Consolidated Uranium Inc. (“CUR”, the “Company”,
“Consolidated Uranium”) (TSXV: CUR) (OTCQX: CURUF) is
pleased to announce the commencement of comprehensive work programs
at CUR’s 100%-owned Tony M Mine (“Tony M”) in southeastern Utah.
Tony M is one of three past producing uranium mines in Utah owned
by CUR, and is a large-scale, fully developed and permitted
underground mine that produced nearly one million pounds of U3O8
during two different periods of operation from 1979-1984 and from
2007-2008. The work programs being initiated follow key
recommendations highlighted by SLR International Corporation
(“SLR”) in a technical report entitled “Technical Report on the
Tony M Project, Utah, USA” dated effective September 9, 2022 (the
“Technical Report”).
Highlights of the Work
Programs
- Defining
the Vanadium Potential of the Tony M Deposit – CUR has
commenced an up to 59-hole infill drill program from surface
totalling ~38,000 feet along with an underground sampling program
designed to collect detailed information on the distribution and
grades of vanadium mineralization from both the drill program and
underground sampling programs with the ultimate aim of calculating
a vanadium mineral resource. Historically, there has been very
little investigation of the vanadium potential at Tony M. CUR’s
confirmation drill program in 2022 showed V2O5/U3O8 ratio ranges
from an average of 1:1 to greater than 17:1 in places (see press
release dated December 13, 2022). The 2023 program is based on the
recommendations highlighted in the Technical Report.
-
Delineation Drilling to Upgrade Inferred Resources
– The drilling may also have the added benefit of potentially
allowing for an upgrade of a portion of the currently estimated
“Inferred” mineral resources to the “indicated” category.The
Mineral Resource estimate for Tony M as of September 9, 2022, as
reported in the Technical Report, is based upon a commodity price
of US$65.00 per pound of U3O8, and a cut-off grade of 0.14% eU3O8
includes:
- Indicated
Mineral Resource of 1,185,000 tons grading 0.28% eU3O8 for 6.6
million pounds contained uranium; and
- Inferred Mineral
Resource of 404,000 tons grading 0.27% eU3O8 for 2.2 million pounds
contained uranium.
- See Table 1
below for further details.
-
Reopening of the Underground for Sampling and Mine
Preparation – Once the Tony M portal has been opened, an
extensive sampling program is expected to be undertaken for both
uranium and vanadium. Consultants have been retained to oversee the
design and implementation of the ventilation plan and assess ground
conditions. This program is a key step toward the ultimate restart
of the mine.
- Next
Step, Completion of a Preliminary Economic Assessment – A
further key recommendation of the Technical Report was the
completion of a Preliminary Economic Assessment for Tony M. Results
from both the surface and underground programs, including an
updated Mineral Resource estimate, are expected to form the basis
for this assessment which could be completed prior to the end of
the year.
To view a summary of today’s news delivered by
Marty Tunney, President and COO of CUR, and Tyler Johnson, US
Exploration Manager, click here.
Chairman and CEO Phil Williams stated, “With
uranium market fundamentals showing significant strength and the
unquestionable need and political support for domestic U.S. uranium
production, we believe advancing the Tony M project toward a near
term production decision is the correct course of action. The
programs announced today will not only provide detailed information
to guide ultimate mining of the Tony M resource, by potentially
upgrading mineral resources into the indicated category and
allowing us to evaluate the conditions of the extensive underground
workings, but, if successful, could add meaningful value to the
deposit through the possible addition of vanadium resources not
previously evaluated. CUR remains one of the few junior uranium
companies actively advancing its projects through drilling and
pre-development activities. We believe this not only sets us apart
from our peers but positions us as a potential first mover back
into production providing investors with strong leverage to
increasing uranium prices.”
Tony M 2023 Work Program
The 2023 drilling program will include up to 59
vertical drill holes, totaling approximately 38,000 feet across the
Tony M deposit (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Map of Tony M Mine outlining
underground workings and planned drill locations for 2023
work
The 2023 drilling program aims to collect assay
data for vanadium which, along with similar vanadium assay data
derived from the Company’s 2022 drilling program and a planned
underground sampling program, is expected to provide a more
thorough understanding of the distribution of vanadium in the Tony
M deposit, provide an assessment of the relationship between the
distribution of uranium and vanadium and provide the basis for
development of a model of the vanadium mineralization at Tony M
(Figure 1).
Prior owners of Tony M did not assay for
vanadium and, other than information on the occurrences of vanadium
mineralization carried out by the US Geological Survey in 19901,
there has been very little study of V2O5 in Tony M until
Consolidated Uranium’s 2022 confirmation drilling program. The
design of the 2023 drilling program was carried out by CUR’s
technical consultants and in within the context of recommendations
made by SLR and Mark Mathisen, the Qualified Person who prepared
the Technical Report on Tony M. Mr. Mathisen and the team from SLR
had identified what may be an inverse relationship between the
uranium and vanadium grades at Tony M, as such much of the work
will be focused on lower grade uranium targets.
In addition to drilling, the Company is working
towards re-opening of Tony M for an underground sampling program.
The Company has contracted RME Consulting, a leading international
technical underground mining ventilation and refrigeration design
firm, to oversee the design and implementation of the ventilation
plan and Call & Nicholas, Inc. an international mining
consulting firm that specializes in geological engineering,
geotechnical engineering, and hydrogeology to review the ground
conditions. This will allow the Company to more easily access
mineralization for sampling and observe mineralization in
place.
Figure 2: Picture of drill rig being set
up at the Tony M Mine for the 2023 program
Drilling will be carried out by an independent
drilling contractor, and all of the drill holes will utilize the
conventional “open hole” rotary drill method. The entire interval
of the Salt Wash Sandstone member will be cored, and core samples
will be submitted to American Assay Laboratories of Sparks, Nevada
for assaying of uranium and vanadium. All of the drill holes will
be logged (probed) with a surface recording geophysical logging
instrument that will collect natural gamma-ray, self-potential and
resistivity data. The geophysical instrumentation will be
calibrated at the US Department of Energy’s “test pits” in Grand
Junction, Colorado prior to the commencement of the drilling
program, and again at the conclusion of drilling. Selected drill
holes will also be logged by an independent geophysical contractor
as a further check of the accuracy of logging results. Core samples
will be scanned with a hand-held scintillometer to measure
radioactivity in the core and will be scanned with a portable X-ray
fluorescence analyzer to determine zones of vanadium mineralization
prior to collecting samples to be assayed. All sample submissions
will include certified reference materials (“standards”) and barren
samples (“blanks”) for quality control and quality assurance, as
checks on the assaying program.
About Tony M Mine
Tony M is located in eastern Garfield County,
southeastern Utah, approximately 66 air miles (107 kilometers) west
northwest of the town of Blanding and 215 miles (347 kilometers)
south-southeast of Salt Lake City. The project is the site of the
Tony M underground uranium mine that was developed by Plateau
Resources, a subsidiary of Consumer’ Power Company, in the mid-
1970s.
Uranium and vanadium mineralization at the Tony
M mine is hosted in sandstone units of the Salt Wash Member of the
Jurassic age Morrison Formation, one of the principal hosts for
uranium deposits in the Colorado Plateau region of Utah and
Colorado.
Tony M has been estimated to contain the
following mineral resources:
Table 1: Summary of Mineral Resources –
Effective Date September 9, 2022
Classification |
Tons(short tons) |
Grade(% eU3O8) |
Contained Metal(lbs. eU3O8) |
|
|
|
|
Indicated |
1,185,000 |
0.28 |
6,606,000 |
|
|
|
|
Inferred |
404,000 |
0.27 |
2,218,000 |
Notes:
- Technical Report on the Tony M
Project, Utah, USA Report for NI 43-101, prepared for Consolidated
Uranium, Inc. by SLR International Corporation; Mark B. Mathisen,
Qualified Person, Effective Date September 9, 2022.
- CIM (2014) definitions were
followed for all Mineral Resource categories.
- Uranium Mineral Resources are
estimated at a cut-off grade of 0.14% U3O8.
- The cut-off grade is calculated
using a metal price of $65/lb U3O8.
- No minimum mining width was used in
determining Mineral Resources.
- Mineral Resources are based on a
tonnage factory of 15 ft3/ton (Bulk density 0.0667 ton/ft3 or 2.14
t/m3).
- Mineral Resources are not Mineral
Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
- Past production (1979-2008) has
been removed from the Mineral Resource.
- Totals may not add due to
rounding.
- Mineral Resources are 100%
attributable to CUR and are in situ.
______________________
1 “Genesis of the Tabular-Type Vanadium-Uranium
Deposits of the Henry Basin, Utah”; H. Roy Nathrop, Martin B.
Goldhaber, Gene Whitney, Gary P. Landis, and Robert O. Rye;
Economic Geology, Volume 85, No. 2, pages 215 – 269.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information
contained in this news release was reviewed and approved by Dean T.
Wilton: PG, CPG, MAIG, a consultant of CUR who is a “Qualified
Person” (as defined in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of
Disclosure for Mineral Projects).
About Consolidated Uranium
Consolidated Uranium Inc. (TSXV: CUR) (OTCQX:
CURUF) was created in early 2020 to capitalize on an anticipated
uranium market resurgence using the proven model of diversified
project consolidation. To date, the Company has acquired or has the
right to acquire uranium projects in Australia, Canada, Argentina,
and the United States each with significant past expenditures and
attractive characteristics for development.
The Company is currently advancing its portfolio
of permitted, past-producing conventional uranium and vanadium
mines in Utah and Colorado, with a toll milling arrangement in
place with Energy Fuels Inc., a leading U.S.-based uranium mining
company. These mines are currently on stand-by, ready for rapid
restart as market conditions permit, positioning CUR as a near-term
uranium producer.
For More Information, Please
Contact:
Philip Williams
Chairman and
CEOpwilliams@consolidateduranium.com
Toll-Free: 1-833-572-2333Twitter:
@ConsolidatedUr www.consolidateduranium.com
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulations
Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
Cautionary Statement Regarding
“Forward-Looking” Information
This news release contains "forward-looking
information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities
legislation. “Forward-looking information” includes, but is not
limited to, statements with respect to activities, events or
developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may
occur in the future including, but not limited to, details of the
2023 drill program and potential results and benefits thereof;
details of the potential underground sampling program and potential
benefits thereof; expectations regarding the preparation of a
potential vanadium mineral resource estimate; expectations
regarding the potential upgrade of existing mineral resources from
“inferred” to “indicated”; expectations regarding the restart of
Tony M; expectations regarding the preparation and timing of a
Preliminary Economic Assessment; the Company’s ongoing business
plan, sampling, exploration and work programs. Generally, but not
always, forward-looking information and statements can be
identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects”, “is
expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”,
“intends”, “anticipates”, or “believes” or the negative connotation
thereof 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” or the negative
connotation thereof. Such forward-looking information and
statements are based on numerous assumptions, including that
general business and economic conditions will not change in a
material adverse manner, that financing will be available if and
when needed and on reasonable terms, and that third party
contractors, equipment and supplies and governmental and other
approvals required to conduct the Company’s planned exploration
activities will be available on reasonable terms and in a timely
manner. Although the assumptions made by the Company in providing
forward-looking information or making forward-looking statements
are considered reasonable by management at the time, there can be
no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be accurate.
Forward-looking information and statements also
involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other
factors, which may cause actual events or results in future periods
to differ materially from any projections of future events or
results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information or
statements, including, among others: negative operating cash flow
and dependence on third party financing, uncertainty of additional
financing, no known mineral reserves, mineral resources are not
mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability;
reliance on key management and other personnel, potential downturns
in economic conditions, actual results of exploration activities
being different than anticipated, changes in exploration programs
based upon results, and risks generally associated with the mineral
exploration industry, environmental risks, changes in laws and
regulations, community relations and delays in obtaining
governmental or other approvals and the risk factors with respect
to Consolidated Uranium set out in CUR’s annual information form in
respect of the year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the Canadian
securities regulators and available under CUR’s profile on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com.
Although the Company has attempted to identify
important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those contained in the forward-looking information
or implied by 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 forward-looking
information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual
results and future events could differ materially from those
anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not
place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information.
The Company undertakes no obligation to update or reissue
forward-looking information as a result of new information or
events except as required by applicable securities laws.
Photos accompanying this announcement are available
at:https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c95473ba-37a0-4b69-95b8-d9e1981b2a3d
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6f872210-92fd-4da4-be45-62d16d964f71
Consolidated Uranium (TSXV:CUR)
Historical Stock Chart
From Oct 2024 to Nov 2024
Consolidated Uranium (TSXV:CUR)
Historical Stock Chart
From Nov 2023 to Nov 2024