HIGHLIGHTS
The Angilak Project is situated around the Angikuni Basin, which is a direct analog to the Athabasca Basin with comparatively little exploration. The Project is anchored by the Lac 50 Deposit in addition to eight named showings containing high-grade uranium located across the project area;
SRK Consulting completed regional scale Structural Interpretation and Targeting Assessment that identifies the major primary and secondary structural controls (conduits, traps, and the overall plumbing system for uranium) hosting the majority of high-grade mineralized discoveries beyond the Lac 50 Deposit area at the Angilak Project located in Nunavut, Canada;
Understanding these controls provides the Company with a roadmap for targeting additional discoveries, such as unconformity and basement - Athabasca style - high-grade uranium mineralization within the Angikuni Basin;
Rib-Nine Iron Trend:
Increased from 25 to 31 km and is now interpreted to extend under the cover of the Angikuni Basin;
Along the Eastern margins outcrops with historic (2014) samples proximal to the Nine-Iron Discovery with grades up to 30.3% U3O8 have been discovered on surface, these showings have not been drill tested at depth;
Along the Western margin, historic drilling at the RIB Discovery intersected shallow (3O8, hosted within graphitic pelitic rocks with Athabasca style alteration (Figure 1 & 3);
Along the Northern margin outcrops with historic (2014) samples and historic drilling have returned grades >1% U3O8;
Numerous similar structural targets have now been identified along this trend, extending under the cover of the Angikuni Basin;
Mushroom Lake Outcrop and Lac 50 Deposit:
The report interprets that the Angikuni Shear Zone and secondary extensional structures transect the Lac 50 Deposit area and correlate with the Mushroom Lake Outcrop;
These secondary structures act as the controls and host high-grade uranium;
Outcrop samples at Mushroom Lake from historic samples have returned grades of up to 47.8% U3O8;
The Mushroom Lake Outcrop extends over an area of ~3 km and remains untested at depth (Figure 1 & 3);
As a result of the findings from the SRK report, the Company has increased the size of its Angilak project by an additional 25,194 acres. The newly staked ground makes ATHA the dominant player in both the Angikuni and Yathkyed Basins;
Mobilization of equipment, fuel, and supplies to the Angilak Uranium Project, in anticipation of the 2025 Exploration Program;
Beginning in April, the Company is planning to execute localized and regional aerial and ground geophysical surveys designed to de-risk expansion and exploration targets in advance of the Company's diamond drilling phase of the 2025 Angilak Exploration Program;
The Company anticipates releasing full results from its 2024 Exploration Program - including drill results from its Gemini Project - in the coming weeks, in addition to announcing ATHA's 2025 Exploration Plans on its portfolio of tier I uranium assets.
Troy Boisjoli, CEO commented: "ATHA Energy acquired the Angilak Uranium Project just one year ago. Since that time, the Company has a applied a systematic, geoscience first approach to exploration - completing a >10,000 m drill program to test the extent of mineralization surrounding the Lac 50 Deposit, a regional surficial mapping survey that identified widespread outcrops containing high-grade uranium mineralization outside of the Lac 50 Deposit area, and a regional MMT survey that highlighted the RIB-Nine Iron Trend that extends under the Angikuni Basin, and where Athabasca style mineralization and alteration has already been identified. These steps have resulted in the substantial derisking of Angilak, and have led to our realization that the Angikuni Basin has untapped Athabasca potential."
Cliff Revering, VP Exploration added: "The discovery potential within the Angilak Project area continues to grow as we further compile and integrate historical data with the new information and understanding obtained from our 2024 exploration program. The extent of uranium mineralization observed in surficial mapping, sampling and drill intercepts, coupled with the 2024 MMT survey results, and SRK's interpretation of the Angikuni Basin structural architecture and uranium mineralization controls, highlights the significant potential for discovery of additional high-grade, Athabasca-style uranium deposits. Given the immense scale of highly prospective and untested exploration corridors within the project area, we continue to view the Angikuni Basin as an exciting and emerging uranium district."
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / March 20, 2025 / ATHA Energy Corp. (TSXV:SASK)(FRA:X5U)(OTCQB:SASKF) ("ATHA" or the "Company"), holder of the largest uranium exploration portfolio in two of the highest-grade uranium districts globally, is pleased to announce results from SRK Consulting's independent report detailing Angilak Structural Interpretation and Targeting Assessment at the Company's 100%-owned Angilak Uranium Project (the "Project") in Nunavut, Canada.
The Report was authored by Dr. Ron Uken, Principal Structural Geologist at SRK Consulting (Canada) Ltd. and provided a regional structural interpretation of the Angilak Project which detailed the structural architecture of the Angikuni Basin and controls on uranium mineralization. The area of focus was the northern half of the Angikuni Basin, where the majority of exploration and discovery of uranium has occurred (Figure 1). Dr. Uken utilized multilevel geophysical, geochemical and geo-structural data collected by the Company to interpret the structural architecture of the Angikuni Basin formation and controls on uranium mineralization.
ANGILAK PROJECT - NUNAVUT
The Angilak Uranium Project is situated within the Angikuni Basin, approximately 225 km southwest of Baker Lake in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut (Figure 1). The Project is anchored by the Lac 50 Deposit, in addition there are currently eight named showings containing high-grade uranium, located across the project area. These numerous regional discoveries, both within the Angikuni Basin as well as along its margins - demonstrating many similarities to high-grade uranium discoveries in the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan. One such prominent regional discovery within the Angilak Project area is the Dipole Showing, located along the western rim of the Angikuni Basin 25 km to the southwest of the Lac 50 Corridor. Previous operators of the Project completed 24 diamond drill holes in the Dipole Showing and intersected grades of up to 5.53% U3O8 over 0.5 m.
Figure 1: Plan Map detailing Lac 50 Deposit location with the Angilak Uranium Project
After acquiring the Project in March, 2024, the Company commenced its maiden exploration program which comprised three phases: Phase I - diamond drilling, Phase II - Surficial mapping and sampling, and Phase III - Geophysics.
Phase I - Between early June and late August, the Company completed 25 diamond drill holes comprising ~10,000 m. The drilling Phase of the campaign focused in and around the Lac 50 Deposit area, designed to explore the envelop of mineralization. The program proved extremely successful, with 100% of the drill holes intersecting uranium mineralization. Assay results are highlighted by grades of up to 5.85% U3O8 over 0.5 m.
Phase II - Surficial mapping was completed by late August. The mapping program successfully identified numerous additional high-grade uranium outcrops on surface and further outlined the Mushroom Lake Outcrop. Mushroom Lake is a 3 km area just to the north of the Lac 52 trend within the Lac 54 trend, with previously identified historic outcrop samples grading up to 47.8% U3O8.
Figure 2: 2024 Lac 50 Deposit Long-section Schematic
Phase III - Geophysics was completed by late September 2024 and utilized an Airborne Mobile MagnetoTellurics ("MMT") survey totaling 5,946-line kilometres. The survey covers the northern half of the Angilak Project (Figure 1) - representing approximately 85% of the original project area, pre-2024 staking - inclusive of the Lac 48, 50, 52, and 54 mineralized trends (known as the "Lac 50 Deposit" area), as well as the eastern, western, and northern margins of the Angikuni Basin.
Results from the MMT survey confirm the depth extent of the prospective conductive horizons that host uranium mineralization at the Lac 50 Deposit and Nine Iron Discovery (Figure 1). At the Lac 50 Deposit the survey indicates that the prospective conductive horizons extend to approximately 1 km depth, while at Nine Iron Discovery the prospective horizons extend to approximately 800 m depth. At both areas the results demonstrate the potential for mineralization to extend well beyond the current envelops of mineralization. Additionally, along the western margin of the Angikuni Basin a 31 km conductive trend - significantly more conductive than Lac 50 and Nine Iron - has been identified. During the late 1970's several rounds of exploration took place along the Western Margin Trend ("WMT"), inclusive of diamond drilling, trenching and soil sampling, which resulted in the discovery of numerous uranium showings, including Rib and Yat.
At the Rib Discovery - located ~30 km southwest of the Lac 50 Deposit, situated along the western margin of the Angikuni Basin - early exploration programs were conducted by Noranda Exploration Company ("Noranda"). Between 1977 and 1979 Noranda completed 30 diamond drill holes at the Rib Discovery intersecting Athabasca Basin style unconformity alteration, structure, and lithologies associated with shallow (3O8 hosted within graphitic mylonites. These historic drill results demonstrate that the Angikuni Basin has the potential to host Athabasca Basin style basement and unconformity type uranium mineralization. Coupling of the historic drill results with the 2024 MMT survey results and the recent structural interpretation completed by SRK, the scale and potential of the WMT to host multiple additional unconformity and basement type uranium mineralized zones along the 31 km trend is high. Importantly, as was typical of 1970 - 1980's Athabasca Basin exploration the maximum depth of drilling at Rib is ~100 m, ending in what is now considered to be prospective alteration and lithologies. The 2024 MMT survey demonstrates that the prospective conductive horizon along the WMT extends from surface to depths of more than 1 km, within and along the margins of the Angikuni Basin.
Figure 3: 2024 Lac 50 Deposit Area and Mapped Mineralized Outcrops
*Notes:
I Dipole historic showing with 25 diamond drill holes. Intersections of shallow uranium mineralization, grades up to 5.53% U3O8
II Rib historic showing with 30 diamond drill holes. Intersections of shallow uranium mineralization, grades up to 5.6% U3O8
III Mushroom Lake Spanning an area of 3 km on surface with outcrops samples grading up to 47.8% U3O8
IV Nine-Iron historic showing with 5 diamond drill holes. Intersections of shallow uranium mineralization, grades up to 1.25% U3O8 and outcrops with grades up to 30.3% U3O8
SRK REPORT RESULTS
The results of the report highlight the major regional structural controls of the Yathkyed and Angikuni Basins. The Angikuni Basin is bounded by dominant NE trending structures, the Ferguson and Angilak Shear zones respectively, which are connected by sigmodal linkage structures with EW to WSW trends. Structures show a strong relationship with the Angikuni Basin geometry defined by dominant NE trends and WNW Lac 50 trends.
Structures can be interpreted as forming an extensional pull apart basin complex, developed within a dextral strike slip system during NW-SE directed contraction. In this setting sigmoidal cross basin dextral transtensional strike-slip shear zones were likely active during basin development. Recent geochronology results suggest that U-mineralization was likely active during basin development and that the structural system identified likely also controlled fluid flow and mineralization, indicating the potential for unconformity and basement styles of mineralization to be found within the Angikuni Basin.
The report also illustrates that the RIB-Nine Iron trend ais controlled by a large regional sigmodal dextral relay structure that along strike is prospective to host uranium mineralization. In addition, the WNW Lac 50 Deposit parallel trends, identified across the project area (outside of the Lac 50 area), are likely associated with extensional kinematics within this structural setting. For this reason, these structures remain highly prospective to host uranium mineralization as demonstrated from within the Lac 50 Deposit. The Angilak Project, both within the Angikuni Basin and along its periphery, are compatible with a structural architecture that supports a target-rich environment for discovery of uranium mineralization.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information contained in this news release have been reviewed and approved by Cliff Revering, P.Eng., Vice President, Exploration of ATHA, who is a "qualified person" as defined under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
About ATHA
ATHA is a Canadian mineral company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, and development of uranium assets in the pursuit of a clean energy future. With a strategically balanced portfolio including three 100%-owned post discovery uranium projects (the Angilak Project located in Nunavut, and CMB Discoveries in Labrador, and the newly discovered basement hosted GMZ high-grade uranium discovery located in the Athabasca Basin). In addition, the Company holds the largest cumulative prospective exploration land package (7.3 million acres) in two of the world's most prominent basins for uranium discoveries - ATHA is well positioned to drive value. ATHA also holds a 10% carried interest in key Athabasca Basin exploration projects operated by NexGen Energy Ltd. and IsoEnergy Ltd. For more information visit www.athaenergy.com. 1,2,3.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
Troy Boisjoli, CEO, ATHA Energy Corp
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
For more information, please contact:
Troy Boisjoli
Chief Executive Officer
Email: [email protected]
www.athaenergy.com
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". These forward-looking statements or information may relate to ATHA's proposed exploration program, including statements with respect to the expected benefits of ATHA's proposed exploration program, any results that may be derived from ATHA's proposed exploration program, the timing, scope, nature, breadth and other information related to ATHA's proposed exploration program, any results that may be derived from the diversification of ATHA's portfolio, the successful integration of the businesses of ATHA, Latitude Uranium and 92 Energy, the prospects of ATHA's projects, including mineral resources estimates and mineralization of each project, the prospects of ATHA's business plans and any expectations with respect to defining mineral resources or mineral reserves on any of ATHA's projects, and any expectation with respect to any permitting, development or other work that may be required to bring any of the projects into development or production.
Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management at the time, are inherently subject to business, market and economic risks, uncertainties and contingencies that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Such assumptions include, but are not limited to, assumptions that the anticipated benefits of ATHA's proposed exploration program will be realized, that no additional permit or licenses will be required in connection with ATHA's exploration programs, the ability of ATHA to complete its exploration activities as currently expected and on the current anticipated timelines, including ATHA's proposed exploration program, that ATHA will be able to execute on its current plans, that ATHA's proposed explorations will yield results as expected, the synergies between ATHA, 92 Energy and Latitude Uranium's assets, and that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner. Although each of ATHA and 92E have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
Such statements represent the current view of ATHA with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by ATHA, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to the following: inability of ATHA to realize the benefits anticipated from the exploration and drilling targets described herein or elsewhere; in ability of ATHA to complete current exploration plans as presently anticipated or at all; inability for ATHA to economically realize on the benefits, if any, derived from the exploration program; failure to complete business plans as it currently anticipated; overdiversification of ATHA's portfolio; failure to realize on benefits, if any, of a diversified portfolio; unanticipated changes in market price for ATHA shares; changes to ATHA's current and future business and exploration plans and the strategic alternatives available thereto; growth prospects and outlook of the business of ATHA; any impacts of COVID-19 on the business of ATHA and the ability to advance the Company projects and its proposed exploration program; risks inherent in mineral exploration including risks related worker safety, weather and other natural occurrences, accidents, availability of personnel and equipment, and other factors; aboriginal title; failure to obtain regulatory and permitting approvals; no known mineral resources/reserves; reliance on key management and other personnel; competition; changes in laws and regulations; uninsurable risks; delays in governmental and other approvals, community relations; stock market conditions generally; demand, supply and pricing for uranium; and general economic and political conditions in Canada, Australia and other jurisdictions where ATHA conducts business. Other factors which could materially affect such forward-looking information are described in the filings of ATHA with the Canadian securities regulators which are available on ATHA's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. ATHA does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
SOURCE: ATHA Energy Corp
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
T.M.Dan--TFWP
