Blue Sky Uranium Corp has announced assay results from the third and last tranche of the recently completed reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at the Ivana Deposit within its wholly-owned Amarillo Grande Uranium-Vanadium Project (AGP) in Rio Negro Province, Argentina.
This tranche of drilling returned 2,042 samples from 209 holes averaging 9.3m depth that tested areas of lower drill hole density at the margins of, and within, the western portion of the Ivana deposit; as well as testing the potential expansion of the deposit to the west. These results will be included in a future mineral resource estimate update for the Ivana deposit.
Highlights of the new RC drill results include:
- 7m averaging 309ppm U3O8 and 417 ppm V2O5
- including 1,273ppm U3O8 and 1,260ppm V2O5 over 1 m in AGI-817
- 8m averaging 197ppm U3O8 and 202ppm V2O5
- including 805ppm U3O8 and 243ppm V2O5 over 1m in AGI-764
- 4m averaging 238ppm U3O8 and 56ppm V2O5
- including 580ppm U3O8 and 50ppm V2O5 over 1m in AGI-630
- 9m averaging 123ppm U3O8 and 204ppm V2O5
- including 500ppm U3O8 and 332ppm V2O5 over 1m in AGI-823
- 7m averaging 117ppm U3O8 and 161ppm V2O5
- including 409ppm U3O8 and 234ppm V2O5 over 1m in AGI-819
- 6m averaging 207ppm U3O8 and 90ppm V2O5
- including 335ppm U3O8 and 25ppm V2O5 over 1m in AGI-637
All holes were vertical, and the reported intervals are believed to represent true thickness.
Nikolaos Cacos, Blue Sky President and CEO, commented: “These results complete a very successful program, once again hitting significant uranium and vanadium mineralisation both at our infill and expansion targets. We look forward to updating our resource estimate and moving the Ivana deposit closer to a pre-feasibility stage in the future.”
The assay results from drilling in the step-out zone to the west of the current Ivana mineral resource have confirmed the presence of uranium and vanadium mineralisation near the surface. Hole AGI-764, located 700m west of the boundary of the current mineral resource estimate published on February 27, 2019, includes 8 metres averaging 197ppm U3O8 and 202ppm V2O5 from 1 to 9 metres in depth, including 1m @ 805ppm U3O8 and 243ppm V2O5 starting at 1 metre.
In this potential expansion step-out zone, the presence of near-surface vanadium mineralisation is notable, as observed in the following highlighted intercepts:
- 4m averaging 580 ppm V2O5; including 969ppm V2O5 over 1 m in AGI-748
- 5m averaging 469 ppm V2O5; including 932ppm V2O5 over 1 m in AGI-750
- 2m averaging 544 ppm V2O5 in AGI-781
Drilling of areas with previously low-density hole coverage within the boundary of the current mineral resource estimate yielded a number of significant uranium intercepts, as reported above, in addition to those previously reported on April 5, 2022. Many of these holes also had notable vanadium intercepts, as highlighted below:
- 7m averaging 417 ppm V2O5; including 1,260ppm V2O5 over 1 m in AGI-817
- 2m averaging 552 ppm V2O5; including 828ppm V2O5 over 1 m in AGI-806
- 7m averaging 244 ppm V2O5; including 498ppm V2O5 over 1 m in AGI-796
The entire program collected 3,136 samples from 350 new holes, totalling 3,346 metres drilled. This new data set will be included in a future mineral resource estimate. The new database includes samples from 838 RC holes sampled every metre. The aim of a new resource estimation is to upgrade a portion of the current inferred mineral resources into indicated mineral resources for the purposes of supporting a future pre-feasibility study (PFS).
Methodology and QA/QC
AVG Patagonia Drilling carried out the drilling program using a FlexiROC D65 drill rig from Atlas Copco, an ore-control track-mounted rig adapted to reverse circulation with a triple cyclone to reduce the dust loss during sampling and automatic sampling.
Samples were sent to ALS Argentina for preparation by drying, crushing to 70% <2mm, riffle splitter 250g and pulverising to 85% <75 µm. Pulps were sent to ALS Peru for analysis of multi-elements ultra-trace method combining four acid digestion with Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) instrumentation. Digestion is performed on 0.25g of sample to quantitatively dissolve most geological materials. Analytical analysis is performed with combinations of ICP-AES (Atomic Emission Spectrometry) & ICP-MS (Mass Spectrometry). Approximately every 10th sample, a blank, duplicate, or standard sample is inserted into the sample sequence for quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) purposes. A total of two out of 355 CRM analyses reported warnings in the range of two to three Standard Deviations from the certified value; one failure of just over three Standard Deviations from the certified value was reported. These were viewed as non-consecutive and within acceptable limits. 104 duplicate samples were submitted; 70% of the duplicates reported <20% average difference. A total of 223 included blanks were analysed with no failures. The QA/QC internal assessment determined that the analytical results reported herein are within standard industry limits.
About the Amarillo Grande Project
The Company’s 100% owned Amarillo Grande Uranium-Vanadium Project in Rio Negro Province, Argentina, is a new uranium district controlled by Blue Sky. The Ivana deposit is the cornerstone of the project and the first part of the district for which both a Mineral Resource Estimate and a Preliminary Economic Assessment have been completed. Mineralisation at the Ivana deposit has characteristics of sandstone-type and surficial-type uranium-vanadium deposits. The sandstone-type mineralisation is related to a braided fluvial system and indicates the potential for a district-size system. In the surficial-type deposits, mineralisation coats loosely consolidated pebbles, and is amenable to leaching and simple upgrading.
The project includes several other target areas over a regional trend, at or near the surface. The area is flat-lying, semi-arid and accessible year-round, with nearby rail, power and port access. The Company’s strategy includes delineating resources in multiple areas and advancing the entire project to a pre-feasibility level.
For additional details on the project and properties, please see the Company’s website.
