Finding more treasures within the earth remains part of what makes Canada the great country (and wealthy country) it is. Her uranium discoveries have been legend – indeed, it was Albert Einstein who informed U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt of this nation’s rich stores when urging the chief executive to get going on the construction of the atomic bomb.
With all the competition in this field, it’s worth noting when yet another find hits the headlines. This week, Saskatchewan was the place of such a bounty, and Vancouver-based Forum Uranium Corporation (TSX Venture: FDC) was one of the sleuths that tapped it.
Forum and much larger partner Mega Uranium Ltd. (TSX: MGA) announced Wednesday that they unearthed a new uranium mineralized zone on the Opie target on the Northwest Athabasca Property. Forum and Mega said this week that seven out of nine holes drilled on the Opie zone encountered varying grades of uranium mineralization at shallow depths (45 to 100 metres true depth) within a zone of strong red (hematite) hydrothermal alteration (two to 30m true width) in basement rocks. Mineralization was as rich as 0.458% uranium (U3O8).
Three other holes on the property also intersected mineralization in the Opie zone, but with lower grade intercepts (0.5m @ 0.183% U3O8, 0.2m @ 0.047% U3O8 and 0.4m @ 0.013% U3O8 respectively).
Forum and Mega Uranium are 50/50 Joint Venture partners, and can earn a 60% interest in the NW Athabasca project -- a joint venture between Cameco Corporation and Areva Resources Canada -- by completing $4 million in exploration over four years and making cash payments of $400,000 over three years.
Last winter, Forum announced very encouraging drill results on property held under option from Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd (TSX: AEM). on Forum's district-scale North Thelon project adjoining Areva’s Kiggavik uranium deposits in Nunavut.
Forum’s strategy, according to its website, "is to discover near surface uranium deposits nearby existing infrastructure by exploring on its 100% owned properties and through strategic partnerships and joint ventures". It’s partnerships like the current one in Athabasca with Mega that could come up nuggets for the company, if all goes well.
The stock price hit its current 52-week high of 16 cents late last May, before dipping to a gulch of five cents on May 8 of this year; ironically, the day before the release of the news from Opie. With much of the market being belted hither and yon, the timing of the announcement is as close to perfect as the company and its investors can hope for.
