Toronto, Ontario – April 21, 2016 – Purepoint Uranium Group Inc. (the “Company” or “Purepoint”) (TSX:PTU.V) today reported the strongest uranium mineralization drilled to date within the Spitfire Zone intersected by hole HK16-53 returning an assay result of 53.3% U3O8 over 1.3 metres within a 10.0 metre interval that assayed 10.3% U3O8. Purepoint is the operator of the Hook Lake project on behalf of its Joint Venture partners Cameco Corp. and AREVA Resources Canada Inc.
The HK16-53 mineralized intercept is situated only 220 metres below surface and is approximately 10 metres east of the HK16-43 mineralization.
“The structure hosting the shallow, high-grade uranium at Spitfire remains open in most directions”, said Scott Frostad, V.P. Exploration at Purepoint. “This winter’s program further defined the structural controls of the Spitfire mineralization allowing us to anticipate further success as we continue to test the mineralized structure along strike and to depth”.
Highlights:
- Spitfire Zone drill hole HK16-53 has returned assay results of 10.3% U3O8 over 10.0 metres and includes 53.5% U3O8 over 1.3 metres;
- Geochemical assays for all remaining holes drilled at Spitfire during the 2016 Winter drill season are provided in this release including drill hole HK16-43 with grades returning as high as 40.3% over 0.3 metres;
- A budget for ground geophysics over the Spitfire zone and the area immediately north has been approved by the Hook Lake JV pending the review of the drill results at next month’s
Technical Committee meeting; and - Details of the Hook Lake summer exploration program and regional drill results will be provided in the coming weeks.
Spitfire Assay Results
Drill Hole ID |
|
From (m) |
To (m) |
Width (m) |
%U3O8 |
HK16-43 |
|
225.8 |
233.0 |
7.2 |
0.71 |
|
|
236.9 |
241.6 |
4.7 |
1.19 |
|
|
244.5 |
247.6 |
3.1 |
4.07 |
|
Inc. |
245.2 |
245.5 |
0.3 |
40.3 |
|
|
250.3 |
253.4 |
3.1 |
0.14 |
|
|
262.4 |
262.7 |
0.3 |
0.15 |
HK16-47 |
|
194.5 |
205.6 |
11.1 |
0.17 |
|
|
216.5 |
236.6 |
20.1 |
0.88 |
|
Inc. |
220.6 |
224.5 |
3.9 |
2.31 |
HK16-49 |
|
222.9 |
224.1 |
1.2 |
0.27 |
|
|
239.9 |
241.8 |
1.9 |
1.24 |
|
|
245.0 |
245.5 |
0.5 |
0.08 |
|
|
251.1 |
253.5 |
2.4 |
0.77 |
HK16-51 |
|
332.7 |
338.5 |
5.8 |
0.13 |
HK16-52 |
|
197.2 |
199.3 |
2.1 |
0.17 |
|
|
232.5 |
250.0 |
18.1 |
0.74 |
|
Inc. |
248.9 |
250.0 |
1.1 |
6.82 |
HK16-53 |
|
231.7 |
232.6 |
0.9 |
0.08 |
|
|
237.6 |
247.6 |
10.0 |
10.3 |
|
Inc. |
243.9 |
245.2 |
1.3 |
53.5 |
HK16-54 |
|
369.2 |
370.2 |
1.0 |
1.16 |
Note: Reported uranium grades are composited by length using a cut-off of 0.05% U3O8 and maximum internal dilution of 2.0 metres. Down-hole thickness are reported; true width varies depending on drill hole dip; most 2016 drill holes were aimed at intersecting the mineralized structures close to perpendicular therefore true width are close to down hole width (approximately 65% to 75% ratio)
Assay results for HK16-43 showed the mineralized zone to contain intervals less than the cut-off of 0.05% U3O8 over widths greater than the maximum internal dilution of 2.0 metres. The downhole probe results for HK16-47, provided in the Purepoint press release dated March 16th, 2016, estimated the mineralized intercept as 0.82% e U3O8 over 19.6 metres that is comparable to the assay results of 0.88% U3O8 over 20.1 metres. Probe results for HK16-52 provided an estimate of 18.5 metres at 0.68% e U3O8 while the assay results returned 18.1 metres of 0.74% U3O8.
Final Spitfire Holes of Winter 2016 Drill Program
Drill hole HK16-53 was drilled from the same setup as HK16-52 using the same azimuth but using a shallower angle of -83 degrees to intersect mineralization at a higher elevation. Overburden was cased to a depth of 99 metres then moderately hematized, locally bleached and desilicified Athabasca sandstone was encountered to the unconformity at 148 metres. Strong clay alteration of gneissic, granitoid rocks occur from 148 to 192 metres. Weakly mineralized (0.8 metres of 0.12% e U3O8), graphitic, pelitic gneiss with carbonate fracture fill was intersected between 192 to 196 metres. Moderate to strongly silicified metasediments, with silicification apparently overprinting earlier clay alteration, are present to 242 metres and hosts a late brittle fault that is expressed as numerous 5 to 20 cm wide gouges between 231 and 236 metres. The mineralized, graphitic shear zone occurs from 241.6-267.3 metres. Mineralization occurs immediately above and within the graphitic shear returning 10.0 m of 10.3% U3O8 between 237.6 and 247.6 metres. The strongest occurrence of uranium mineralization is expressed as semi-massive pitchblende present at the upper contact of the graphitic shear zone and returned 1.3 metres of 53.5% U3O8. Moderate to strongly clay-altered granitoid gneisses intercalated with lesser metasediments occur until 370 metres then unaltered granitic gneiss is present until end of hole at 404 metres.
Drill hole HK16-54 was collared 30 metres behind HK16-51 (SE) and drilled with the same azimuth of 315 degrees and a dip of -85 degrees. Due to the presence of pressurized sand seams no core was recovered until 160 metres and the unconformity occurs at approximately 153 metres. Moderate to strong clay-altered granitoid gneisses intercalated with lesser metasediments occur from 160 to 221 metres including a pelitic interval with approximately 1% graphite from 218 to 221 metres. From 221 to 364 metres, moderately chloritized rocks of lithologies similar to those previous are present. The targeted brittle-ductile graphitic shear zone occurs from 364 to 408 metres with alteration, graphite content and degree of shear being variable throughout the unit. Assay results returned 1.0 metre of 1.16% U3O8 between 369.2 and 370.2 metres from a fractured, pitted interval that included scattered pitchblende grains and trace sulphides. Granitoid gneisses with weak chlorite and clay alteration occur until 480 metres after which unaltered granitoid gneisses occur until end of hole at 500 metres.
Geochemical Assaying
Core samples are submitted directly to the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) Geoanalytical Laboratories in Saskatoon. The SRC facility is ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (scope of accreditation #537). The samples are analyzed using partial and total digestion inductively coupled plasma methods, for boron by Na2O2 fusion, and for uranium by fluorimetry.
Hook Lake JV Project
The Hook Lake JV project is owned jointly by Cameco Corp. (39.5%), AREVA Resources Canada Inc. (39.5%) and Purepoint Uranium Group Inc. (21%) and consists of nine claims totaling 28,683 hectares situated in the southwestern Athabasca Basin. The Hook Lake JV is considered one of the highest quality uranium exploration projects in the Athabasca Basin due to its location along the prospective Patterson Lake trend and the relatively shallow depth to the unconformity.
Current exploration is targeting the Patterson Lake Corridor that hosts Fission’s Triple R Deposit (indicated mineral resource 79,610,000 lbs U3O8 at an average grade of 1.58% U3O8), NexGen Energy’s Arrow Deposit (inferred mineral resource 201,900,000 lbs U3O8 at an average grade of 2.63% U3O8) and the Spitfire Discovery by the Hook Lake JV.
About Purepoint
Purepoint Uranium Group Inc. is focused on the precision exploration of its seven projects in the Canadian Athabasca Basin. Purepoint proudly maintains project ventures in the Basin with two of the largest uranium producers in the world, Cameco Corporation and AREVA Resources Canada Inc. Established in the Athabasca Basin well before the initial resurgence in uranium earlier last decade. Purepoint is actively advancing a large portfolio of multiple drill targets in the world’s richest uranium region.
Scott Frostad BSc, MASc, PGeo, Purepoint’s Vice President, Exploration, is the Qualified Person responsible for technical content of this release.
THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
For further information please contact:
Purepoint Uranium Group Inc.
Chris Frostad, President and CEO
(416) 603-8368
www.purepoint.ca