June 24 2005 – Toronto, June 24, 2005 – Purepoint Uranium Group Inc. (TSX-V:PTU) released today the methodology developed for the selection of its distinct Athabasca Basin projects in order to establish a sound foundation for its ongoing exploration plans.
In late 2002, before the resurgence in uranium, Purepoint began analyzing most of the known deposits of the area with the objective of establishing a framework of geological and geophysical indicators for use in their property assessment phase. This led to a systematic examination of the Athabasca Basin for prospective properties that had the potential of meeting those criteria.
“After 40 years of exploration, the Athabasca Basin is probably one of the most uniquely understood regions in the world,” said John Steele, Chief Geophysicist and Exploration Manager, Purepoint Uranium Group Inc. “By getting to the Basin early we were able to revisit hundreds of millions of dollars worth of exploration and look at it with fresh eyes and a new compass. In addition, the selection of advanced projects that fit our model has shaved years off the process.”
Much of the average 10 years it takes to bring a uranium discovery to production is spent on activities outside of the explorer’s control, such as permitting. “With a severe supply shortage looming in the uranium market we can deliver exceptional value to our shareholders by creating efficiencies in those areas we do control,” said Chris Frostad, President and CEO, Purepoint. “During the 1990’s, the cost of uranium discovery in Canada was in excess of US$8.50 per lb. It is our objective to drive that cost down to economically advantageous levels.”
Current Exploration Approaches
Unconformity-related deposits are known to be located at the sub-Athabasca unconformity (the contact between the Archean basement rocks and the Athabasca sandstone), and are hosted in both the metamorphed rocks of the basement and the sandstones above the unconformity. Most of the important, known deposits occur within a few tens of metres of the unconformity and within the limits of detectability of the geophysical tools currently available (generally within 500m of the Athabasca surface).
Current models target electromagnetic conductors which originate from graphitic schists exhibiting strong electromagnetic geophysical signatures. The graphite is generally localized in faults which often extend from the basement up into or through the overlying Athabasca sandstone.
The three primary characteristics sought today by explorers in the Athabasca Basin are:
- The target area of the Athabasca sandstone/basement contact
- The existence of graphitic rocks.
- Clay alteration in the upper basement or lower Athabasca sediments.
Purepoint Exploration Model
Purepoint spent two years assembling its property package in the Athabasca Basin by ensuring that prospective projects contained the majority of our model’s characteristics or, at a minimum, a high potential to present them.
Purepoint’s extended model includes the following indicators:
- The graphitic conductor should be disturbed by a crosscutting fault which creates a dilational zone of ductile deformation within the graphite.
- Alteration within these dilational zones remove the cement from the Athabasca sandstone providing a locus for uranium deposition
- The main faulting which influences uranium deposition trends Northeast-Southwest
- A physical dam to pool the mineralizing fluids during deposition (e.g. a basement uplift).
- As basement structures can extend into or through the Athabasca sandstone, lakes on the surface which lie up linearly can reflect fault traces (even at significant depths)
- As all of the known Athabasca uranium deposits are less than 200 meters in length, it is not possible to reject conductors as being mineralized simply by testing them with one or two drill holes widely spaced.
A more detailed discussion of Purepoint’s exploration methodology can be found at our web site at www.purepoint.ca.
Purepoint Uranium Corporation is a uranium exploration company driven by intellectual, precision prospecting focusing on distinct, targeted properties with historic significance in the Canadian Athabasca Basin. Currently, Purepoint’s seven, 100% owned, Athabasca Basin uranium projects cover nearly 120,000 hectares and are considered high prospect properties that include several near term targets expected to be drill ready for winter 2005/06.
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