Critical metals explorer ENRG Elements (ASX: EEL) has inked a deal worth $250,000 in scrip and cash to buy 100 per cent of the Lamont Lake uranium exploration project in the northern part of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan – a region renowned for its uranium riches.
The binding agreement is with an un-associated private vendor and is subject to due diligence by ENRG. Completion is expected to take place in the first week of October with a cash payment of CA$27,500 (AU$30,250) and the issue of 33.33 million shares, representing 5.4 per cent of the outstanding shares capital in ENRG.
A final payment of AU$100,000 in cash or shares at the company’s discretion will then be paid within the following six months.
The Lamont Lake prospect is 85km north-west of the Uranium City settlement on the shores of Lake Athabasca. With historical grades of 200 parts per million uranium ranging up to 500ppm near the surface, its four contiguous properties lie in recognised elephant country and have a geological footprint not dissimilar to the Beaverlodge deposits that sit 90km to the south-east and which have produced 56 million pounds of uranium oxide.
The acquisition follows an internal review by the company’s management and technical team, affirming the project and its potential as a highly-prospective area that contains historic, shallow uranium occurrences. The company is also assessing a number of other strategic opportunities to bolster its presence in key markets and will provide updates to shareholders on any significant developments.
ENRG Elements Managing Director Caroline Keats
Most notably, northern Saskatchewan is also home to Cameco’s McArthur River mine, the biggest high-grade uranium in the world with a resource of 255 million pounds grading a whopping 17.33 per cent uranium oxide – just 500km south-east of ENRG’s leases.
Apart from two airborne surveys and 350m of diamond drilling conducted in the 1960s, which identified one significant anomaly called S3 and three other less explored targets, only limited work has been done on the project area. That will give ENRG some decent historic data to pore over before its applies modern exploration techniques.
In particular, the identified anomalies are relatively shallow and have minimal ground cover, which should keep the cost of future exploration efforts low compared to the deeper deposits found in the area. As a first step, ENRG plans to continue analysing historical data from the project before mapping out a near-term exploration program.
Adding to its existing portfolio of uranium and lithium exploration grounds in Niger, lithium in Canada and copper in Botswana, the company will have its hands full. But with its share price up 100 per cent today on turnover of nearly 110 million shares, the news that it is turning its eye to more uranium assets has certainly caught the attention of investors.
And that is likely to mean that as ENRG gets closer to laying out its plan for exploration in a region renowned for elephant discoveries, the market will be keeping a close eye on what it can unearth in its hunt for big game.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: office@bullsnbears.com.au