Purepoint launches uranium drilling at Henday Lake
Purepoint Uranium Group Inc. [PTU:TSXV] said Wednesday it has launched a fall drilling program on property located within the northeast margin of Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin.
“The focus of the drill program is our 100%-owned Henday Lake project that we have been eager to advance for some time now,” said Scott Frostad, Vice-President, Exploration. “This will be Purepoint’s first drill program on the project following our airborne electromagnetic and ground gravity surveys that were completed to ensure the optimal targets are tested,” he said.
Purepoint has a long history of operating in the Athabasca Basin, a region that is best known as the world’s leading source of high-grade uranium, accounting for 20% of the world’s supply.
The company’s project portfolio includes 12 high prospective uranium projects. Ten of those projects cover 175,000 hectares and are 100%-owned. Two of the 12, including Hook Lake and Smart Lake, are joint ventures.
The company is partnered with two of the world’s largest uranium producers, Cameco Corp. [CCO-TSX, CCJ-NYSE] and Orano Canada Inc.
The flagship Hook Lake Project is owned jointly by Cameco (39.5%), Orano Canada (39.5%) and Purepoint (21%) as operator. It consists of nine claims, covering 28,598 hectares and is situated in the southwestern Athabasca Basin. The Hook Lake joint venture is considered one of the highest quality uranium exploration projects in the Athabasca Basin due to its location along the prospective Patterson Lake trend and the relatively shallow depth to the unconformity.
Hook Lake is on trend with the two of the largest uranium discoveries in the region, NexGen Energy Ltd.’s [NXE-TSX, NYSE]  Rook 1 property and Fission Uranium Corp.’s [FCU-TSX; FCUUF-OTCQX; 2FU-FSE] high-grade Triple R uranium deposit at the Patterson Lake South property.
The 100%-owned Henday Lake property covers 1,029 hectares and consists of two claims. The project is located nine kilometres from Orano’s Midwest Lake deposit (41 million pounds of U308) and 10 kilometres west of Rio Tinto’s Roughrider deposit (57 million pounds of U308).
Cogema Resources (now Orano Resources Canada) drilled a single hole in 1998, and encountered steeply dipping, strongly graphitic fault gouge at the bottom of the hole. The claims rest within a magnetic low that is believed to represent the peitic basement rocks, a typical host rock for economic uranium mineralization.
On Wednesday, Purpoint said it is planning three initial diamond drill holes at an average depth of approximately 400 metres each.
Depending on initial results and timing, Purepoint said it can extend this drilling program if appropriate.
The targeted electromagnetic conductor lies within an east-west trending magnetic low, considered to represent pelitic basement rocks, a typical host rock for uranium mineralization.
On Wednesday, Purepoint shares eased 4.0% or $0.005 to 12 cents on volume of 329,310. The shares are currently trading in a 52-week range of 19.5 cents and $0.035.