Azincourt Uranium: Advanced Peru Assets Enter Next Stage of Development
SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN--(Marketwired - Feb 27, 2014) - AZINCOURT URANIUM INC. ("Azincourt" or "the Company") (TSX VENTURE:AAZ) is pleased to announce that work has now begun at its advanced-stage uranium projects in the emerging uranium district of Macusani in south east Peru.
- Azincourt acquired resources at Macusani defined by Minergia SAC as 35.6 million lbs U3O8 (M&I+I) in September 2011
- SRK Consulting (US) Inc. (SRK) uranium experts now engaged to review previous public and confidential exploration and processing work on Macusani projects.
- Henkle & Associates now engaged to review the 2011 historical resource estimate to provide a more current estimate and identify further work.
Minergia Project Development Summary
- Minergia defined 18.2 million lbs U3O8 current mineral resources (measured and indicated) and 17.3 million lbs U3O8 (inferred) at September 2011.
- Uranium processing work and economic analysis by Minergia and others in the Macusani region suggests potential for low cost production.
- Additional high-profile targets already exist and Azincourt is committed to advancing the resources, targets and to developing the Macusani region as well as evaluating and prioritizing targets at Muñani.
- Azincourt will reactivate Minergia's exploration and development work in Peru, engaging with local affected communities and commencing necessary permitting/agreements.
- Exploration drilling is planned to expand uranium resources along with in-fill drilling to enhance, update and upgrade resources this year.
Ted O'Connor, President and CEO of Azincourt, commented,
"We are advancing Azincourt's Minergia projects to the next stage of the development path. There has been a great deal of work completed by Minergia and others that strongly suggests the Macusani uranium district is a potential low-cost uranium producing region. We are starting the work necessary to prove that."
SRK Technical Review Work
SRK Consulting (US) Inc. (Denver) has been retained to complete a Technical and Economic Review of Minergia's Macusani Uranium Projects in Peru. SRK has started to review internal technical work completed by Minergia between 2006 and 2013. Public information from competitor companies as well as confidential internal work focused on processing and leach test work of the Macusani mineralization and resources will be reviewed to validate this historical work and propose improvements and any additional work required to establish initial economic parameters for Azincourt's Macusani deposits.
Of note, Macusani Yellowcake recently filed a Preliminary Economic Analysis (PEA) for their Macusani uranium projects that highlights the low-cost uranium production potential of this emerging uranium district, putting all-in operating costs below $21/lb U3O8 (January 15, 2014 Report by GBM Minerals Engineering Consultants Limited entitled: "Macusani Yellowcake Project, Macusani, Peru, Preliminary Economic Assessment"). The Macusani Uranium District is a geographically small area and Azincourt's uranium resources are located within ~10 km radius of all other identified resources in the region.
Henkle & Associates Resource Estimate Work
Henkle & Associates completed Minergia's initial independent NI 43-101 resource estimate filed in November 2010 ("Technical Report of the Macusani Uranium Exploration Project", dated November 23, 2010), and the updated resource estimate filed in November 2011 ("Updated Technical Report of the Macusani Uranium Exploration Project", dated October 25, 2011). Both of these reports are posted on SEDAR under the profile for Vena Resources Inc. (from whom Azincourt acquired Minergia in January 2014). Henkle & Associates have been engaged to review these resource models at variable cut-off grades to re-establish the deposits' footprints in order to identify and highlight areas for in-fill drilling to increase resource confidence and for resource expansion.
Peru Projects Highlights and Plans
Macusani Project Key Details
More than $12,000,000 of exploration work has been conducted at the 4,900 hectare project. This includes 37,958 metres of exploration drilling in 232 diamond drill holes targeting anomalies generated through systematic scintillometer surveying. Five individual target areas were drilled with the bulk of the drilling concentrated on the Tantamaco prospect.
The October 25, 2011 NI 43-101 compliant report calculated* in-place U3O8 resources of:
- 5.7 million pounds in the measured category
- 12.5 million pounds indicated
- 17.4 million pounds inferred
*See Table - Cut-off of 90.72 ppm (0.18 pounds/ton)
The Macusani uranium deposits are hosted in the uppermost Yapamayo member of the Quenamari volcanics, a series of peraluminous alkaline ignimbritic rhyolite to rhyodacite extrusive volcanic rocks up to 500 m thick. The Pliocene Quenemari volcanics (ca. 6-21 Ma) filled a distinct caldera-like graben approximately 40 km's in diameter to form a present day plateau. All known uranium deposits and most uranium occurrences are located near the northeastern edge of the caldera, exclusively in the Yapamayo member.
Mineralization at the Macusani project consists primarily of yellowish-green hexavalent (U+6) minerals autunite and meta-autunite. Mineralization occurs within brittle fractures and disseminated into the host volcanic rocks. Disseminated mineralization also forms discrete subhorizontal lenses within certain Yapamayo member volcanic flow units.
Muñani Project Key Details
The Muñani project covers an area of 9,600 hectares. Minergia has completed regional and detailed scintillometer prospecting and Alpha Cup radon surveys over the project area as well as detailed geological mapping, sampling and limited trenching. Uranium mineralization has been found in both sandstone and intermediate volcanic rock outcrops on the project. The Muñani project has never been drill tested, but targets have been established and prioritized for future drilling.
Peru Project Plans
Azincourt's Peru projects have not seen active exploration drilling for the past two years and have been essentially on care and maintenance due to depressed uranium market conditions post-Fukushima. Azincourt has been working with the existing Minergia team to develop a meaningful program and budget to restart active exploration work in Peru. In addition to the work currently being completed by SRK and Henkle & Associates, it is expected that supplementary work will be planned based on their respective recommendations. The 2014 plans will also include completing the necessary community agreements and all required permitting work to recommence diamond drilling to evaluate existing targets on the projects and to expand the existing uranium resources.
Qualified Person
The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 and reviewed on behalf of the company by Ted O'Connor, P.Geo. President and CEO of Azincourt Uranium Corp., a qualified person.
About Azincourt Uranium Inc.
Azincourt Uranium Inc. is a Canadian based resource company specializing in the strategic acquisition, exploration and development of uranium properties and is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Azincourt has advanced exploration projects and compliant uranium resources in southeastern Peru and the PLN exploration project joint venture with Fission 3.0 in northern Saskatchewan.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF AZINCOURT URANIUM INC.
Ted O'Connor, CEO and President
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This press release includes "forward-looking statements", including forecasts, estimates, expectations and objectives for future operations that are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of Azincourt. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking information represents management's best judgment based on information currently available. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary materially.
Contact
Azincourt Uranium Inc.
Mario Vetro
Corporate Development and Investor Relations
Direct: 604 662 4955
mario@azincourturanium.com
www.azincourturanium.com