ALX Resources Corp. Amends Hook-Carter Uranium Project Joint Venture Agreement with Denison Mines - Exploration Planned for 2024
May 23, 2024 7:30 AM EDT | Source: ALX Resources Corp.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 23, 2024) - ALX Resources Corp. (TSXV: AL) (FSE: 6LLN) (OTC: ALXEF) ("ALX" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has entered into an amending agreement (the "Amendment") with Denison Mines Corp. ("Denison") whereby ALX may increase its ownership interest in the Hook-Carter Uranium property ("Hook-Carter", or the "Project") from 20% to 25% ownership by funding the next $3.0 million of exploration at the Project within the next 30 months. Hook-Carter is a highly-prospective and large exploration property with significant coverage along the prospective Patterson Lake, Carter, and Derksen exploration corridors — notably covering approximately 13 kilometres of the Patterson Lake Corridor along strike of the Arrow uranium deposit owned by NexGen Energy Ltd. ("NexGen"), and the Triple R uranium deposit owned by Fission Uranium Corp. ("Fission").
Background to the ALX-Denison Hook-Carter Agreement
On October 16, 2016, ALX and Denison entered into a purchase agreement (the "Original Agreement"), whereby ALX sold an 80% interest in the Project in exchange for 7.5 million shares of Denison. ALX retained a 20% interest in Hook-Carter, and Denison agreed to fund ALX's share of the first $12.0 million of expenditures. On November 15, 2019, ALX and Denison executed a written acknowledgement with respect to the deemed formation of a joint venture between them upon Denison's completion of a requirement to solely fund a minimum of $3.0 million of project expenditures within an initial 36-month funding period. Since 2016, Denison's exploration expenditures at Hook-Carter total $7.05 million, including the completion of surface and airborne geophysical programs, as well as nearly 12,000 metres of diamond drilling.
"ALX is very pleased to work with Denison to develop new drill targets at Hook-Carter," said Warren Stanyer, CEO and Chairman of ALX. "The Patterson Lake Corridor has seen the discovery of hundreds of millions of pounds of uranium in the past decade, making it one of the world's most fertile regions for uranium exploration. Two new uranium discoveries have been reported in 2024 to the south of our property by NexGen and by the Purepoint Uranium-Cameco Corporation-Orano Canada joint venture, which makes a renewed exploration effort at Hook-Carter even more compelling. The Amendment creates a pathway to accelerate exploration activity on this highly-prospective project for mutual benefit of the partners following a period of limited activity."
Highlights of the Hook-Carter Joint Venture Amendment Agreement
- ALX can earn an additional 5.0% interest in Hook-Carter by funding $3.0 million of exploration at Hook-Carter within a 30-month period from May 21, 2024, (the "ALX Funding Period"), which would change the joint venture participating interests to 75% Denison — 25% ALX;
- ALX is obligated to fund a minimum of $500,000 prior to March 31, 2025, and shall reasonably demonstrate, prior to June 30, 2025, that it has secured a further $750,000 committed to exploration expenditures at Hook-Carter;
- All exploration expenditures incurred during the ALX Funding Period shall require approval by both Denison and ALX, each in its respective sole discretion and with each party acting reasonably;
- Denison will not be obligated to incur any further exploration expenditures at the Project until the successful completion of the ALX Funding Period, after which each of ALX and Denison would be responsible for their respective financial contributions on a pro-rata basis under the joint venture terms contained in the Original Agreement. ALX and Denison have agreed to promptly and in good faith negotiate and enter into one or more agreements to supersede the Original Agreement and the Amending Agreement in order to govern the affairs of the joint venture following the completion of the ALX Funding Period;
- Should ALX spend less than $3.0 million during the term of the ALX Funding Period, the participating interests of Denison and ALX in the joint venture would remain unchanged from the current levels of 80% Denison — 20% ALX.
About Hook-Carter
Hook-Carter consists of eleven claims covering 25,115 hectares and is located in the southwest corner of the Athabasca Basin, approximately 147 kilometres northeast of La Loche, Saskatchewan. The Project has excellent potential to host economic uranium deposits. Hook-Carter is interpreted to host the northeastern strike extension of the Patterson Lake Corridor ("PLC"), which hosts NexGen's Arrow uranium deposit, Fission's Triple R uranium deposit, and Purepoint Uranium Group's ("Purepoint") Spitfire, Hornet and Dragon zones in a joint venture with Cameco Corporation and Orano Canada. The Project also overlies the interpreted strike extension of the Carter and Derksen corridors - each are highly-prospective, under-explored corridors in which significant uranium mineralization may exist (see Figure 1 below).
Figure 1. Hook-Carter Uranium Project — Compilation Map of Historical Exploration
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
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In 2023, Denison carried out a ZTEM™ deep-penetrating airborne electromagnetic survey at Hook-Carter, which is known to be an effective exploration method for detecting geophysical conductors that may be associated with unconformity uranium mineralization. The 2023 ZTEM™ survey successfully outlined historical conductors at Hook-Carter and resolved new conductors in deeper terrain that were not identified by previous geophysical surveys.
Hook-Carter Exploration 2017-2019
Denison conducted ground geophysical surveys and completed 15 diamond drill holes totaling 11,771.7 metres (an additional 1,992 metres were drilled in seven abandoned holes) in its initial exploration programs at Hook-Carter from 2017 to 2019. Favorable structure and alteration were encountered in the majority of the completed drill holes and geochemical results showed elevated concentrations of traditional uranium pathfinder elements in certain drill holes, as well as sudoite (a magnesium-chlorite mineral) and dravite (a boron mineral), which are both clay minerals detected from spectral analysis, which may suggest the presence of a potential mineralizing system on Hook-Carter. These drilling programs provided reconnaissance level drill hole coverage along the PLC at an approximate 1,200-metre spacing within Denison's 2017 grid, which forms an important initial repository of drilling data and, when integrated with available geophysical data, is anticipated to be used to prioritize target horizons in the planning of future exploration programs.
Outside of the established Denison grid in the south-central part of Hook-Carter (see Figure 1), there remains high potential along the PLC to the northeast. Geophysical surveys (ground EM and DC-IP resistivity) are recommended over the northeastern extent of the PLC, as resolved by the 2023 ZTEM survey, prior to drill hole testing.
The Carter and Derkson corridors striking through Hook-Carter also have the potential to host significant uranium deposits. The Derkson Corridor has an advantage in that the depth to the unconformity is shallower, ranging from approximately 330 to 476 metres, and hosts a mineralized drill hole on Purepoint's claim along strike to the southwest (1978 hole DER-4: 0.24% U3O8 and 1.35% nickel over 2.5 metres). In April 2024, Purepoint reported a new uranium discovery known as "Lightning" in the Carter Corridor with a drill intersection of 0.9 metres grading 0.29% U3O8. The Carter Corridor has not yet been drill-tested by the Denison-ALX joint venture at Hook-Carter. Geophysical surveys (ground EM and DC-IP resistivity) over these parallel corridors are also recommended prior to drill testing.
To view maps of Hook-Carter's location along the Patterson Lake Corridor and other information regarding the Project, please click here.
Technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Robert Campbell, P.Geo., a geological consultant to the Company, who is a Qualified Person in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements as set out in National Instrument 43-101. Management cautions that historical results collected and reported by operators unrelated to ALX have not been directly verified nor confirmed by its Qualified Person, but create a scientific basis for ongoing work in the Hook-Carter project area. Management further cautions that historical results or discoveries on adjacent or nearby mineral properties are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved on ALX's mineral properties.
About ALX
ALX is based in Vancouver, BC, Canada and its common shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "AL", on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol "6LLN" and in the United States OTC market under the symbol "ALXEF".
ALX's mandate is to provide shareholders with multiple opportunities for discovery by exploring a portfolio of prospective mineral properties in Canada, which include uranium, lithium, nickel-copper-cobalt and gold projects. The Company uses the latest exploration technologies and holds interests in over 240,000 hectares of prospective lands in Saskatchewan, a stable jurisdiction that hosts the highest-grade uranium mines in the world, a producing gold mine, diamond deposits, and historical production from base metals mines.
ALX's uranium holdings in northern Saskatchewan include 100% interests in the Gibbons Creek Uranium Project (currently the subject of an option earn-in agreement with Trinex Minerals Ltd.), the Sabre Uranium Project, the Bradley Uranium Project, and the Javelin and McKenzie Lake Uranium Projects, a 40% interest in the Black Lake Uranium Project (a joint venture with Uranium Energy Corporation and Orano Canada Inc.), and a 20% interest in the Hook-Carter Uranium Project, located within the uranium-rich Patterson Lake Corridor with Denison Mines Corp. (80% interest) as operator of exploration since 2016 (currently the subject of an amending agreement that would increase ALX's interest to 25% after fulfilling certain conditions).
ALX also owns 100% interests in the Firebird Nickel Project, the Flying Vee Nickel/Gold and Sceptre Gold projects, and can earn up to an 80% interest in the Alligator Lake Gold Project, all located in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. ALX owns, or can earn, up to 100% interests in the Electra Nickel Project and the Cannon Copper Project located in historic mining districts of Ontario, Canada, and in the Vixen Gold Project (now under option to First Mining Gold Corp., who can earn up to a 100% interest in two stages).
ALX owns a 50% interest in eight lithium exploration properties staked in 2022-2023 collectively known as the Hydra Lithium Project, located in the James Bay region of northern Quebec, Canada, a 100% interest in the Anchor Lithium Project in Nova Scotia, Canada, and 100% interests in the Crystal Lithium Project and the Reindeer Lithium Project, both located in northern Saskatchewan, Canada.
For more information about the Company, please visit the ALX corporate website at www.alxresources.com or contact Roger Leschuk, Manager, Corporate Communications at: PH: 604.629.0293 or Toll-Free: 866.629.8368, or by email: rleschuk@alxresources.com
On Behalf of the Board of Directors of ALX Resources Corp.
"Warren Stanyer"
Warren Stanyer, CEO and Chairman
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Statements in this document which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Forward-looking statements in this news release include: ALX and Denison's future exploration plans at the Hook-Carter Uranium Project. It is important to note that the Company's actual business outcomes and exploration results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include that ALX may not be able to fully finance exploration on our exploration projects, including drilling; our initial findings at our exploration projects may prove to be unworthy of further expenditures; commodity prices may not support further exploration expenditures; exploration programs may be delayed or changed due to any delays experienced in consultation and engagement activities with First Nations and Metis communities, and local landowners in the region, and the results of such consultations; and economic, competitive, governmental, societal, public health, weather, environmental and technological factors may affect the Company's operations, markets, products and share price. Even if we explore and develop our projects, and even if uranium, lithium, nickel, copper, gold or other metals or minerals are discovered in quantity, ALX's projects may not be commercially viable. Additional risk factors are discussed in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis for the Year Ended December 31, 2023, which is available under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedarplus.ca. Except as required by law, we will not update these forward-looking statement risk factors.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release
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