, 2012, and the most recent drilling program was completed in September this year. The target sands are located from approximately 160 to 1,100 feet in depth.
The Burke Hollow project continues to develop as the Company's flagship uranium project in South Texas. The Goliad mineralization trends follow the outline of an anticlinal structure which has produced abundant natural gas and oil from multiple underlying formations. Several miles of potential mineralized trend length remain only lightly explored to date.
The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in NI 43-101 and was reviewed by Clyde L. Yancey, P.G., Vice President-Exploration for the Company, a Qualified Person under NI 43-101.
About Uranium Energy Corp
Uranium Energy Corp is a U.S.-based uranium mining and exploration company. The Company's fully-licensed Hobson Processing Facility is central to all of its projects in South Texas, including the Palangana ISR mine, the permitted Goliad ISR project and the development-stage Burke Hollow ISR project. In Wyoming, UEC controls the permitted Reno Creek ISR project. Additionally, the Company controls a pipeline of advanced-stage uranium projects in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Paraguay, and a large, high-grade titanium project in Paraguay. The Company's operations are managed by professionals with a recognized profile for excellence in their industry, a profile based on many decades of hands-on experience in the key facets of uranium exploration, development and mining.
