Badger Lake Uranium Project Update

Power Metal Resources PLC

26 September 2023

 

26 September 2023

Power Metal Resources PLC

("Power Metal" or the "Company")

Badger Lake Uranium Project Update

Power Metal Resources PLC (AIM:POW), the AIM listed metals exploration and development company, is pleased to announce the escalation of a high priority  uranium target based on a remote sensing study commissioned for the 100% owned Badger Lake Uranium Project ("Badger Lake" or the "Project") located within the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Highlights

·    Hyperspectral satellite data analysis ("Hyperspectral Analysis") study has identified distinct similarities between Badger Lake and the Arrow Deposit  (with a Total Measured and Indicated Resource of 256.7 Mlb U₃O₈ ¹) owned and operated by Nexgen Energy Ltd., which is located circa 30km northwest of the Project.

·    The Hyperspectral Analysis has focused on establishing spectral signatures associated with alteration, gas emissions and apparent electric flux properties over the known basement-hosted, vein type uranium deposits of Arrow and Arrow South ("Arrow") in order to generate potential targets for exploration at nearby Badger Lake.

·    Utilising European Space Agency Sentinel-2 visible to near-infrared ("VNIR") and short-wave infrared ("SWIR") satellite datasets and Japanese ALOS-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar ("SAR") satellite data a direct comparison with Arrow has generated 30 spectral targets for investigation at Badger Lake.

·    At the Arrow deposit, resistivity geophysics anomalies associated with the mineralisation coincide with distinct Dielectric Constant ("DC") readings estimated from the SAR backscatter data. Similar level DC readings show a distinct 300m wide DC anomaly for investigation in the east of Badger Lake.

·    Significantly, the Badger Lake DC anomaly is also coincident with the distinct airborne electromagnetic ("EM") geophysics anomaly (named EMO8) and associated northeast-southwest trending EM conductor identified in a historical survey commissioned by COGEMA Resources Inc in 2002; and in  proximity to anomalous Uranium-in-lake sediment results and a Very Low Frequency ("VLF") Geophysical survey carried out in 1978.^2,3,4

·    As a result of the above, the Company is looking to expedite the planned high-resolution electromagnetic UAV survey over Badger Lake.

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

"It is thanks to the experience and skills of our in-house technical team and their commissioning of hyperspectral analysis at Badger Lake that has led to the discovery of yet another extremely attractive exploration target within our Saskatchewan uranium portfolio - further highlighting the quality of our 100% owned uranium assets.

"This is a significant milestone for Power Metal and follows closely on from the recently announced discovery of a significant helium anomaly at Perch River.

"Shareholders are aware that we have work underway on ten of our seventeen properties within and surrounding the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan, Canada.  Further updates across our portfolio are expected in the near term.

"Given the rising price of the uranium commodity and the increasing interest in uranium exploration juniors, we are particularly excited about our progress and are very much looking forward to the release of additional findings, when available, from our active uranium exploration work programmes.

"These findings could not come at a better time for shareholders and serve to highlight the huge potential value inherent in our uranium portfolio and in the Power Metal business model more generally."

Comparisons Between Arrow and Badger Lake

Power Metal commissioned Dr Neil Pendock, a highly respected remote sensing consultant, to undertake the hyperspectral data compilation and comparative processing study over Badger Lake and the Arrow deposits.

Conductivity anomalies present strong targets for uranium exploration within the Athabasca Basin as they can represent graphitic lithologies, which are known to act as reductants for uranium mineralisation, and thus host uranium mineralisation.

As shown on Figure 1, there are strong similarities between the SAR data Dielectric Constant estimates at Arrow and those in the east of Badger Lake . The Dielectric Constant is the measure of relative permittivity of a material, it is the permittivity of that material expressed as a ratio with the electric permittivity of a vacuum.

Badger Lake also has a coincident magnetic anomaly and geophysical conductor in the vicinity of the identified anomalous Dielectric Constant levels, further enhancing it's prospectivity.

A historical data compilation was completed over Badger Lake with the results announced to the market on 5 October 2022⁵. Importantly, many of the targets generated by that work are strongly coincident with the DC anomaly now confirmed further enhancing the prospectivity of this target area including:

·    The survey flown by FUGRO Airborne Surveys in 2002 on behalf of Cogema Resources Inc., which led to the identification of a bullseye GEOTEM® (EM08) anomaly as well as a northeast-southwest trenching EM conductor, both of which are coincident with the DC anomaly.²

·    VLF Geophysical survey carried out in 1978⁴ identified two anonymous areas, one of which is in close proximity the anomalous DC area.

·    In addition, a 1981 survey³ collected two anomalous and elevated U-in-lake sediment results, which also had elevated nickel, zinc and lead - all elements associated with unconformity related uranium deposits. These two results are from a lake to the southwest 'down ice' (i.e., the direction where glacially moved sediments would be transported) of both the DC and VLF anomalies.

SAR Dielectric Constant Estimation Overview

This estimate of relative electrical permittivity works by comparing the polarisation of reflected or backscattered microwaves that are emitted and collected by synthetic aperture radar instruments onboard the Sentinel-1 and ALOS satellites as they orbit above the earth. The comparison between the waves emitted and received can be used to estimate dielectric constants for the reflecting surface. The dielectric constants can be considered a proxy of the 'conductivity' of the surface material at a specific location.

This method has been tested in dry ground conditions on gold deposits in Brazil, as well as extensively throughout South Africa and may present an innovative aid to exploration in the Athabasca. It cannot give the depth to the conductivity zone, which would require further geophysical surveys, hence why Power is looking to expedite the planned EM unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) survey over Badger Lake.

Figure 1: Badger Lake Uranium Project, and Arrow Uranium Project (Nexgen) Dielectric Constant

Badger Lake Uranium Project Overview

The Badger Lake Uranium Project covers an area of 16.71km² within the prolific Athabasca Basin and is surrounded by ground held by major uranium operators and explorers including Orano SA, Hathor Exploration (owned by Rio Tinto; LSE: RIO) and NexGen Energy Ltd (TSX: NXE). The property is located 30km east from the Patterson Lake Trend which hosts such deposits as Fission Uranium's Triple R Project (reported Mineral Resource of 2.69 Mt @ 1.94% U3O8 Indicated) and Nexgen's Arrow Project (reported Mineral Resource of 3.754 Mt @ 3.1% U₃O₈ Measured & Indicated and 4.399Mt @ 0.83 U₃O₈  Inferred). A private maintained road runs through Badger Lake, providing easy access for future field and drilling campaigns.

Geological reports highlight that the Badger Lake property is underlain by around 200-350m of sandstone that sits unconformably over crystalline basement. A single historical drillhole (BP-07-01) ⁷ is located on the property. Drill logs show this hole intersected 325m of Athabasca sandstone, which included brecciation, clay and hematite alteration, and vuggy quartz - textures which are typical of alteration within the Athabasca Basin. Below the geological unconformity contact (within the basement rocks) BP-07-01 intercepted meta-sedimentary rocks with 20m of hematite alteration. In addition, a common accessory mineral to uranium deposits, calcite, was reported to coat fractures.

The unconformity contact between the sandstone and the underlying crystalline basement lithologies is the main target for uranium exploration in Saskatchewan, and deposits such as McArthur River (416 Mlb at 15% U₃O₈), Cigar Lake (152.4 Mlb at 7.55% U₃O₈), Hurricane and Phoenix (60 Mlb at 19.1% U₃O₈) are located at, or in close proximity to this geological contact zone.

Historical geophysical analysis ² indicates the presence of a northeast to southwest trending conductor (which BP-07-01 was drilled in the vicinity of) which runs between two EM geophysical anomalies. This conductor has never been drill tested.

NOTES AND REFERENCES

1:             Source: NexGen Energy Ltd:  Arrow Deposit, Rook I Project, Saskatchewan NI 43-101 Technical Report on Feasibility Study

                ( https://s28.q4cdn.com/891672792/files/doc_downloads/2022/03/0000-BA00-RPT-0002_2-compressed.pdf )

2:             Source: COGEMA Resources Inc, Laurie Project Report on GEOTEM Airborne EM and Magnetic Surveys, March, 2002 (74F10-0035R)

3:             Source: Saskatchewan Mining Development Corporation, 1981, Mirror River Project - 1981 Fieldwork (74F09-0031)

4:             Source: Kerr Addison Mines Limited, 1978, Airborne Electromagnetic Survey, Lloyd Lake Project Saskatchewan (74F10-0013)

5:             Power Metal Resources PLC company announcement, Uranium Portfolio Update - Athabasca Basin, Canada, dated 5 October 2022
( https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/power_metal_resources/news/rns/story/xqg3g2w )

6:             Source: Titan Uranium, 2008, 2007 Diamond Drill Program Meanwell Lake, Bishop I & Bishop II Projects (74F10-0049)

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.

 

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