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Aberdeen Uranium Project (Thelon Basin-Nunavut)

 

Ownership: Forum 100%
Stage: Highly Prospective; Significant uranium mineralization discovered by Cameco during the years 2008-2012. The claims were later abandoned due to the long period of low uranium prices from secondary supply entering the market post-Fukushima.
Size: 40 claims totaling 53,402 ha acquired by staking. Forum’s ground in this region now totals 95,518 ha.

Location & Infrastructure: Located on the northeast edge of the Thelon Basin in Nunavut Territory, approximately 100km west of the Hamlet of Baker Lake. Baker Lake is accessible by aircraft. Chesterfield Inlet, located on the northwest coast of Hudson Bay, links Baker Lake with Hudson Bay. It also serves Agnico Eagle’s Meadowbank mine.

Regional Significance: The Thelon Basin is, perhaps, the most prospective region in the world for discovering new high-grade unconformity style uranium deposits outside Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin.

Proximity to Significant Deposits:  Forum’s Aberdeen project is on-trend with the Kiggavik uranium deposit (Historic Indicated 127.3 million pound mineral resource grading 0.47% U3O8 - Source: Denison Mines website. See Corporate Presentation dated November 2022, p. 22, and Orano  2020 Activities Report).  The current ownership structure is Orano Canada (66.2%), Denison Mines (16.9%), and UEX Corp (16.9%). Orano, previously known as AREVA, completed six years of engineering, environmental, and community engagement studies from 2008 to 2014 before placing the project on care and maintenance due to the prolonged period of low uranium prices.

Forum’s Aberdeen claims cover the east-west and northeast-southwest structural trends hosting the Kiggavik deposits, in addition to Cameco’s discoveries made during the period 2008-2012. 

2023 Summer Drill Program Intersects Significant Uranium Mineralization

In July-August, Forum completed five drill holes totalling 991m under the direction of Dr. Rebecca Hunter. The program focused on expanding shallow high-grade uranium mineralization at the primary Tatiggaq basement discovery and drilling the untested Ned gravity anomaly, whicn is one of several unconformity-type targets  found on Forum’s 95,500 ha property.

  • Drill hole TAT23-002 in the Main Zone intersected 2.25% U3O8 over 11.1m (148.5m-159.6m) including 1.35% U3O8 over 1.7m (148.5m-150.2m), 3.32% U308 over 3.1m (152.2m-155.3m), and 7.27% U3O8 over 1.5m (156.9m-158.4m).
  • Drill hole TAT23-003, a 200m step-out in the West Zone to the southwest. intersected 0.40% U3O8  over 12.8m (136.0m-148.8m), including 1.10% U3O8  over 0.8m (136m-136.8m) and 1.08% U3O8 over 1.3m (143.8m-145.1m). The entire mineralized zone assayed 0.28% U3O8 over 24.6m (129.5m-154.1m) in what is interpreted as multiple uranium lenses within a wide fault zone. The Tatiggaq West Zone is open along strike to both the southwest and northeast towards the Tatiggaq Main Zone, which is also open along strike.
  • Drill hole TAT23-004 in the West Zone (150m southwest of TAT23-002 and 50m northeast of TAT23-003) intersected 0.40% U3O8 over 18.9m (151.4m-170.3m), including 1.01% U3O8 over 6.2m (161.0m-167.2m), including 4.36% U3O8 over 1.3m (164.6m-165.9m).
  • Drill hole NED23-001 at the 2km X 2km Ned gravity low anomaly was lost at 165m in the Thelon clay altered sandstone. However, elevated uranium and pathfinder elements, including Boron, were observed, suggesting the area is fertile for potentially hosting unconformity-type uranium mineralization.

Forum’s inaugural drill program has enabled the exploration team to gain a greter understanding of the geology. Dr. Rebecca Hunter interprets the Tatiggaq results to be significant as they demonstrate continuity of mineralization within a series of high-grade sub-parallel uranium lenses over a length of 250m. The presence of multiple sub-parallel trends within the Tatiggaq anomaly reaffims the potential for discovering new mineralization. Over 1 km of this anomaly has yet to be drill tested. Plans for follow-up drilling in 2024 are underway, which will focus on expanding mineralization along strike and at depth.

Tatiggaq Main Zone Cross Section 

Both the Tatiggaq Main and West Zones are interpreted to be a series of near vertical uranium bearing lenses within a fault structure that trends for 1.5 km. The width of the minteralized section has yet to be determined, but has been interpreted to be approximately 50m. Future planned drilling will help determine the true width of the zone, which is open along strike and at depth. 

 

Forum’s Summer 2023 maiden drill program focused on the primary Tatiggaq deposit and the untested Ned target.

 Geologist Dr. Rebecca Hunter spotting drill hole locations for the Aberdeen summer program

Examining drill core at the Aberdeen base camp

Exploration History

During the period 2008-2012, Cameco drilled 135 holes totaling ~36,000m to the west of Kiggavik and discovered two uranium deposits - Tatiggaq and Qavvik. A significant showing named Ayra was also discovered.

Tatiggaq Uranium Discovery     

The Tatiggaq discovery, found in 2010, consists of two zones: the Main and West Zones, which average 30m in thickness at a shallow depth of 80-100m, and strike lengths of 80m and 60m respectively. Discovery Hole TUR-014A intersected 0.85% U3O8 over 13.7m and 4.03% U3O8  over 0.5m. Grades of up to 24% U3O8  over 10 -30 cm widths with average grades of approximately 1% U3O8  were reported over these two mineralized zones. The deposits remain open along strike and at depth within a large gravity anaomaly (0.8 X 1.5km) that is not fully tested.

The Tatiggaq deposit is within a large gravity anomaly that remains open along strike for 1.5km and at depth. It is a priority target for 2023.

Significant intercepts include:

  • DDH TUR-042 – 2.69% U3O8 over 7.9 m from 200.2m to 208.1m, including 24.8% U3O8 over 0.4m at a depth of 202.9m to 203.3m
  • DDH TUR-052B - 0.43% U3O8 over 54.2m at a depth of 115.4m to 169.6m
  • DDH TUR-056 – 0.93% U3Oover 9m at a depth of 126m to 135m
  • DDH TUR-058 – 1.17% U3O8 over 6.1m at a depth of 88.2m to 94.3m

Qavvik Uranium Discovery   

The Qavvik discovery was found in 2009 and consists of four steeply lenses 5-20m wide, to a depth of 350m, over a strike length of 250m. Drill Hole DDH SAN-002 intersected four discreet mineralized intervals grading 0.92% U3O8 over 2.5m at a depth of 253.9m to 256.4m, 1.18% U3O8 over 4.3m at a depth of 259.0m to 263.3m, 0.57% U3O8 over 1.6m at a depth of 273.3m to 275.3m, and 0.62% U3O8 over 2.2m at a depth of 277.5m to 279.7m. The highest grade mineraization intersected graded 5.69% U3O8 over 0.3m. Qavvik is an early stage discovery that has never received follow-up drilling to determine the extent of mineralization in the area.

The Ayra showing has all the hallmarks of classic unconformity type mineralization with uranium enrichment  (67 to 610 ppm uranium) near the unconformity along steeply dipping faults that are clearly reactivated fault zones which offset the 10m to 60m thick overlying Thelon sandstone. The host rocks to the Ayra showing consist of lamprophyre, syenite, and gneiss unconformably overlain by strong altered and uranium enriched (2 to 11ppm uranium) Thelon sandstone. Only 15 widely spaced holes have tested this prospect

             Cameco drilling 2008-2012 showing Tatiggaq, Qavvik, and Ayra discoveries over magnetic survey background

Sources: Various Cameco reports filed with the Nunavut Mining Recorder, presentations by Cameco at the Nunavut Mining Symposium and Saskatchewan Mining Open House from 2009-2013, and Rebecca Corrine Hunter PhD Thesis, Laurentian University, Sudbur, Ontario, Canada, 2021.

Summer 2022 Programs

Forum’s technical team and consultants carried out the following programs:

  • Completed a review of Cameco’s historical drilling;
  • Initiated location studies to determine the most suitable location to construct a camp for planned 2023 drilling;
  • WSP Golder was hired as an independent third party consultant to prepare an archaeological study for documenting sensitve sites within the project area;
  • Initiated a community engagement program with the Hamlet of Baker Lake;
  • MWH Geo-Surveys completed ground gravity surveys over four grids at a station spacing of 100m, along lines 400m apart.

 

First Photos from the Nunavut Summer 2023 Drill Program

 


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