Denison currently has an effective 24.68% ownership interest in the Waterfound River joint venture, in which Orano Canada and JCU (Canada) Exploration Company are the other participants. Orano has a majority interest (62.42%) in the Waterfound JV and is the project operator.
The 2022 exploration program was designed to test for the potential expansion of previously discovered mineralization in the Alligator zone, as well as to test for new mineralization in the surrounding area along the La Rocque conductive corridor. The drilling was planned to occur during both the winter and summer seasons, with approximately 7,400 metres of diamond drilling in an estimated 12 drill holes.
Six drill holes totalling 3,175 metres were completed as part of the winter drill program. The first three holes did not encounter significant uranium mineralization.
The final set of results from Waterfound River are highlighted by drill hole WF-68, which returned a broad zone of uranium mineralization, including a peak interval of 5.91% eU3O8 over 3.9 metres (0.05% eU3O8 cut-off), with a sub-interval grading 25.30% eU3O8 over 0.7 metre.
This intersection is located approximately 800 metres west, along the La Rocque conductive corridor, of the previously discovered high-grade mineralization (including 4.49% U3O8 over 10.53 metres) at the Alligator zone.
“We are excited to see additional high-grade mineralization discovered within the La Rocque corridor, which also hosts Cameco’s La Rocque Lake zone and IsoEnergy’s Hurricane zone,” Andy Yackulic, Denison’s director of exploration, stated. “Not only has the drilling at Waterfound intersected high-grade uranium, but the mineralization remains open along strike in both directions.”
“This discovery at Waterfound is well-situated relative to the McClean Lake mill and has the potential to translate into a further important source of future mill feed for the McClean Lake joint venture,” president and CEO David Cates added.
Earlier this year, Denison also encountered multiple intersections of high-grade mineralization at the Phoenix deposit, part of its 95%-owned Wheeler River project, also in the Athabasca Basin region.
