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1 Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol. Nov 2013
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"Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

Apr 21, 2017

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Page 1: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

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Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol. Nov 2013

Page 2: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

o Actinide element

o 3 ppm average abundance in crust

• Cu = 68 ppm

• Ni = 90 ppm

• Fe = 63,000 ppm

o Mobile element

o Uranium is a radioactive element

◦ Unstable, must decay to stable element

◦ Five times more radioactive than thorium

o Main use is fuel in nuclear reactors (power)

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Pitchblende (uraninite) • Dominant ore mineral

Page 3: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

o 85 natural occurring RA elements and isotopes exist ◦ Th-232, U-238, and K-40 are the most common

◦ Also cosmological RA → C-14, H-3 (Tritium)

o RA is everywhere ◦ Its all relative and a matter of perception

◦ A banana is radioactive (K-40)

o RA elements have an unstable nucleus ◦ 14 elements in uranium decay series

◦ (U-238 decays to stable Pb-206)

◦ Daughter products with short half-lives are problem

o Yellowcake concentrate end-product ◦ Not RA as daughter products stripped away

◦ 70-90% U3O8, +UO2 and UO3

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• Isotopes are atoms that have the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons

• Elements may have many isotopes, each with different properties

Drum of yellowcake

Page 4: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

o Three isotopes of uranium ◦ Abundance in nature = U-238 (99.27%), U-235 (0.72%), and U-234 (0.006%)

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• Requires enrichment to ~1-5% U-235 • Complex and difficult process

• If one person’s power needs for their entire life were satisfied by nuclear energy, the waste produced would fit into a single pop can

Nuclear Power Plant Weapons Grade

• Requires enrichment to +85% U-235 • Extremely complex and difficult process

Page 5: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

o Regulated Canadian allowed dosage is max 20 millisievert (mSv) per year

◦ Average Canadian receives 1.8 mSv per year (range up to 4.0 depending on latitude)

◦ India, Brazil range from 20 to 50+ mSv per year with no ill effects ever reported

o Uranium mine workers in Canada receive a dosage of ~1 to 5 mSv per year

o RA exposure from uranium exploration and mining is well managed and not hazardous to a workers health when set protocols are followed

o Remember, RA is everywhere

◦ RA is source of heat and is critical to the earth as we know it

◦ Without it the Outer Core would be solid, the earth would cool, and plate tectonics would not occur

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*Dosage information source: D. Grant Feasby, COM2013 Presentation

Page 6: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

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o Highest grade deposits are found in the Athabasca Basin, Northern Saskatchewan, Canada

o Average world grade is

0.14 % U3O8

o Average Basin grade is

2% U3O8

◦ Several deposits/mines with ore grade

over 15%

MacArthur River, Cigar Lake, Phoenix

o Largely underexplored and low geopolitical risk

Page 7: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

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o For Athabasca Basin uranium deposits to form, they require:

1. URANIUM BEARING FLUIDS (U6+),

2. STRUCTURES to act as conduits for fluid flow,

3. GRAPHITIC CONDUCTORS (or other reductant) to facilitate uranium deposition (U4+), and

4. TIME (millions of years)

o Two main end-member deposit types

o Unconformity-sandstone hosted

o E.g. Cigar Lake

o Basement hosted

o Patterson Lake South (PLS),

Roughrider, Millennium

Page 8: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

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o Paleoproterozoic (1740 Ma) Sedimentary Basin

o Two main uranium mineralizing events

◦ 1500 and 1350 Ma

◦ Further alteration and uranium re-mobilization at 1176, 900, and 300 Ma

Athabasca Basin formation begins

Page 9: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

9 *From Jefferson et. al. 2007

Page 10: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

10 *From Jefferson et. al. 2007

Carswell Structure formed by meteorite impact @ ~115 Ma (Lower Cretaceous)

Page 11: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

o Pitchblende first discovered in 1935 on north shore of Lake Athabasca, now known as Beaverlodge District

o Production from 1953 to 1982

◦ >60 million pounds (Mlbs) uranium produced

◦ Production from 16 deposits, milled at 3 facilities

o Mineralization hosted in veins

o By 1964 only one mine remained in operation in Beaverlodge Area

◦ Last mine closed in 1982

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Beaverlodge District

Pitchblende (uraninite)

Page 12: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

o Rabbit Lake Deposit discovered in 1968

◦ Incited staking rush and extensive exploration

o New deposit models developed ◦ Unconformity-Associated Deposits

o Prolific Eastern Athabasca Trend revealed and focus of exploration

o Patterson Lake South (PLS) Deposit discovered in 2012 within south-central Basin o New staking rush in emerging district

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Rabbit Lake

Eastern Athabasca Trend

Page 13: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

o McArthur River (production)

◦ Reserves of 1.05 Mt @ 16.4% U3O8 (378.9 Mlbs)

o Rabbit Lake (production)

◦ Reserves of 1.47 Mt @ 0.70% U3O8 (22.8 Mlbs)

o Key Lake (mined out*)

◦ *(stockpiled low grade ore used to dilute McArthur River ore)

o Cluff Lake (mined out)

◦ Produced ~63 Mlbs at ore grade of 0.93% U3O8

o Cigar Lake (near-term producer)

◦ Reserves of 0.57 Mt @ 18.3% U3O8 (216.7 Mlbs)

o 3 processing mills located on eastern side of Basin

◦ Key Lake, Rabbit Lake, McClean Lake (JEB)

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Basin deposits are in the range of Kt, not Mt, focused in 10’s of metres wide, cigar shaped pods with 100 m strike lengths

Page 14: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

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Page 15: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

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Page 16: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

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*From Jefferson et. al. 2007

Sandstone ± Basement Hosted Basement ± Sandstone Hosted Basement hosted

Page 17: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

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*From Jefferson et. al. 2007

Quartz Dissolution Egress Style (E.g. Cigar Lake, Midwest)

Silicification Egress Style (E.g. MacArthur River, Key Lake)

o Deposits often termed ‘blind deposits’ as cannot be detected directly o Therefore, must use indirect methods (e.g. map clay alteration)

Page 18: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

18 *From Sibbald et. al. 1991

Evolution of Midwest Deposit Idealized Basin Deposit Model

o Midwest Deposit discovered in 1978

o Located on northern end of Eastern Athabasca Trend

o Indicated resource of 43 Mlbs @ 5.50% U3O8

Page 19: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

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o We are trending towards looking deeper to find deposits than before o Key Lake discovered in 1975 o McClean Lake discovered in 1979 o Midwest discovered in 1978 o Cigar Lake discovered in 1981 o McArthur River discovered in 1988 o Millennium discovered in 2000 o Phoenix discovered in 2008 o Roughrider discovered in 2008

Page 20: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

Boulder Prospecting o Method of tracing back mineralized boulder

fields to source based on knowledge of glacial advances

o Very powerful indicator of proximal mineralization

o Deposits found via this method

◦ Cluff Lake

◦ Rabbit Lake

◦ Patterson Lake South

◦ Maurice Bay

◦ Collins Bay

◦ Several others

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Page 21: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

Radon Sampling o Grid based collection of radon gas

at surface

o Radon (Rn) is product of uranium decay series and will migrate to surface through rock fractures and porosity

o One the closest methods to direct detection of a uranium ore body there is

o Credited with final targeting and discovery at PLS in Nov 2012

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Radon gas migrates to surface

Page 22: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

Lake Sediment Sampling o Utilizes helicopter or boat to sample lake bottom o May also collect water sample (less valuable) o Pathfinder geochemistry important ◦ (Ni, Cu, B, As, Pb, Co)

o Good tool for regional evaluation

Soil sampling o Grid based ground sampling o Must keep in mind glacial influences o Pathfinder geochemistry important ◦ (Ni, Cu, B, As, Pb)

o Good tool to systematically evaluate smaller area

Other o Biogeochemical o Mobile Metal Ion (MMI)

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Helicopter support lake sampling

Biogeochemical sampling

Page 23: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

Airborne Methods

o Electromagnetic (EM) Survey

◦ Locates conductors associated with deposits

o Magnetic Survey

◦ Helps define geology (mag low may be prospective meta-sediments), and structure

o Radiometric Survey

◦ Measures RA (Th, U, and K) within ~ top 30 cm of surface

◦ Look for hot spots representing boulder fields etc.

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Helicopter borne VTEM plus survey

Eastern Athabasca Trend

Page 24: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

Ground Methods

o Electromagnetic (EM) Survey

◦ Better defines conductors than airborne data

o Gravity Survey

◦ Maps alteration through density contrast

◦ Gravity lows are targets (alteration destroys host rock)

o DC Resistivity

◦ Maps clay alteration within sandstone

◦ Very common within basin

o Other

◦ Magnetic Survey, Seismic

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Gravity anomaly principle

Electromagnetic principle

Page 25: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

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*From Jefferson et. al. 2007

Page 26: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

Within Basin (<100 m to 800 m sandstone cover) 1. Airborne EM, RA, and Magnetics 2. Prospecting and ground sampling 3. Ground DC Resistivity/ Gravity, EM, and Radon surveys 4. Drill

o Outside Basin (no sandstone cover) 1. Airborne EM, RA, and Magnetics 2. Prospecting and ground sampling 3. Ground Gravity, EM, and Radon surveys 4. Drill

Approach is very similar within and outside of Basin with Gravity – DC Resistivity the main difference

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Mineralized core (Roughrider Deposit)

Page 27: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

Patterson Lake South (PLS) o 1977-81 – PLS corridor discovered, ground

radon anomaly defined, and drilling reveals favourable geologic setting

o Fall 2009 –Airborne RA survey confirms historic RA anomaly, radon surveys completed

o Summer 2011 – Prospecting discovers mineralized boulder train coincident with RA anomaly

o Fall 2011 – Drill program intersects favorable geology and alteration

o Winter/Spring 2012 – Airborne VTEM, Ground DC-Resistivity, and SMLTEM Surveys

o November 5, 2012 – Discovery drill hole released ‘PLS12-022’ (8.5 m of 1.07% U3O8)

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No resource yet defined One of the best intersections is: PLS13-075’ (54.05 m of 9.08% U3O8) Mineralization is near-surface (<200 m) making deposit even more attractive

Page 28: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

Patterson Lake South – DC Resistivity

28 *From Fission Uranium Corp. website

Page 29: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

Patterson Lake South – Radon Survey

29 *From Fission Uranium Corp. website

Page 30: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

Roughrider - discovered in 2008

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~100 m

Indicated: 0.39 Mt @ 1.98% U3O8 (17.2 Mlbs) Inferred: 0.16 Mt @ 11.43% U3O8 (40.7 Mlbs)

Page 31: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

J-Zone and Roughrider – almost discovered prior

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~100 m

o Historic drilling came close to discovering the deposits o Deposits are cigar shaped and may be only 10’s of metres across making them very

difficult to find. Therefore, must put all clues together to find o alteration, chemistry, geophysics, favourable geologic setting

Page 32: "Athabasca Basin Uranium" by Lakeland Resources Inc. geologist Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol.

Jefferson et. al. (2007) Empirical Models for Canadian Unconformity-Associated Uranium Deposits, In “Proceedings of Exploration 07: Fifth Decennial International Conference of Mineral Exploration, edited by B. Milkereit, p. 741-769

Jefferson et. al. (2007?) Unconformity Associated Uranium Deposits (DRAFT)

Sibbald et. al. (1991) Uranium Deposits of the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan (Field Trip 11) , Open File 2166

Ford et al. (2007) Overview of Geophysical Signatures Associated with Canadian Ore Deposits, in Goodfellow, W.D., ed. Mineral Deposits of Canada: A of Major Deposit-Types, District Metallogeny, the Evolution of Geological Provinces, and Exploration Methods: Geological Association of Canada, Mineral Deposits Division, Special Publication No 5. 5, p. 939-970

http://www.cameco.com/

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