Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
CanAlaska Uranium (TSXV: CVV) reported that, prior to the declaration of covid-19 as a pandemic, its crews were able to complete four drill holes from a planned six-hole winter program at the West McArthur uranium project in the Canadian prairies.
In a press release, CanAlaska said that drilling was stopped mid-March to ensure an orderly shutdown.
According to the company, assays and data from the drill holes continue to show abundant structures in the sandstone above the unconformity near a large, yet to be tested, target.
CanAlaska’s drilling completed to date is along the C10 corridor which is also host to Cameco and Orano’s Fox Lake uranium deposit
“The last hole of the program WMA060, together with holes WMA054 and WMA058, confirms the model of a proximal mineralizing feeder zone oriented in a north to north-west direction,” the media brief states.
“Section 54, which includes the three drill holes mentioned above is distinctly different from section L6000W. Anomalous uranium occurs discontinuously starting near-surface and is accompanied by sulphur, and/or arsenic and/or copper. This suggests a difference in geochemical enrichment and alteration relative to its nearby structures.”
In the view of CanAlaska’s president, Peter Dasler, the information obtained from the drill program, particularly from WMA060, has given the executive team solutions and ideas for the offsets surrounding the miner’s high-grade uranium discoveries.
“Intersection of these structures at or near the unconformity will be the focus of the next drilling program,” Dasler said. “Now that the uranium price is starting to respond to newly announced mine shutdowns it is expected that further uranium shortages will provide impetus to resume exploration on the West McArthur and other projects in mid- to late-2020.”
West McArthur is located in the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan and lies between six and 30 kilometres west of the McArthur River mine, which produced 225.5 million pounds U3O8 grading 13.5% U3O8 per tonne from 2000 to 2012.
