{"id":1125191,"date":"2019-07-07T15:00:44","date_gmt":"2019-07-07T15:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/?p=995903"},"modified":"2019-07-07T15:00:44","modified_gmt":"2019-07-07T15:00:44","slug":"blue-sky-uranium-advances-amarillo-in-argentina-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/?p=1125191","title":{"rendered":"Blue Sky Uranium advances Amarillo in Argentina"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Argentina has three nuclear reactors and plans for more, yet the country has no domestic uranium production.&nbsp;<strong>Blue Sky Uranium<\/strong>&nbsp;(TSXV: BSK; US-OTC: BKUCF) hopes to fill that void.<\/p>\n<div class='d-flex justify-content-center'>\n<div id='div-gpt-ad-1561499308230-0'><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1561499308230-0');});<\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThey import uranium from Kazakhstan and Canada, so having a domestic source would be a preference, and they\u2019re potentially our first customer,\u201d Nikolaos Cacos, the company\u2019s president and CEO, tells&nbsp;<em>The Northern Miner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The country exports small nuclear reactors, too, which are built by INVAP, a manufacturer in the province of Rio Negro, home of Blue Sky Uranium\u2019s Amarillo Grande project.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe province is a majority owner of INVAP \u2014 it\u2019s like a crown corporation \u2014 and we\u2019ve collaborated with this organization doing some metallurgical studies, so they\u2019re very supportive of what we\u2019re doing,\u201d says Cacos. \u201cThey even have a pilot nuclear enrichment plant in Rio Negro \u2026 If we had to pick a province to do uranium mining in, there couldn\u2019t be a better one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In February, the company completed a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) of its main Ivana deposit at Amarillo Grande. The study outlines an open-pit operation that would produce uranium and vanadium over a mine life of 13 years.<\/p>\n<p>Initial capex is estimated at US$128 million, including a US$28 million contingency, and would be paid back, after-tax, in just under two and a half years. Life of mine sustaining capital costs are forecast at US$35 million.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe overall capex is very low for any type of mining project, and for a uranium project, too, especially compared with projects in Canada,\u201d Cacos says, adding that sustaining capex is also quite low, as \u201cit\u2019s almost like a gravel operation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The majority of the near-surface mineralization found so far is in the form of the leach-amenable mineral carnotite as coatings on pebbles, and beneficiation test work on samples indicates that simple wet scrubbing and screening techniques could be used onsite to concentrate and upgrade the material, which could reduce transport and processing costs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe large pebbles are completely un-mineralized so you scoop up a tonne of dirt, you do a wet scrubbing and remove the large pebbles and rock, and you\u2019ve increased the grade by a factor of four and removed 75% of the mass, and the rest is done with a simple alkaline leaching process where you extract the uranium and vanadium out,\u201d he says. \u201cThis process is used worldwide and is well-proven.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/IMG_20171109_105605982-1024x576-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-995905\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/IMG_20171109_105605982-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/IMG_20171109_105605982-1024x576-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/IMG_20171109_105605982-1024x576-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>A drill rig at Blue Sky Uranium\u2019s Amarillo Grande project in Argentina. Photo by Blue Sky Uranium.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Blue Sky has also hired Chuck Edwards, a technical advisor who specializes in uranium processing for both alkaline and acid leach plants. Edwards was involved in the engineering design of all the current uranium facilities in Saskatchewan\u2019s Athabasca Basin, and has worked on uranium projects in five continents, including as principal metallurgist at&nbsp;<strong>Cameco<\/strong>&nbsp;(TSX: CCO).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe recently retired from Cameco and then starting working on this project,\u201d Cacos says. \u201cThe more work he did, the more he liked the project.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Other estimates in the PEA put total cash costs net of credits over the life of mine at US$16.24 per lb. U<sub>3<\/sub>O<sub>8<\/sub>&nbsp;with all-in sustaining costs net of credits of US$18.27 per lb. U<sub>3<\/sub>O<sub>8<\/sub>.<\/p>\n<p>At a uranium price of US$50 per lb. and a vanadium price of US$15 per lb., the project would yield an after-tax net present value at an 8% discount rate of US$135 million and an after-tax internal rate of return of 29.3%, the study concludes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a low-cost deposit. It\u2019s surficial, and has very positive economic indicators that can make it viable, even in the uranium environment we\u2019re in right now,\u201d Cacos says, noting that the deposit, an in-house discovery, occurs within a depth of 20 to 25 metres.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is no drill hole that goes deeper than 50 metres, so drilling has been very low cost,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>This year, Blue Sky will explore three high priority target areas with significant anomalies of uranium and vanadium, and the work program over the next six months includes up to 4,500 metres of reverse circulation drilling, auger drilling and down-hole radiometric measurements, as well as a six-kilometre induced polarization (IP) geophysical survey.<\/p>\n<p>The program is designed to identify and delineate mineralization between the main Ivana deposit and the Ivana West target, about 1 km away, and also test targets in two other key areas to the north \u2014 Ivana Central and Ivana North \u2014 all of which are within 25 km of the main deposit.<\/p>\n<p>Cacos is particularly interested in the prospects at Ivana Central, where its former partner, Areva, drilled holes in 2010 and 2011, but never assayed them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey very abruptly ended the partnership because I guess they had some restructuring issues to deal with \u2014 nothing to do with our project \u2014 and so we assayed them,\u201d he says. \u201cThe edges of our Ivana main deposit have certain characteristics, and those drill holes on either side, that are about six kilometres apart, seem to mimic those edges. Areva may have just stepped over an underlying deposit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Five to ten kilometres further north of Ivana Central, at Ivana North, Blue Sky is also seeing \u201cattractive geology\u201d and \u201csurface expression,\u201d Cacos notes.<\/p>\n<p>On May 27 the company announced a non-brokered private placement financing of up to 9.3 million units at a price of 15\u00a2 per unit for gross proceeds of $1.4 million.<\/p>\n<p>Those funds should \u201cget this exploration program going,\u201d and \u201cwill get us into the fall, when the cycle begins to pick up when it traditionally does, [and] we can raise additional funds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis whole drill program is estimated to cost about US$3 million and has the potential to dramatically change the project,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/10c-Blue-Sky-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-995906\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/10c-Blue-Sky.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/10c-Blue-Sky-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/10c-Blue-Sky-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Carnotite mineralization from the Anit deposit at Blue Sky Uranium\u2019s Amarillo Grande project in Argentina. Photo by Blue Sky Uranium.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As for the uranium price, which is languishing at less than US$25 per lb., Cacos says he\u2019s \u201coptimistic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are a few things that give me comfort that the uranium price will pick up,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing a lot of interest and a lot more in the mainstream press about the International Atomic Energy Agency, which says developed countries need to look at nuclear power as a viable option in order to reduce greenhouse gases, and we\u2019re seeing a lot more acceptance of that, and I\u2019m reading about that more and more often.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re also getting a lot more interest from institutional investors and private equity groups in the uranium space \u2026 It\u2019s smart money and usually smart money moves first and then retail follows, so those are all positive signs,\u201d he continues. \u201cAnd we\u2019re seeing nuclear reactors being built around the world. China is investing US$10.5 billion to build a nuclear reactor in Argentina.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Blue Sky has defined mineralization at Amarillo Grande in three key areas, Ivana, Anit and Santa Barbara, along a 145-km trend.<\/p>\n<p>The Ivana deposit is 25 km north of the city of Valcheta, where Blue Sky has its exploration camp and office. Valcheta is at the junction of Provincial Road 4 and National Road 23, where the latter connects to the deep-ocean port of San Antonio Oeste, 120 km to the east. A railway runs parallel to National Road 23 and two high-power lines crosscut the project from east to west.<\/p>\n<p>At press time, Blue Sky is trading at 14\u00a2 per share in a 52-week range of 12.5\u00a2 to 23\u00a2.<\/p>\n<p>The junior has 110 million common shares outstanding for a $15.4-million market capitalization.<\/p>\n<p><em>This article first appeared in<\/em> <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.northernminer.com\/news\/blue-sky-uranium-advances-amarillo-grande-in-argentina\/1003806883\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"The Northern Miner (opens in a new tab)\">The Northern Miner<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Earlier this year, the company completed a preliminary economic assessment of its main Ivana deposit at Amarillo Grande.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[369,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1125191"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1125191"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1125191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1125376,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1125191\/revisions\/1125376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1125191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1125191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1125191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}