The Roughrider uranium deposit is currently the third richest in the Athabasca Basin according to a new resource approximation, project owner Hathor Exploration Ltd. says. The East Zone of the deposit, situated within the Midwest Northeast project, has been estimated to contain 30 million pounds of uranium grading 11.58 per cent U3O8, Hathor declare Tuesday. This nearly doubles the size of Roughrider to 54 million pounds, manufacture it one of the richest deposits in northern Saskatchewan. Hathor says only Cameco Corporation and Areva Resources Canada Inc.'s McArthur River and Cigar Lake mines have larger deposit.
"Canada and Saskatchewan should be arrogant of this district," company president and CEO Michael Gunning said about the Athabasca Basin. With a worldwide average grade of 0.5 per cent U3O8 per uranium deposit, Hathor said Roughrider's grade is obviously above and beyond most of the world's uranium deposits. The size and the grade of the site help its chances of being brought into manufacture. "Grade is king," Gunning said. "Grade is what builds gainful mines." In April, Hathor expected the first uranium mineral lease in Saskatchewan since 1985 for its project. The improve from a mineral claim to a mineral lease gives the company the exclusive right to explore for and finally mine the area.
The leasehold for the 543-hectare site is renewable each 10 years. Hathor exhausted between $4 million and $5 million this past winter at Roughrider, where it tested the Roughrider East Zone. "The discovery is rare, it's above average rank and it really has those attributes that look like it could be a viable project for northern Saskatchewan and that, for me, is a win-win for everyone," Gunning said of the plan in a February interview. Despite the resource approximation from the East Zone, a production decision remains years away. Saskatchewan makes roughly 20 per cent of the world's uranium, which is used in nuclear fuel.
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