TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 25, 2016) - Purepoint Uranium Group Inc. (TSX:PTU) today announced that the Hook Lake JV partners have reallocated funds for continued drilling at the Spitfire Zone this year. 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%). Current uranium exploration is targeting the Patterson Lake Corridor, the same conductive trend that hosts Fission's Triple R Deposit, NexGen Energy's Arrow Deposit by and the Company's own Spitfire Discovery.
Exploration success continued at the Spitfire Zone during 2016 with additional significant drill intercepts containing high-grade uranium mineralization. A highlight of the winter drill program was hole HK16-53 that intersected 10.0 metres of 10.3% U3O8, including 1.3 metres of 53.5% U3O8 (Purepoint PR of April 21, 2016). Based on the promising drill results, the Hook Lake JV partners have reallocated funds towards conducting additional diamond drilling. A proposed drill program is currently being prepared for approval and will be based on the 2016 drill results that include recently received geochemical assays and a structural interpretation based on the downhole acoustic televiewer results.
Highlights:
- Funding for a drill program at the Spitfire Zone has been approved by the Hook Lake JV Partners (AREVA Resources Canada Inc. and Cameco Corp.) to commence later this year, pending acceptance of the program plan;
- The Upper Spitfire zone (230 metres below surface) remains open around the high-grade uranium intercepts including north of Hole HK16-47 (0.88% U3O8 over 20.1 metres), south of Hole HK16-43 (4.07% U3O8 over 3.1 metres, 1.19% U3O8 over 4.7 metres and 0.71% U3O8 over 7.2 metres) and up-dip of Hole HK16-53 (10.3% U3O8 over 10.0 metres);
- High priority exploration targets include step-outs from the Spitfire South mineralization (HK14-09 with 0.32% U3O8 over 6.2m) and the Lower Spitfire mineralization (HK15-27 with 12.9% U3O8 over 0.4 metres within 2.23% U3O8 over 2.8 metres);
- The Patterson high-grade mineralized trend remains relatively untested for an additional eight kilometers to the northeast; and
- The Hornet Zone is now considered to be related to the mineralized Spitfire graphitic structure based on drill results produced while testing other conductors within the southern portion of the Patterson Corridor.
- Updated figures are available on the Company's web site (http://www.purepoint.ca/uraniumprojects/hooklake.php)
The 2016 Hook Lake JV winter exploration program completed 21 drill holes for a total of 8,508 metres being drilled (including 119 metres in a lost hole). Within the Spitfire area, 12 holes were completed totaling 5,045 metres while 9 holes tested other conductors within the Patterson Structural Corridor totaling 3,343 metres. The Upper Spitfire zone remains open north of Hole HK16-47 (0.88% U3O8 over 20.1 metres), south of Hole HK16-43 (4.07% U3O8 over 3.1 metres, 1.19% U3O8 over 4.7 metres and 0.71% U3O8 over 7.2 metres) and up-dip of Hole HK16-53 (10.3% U3O8 over 10.0 metres).
Drilling of other conductors within the southern portion of the Patterson Corridor has provided evidence that the Hornet Zone, an area that encompasses the graphitic structure and weak uranium mineralization intersected by Holes HK13-06 and HK13-07, is related to the Spitfire graphitic structure.
Spitfire Zone
Drilling of the Spitfire zone has currently defined three distinct mineralized targets, the Upper Spitfire, Lower Spitfire and Spitfire South.
The Upper Spitfire mineralization was discovered early in 2016, only 255 metres below surface, with Hole HK16-37 returning 0.69% U3O8 over 9.9 metres including 9.9% U3O8 over 0.6 metres. Three styles of mineralization have now been identified within the Upper Spitfire Zone. Most common is semi-massive uranium, locally high grade, occurring along foliation and ductile shear planes within and immediately above the primary graphitic shear zone. Fracture related mineralization, associated with hematite alteration, is typically intersected above the graphitic shear zone and occurs as veins and/or breccia fault zones. The third style of mineralization, so far only seen beneath the primary graphitic shear, occurs as a hydraulic/hydrothermal breccia with uranium present as disseminations within the grey clay-rich breccia cement. The dominant orientation of the mineralization is striking 015 degrees and dipping 70 degrees SE.
The Lower Spitfire mineralization was discovered in 2015, approximately 390 metres below surface, with hole HK15-27 that returned 2.8 metres of 2.23% U3O8 including 12.90% U3O8 over 0.4 metres. The high-grade uranium mineralization is controlled by a semi-brittle structure that is coincident with the upper contact of a graphitic shear zone. Follow-up drilling has continued to intersect mineralized intervals proximal to the upper contact of the Graphitic shear zone, typically as scattered pitchblende grains along pitted foliation planes, with HK15-33 intersecting 6.8 metres of 0.18% U3O8 and HK16-54 returning 1.0 metre of 1.16% U3O8.
Spitfire South was the initial discovery of uranium mineralization in 2014 with Hole HK14-09 returning 6.2 metres of 0.32% U3O8 from the upper contact of a graphitic shear at a depth of 200 metres below surface. The follow-up hole, HK14-11, targeted the graphitic shear up-dip of HK14-09 and returned 0.57% U3O8 over 0.9 metres and an additional interval of 0.11% U3O8 over 2.0 metres. Further drilling is required in the Spitfire South area to determine the extent of the mineralization and to follow the host structure towards the Upper and Lower Spitfire mineralization located approximately 200 metres and 300 metres to the northeast, respectively.
Hornet Zone
The Hornet Zone is now considered to be related to the mineralized Spitfire graphitic structure based on drill results produced while testing other conductors within the southern portion of the Patterson Corridor. The Hornet mineralization was discovered in 2013 by hole HK13-06 that intersected strong shearing, numerous fault zones and 138 ppm U over 2.3 metres from the upper contact of a graphitic shear zone.
Hole HK13-07 was collared 400 metres south of HK13-06 and intersected shearing throughout most of its length and encountered strong hydrothermal hematite alteration at depth but no significant radioactivity. Follow-up hole HK16-36 was collared 200 metres northeast of HK13-06 and intersected patchy hydrothermal hematite and weak clay alteration and three graphitic intervals, 2, 5 and 10 metres wide, with the latter graphitic zone showing brittle deformation and weak radioactivity at the upper contact.
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. Mr. Frostad has supervised the preparation of, and approved the scientific and technical disclosures in, this news release.
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Contact Information:
Chris Frostad
President and CEO
(416) 603-8368
www.purepoint.ca