Dixie Gold Inc. Option Partner Orano Canada Announces Upcoming Exploration Program at the Preston Uranium Project
VANCOUVER, Nov. 13, 2019 /CNW/ - Dixie Gold Inc. (TSX VENTURE: DG) ("Dixie Gold" or the "Corporation") is pleased to announce that the Corporation's option partner Orano Canada Inc. ("Orano Canada") has announced details for an upcoming exploration program in 2020 at the Preston Uranium Project which is located in the western Athabasca Basin near NexGen Energy Ltd.'s high-grade Arrow deposit and Fission Uranium Corp.'s Triple R deposit.
Preston Uranium Project Map:
https://bit.ly/2KfadXm
"We are looking forward to the upcoming start of exploration work in 2020 by our project partner Orano Canada at the Preston Uranium Project. The initial geophysics and ground program is scheduled to start early in the new year and will further advance the project, as well as refine future drill targets. This third-party funded $735,000 exploration program planned for our Preston Uranium Project underpins the significant value we believe the project holds and continues to enable Dixie Gold to focus its own capital on gold exploration," stated Ryan Kalt, CEO of Dixie Gold.
About the Preston Uranium Project Agreement:
Dixie Gold Inc. (previously Clean Commodities Corp.) and Skyharbour Resources Ltd. ("Skyharbour") entered into an option agreement (the "Agreement") with Orano Canada (previously AREVA Resources Canada Inc.) whereby Orano Canada has an option to acquire up to a 70% working interest in the Preston Uranium Project (see news release dated March 9, 2017). Under the Agreement, Orano Canada will contribute cash and exploration program consideration totaling up to CAD $8,000,000 in exchange for up to 70% of the project over six years.
Preston Uranium Project Upcoming Winter 2020 Exploration Program:
Orano Canada's proposed 2020 exploration program on the Preston Uranium Project will consist of DC resistivity ground geophysics on the JL and Canoe grids as well as the B conductive area. To-date, exploration on the Preston Uranium Project has consisted of a traditional approach of defining conductors via ground EM surveys and diamond drilling.
The objective of the upcoming CAD $735,000 exploration program at the Preston Uranium Project is to use the DC resistivity method to further characterize the EM conductors by providing information about possible clay, silicification or associated alteration in the vicinity of conductors thereby adding another layer of information to prioritize areas to be drill-tested. In order to perform the 2020 proposed resistivity surveys, historical geophysical lines will be utilized at the JL and Canoe grids, and 15.9 km of line cutting will be carried out at the B conductive area.
Previous diamond drilling on the property has intersected numerous extensive, well developed and commonly graphitic ductile shear zones, that were clearly reactivated over time. These structures correlate with elongated NNE-trending magnetic lineaments. A later brittle event is common in both drill core and the magnetic data and could provide a locus for mineralizing fluids. The shear zones are also commonly altered and locally metal enriched (pyrite-pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite). The basement rocks intersected are complexly deformed supracrustal rocks; largely graphitic orthogneiss with minor paragneiss, intruded by granitoids. These lithologies are common to the proven uranium mineralization in the Western Athabasca region (Shea Creek and Patterson Lake corridor deposits).
Proposed Work on the JL Grid:
The 2018 ML-TEM survey on the JL Grid identified eight different conductors with strike lengths between 800 m and 2,800 m. Orano plans to carry out 16.0 km of DC resistivity over four of the EM profiles to help determine which of the numerous JL Grid EM picks should be tested first with drilling.
Proposed Work on the Canoe Grid:
The EM - Resistivity approach will also be applied on the Canoe Grid where the DC resistivity data should help prioritize areas and/or conductors to be investigated by drilling. A total conductor length of approximately 20.5 km was characterized in the Canoe Grid area by prior EM surveys. Orano is planning to carry out 12.6 km of DC resistivity.
Proposed Work at the B Conductive Area:
The DC resistivity method will be evaluated over the B conductive area located east of Preston Lake where prior VTEM coverage defined the B conductive area to vary in width from 0.8 km to 2.0 km and extend in a NE-SW direction for more than 12 km. The survey coverage will consist of 12.6 km and may potentially generate new drill targets.
Overview of the Preston Uranium Project:
The significant potential of the Western Athabasca Basin has been highlighted by recent discoveries in the area by NexGen Energy Ltd. (Arrow), Fission Uranium Corp. (Triple R) and a joint-venture consisting of Cameco Corporation, Orano Canada Inc. and Purepoint Uranium Group Inc. (Spitfire). To-date, exploration at the Preston Uranium Project has consisted of ground gravity, airborne and ground electromagnetics, radon, soil, silt, biogeochemistry, lake sediment, and geological mapping and sampling surveys, as well as several exploratory drill programs. A number of high-priority drill target areas associated with multiple prospective exploration corridors have been successfully delineated through this methodical, multiphased exploration approach, which has culminated in an extensive, proprietary geological database for the project area.
Qualified Person:
The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 and reviewed and approved by Richard Kusmirski, P.Geo., M.Sc., Skyharbour's Head Technical Advisor and a Qualified Person.
About Orano Canada Inc.:
Headquartered in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Orano Canada Inc. is a leading supplier of uranium, accounting for the processing of 18 million pounds produced in Canada in 2018. Orano Canada has been exploring for uranium, mining and producing uranium concentrate in Canada for more than 55 years. The company operates the McClean Lake uranium mill and is a major partner in the Cigar Lake, McArthur River and Key Lake operations. The company employs over 450 people in Saskatchewan, including about 320 at the McClean Lake operation where over 46% of employees are self-declared Indigenous. As a sustainable uranium producer, Orano Canada is committed to safety, environmental protection and contributing to the prosperity and well-being of neighbouring communities.
Orano Canada Inc. is a subsidiary of the multinational Orano group offering products and services with high added value throughout the entire nuclear fuel cycle, from raw materials to waste treatment. Its activities, from mining to dismantling, as well as in conversion, enrichment, recycling, logistics and engineering, contribute to the production of low carbon electricity. Orano and its 16,000 employees bring to bear their expertise and their mastery of cutting-edge technology, as well as their permanent search for innovation and unwavering dedication to safety, to serve their customers worldwide.
About Dixie Gold Inc.
Dixie Gold Inc. (TSXV: DG)(formerly Clean Commodities Corp.) is a publicly-traded exploration company involved in a diverse portfolio of exploration projects including gold, lithium and uranium assets in Canada. For more information, please visit www.dixiegold.ca.
Signed,
Ryan Kalt, Chief Executive Officer
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore, involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently expected or forecast in such statements.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE Dixie Gold Inc.
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