Key Uranium Exploration and Corporate Developments

Power Metal Resources PLC

21 June 2023

 

21 June 2023

Power Metal Resources PLC

("Power Metal" or the "Company")

Key Uranium Exploration and Corporate Developments

Power Metal Resources PLC (LON:POW) the London listed exploration company with a global project portfolio, announces key developments to its uranium ("U") business, which covers a combined 1,005km² across 17 properties (collectively the "Uranium Portfolio") in and around the prolific Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Highlights

·    2023 exploration campaign planning complete (as outlined below), representing the largest ever uranium focussed exploration programme carried out by Power Metal across its Uranium Portfolio, which includes work on at least 10 of the 17 properties.

·    Acquisition of the Perch River Uranium project ("Perch River"), which covers an area of 9.41km² and is entirely within the prolific Athabasca Basin.

·    Planned listing of Uranium Energy Exploration ("UEE") to be expedited.

Sean Wade, Chief Executive Officer of Power Metal Resources plc, commented: 

"I am pleased to be able to make this important announcement to demonstrate the value we expect to deliver to shareholders through the exploration of our uranium portfolio. This will be the Company's largest uranium focussed exploration programme to date, coming at a time when investor attention is increasingly focussed on the commodity and its upside potential as a clean energy alternative fuel.

The purpose of the exploration programme is to carry out a variety of geophysical and ground-based surveys in order to begin proving up drill-ready targets. The results are expected to come in the second and early third quarter of this year, with the intention of having a well-defined picture of the opportunity by Q4 of this year.

The recent addition of the Perch River Project was a strategic move, increasing the Company's overall footprint in and around the Athabasca Basin, and enhancing what we consider to be a globally significant package of uranium licences.

I am also pleased to report that the listing of Uranium Energy Exploration, initially reported in September 2022 into which Power Metal has conditionally disposed the Reitenbach and E-12 properties,^1,2 will now be expedited in order to meet investor demand for pure-play exposure to uranium exploration in this region."

2023 EXPLORATION CAMPAIGN

Power Metal's technical team has designed the 2023 exploration campaign which will be carried out by Power Metal in conjunction with various Canada-based geophysical and field contractors.

This programme represents the largest field campaign undertaken by the Company to date on its northern Saskatchewan uranium focussed properties, and represents an important commitment to the Company's uranium business going forward.

Further 2023 campaign-specific details are outlined below. The various programmes are planned to be carried out between June and September.

Tait Hill

Tait Hill is located 30km north of the Athabasca Basin and is considered by the Company to be highly prospective for intrusive- and pegmatite-hosted uranium mineralisation. The Mullis Lake Target discovered by Power Metal during the 2022 exploration campaign, and detailed in a RNS announced on 2 December 2022³, has strong geological similarities to the Rössing uranium deposit located in Namibia. Exploration over Tait Hill conducted by Saskatchewan Mining Development Corporation (SMDC) in 1977 returned exceedingly high soil results (up to 13,200 ppm or 1.3% U) and lake sediment results (99.8^th percentile) from the centre of the project. This central area has received very minimal follow up exploration.

Work completed by Power Metal in 2021 and 2022 returned up to 825 parts per million ("ppm") U from a brecciated pegmatite dyke at the Mullis Lake Target and up to 3,986 ppm U from a pegmatite in the north of the project.

In order to advance the project during the 2023 exploration campaign, Power Metal plans to complete follow up geochemical (soil) sampling programme and detailed prospecting over the central part of the project as well as at the Mullis Lake target, with the ultimate goal of proving up drill ready targets.

Badger Lake

Located along the Athabasca Basin's southern edge, the 16.71km² Badger Lake project is considered by the Company to be prospective for sandstone and basement-hosted unconformity-related uranium mineralisation.

In 2000 a low-resolution electromagnetic ("EM") geophysics survey flown by a previous claim holder, highlighted a significant conductor within the centre of the project. As a result, Power Metal plans to acquire higher-resolution modern data via a drone EM (unmanned aerial vehicle or UAV) survey to enable effective analysis and definition of drill targets for future programmes.

Durrant Lake

Durrant Lake is located within the eastern part of the Athabasca Basin approximately 37km from the basin edge. The project is surrounded by major uranium explorers and operators including Cameco Corporation, Denison Mines Corp and ISO Energy Limited.

A historical survey completed over Durrant Lake by previous operators identified multiple occurrences of elevated helium ("He")-in-lake water results, which may offer a secondary proxy to potential uranium mineralisation with helium - a daughter product of the radioactive decay of uranium.

Geophysical work carried out between 1987 and 2000 identified multiple northeast trending Very Low Frequency ("VLF") conductors, which are often inferred to represent faults and/or shear structures. In addition, EM anomalies in the north and south of the project are coincident with elevated He-in-lake results representing compelling targets for unconformity-related uranium mineralisation.

The various geophysical anomalies were identified several decades ago and, as a result, Power Metal plans to conduct a modern helicopter-borne passive EM survey over the entirety of the project, to define drill targets for future work programmes.

Kerneghan

Kerneghan is located in the east of the Athabasca Basin, around 14km from the basin edge. The project is surrounded by major operators including ISO Energy Limited, Standard Uranium Ltd and Orano SA.

To date, no detailed geophysical data has been collected over Kerneghan, with the only data currently available derived from the Saskatchewan Geological Survey. Therefore, acquiring high-quality geophysical data will allow Power to determine and define drill targets for future work programmes. 

As with Durrant Lake, the Company plans to complete a helicopter borne passive EM survey at Kerneghan.

Soaring Bay

Located 125km southwest of the Athabasca Basin, Soaring Bay is centred around multiple Saskatchewan Mineral Deposit Index ("SMDI") points as well as several strongly elevated U-in-lake sediment results collected as part of a government conducted survey.

Historical work completed over Soaring Bay identified anomalous Radon²²² isotope results located along a prominent 700 m-long structural lineament, with multiple coincident U-in-lake sediment anomalies as well as sustained radiometric anomalies along the fault. In the southeast of the project, a radioactive pegmatite was identified, but never assayed.

Power Metal intends to undertake a soil/prospecting programme to further test the exciting previously identified Radon²²² anomaly to help determine the nature and prospectivity of this significant feature. Part of this programme will also include prospecting of the radioactive pegmatite to the southeast of the project. 

E-12¹

E-12 is located 12km southeast of the Athabasca Basin and is intersected by Provincial Highway 914, providing ideal exploration access. We believe the project's proximity to the edge of the Athabasca Basin makes it prospective for unconformity-related uranium mineralisation.  

Historical data over the project collated by Power Metal has highlighted the presence of multiple uraniferous boulder trains, and superficial sediments (soils and gravels) with elevated radioactivity. However, there is a very limited understanding of the sub-surface geology and precise location of EM conductors - which are key targets when exploring for unconformity-related uranium deposits.

As a result, Power Metal is in the process of commissioning a drone-based EM survey across the project, with a planned flight line spacing of 100m flown in a northwest-southeast orientation. A coarse government-flown airborne EM survey identified multiple low-resolution conductors across the project, and the planned high-resolution survey will allow Power Metal to map the precise location, extent and character of the known EM conductors within E-12, allowing for targeted follow-up exploration. 

Work undertaken at E-12 will be paid for by Power Metal and provided as a loan to UEE recoverable on the successful listing of UEE within the London markets.

Reitenbach²

Reitenbach is located approximately 130km east of the Athabasca Basin and is considered by the Company to be highly prospective for intrusive and pegmatite-hosted uranium mineralisation. The project is centred on multiple underexplored geophysical and geochemical anomalies.

The project hosts exceedingly high U-in-lake sediment results up to 508 ppm U - which represents the 99.99^th percentile U-in-lake sediments from the entire Geological Survey of Canada Saskatchewan lake sediment database. Due to extension cover, previous explorers were unable to find a mineralised outcrop source which could sufficiently explain the exceptionally high U-in-lake sediment results found over a large area within Reitenbach.

The vast majority of the Reitenbach has been subject to no modern geophysical surveys and as a result, Power Metal has commissioned Dias Geophysical Limited ("DIAS") to complete a helicopter-borne high-resolution 'QMAGT' full tensor magnetic gradiometry and radiometric survey over the project with ~1,000 line-km planned. The survey is expected to commence by the end of June 2023.

In addition, DIAS will also complete the processing, analysis and interpretations for the data acquired. As the project is mostly covered by thin vegetation the combined magnetic and radiometric results will allow for the detailed mapping of important geological and structural features with the ultimate goal of discovering a considerable mineralised bedrock source.

Work undertaken at Reitenbach will be paid for by Power Metal and provided as a loan to UEE recoverable on the successful listing of UEE within the London markets.

Cook Lake

Cook Lake is located 85km southeast of the Athabasca Basin and is considered by the Company to be prospective for basement-hosted unconformity-related uranium, alongside intrusion- and pegmatite-hosted uranium mineralisation. At Cook Lake multiple uranium-enriched boulder trains have been identified as well as several radiometric and elevated U-in-lake sediment anomalies.

The most recent geophysical survey completed over Cook Lake was in the late 1970s which identified several EM conductors. Updating these results with modern survey methods will allow for improved identification and resolution of these EM conductors.

As a result, Power Metal is in the process of commissioning a drone-based EM survey to be flown across the project with a planned flight line spacing of 150-200m flown in a northwest-southeast direction. This survey will provide valuable inputs to allow Power Metal to plan further work on the project.

Clearwater

Power Metal has completed two field programmes on Clearwater, overseeing the collection of multiple samples with 'off scale' (i.e. >9,999 counts per second or "CPS") radioactivity, which returned results of up to 1,120 ppm tri-uranium oxtoxide ("U₃O₈")_". Additionally, the project hosts six SMDI occurrences and multiple anomalous U-in-lake sediment results, all of which highlight Clearwater's prospectivity.

The main exploration target at Clearwater is for Beaverlodge-style uranium mineralisation, which is associated with faults and fractures therefore to best refine targeting on Clearwater a strong understanding of the structural geology of the project is vital. To date, no modern geophysics has flown and Power Metal is in the process of commissioning a drone-based EM survey. This modern geophysical survey will allow for detailed mapping of prospective fault zones ready for further detailed field investigation in the future.  

ACQUISITION OF PERCH RIVER

Mineral Claim Staking Process of Perch River

The mineral claims constituting the Perch River Uranium Project (Figure 1) was acquired directly through the Mineral Administration Registry Saskatchewan ("MARS") electronic registry system.

Where a previous claim owner is unable to satisfy the claim maintenance requirements, that ground is reopened to third-party staking at a set time each month. Select reopening's are often highly competitive with many parties attempting to acquire the newly available land.

The total cost of the 39.41 km² staking was Canadian $2,364.60. The newly staked licences come with a two-year term with no minimum spend requirement, which can then be extended for subsequent years by spending a minimum of Canadian $59,115 per annum.

Perch River Geology

Perch River is located less than 10km from the northern Athabasca basin edge and is therefore Considered by the Company to be prospective for both basement- and sandstone-hosted unconformity-related uranium deposits.

The project is covered by Athabasca Sandstone to an estimated depth of between 50 and 200m which is in contact with crystalline basement of the Mudjatik Domain. A major fault zone, the 'Font du Lac', crosses the project in a north-south orientation and 'splays' (breaks and rejoins) in the centre of the project. Such structures have been interpreted as providing fluid pathways to enable the generation of unconformity related uranium deposits elsewhere in the Athabasca Basin, and therefore represents a significant target at Perch River.

At the apex of the fault splay, and to the northeast of the fault, multiple gravity lows, which may be indicating an area of hydrothermal alteration are present, further highlighting the prospectivity for unconformity-related uranium mineralisation. One such low, in the south of the project, has been identified to be 'up ice' (upstream of the ice-age glacial flow direction) and therefore a potential source of elevated U-in-lake sediments identified from a work programme completed in the 1970s.

More recent work (2011-2021) conducted by Purepoint Uranium Group Inc highlighted a cluster of anomalous U-in soil geochemical results (up to 33 ppm U) located in the central part of the project, coincident with multiple known structural features. The elevated U-in soil results are associated with elevated vanadium, lead, and cobalt results - elements which are known to be associated with unconformity-related uranium mineralisation.

In addition, the elevated soil results are in close proximity (<400 m) to coincident elevated Radon²²² isotope and Thorium-in-soil results - both of which are daughter products of the decay of uranium and are important tracers in and around the Athabasca Basin. 

The secondary gravity low to the north of the project remains untested, with minimal exploration occurring elsewhere.

Figure 1: Perch River Uranium Project Overview Map.

URANIUM PROPERTIES - HOLDING STRUCTURE

Power Metal has a 100% subsidiary Power Metal Canada Inc ("Power Canada"), which acts as the holding company for certain Canadian project operations. Power Canada has a wholly owned subsidiary, 102134984 Saskatchewan Ltd, which is the holder of the Company's Athabasca uranium portfolio.

Table 1: 102134984 Saskatchewan Ltd., Saskatchewan Holdings*

Project	Licence ID	Area (Hectare)	Area (km2)
Clearwater Uranium Project	MC00015079	1,110	11.1
	MC00015083	563	5.63
	MC00015082	3,191	31.91
	MC00015151	760	7.6
	MC00015646	761	7.61
	MC00015658	1,541	15.41
Tait Hill Uranium Project	MC00015078	1,576	15.76
	MC00015081	968	9.68
	MC00015153	1,530	15.3
	MC00015152	1,886	18.86
	MC00015647	725	7.25
	MC00015648	1,129	11.29
	MC00016158	3,242	32.42
Thibault Lake Uranium Project	MC00015077	2,206	22.06
	MC00015659	2,195	21.95
	AC00018709	1,982	19.82
Soaring Bay Uranium Project	MC00015080	1,255	12.55
	MC00015155	3,375	33.75
	MC00015874	748	7.48
	MC00015875	2,529	25.29
Cook Lake Uranium Project	MC00015212	984	9.84
E-12 Uranium Project1	MC00015213	1,323	13.23
Reitenbach Uranium Project2	MC00015214	2,135	21.35
	MC00015474	1,235	12.35
	MC00015655	4,570	45.7
	MC00015656	5,322	53.22
	MC00015657	886	8.86
	MC00015824	528	5.28
	MC00016155	1,333	13.33
Reindeer Lake	MC00015522	3,336	33.36
Porter Lake	MC00015561	5,657	56.56
	MC00015562	5,199	51.98
Old Woman Rapids	MC00015563	4,851	48.51
	MC00015564	5,063	50.63
	MC00015565	3,044	30.44
Durrant Lake	MC00016142	5,866	58.66
Badger Lake	MC00016253	1,671	16.71
Haresign Bay	MC00016910	100*	1.00*
	MC00016911	33*	0.33*
	MC00016912	33*	0.33*
Kernaghan	MC00016760	4,566	45.66
Hawkrock East	MC00016968	2,345	23.45
Hawkrock West	MC00016967	3,220	32.20
Perch River	MC00017294	3,941	39.41
Total Licence Holding Area		100,514	1,005.14km2

NOTES AND REFERENCES

1:                    The E-12 Property, currently included as one of the 17 uranium portfolio properties, is subject to a conditional disposal to Teathers Financial PLC for a consideration of £250,000. Work is ongoing to complete that transaction. See Company announcement released on 4 November 2022.

(https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/POW/disposal-of-e-12-uranium-property-canada/15703304)

2:                    The Reitenbach Property, currently included as one of the 17 uranium portfolio properties, is subject to a conditional disposal to Teathers Financial PLC for a consideration of £360,000. Work is ongoing to complete that transaction. See Company announcement released on 8 August 2022.

(https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/POW/disposal-of-reitenbach-uranium-property-canada/15575269)

3:                    (https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/POW/athabasca-uranium-exploration-update/15742013)

QUALIFIED PERSON STATEMENT

The technical information contained in this disclosure has been read and approved by Mr Nick O'Reilly (MSc, DIC, MIMMM, MAusIMM, FGS), who is a qualified geologist and acts as the Qualified Person under the AIM Rules - Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies. Mr O'Reilly is a Principal consultant working for Mining Analyst Consulting Ltd which has been retained by Power Metal Resources PLC to provide technical support.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR.

For further information please visit https://www.powermetalresources.com/ or contact:

Power Metal Resources plc
Sean Wade (Chief Executive Officer)	[phone]
SP Angel Corporate Finance (Nomad and Joint Broker)
Ewan Leggat/Charlie Bouverat	[phone]
SI Capital Limited (Joint Broker)
Nick Emerson	[phone]
First Equity Limited (Joint Broker)
David Cockbill/Jason Robertson	[phone]

BlytheRay (PR Advisors)	[phone]
Tim Blythe
Megan Ray

NOTES TO EDITORS

Power Metal Resources plc - Background

Power Metal Resources plc (LON:POW) is an AIM listed metals exploration company which finances and manages global resource projects.

The Company has a principal focus on opportunities offering district scale potential across a global portfolio including precious, base and strategic metal exploration in North America, Africa and Australia.

Project interests range from early-stage greenfield exploration to later-stage prospects currently subject to drill programmes.

Power Metal will develop projects internally or through strategic joint ventures until a project becomes ready for disposal through outright sale or separate listing on a recognised stock exchange, thereby crystallising the value generated from our internal exploration and development work.

Value generated through disposals will be deployed internally to grow the Company, or may be returned to shareholders through share buy backs, dividends or in-specie distributions of assets.

 

END