Urano’s Uravan Properties consist of five uranium-vanadium (“U-V”) properties comprising approximately 5,400 acres (~8.4 square miles), all located in the Colorado portion of the prolific Uravan Mining District. The Uravan Mining District of Utah and Colorado hosts the Uravan Mineral Belt, a 70-mile (110 km) zone of U-V deposits in Colorado and Utah with a history of 80 million pounds of uranium production and over 400 million pounds of vanadium production since 1945. The Properties were selected based on historical information from previous exploration, indicating that specific targets hosted either drill defined historical estimated uranium and vanadium mineral resources, or areas specifically targeted for drilling by historical operators.*
The remote Uravan District of south-western Colorado is sparsely populated, and largely undeveloped, and has a long history of mining U-V and radium, beginning in the early 20th century.
The Properties
Eula Belle – 31 claims in the western portion of Montrose County, covering much of the historical Eula Belle mine. Union Carbide Corp. (“UCC”)’s 1989 reserve records for Eula Belle indicate historical* estimated Minable Reserves1 of 43,900 tons containing 219,900 pounds U3O8 (“uranium”) at an average grade of 0.25%, and 790,200 pounds V2O5 (“vanadium”) at 0.90%. UCC estimated an additional Potential Resource for the Eula Belle of 37,000 tons including 135,000 pounds U3O8 at 0.25%, and 666,000 pounds V2O5 at 0.90%. UCC records indicate the Eula Belle was the leading uranium producer of the hundreds of Uravan mines with 1,598,000 pounds. U3O8, at 0.248%, recovered from 1962-1978.
Mum-Whitney Extension – 5 claims in Montrose County adjoining to, or in the vicinity of Department of Energy (“DOE”) Tracts (U.S. Department of Energy Uranium Reserve Blocks not held by Urano) C-SR-21 and C-SR-23, as well as the past producing Mum-Whitney and other historical mines. The claims are located within areas identified as having high potential for additional discovery as shown by historical UCC favorability maps and are an expansion of the existing Mum-Whitney Project held by Urano.
Norther – 10 claims, in San Miguel County, adjoining DOE Tract C-SR-15-A including adjacent areas of favorability defined by UCC. The East-West trend of estimated minable U-V mineral resources, identified by DOE Tracts C-SR-15 and C-SR-15A and held by Urano’s competitors, extends westward across the Norther Property.
Spud Patch – 80 claims in San Miguel County that are distributed within 4 discrete areas located over UCC’s 1984 (p. 84) planned, but never drilled, targets and other zones of UCC defined favorability. Urano’s Claims are in part contiguous with DOE Tract C-SR-12. When first leased, the DOE Tract initially hosted uranium resources of 180,000 pounds U3O8.
Dulaney Extension – 73 Claims in San Miguel County and is a prospective project adjacent to Urano’s Dulaney Project. The Dulaney Extension is strategically located: (a.) contiguous with the DOE Tract C-SR-11; (b.) in an area of past producing mines, and; (c.) in part, overlying and surrounded areas of favorability as reported by the U.S. Geological Survey, (Bell, 1953).2
Urano is continuing the exploration for and evaluation of other historic projects on both the Colorado Plateau and in Utah.
The technical disclosure on this page was approved by Dr. Douglas H. Underhill, CPG, Chief Geologist for Urano Energy Corp., and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
*The historic resource and reserve estimates are based on a report prepared by Union Carbide in May of 1989, and do not comply with mineral resource categories set out in National Instrument 43-101. A Qualified Person (as defined in NI 43-101) has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources and the company is not treating the historical estimate as current miner resources. The company considers the historic information relevant and reliable, however additional work, including drilling, will be required to confirm the presence of a uranium deposit, and if present, to establish the amount and grade of any mineralization that is found.
1 Union Carbide’s (“UCC” or “Umetco”)“Minable Reserves” class for Uravan hosted U-V deposits is specifically defined in its 1985 “Manual of Resource and Reserve Estimation,” as “The following reserve definitions are to be utilized in the calculation of U-V reserves in the Uravan area of the Colorado Plateau, as): ‘An estimate of quantities of mineralized material that can be mined and processed at current costs, accounting for mining dilution, mining extraction and process recoveries.’” In addition, Union Carbide defines “Potential Resources,” “An estimate based on regional geologic projection of quantities of mineralized material assigned to areas which have not been tested but which would appear to possess the possibility of producing reserves. The property for which the estimate is made is controlled by Umetco Minerals and it is assumed that the geology, geometry, environment, potential economics of a likely find are favorable.”
2 Bell, H. (1953). Carnotite resources of the Spud Patch area, San Miguel County, Colorado. U.S. Geological Survey, Trace Elements Investigations Report No. 286.