The Property is centrally located between Cameco Corp.’s Key Lake mill to the south and McArthur River mine to the north
Skyharbour secures option to acquire an initial 51% and up to 100% of Russell Lake Uranium Project from Rio Tinto in the Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan. (Credit: swm/Freeimages)
Skyharbour Resources Ltd.’s (TSX-V: SYH) (OTCQB: SYHBF) (Frankfurt: SC1P) (the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an Option Agreement with Rio Tinto Exploration Canada Inc. (“RTEC”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto Limited (“Rio Tinto”), to acquire up to 100% of the Russell Lake Uranium Project (the “Property” or “Project”), which comprises 26 claims covering 73,294 hectares of prospective exploration ground strategically situated between the Company’s Moore Uranium project (to the east) and Denison Mines’ Wheeler River project (to the west) in the eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin.
The Project is a premier, advanced-stage exploration property given its large size, proximity to critical regional infrastructure, and the significant amount of historical exploration carried out on the property, which has identified numerous prospective target areas and several high-grade uranium showings as well as drill hole intercepts. The Property is centrally located between Cameco Corp.’s Key Lake mill to the south and McArthur River mine to the north. Access to the Property is via Highway 914, which services the McArthur River Mine and runs through the western extent of Property along with a high-voltage powerline that energizes the existing mining operations in the eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin.
Jordan Trimble, President and CEO of Skyharbour Resources, stated:
“We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with Rio Tinto to acquire up to a 100% interest in Russell Lake. This is a significant transaction for Skyharbour and involves the acquisition of a premier exploration property adjacent to our Moore project. Uranium properties with the pedigree and prospectivity of Russell Lake are few and far between given the very strategic location, notable historical exploration and findings, as well as the numerous property-wide targets with the potential to generate new discoveries.”
“Additionally, we welcome Rio Tinto as a new strategic shareholder and project partner. We have a shared vision for the exploration of the various prospective target areas that remain to be fully tested on the Property using modern exploration methods and techniques. We look forward to working with Rio Tinto to generate a new meaningful discovery in the years to come.”
Highlights:
- Option to acquire an initial 51% and up to 100% of Rio Tinto’s 73,294 ha Russell Lake Uranium Property strategically located in the central core of the Eastern Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan.
- Both Highway 914 servicing McArthur River and a high-voltage power line connected to the provincial power grid run through the Property’s western claims.
- Skyharbour, as operator, can earn an initial 51% interest in the Property by paying CAD $508,200 in cash, issuing 3,584,014 common shares to RTEC, and funding CAD $5,717,250 in exploration on the Project, inclusive of a 10% management fee to Skyharbour, over a period of 3 years.
- Skyharbour has a second option to earn an additional 19% interest for a total of 70%, and a further possible option to obtain the remaining 30% interest in the Project for an undivided 100% ownership interest.
- The Property has been the subject of significant historical exploration efforts including over 95,000 metres of drilling in over 220 drill holes. This provides the Company with an excellent dataset to direct subsequent exploration on high-priority areas with the potential for near-term discovery of high-grade uranium mineralization.
- Previous exploration work has identified numerous highly prospective target areas, some of which host high-grade uranium mineralization in historical drill holes. Furthermore, there are over 35 kilometres of untested conductors on the Property in magnetic lows, which are indicative of pelitic basement rocks conducive to uranium deposition in the Athabasca Basin.
- The Property has a permitted and functional exploration camp suitable for over forty people, and conveniently located near Highway 914 and within 5 km kilometres of Denison’s Phoenix deposit. The Property’s claims are in good standing for 2-22 years from banked assessment credits.
- This transaction adds another drill-ready, advanced-stage uranium exploration asset to Skyharbour’s project portfolio and offers significant operational and exploration synergies with the adjacent Moore uranium project.
Source: Company Press Release