Valor hooks high grade uranium-rare earths, silver-lead rock chips in Canada

ASX-listed Valor Resources is on a roll in Canada with the budding explorer identifying new high-grade uranium mineralisation from rock chips at the company’s Hook Lake project in Canada’s famed Athabasca uranium basin. Additional silver, lead and high-grade rare-earths mineralisation with key rare earth elements neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium have added some unexpected value to the project.

A total of 57 samples were taken from across the Hook Lake project area with the best assay results from the Hook Lake Zone S prospect confirming historic high-grade uranium mineralisation. Seven rock chip samples were taken from a historical trench and four of these samples returned high-grade uranium assays greater than a whopping 6 per cent uranium oxide.  Elevated rare earths above 0.5 per cent total rare earth oxide, silver greater than a respectable 50 grams per tonne and 1.8 per cent lead were also present in the latest round of assays.

The program was conducted by consulting contractor, Dahrouge, and focused on confirming the geological understanding of the uranium occurrences at the Zone S and West Way prospects. The fieldwork was also devised to follow-up on the priority targets identified from the recently completed detailed airborne geophysical survey which highlighted a wealth of new uranium anomalies in the northwest of the company’s permits.

The Zone S prospect samples at Hook Lake were taken from in-situ uraninite mineralisation within a biotite gneiss. Interestingly, a boulder sample located approximately 300m east of the Hook Lake trench also returned high-grade uranium and rare earths, with a gobsmacking 59.2 per cent uranium oxide and a stunning 5.05 per cent total rare earths.

The Hook Lake high-grade uranium and rare earth mineralisation is interpreted to be structurally controlled and is located at the intersection of a northeast-southwest trending shear zone and a possible north-south trending fault structure. In addition to the down-dip/down-plunge potential of the immediate Hook Lake target, management says potential exists for further structural targets of this nature along strike to the northeast and southwest.

At the West Way prospect, approximately 6.5km to the north of the Hook Lake prospect, five grab samples were taken and three of the samples have anomalous uranium. Interestingly, two of these three samples returned high-grade moly with assays of 3.4 and 1.9 per cent molybdenum respectively.

Valor says more field work is required to improve the geological understanding and develop drill targets at West Way.  However, the airborne magnetics suggest a spatial association with a north-south trending structural feature, with potential repeats of this along strike to the northeast and southwest of West Way according to the company.

Both prospects will be further investigated with follow-up fieldwork programs expected to take place in October and drilling during the Canadian winter.

Executive Chairman Mr George Bauk says, “The results announced today highlights the enormous potential at the Hook Lake Project. Not only have we confirmed the significant outcrop of uranium mineralisation grading up to 59% U3O8, but we have also seen outstanding results in other commodities such as Rare Earths with grades more than 5% TREO.”

“The occurrence of rare earths is not unexpected in the Athabascan Basin, we just were not expecting grades this high and with the distribution of key rare earth elements such as neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium. We have seen results of over 1% TREO at both the Hook Lake prospect and the Nob Hill prospect which are over 10km apart on the property.”

Valor’s Hook Lake project covers around 300 square kilometres of uranium-rich stratigraphy on the south-eastern margin of the Athabasca Basin and sits about 700km north-east of Edmonton in Canada.

The project is one of five projects owned by Valor across the vast mineral field, where it now controls more than 980 square kilometres of prime uranium hunting ground. The region is famous for its high-grade uranium mines which include the Cluff Lake, Uranium City and Rabbit Lake operations and Cameco’s high profile Cigar Lake underground mine, where the average ore grade tops an astonishing 15 per cent uranium oxide and the milling operation pumps out around 4,600 tonnes of uranium oxide per annum.

Valor’s field season is off to a cracking start and the company looks to be well positioned in this high-grade uranium jurisdiction as the lucrative energy metal comes back into vogue.

As Bauk says “This is one hell of an exciting project, right commodity, right location and right time.”

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au