IsoEnergy Ltd. [ISO-TSXV] has released chemical assay results from a discovery of high-grade uranium mineralization on the company’s 100%-owned Larocque East property in the Eastern Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan.
In a news release on February 25, 2020, IsoEnergy reported chemical assays from two drill holes that intersected strong radioactivity early in the winter drilling program at the new discovery, which is known as the Hurricane zone.
The company said drill hole LE20-34 intersected 8.5 metres of uranium mineralization averaging 33.9% U3O8 from 326.0 to 334.5 metres, including 5.0 metres averaging 57.1% U3O8 from 328.0 to 333.0 metres. This the strongest intercept drilled on the property to date.
Drill hole LE20-32A, which was also drilled on the west end of the Hurricane Zone, 75 metres from drill hole LE20-34, returned 8.5 metres of uranium mineralization averaging 19.6% U3O8 from 329.5 to 338 metres, including 2.5 metres of average grade 63.6% U3O8 from 334.5 to 337.0 metres
On February 25, 2020, IsoEnergy shares traded up to 59 cents from 46 cents on February 21, 2020. On Thursday, the shares slipped 5% or $0.025 to 47 cents, likely on profit taking, and now trade in a 52-week range of 35 cents and 80 cents.
“The grades and thicknesses seen in these holes speak for themselves and justify an expansion to the current program,” said IsoEnergy CEO Craig Parry. “We’re approximately two-thirds of the way through this drill program and look forward to reporting additional results.”
The 100%-owned Larocque East property consists of 20 mineral claims covering 8,371 hectares and is not encumbered by any royalties or other interests. Larocque East is immediately adjacent to the north end of IsoEnergy’s Geiger property and is also 35 kilometres northwest of Orano Canada’s McClean Lake uranium mine and mill.
Along with other target areas, the property covers a 15-kilometre-long northeast extension of the Larocque Lake conductor system, a trend of graphic metasedimentary basement rocks that is associated with significant uranium mineralization at the Hurricane zone, and in several occurrences on Cameco Corp’s [CCO-TSX, CCJ-NYSE] neighbouring property to the southwest of Larocque East.
The Hurricane zone was discovered in July, 2018, and was followed up with a 12-hole drilling program in the winter of 2019 and a recently completed 17-hole summer 2019 drilling campaign.
Dimensions are currently 550 along strike, 40 metres wide and up to 10 metres thick. The zone remains open for expansion along-strike and on most sections. Mineralization is polymetallic and commonly straddles the sub-Athabasca unconformity, 320 metres below surface.
Drilling at Cameco’s Larocque Lake zone on the neighbouring property to the southwest has returned historical intersections of up to 29.9% U3O8 over 7.0 metres.
Referencing its next steps, IsoEnergy said it has deployed one drill on the west end of the Hurricane zone. That drill continues to infill the current footprint of the zone, extending the mineralization to the property boundary, and evaluating new targets generated by the results in drill holes LE20-32A and LE20-34.