Global Uranium and Enrichment (ASX: GUE) has teamed up with Nasdaq-listed Snow Lake Energy to acquire the Pine Ridge uranium project in Wyoming’s heralded Powder River Basin.
The “transformational” US$22.5 million deal will see the duo advance the project as part of a 50-50 strategic joint venture (JV) agreement. Snow Lake will also become a cornerstone investor in Global Uranium with a 19.99 per cent stake in the company.
Advanced uranium project
Pine Ridge is considered an advanced uranium project with an established ‘Exploration Target’ of between 24.4 million and 51.3 million pounds of uranium at a grade ranging between 0.031 per cent and 0.4 per cent.
Management noted that it boasts an ideal geological foundation to be brought to production with historical drilling having significantly de-risked the project.
More than 1,200 previous drill holes at Pine Ridge have helped identify over 140 miles of redox fronts that show potential for hosting a substantial uranium resource base suitable for ‘in-situ recovery’ (ISR) production methods.
The redox fronts mapped at Pine Ridge are interpreted to extend onto neighbouring properties where three uranium deposits totalling more than 45 million pounds have already been defined.
Renowned uranium producing region
According to the company, the Powder River Basin is the most significant uranium producing region in the US, predominantly through ISR. Nearly 240 million pounds of uranium have been produced in this renowned geological domain since the early 1950s.
The basin also features well-established infrastructure including nearby processing facilities. Such traits could benefit Globe Uranium and Snow Lake as the pair look to bring Pine Ridge to life in a time-efficient manner.
For instance, the project sits about 15km from the Smith Ranch mill operated by uranium giant, Cameco. It is one of the largest uranium production facilities in the US having churned out about 23 million pounds of uranium since 2002.
Accelerated work program
Global Uranium and Snow Lake now plan to launch an accelerated work program to progress the project.
The pair will look to prioritise exploration areas and generate drill targets based on completed data evaluation, and lock in all relevant permits from regulatory agencies.
An initial exploration drilling program is also on the cards for this year as the duo look to define a maiden resource estimate for Pine Ridge. A scoping study gauging the merits of bringing the project to production is expected to follow.
Global Uranium managing director, Andrew Ferrier, commented:
“This Project has the potential to be a game-changer for Global Uranium. The Exploration Target identified at Pine Ridge highlights the significant opportunity for further development at the Project, and we are now planning for the execution of that alongside Snow Lake.”
Funding in place
In conjunction, Global Uranium has pocketed A$10 million from a placement to institutional and sophisticated investors with the funds to go towards the acquisition and development of Pine Ridge.
Snow Lake’s chief executive officer, Frank Wheatley, will join the board of Global Uranium as a non-executive director once the placement is formally concluded.
Snow Lake is also fully funded to make its contribution to the JV agreement and to wrap up its strategic investment in Global Uranium after a recent A$58 million capital raise.