Nuclear Fuels drills 0.2% eU 4.5 feet at Kaycee, Wyoming
Nuclear Fuels Inc. [CSE-NF] reported the second set of drill results from the continuing drill program at its Kaycee uranium project in Wyoming’s Powder River basin. The drilling, designed to confirm and expand the historic resource at the Saddle zone reports 4 holes containing multiple uranium intercepts of ore-grade thickness which is potentially amenable for in situ recovery (ISR) extraction technology. Additionally, a new and deeper uranium-bearing horizon has been discovered in the Fort Union Formation, located below the historic mineralization in the Lower Wasatch Formation.
Highlights: Uranium mineralization with typically ore-grade Grade Thickness (GT) was encountered in 5 discrete horizons in 4 drill holes with Grade Thickness ranging from 0.308 to 0.911 with the highest grade single intercept being 4.5 feet of 0.202% eU. Grade Thickness of 0.3 is considered an economic minimum for inclusion in a typical wellfield in the Power River Basin.
Discovery of uranium mineralization in the Fort Union Formation lying approximately 350 feet below the Lower Wasatch hosted historical mineralization of the Saddle zone with 1.5 feet of 0.024% eU in hole SD23-027 and 2.0 feet of 0.039% eU in hole SD23-029.
Phase 1 drilling continues to successfully confirm and expand historic resources of the Saddle zone hosted in the Lower Wasatch Formation at depths of 165 to 350 feet in saturated sands.
Drilling will continue at the Saddle zone targeting both the shallow Lower Wasatch Formation and the newly discovered uranium mineralization within the upper Fort Union Formation with additional results expected in late November 2023.
Michael Collins, CEO, stated: “The Saddle zone at the Kaycee Uranium project continues to yield positive drill results. As our understanding of both the Lower Wasatch Formation mineralization and the newly discovered upper Fort Union Formation mineralization grows, our targeting is getting better and our hit rate improving. On-site eU3O8 gamma probe logging gives us same day data and allows us to adjust our drill planning to maximize our hit rate and minimize our costs.”
Drill holes are reported that returned significant zones of uranium mineralization with >2 ft thickness at or above a grade cut-off of 0.02% eU3O8.
The Kaycee Project in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin (PRB) is Nuclear Fuel’s priority project consisting of over 42 square miles of mineral rights over a 33-mile mineralized trend and 110 miles of identified roll fronts. The Kaycee Project is believed to be the only project in the PRB where all three known historically productive sandstone formations (Wasatch, Fort Union, and Lance) are mineralized and potentially accessible for ISR extraction. The Kaycee Project, under Nuclear Fuels, represents the first time since the early 1980s that the entire district is controlled by one company.
Nuclear Fuels acquired the Kaycee Project from enCore Energy Corp., which retains a back-in right for 51% of the project by paying 2.5X the exploration costs and carrying the Kaycee project to production (costs recoverable from production) upon Nuclear Fuels establishing a minimum 15-million pound U3O8 43-101 compliant resource.
Wyoming is a proven and prolific uranium producer with a pro-energy government and established regulatory regime for the permitting and extraction of uranium through ISR technology. As Wyoming is one of the few “Agreement States” where the federal government and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have ceded regulatory authority to the state government, permitting and advancing uranium projects is more efficient and streamlined as compared to most other states. Wyoming, with over 250 million pounds of historic production, ranks as the state with the second most uranium production to date; most of which has been through the ISR method since 1990; predominantly from the PRB.
Nuclear Fuels is committed to aggressive exploration of district-scale In-Situ Recovery (ISR) uranium projects in proven and prolific jurisdictions.