Fission Uranium (TSX: FCU; US-OTC; FCUUF) plans to drill 43 holes (12,640 metres) this year at the Triple R deposit at its Patterson Lake South project in Saskatchewan, 550 km northwest of Prince Albert.
"One of our key goals is to maximise the size and quality of the Triple R deposit ... while also further de-risking the project as a whole," Fission CEO Ross McElroy stated in a news release. "This [drill] program has the potential to allow for the inclusion of the R840W zone in the feasibility resource and mine plan."
The near-surface deposit is currently made of five mineralised zones: R1515W, R840W, R00E, R780E, and R1620E. The R840W zone is about 500 metres to the west of Patterson Lake.
A 2019 prefeasibility study (PFS) envisioned an underground mine producing a total of 2.3 million tonnes of mineralized material grading 1.61% U3O8 for 78.7 million lb. of U3O8.
The study pegged initial capital costs at $1.2 billion and forecast an after-tax payback period of 2.5 years. Operating cash costs were estimated at $9.57 per lb of U3O8. The PFS, which used a uranium price of US$50 per lb. of U3O8, forecast an after-tax net present value of $702 million, at an 8% discount rate, with an after-tax internal rate of return of 25%.
The PFS is based on indicated resources from the R780E and R00E zones.
The project contains 2.2 million indicated tonnes grading 2.1% U3O8 for 102.4 million lb. contained U3O8 and inferred resources of 1.2 million tonnes grading 1.22% U3O8 for 32.8 million lb. of U3O8.
At press time in Toronto, Fission Uranium was trading at 40 ? per share within a 52-week trading range of 9.5 ? and 49 ?. The company has around 567 million common shares outstanding for a $226.8-million market capitalization.