Garry Lake Project
Uravan owns 100% of the Garry Lake uranium property, consisting of 355 mining claims covering 829,171 acres located in the Garry Lake area, northeastern Thelon Basin. The property is located approximately 245 kilometers northwest of Baker Lake, Nunavut (NU) and 170 kilometers northwest of the Kiggavik-Andrews Lake uranium deposit; presently being developed by AREVA Resources Canada.
Garry Lake property is located along the northeastern (NE) margin of the Thelon Basin and extends southward into the basin covering Paleoproterozoic basin and basement geological domains. The northern Thelon Basin consists of unmetamorphosed conglomerates and sandstone of the Paleoproterozoic Thelon Formation. Exploration is focused on the discovery of large, high grade, unconformity related uranium deposits in the Thelon sandstone basin environment that represents a setting that is analogous to the prolific mineralized Athabasca sandstone basin environment in Saskatchewan.
Uranium exploration in the NE Thelon Basin has taken place sporadically from 1969 to the present. In the early 1980's the most significant results from initial exploration on the Garry Lake uranium property by another operator was the up-ice terminus of a high-grade uraniferous boulder train. The surface uranium mineralization consisted of 19 uraniferous boulders that define a 3 kilometer long dispersal train. The 19 uraniferous boulders yielded assays ranging from 0.87% U3O8 to 27.12% U3O8 with an average of 7.19% U3O8. In 1982, seven (7) reconnaissance diamond drill holes totaling 895 meters were completed in a broad area around the uraniferous boulder train discovery. No significant mineralization was intersected and no exploration has been conducted in the area of this known mineralization since 1982.
In 1997 and 1998, Cameco Corporation (Cameco), under an option agreement with Uravan, conducted a broad reconnaissance exploration program consisting of ground geophysical surveys (gravity, magnetic, HLEM and fixed loop TDEM surveys) and diamond drilling on what was then called the Sand Lake project. During this exploration phase Cameco complete seven (7) diamond drill holes totaling 1210 meters completed over a broad area on the property. No significant mineralization was intersected.
In 2007, Uravan completed two property scale airborne geophysical surveys (high resolution TEM & Magnetic survey and radiometric survey) and compiled a GIS historical geochemical (uranium in lake sediments and waters) database on the Garry Lake property. These regional geophysical surveys identified a number of strong conductive trends that are coincident with favorable radiometric anomalies and surface geochemical signatures. Follow up ground geophysics and geochemical surveys are required in preparation for a diamond drilling.
On January 25, 2008 Uravan submitted a Land Use Permit (LUP) application to the Nunavut Impact Review Board ("NIRB") outlining its Garry Lake project proposal (including drilling). On June 27, 2008, the NIRB submitted a "Screening Decision Report" to the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC). The NIRB Screening Decision Report recommended an environmental impact statement (the "EIS") be completed on the Garry Lake project proposal as a precondition for determining approval of the Garry Lake LUP application. The EIS is in accordance with Part 5 of Article 12 of the Nunavut Land Claim Agreement ("NLCA"). On February 20, 2009, the NIRB issued the Final Guidelines for the Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement For Uravan Mineral Inc.’s Garry Lake Project (NIRB file No. 08EN037)(the "Guidelines")
To understand the cost and time required to complete the EIS in the manner and scope outlined in the Guidelines, Uravan requested SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. (SRK) to provide a detailed review and cost estimate.
SRK's review and cost estimate determined that, among other things, the requirements as defined in the final Guidelines are unrealistically onerous and significantly surpass the level of environmental assessment required of a project of the type and size being proposed. SRK also estimated the cost to complete the EIS as defined by the Guidelines to be a minimum of $5,000,000 and would require a minimum of three years to complete.
Uravan believes, based on the SRK review of the Guidelines, to complete an EIS on the Garry Lake project robust enough to provide meaningful conclusions would be prohibitive given the scope of the exploration program proposed in the Garry Lake LUP application. Although uncertain, it is Uravan's hope that by working with the NIRB and INAC, the requirement for an EIS Review can be replaced with the inclusion of sufficient caribou calving protection guidelines in the LUP application to mitigate concern.
Relief from assessment work under Section 81
Due to land access issues (as described above) Uravan is prohibited from conducting exploration work on its Garry Lake project in Nunavut. Until these issues are resolved no new LUP applications will be approved by the government land use regulators thereby prohibiting Uravan from fulfilling its assessment work as required under Section 41 of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Mining Regulations. Therefore, Uravan has requested and has been granted relief from its assessment work requirements of its mining claims making up the Garry Lake property pursuant to Section 81 - Prohibitions and Reservations of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Mining Regulations. This relief is necessary based on the circumstances described above to maintain the mining claims in good standing for the period within which fulfillment of the assessment work requirements are prevented. Relief under Section 81 has been granted by the Mining Recorder's Office of INAC until May 2012 for the Garry Lake project. Pending the length of time Uravan continues to be prohibited from carrying out work on the Garry Lake property further relief under Section 81 will be requested.
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