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Exploration for uranium in the Amer Lake area began in 1969. Aquitaine Company of Canada completed a regional airborne radiometric survey, which identified a number of uranium showings. A detailed radiometric survey, ground mapping and prospecting along with 8,170 metres in 37 diamond drill holes were completed by Aquitaine in 1970. This work defined the deposit and a number of showings including Faucon, Main East, A, B, C, D and E. Based on this drilling completed by Aquitaine, the deposit was estimated to contain a resource of 4.3 million metric tonnes @ 0.07% U3O8 for a total of 6.7 million pounds of U3O8. This resource is historical and did not conform to the Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects as required by National Instrument 43-101.
In 2008 Uranium North Resources completed a drill program which was successful in developing a compliant NI 43-101 technical report in 2009. The company has confirmed a 19.3 million lb resource grading 0.04% U308. Currently the company is embarking on a 2500 metre drill program to try to increase the resource as only 20% of the Main Zone area has been drilled.
For simplicity, the Amer property has been subdivided into the Amer Lake Main Zone, Amer Lake East and Amer Lake West areas. Please visit the Amer Main Zone page for up to date information on the drilling programs and also the Amer lake Technical Report page for the NI 43-101 technical report.
Exploration for uranium in the Amer Lake area began in 1969. Aquitaine Company of Canada completed a regional airborne radiometric survey, which identified a number of uranium showings. A detailed radiometric survey, ground mapping and prospecting along with 8,170 metres in 37 diamond drill holes were completed by Aquitaine in 1970. This work defined the deposit and a number of showings including Faucon, Main East, A, B, C, D and E. Based on this drilling completed by Aquitaine, the deposit was estimated to contain a resource of 4.3 million metric tonnes @ 0.07% U3O8 for a total of 6.7 million pounds of U3O8. This resource is historical and does not conform to the Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects as required by National Instrument 43-101 and should not be relied upon.
The work over the past two years by Uranium North has identified the Main Zone deposit and a number of additional showings as key target areas for follow-up exploration work in 2009. For simplicity, the Amer property has been subdivided into the Amer Lake Main Zone, Amer Lake East and Amer Lake West areas. Please visit the Amer Main Zone, Amer East and Amer West project pages for detailed information and diagrams.
Deposit Type
The deposit type being explored for by Uranium North on the Amer Lake property is a sandstone-hosted uranium deposit with possible localized higher grade, structurally controlled uranium mineralization. Sandstone-hosted deposits typically form in intracratonic basins filled with flat-lying continental fluvial sandstones-siltstones-shales or mixed fluvial-marine environments of coastal plains (Source, World Nuclear Association).
Sandstone deposits constitute about 18% of world uranium resources. Ore bodies of this type are commonly low to medium grade (0.05 - 0.4% U3O8) and individual ore bodies are small to medium in size (ranging up to a maximum of 50 000 t U3O8). The main primary uranium minerals are uraninite and coffinite. Uranium is extracted by conventional mining/milling operations and in situ leach (ISL) mining methods.
Summary of Exploration
After completing a comprehensive and detailed review of historic data for the Amer Lake Property, ten prospects were selected for surface exploration in 2007 and in 2008. Work completed over the two years by Uranium North included an extensive airborne magnetic and radiometric survey, rock and soil sampling, geological mapping, and reverse circulation drilling and is summarized below.
- 3,150 line kilometre airborne magnetic and radiometric survey, flown at 200 metre spaced lines, was completed by Terraquest Limited and covers the entire property
- 175 rock samples collected from the Main Zone, Main East, Faucon, Showing B, Showing E, BT-2, BT-3, Split Lake and Horned Lake prospect areas
- 1882 soil samples collected over the Main Zone, Main East, Faucon, Shoe Lake, Split Lake and Horned Lake prospects
- 1,763 metres of RC drilling were completed in sixteen holes; 519 samples of 1.52 -- 4.56 metres in length collected for geochemistry
Geology and History of Exploration
The Property is underlain by the most easterly exposure of deformed and metamorphose rocks of the Amer Group, which unconformably overlie Archean basement rocks consisting of two fluvial to shallow marine clastic sequences. These include a lower sequence of orthoquartzite-quartz pebble conglomerate, and an upper sequence of feldspathic sandstones-siltstones-mudstones, pyritic shales and dolomitic limestone. These rocks are variably exposed for approximately 140 kilometres in a broad, northeast-trending synclinorium referred to as the 'Amer Belt'.
The Property is situated on land previously held by Aquitaine Company of Canada and Uranerz Exploration and Mining Limited and were explored by Aquitaine, Uranerz and Cominco from 1969 to 1981. During this period, numerous geochemical and geophysical surveys were performed within and extending south and west of the property, and approximately 60 holes, totalling more than 8000 metres, were diamond drilled. This work resulted in the discovery of the "Main" showing uranium deposit and a number of other uranium showings including Faucon, Main East, A, B, C, D, E, Horned Lake and Split Lake. The exploration work completed between 1969 and 1982 is summarized below.
History of Exploration
YEAR |
HISTORY OF EXPLORATION ON THE AMER LAKE PROPERTY |
1969 |
A regional airborne radiometric survey was flown by Aquitaine. Uranium mineralization was located in sandstones near prominent radiometric anomalies and 85 Mineral Claims were staked in the Amer Lake area. |
1970 |
A detailed radiometric survey was flown by Aquitaine. Anomalies were explored on the ground. 8,170 metres of drilling in 37 holes (AML-1 to 37) were completed on the Main and Faucon showings. |
1972 |
Geological mapping, lake sediment and limited soil sampling, scintillometer prospecting and geological mapping were completed by Aquitaine. |
1975 |
A field examination was completed by Aquitaine and their associated company Societe National des Petroles d'Aquitaine, and 14 bedrock samples were collected for petrographic analysis. |
1976 |
Uranerz completed a reconnaissance airborne radiometric survey which covered parts of the Amer Lake map area. The survey outlined several areas of anomalies, most over areas previously staked by Aquitaine. Preliminary checks were performed and claims were staked. |
1977 |
Cominco conducted geological mapping and prospecting of the property at 1:10,000, detailed mapping at 1:1,000 and 1:500 over areas of higher grade mineralization, and re-logging and re-sampling of 8 of Aquitaine's DDH. Nine drill holes totalling 445 metres (77-1 to 9) was completed; three drill holes were completed on showing A, five drill holes were completed on showing B, and one drill hole was completed on the Faucon showing. |
1977 |
Uranerz completed detailed geological mapping and prospecting of airborne radiometric anomalies from a 1976 survey, and reconnaissance mapping of the entire Amer Lake fold belt. Additional claims were staked. |
1978 |
Uranerz completed regional mapping, ground and airborne radiometrics, ground magnetics and VLF surveys over selected areas, detailed geology and prospecting, and sampling of mineralized showings and boulders. A continuous mineralized horizon was found with local highs of radioactivity in excess of 15,000 cps. Blasting of two trenches in areas of known mineralization plus mapping and sampling of the trenches. |
1981 |
Uranerz completed 14 drill holes totalling 700 metres (HL-1 to 14) on the Horned Lake target as well as excavation of a small trench, a magnetometer survey of 16.2 line-km, reconnaissance and grid EM-16 survey of 26 line-km and detailed grid mapping covering 3km2. |
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