Canada’s Athabasca Basin is home to the world’s highest grade uranium deposits.“If you want to see two sides to the uranium coin – just take a look at Canada and Australia.
North of the 49th parallel in North America, there is a hive of mining and exploration activity.
And the centre of that activity is the 100,000 square kilometre Athabasca Basin, which spans the northern parts of Saskatchewan and Alberta.
By contrast, down in the southern hemisphere, which has a vast uranium endowment, politicians — with the honourable exception of South Australia — have tried to outdo each other in erecting barriers to hinder uranium companies.
Western Australia is seeing a repeat of the ridiculous federal “three mines” policy of the 1980s: it will allow four advanced projects to go ahead, but no more.
And New South Wales allows exploration for uranium — but you can’t mine it if a discovery is made.
These Australian politicians remain unmoved by the fact that nuclear is currently the only non-carbon emitting form of base power supply and that the world is facing a looming shortage of uranium.
Moreover, it has now become a strategic commodity for the nuclear industry, particularly in the US which depends largely on Russia for enriched uranium needed to run the nation’s reactors.
Biden administration seeks US$4.3b to build enriched supply
The US has only one operating commercial enrichment plant, owned by Urenco, a British-Dutch-German consortium and located in New Mexico.
Washington is seeking to build replacement capability at home.
In the most recent development, the Biden administration is now seeking Congressional support to raise US$4.3 billion (A$5.95 billion) to get North American producers able to supply the enriched uranium.
It won’t be easy, or quick, to ramp up domestic processing but the move has already lit a fire under uranium prices.
Athabasca will be a key player in US nuclear future
While uranium exploration has been gearing up in the US, Americans will be looking to Canada — and the players in the Athabasca Basin — to do much of the heavy lifting.
Some background:
The sandstones along the southern shores of Lake Athabasca were first mapped in 1888, which was the work of the Geological Survey of Canada.
These sandstones, while not being highly radioactive themselves, hid major uranium deposits.
That uranium was discovered in the 1930 by gold prospectors.
Canada’s first uranium supplies came in 1942 from the Northwest Territories. But, in the late 1960s uranium exploration began in earnest in northern Saskatchewan, and the full potential of the Athabasca Basin was revealed.
Since 1975, the Athabasca Basin has been a key uranium producer (and booster for the Canadian economy) and then in 1988 Eldorado Mining and Refining merged with Saskatchewan Mining to form today’s Cameco Corporation (TSX: CCO).
Australian players move in on Athabasca story
One of the new wave of uranium explorers in the Athabasca Basin is 92 Energy (ASX: 92E). The company owns a 100% interest in 21 mineral claims that make up its five projects — Gemini, Tower, Clover, Powerline Creek and Cypress River.
Last month, 92 Energy reported that two of the final drill holes at its GMZ discovery in Gemini had intersected mineralised zones areas with grades greater than 1% uranium oxide.
As the company explained, 1% is more than 10 times the average grade of mined uranium deposits elsewhere in the world.
Last week, the company began its summer drilling program at Gemini.
Also in the Athabasca picture is Perth-based Valor Resources (ASX: VAL), which this week reported it had identified seven high-priority targets at its Cluff Lake uranium project in the western part of the basin.
Meanwhile, Okapi Resources (ASX: OKR) has announced that its summer exploration program has begun in the Athabasca Basin.
The company has completed satellite image data analysis over its Newnham Lake and Perch projects and has now identified “numerous” prospective targets.
This current program is aimed at prioritising targets ahead of drilling in the upcoming North American winter drilling program.
