Ucore Uranium has completed an exploration plan for its Bokan-Dotson Ridge rare earth element (REE) project in 2010. The exploration agenda, continuing under the management of Ucore's wholly-owned US subsidiary Rare Earth One, has been designed with a concentration on advancement of existing zones with infill and exploratory drill work, while expanding overall project scope.
Drilling in 2010 will focus on the rare earth-bearing zones at the Dotson Trend and the sunday lake zone, which yielded heavy REE intercepts in 2009. The program will target a minimum of 3000mt, and will include geological mapping, airborne and ground-based geophysical surveying, mineralogical studies, environmental baseline data collection, and bench-scale metallurgical testwork. The 2010 work will also include the engagement of independent mining engineering services to complete an early stage scoping study of prospective mining logistics and methodologies at Bokan.
The 2007-2009 field programs at Bokan-Dotson Ridge completed 73 diamond drill holes spanning five distinct rare earth targets. Those targets are comprised of the Dotson, Geoduck, Cheri, and I&L Zones to the southeast of the Bokan intrusive complex, as well as the sunday lake zone to the northwest.
The three seasons of drilling at Bokan have yielded some of the highest heavy rare earth element (HREE) grades on record for a North American rare earth deposit. In particular, the 2009 discovery at Sunday Lake has provided a target for continued exploration.
The discovery is unusual by North American standards, since it has rendered total rare earth drill assays comprised almost entirely of heavy REE’s; specifically, 95% heavy REE’s as a component of total REE’s. These results are anomalous compared to known rare earth deposits, with an industry average of less than 10% heavy REE’s as a component of total REE’s, the company said.
These two elements are among the most valuable, scarcest and sought-after rare earth elements. The demand for both Tb and Dy are increasing for strategic military, green energy and technology applications.
Jim McKenzie, president and CEO of Ucore Uranium, said: “Our objective is to advance the Bokan-Dotson Ridge project as quickly as possible. A detailed analysis of our recent exploration data has now commenced, which will deliver the initial stages of a comprehensive 3D model at the Dotson Zone, which is the main area of REE mineralization located east of the complex.
“These subsurface data will be combined with new geophysical data obtained via a 2009 airborne survey. Together, the two datasets will be used to target 2010 drill hole locations and spacing intervals, all with a view to obtaining a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate, projected to be delivered later this year. Our metallurgical work will investigate the previous US. Bureau of mines studies which showed a recovery rate of up to 96% yttrium from Dotson Zone samples.”
The Bokan-Dotson ridge project, located on Prince of Wales island in southeastern Alaska, is 100% owned by Ucore Uranium with purchasable NSR’s ranging from 2% to 4% on 84 of 512 claims. In addition, Kirrin Resources is earning a 50% interest in Ucore Uranium’s lost pond REE-U project in Newfoundland, with recent surface samples assaying up to 10% TREO. Additional properties continue to be held in Nunavut, Ontario, and Labrador.