Argo Gold Inc. has entered into two agreements to acquire additional mineral claims in Saskatchewan pursuant to which Argo Gold can acquire a 100% interest in certain mineral claims located in the Athabasca Basin: the Parker Lake claims, and the Thunderbolt and Zig Zag claims (see map below), which altogether total 15,962 hectares and are considered prospective for uranium mineralization.
The Parker Lake claims are being purchased in exchange for the granting by Argo of a 2% net smelter returns royalty (“NSR”) in favour of the vendors of the mineral claims. The Thunderbolt and ZigZag claims are being purchased together for an aggregate of $5,000 in cash and the issuance to the vendors of 500,000 common shares of the Company. The common shares will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day from the date of issuance.
The Parker Lake mineral claims total 11,644 hectares covering the up-ice extension of 69 radioactive boulders (1,000-10,000 cps) along the Needle Falls Shear Zone, a cluster of untested airborne radioactive anomalies (1969), and a 30 kilometre stretch of the Parker Lake Shear Zone (PLSZ) coincident with uranium, vanadium & molybdenum in lake sediments. The geological setting is thought to be similar to that of the Rabbit Lake/Eagle Point Mine with the shear structure along a large dome. Parker Lake is located outside of the eastern edge of the Athabasca Basin, 72 kilometres east of Cameco’s Key Lake Mill with the target being a shallow basement-hosted deposit.
The Thunderbolt mineral claims total 3,692 hectares covering weakly conductive magnetic zones extending into the basement from historical airborne surveys. Thunderbolt is located approximately 15 kilometres north of ISO Energy’s Hurricane Deposit (48 million pounds U3O8 @ 34.5% U3O8). Thunderbolt is also located 15 kilometres NE of the Bell Lake uranium occurrence where drilling by Denison Mines hit up to 42 metres of bleached and altered rock above the unconformity. The claims are located within the Athabasca Basin near the eastern edge, 40 kilometres northwest of Orano’s McLean Lake Mill.
The Zig Zag mineral claims total 626 hectares along the Patterson Lake Shear Zone (PLSZ) where an airborne EM conductor runs down the center of the Zig Zag claim, modelled to extend into the basement. In addition, an airborne survey flown by SPI delineated several “mag low” anomalies on the claim, coincident with the conductor. Zig Zag is on-trend with the NexGen Energy Arrow Deposit, the Fission Uranium Triple R (Rook) Deposit and the F3 Uranium discoveries. The Zig Zag mineral claims are located 25 kilometres north of Hook Lake (a joint venture between Cameco, Orano Canada and Purepoint Uranium).
In December 2024, Argo has entered into an agreement to acquire an additional mineral claim in Saskatchewan pursuant to which Argo Gold can acquire a 100% interest in the Thunderclap (see map above) mineral claim located in the Athabasca Basin which covers an area of 97 hectares for $1,000 in cash payable to the vendor. Argo now has 16,059 hectares of prospective uranium mineral claims in the Athabasca Basin.
The Thunderclap mineral claim is located 16 kilometres SSW of the McLean Lake Uranium Mine and Mill, 18 kilometres SW of the Rabbit Lake Mine and Mill, 30 kilometres NE of Cameco’s Cigar Lake High Grade Uranium Mine, 12 kilometres south of the Points North Landing camp and airstrip, and 17 kilometres south of Denison Mine’s Midwest Lake ISR uranium deposit. Thunderclap is surrounded by Cameco Corporation, with Uranium Energy Corp (UEC) to the immediate east.
To the east of the Thunderclap mineral claim, drilling by Asamera in 1982 returned 0.13% eU3O8 over 4 metres in sheared, reduced yellow brown to olive green chlorite schist. The unconformity lies at a depth of 182 metres with bleaching, hematite and chlorite alteration in basement rocks. (Reference: SMDI 1969 located 600 metres east of Thunderclap). A second drill hole intersected the unconformity at 212.6 metres returning 0.17% U3O8 over 1.0 metre from graphitic gouge in carbonate veining and chloritic alteration in graphitic pelite in basement rocks. (Reference: SDMI 2552 is located 1500 metres east of Thunderclap).
To the NW of Thunderclap and 5.28 kilometres south of the Midwest Lake Uranium Deposit, historical drilling intersected 0.25% eU3O8 over 4.0 metres in DDH Q85-24 from 166.3 to 170.3 metres in the lower sandstone and regolith in black pyritic sandstone and 1.1 metres in the lower sandstone of 14.8% Ni, 7.2% Co, 1.44% Cu, 1.14% As and 0.16% Pb. (Reference: SMDI 2551). Historic drilling 3.5 kilometres to the SW of Thunderclap returned 0.34% U3O8 over 0.5 metres as well as anomalous nickel arsenide, cobalt, copper, lead and zinc. (Reference: SMDI 2751). The anomalous polymetallic mineralization is considered to be very significant, as the Cigar Lake high grade uranium mine carries similar polymetallic mineralization along with the uranium and gold/silver. The Thunderclap Property is considered highly prospective and has never been drilled-tested.
The Fraser Institute’s Annual Survey of Mining Companies ranked Saskatchewan as third in the world for mineral exploration and mining investment attractiveness. Argo is well positioned to advance mineral exploration with high-quality assets in a mining friendly jurisdiction.
National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure
The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Bill Kerr, who is a “Qualified Person” as defined in National Instrument 43-101. Historical geochemical, drilling results and geological descriptions quoted in this news release were taken directly from news releases by other mineral explorers and from information provided by the Government of Saskatchewan. Management cautions that results reported by other parties on adjacent properties have not been verified nor confirmed by its Qualified Person, but Argo believes they create a scientific foundation for the exploration in the district. 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 Argo’s mineral properties.
Note on U3O8 Equivalence
Some of the reported U3O8 results represent “equivalent uranium,” or eU3O8, which is determined through downhole probing techniques. These methods estimate the uranium content in situ by measuring gamma radiation, which is then converted into an eU3O8 value based on standard calibration factors. It’s important to note that this is an indirect measurement, and the actual uranium species may vary. The eU3O8 values provide an estimate of uranium concentrations in the mineralization, but further assaying and metallurgical testing would be needed to confirm the precise uranium species and chemical grade.