Research Projects

Applied Research Projects

Uravan will continue to advance the development of new innovative exploration technologies using applied research. Under the direction of Dr. Kurt Kyser, the Queen's Facility for Isotope Research (QFIR) at Queen's University is working collaboratively with the Uravan's technical team to develop innovative ways to better identify buried uranium deposits in underexplored sandstone basin environments. By sampling and analyzing surface media (plants and soils) the QFIR-Uravan research group is developing new geochemical and biogeochemical analytical protocols and methods that can better identify and vector exploration drilling toward bedrock sources of uranium mineralization at significant depths.

Cigar Lake Uranium Deposit Orientation Survey

To help identify the surface expressions of deeply buried unconformity-type uranium deposits, in 2009 Uravan and the QFIR entered into a collaborative research study with AREVA Resources Canada Inc. (AREVA). The proposal involved conducting a multifaceted surface sampling geochemical survey (geochemical orientation survey) over part of the Cigar Lake uranium deposit (Cigar West Survey). The Cigar Lake deposit is on the Waterbury/Cigar uranium property, a joint venture partnership between Cameco Corporation, AREVA, Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd., and Tokyo Electric Power Co. [TEPCO] located in the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan. The Cigar Lake uranium deposit has a reported resource of 209.3 million pounds U3O8 grading 17.04% U3O8 (Source: Cameco website).

The Cigar West Survey consisted of a multifaceted surface and drill core sampling program designed to develop new geochemical and biogeochemical analytical protocols and sampling techniques that can better identify and vector exploration drilling toward bedrock sources of uranium mineralization The field phase of the Cigar West Survey was completed in July 2009 and was carried out and funded by Uravan. QFIR, under the direction of Dr. Kurt Kyser, is working collaboratively with Uravan to provide high-resolution analytical work, guidance in the collation, compilation and interpretation of specific element arrays and isotope systems that are considered positive uranium markers of buried uranium mineralization. 

The compilation and interpretation of the analytical results from the Cigar West Survey determined that the highest concentration of classic Athabasca unconformity-related uranium pathfinder elements and distinctive isotopes occur over the surface projection of the known high-grade Cigar West uranium deposit. This research has clearly identified distinctive elements and isotopic compositions that have been mobilized from that deposit to the surface media (plants and soils) through about 450 meters of sandstone.  The results of this survey will provide new technologies for rapidly evaluating the explorability of underexplored areas within the Athabasca Basin and other frontier regions.

The recent geochemical surveys conducted on the Outer Ring and Johannsen properties will be the focus of a new collaborative research study (Deep Exploration Geochemistry for Uranium Deposits) between QFIR and Uravan. This new research study will capitalize on the recently developed innovative geochemical protocols from the Cigar West Survey plus develop new protocols for more reliable and definitive indicators of uranium mineralization at greater depth to help identify undercover deposits on the Outer Ring, Johannsen Lake and other Athabasca Basin projects.

Athabasca Core Review (ACR)

In conjunction with of the Cigar Lake Survey, Uravan recently completed an Athabasca Basin basin-wide core review program (Athabasca Core Review). The Athabasca Core Review was undertaken to better determine the prospectively and explorability of corridors within the Athabasca Basin that are currently underexplored. The program consisted of reviewing 45 selected Athabasca Basin core holes from the archived core collection available at the Saskatchewan Subsurface Lab in Regina, SK. This program included lithological logging, infrared spectral clay analysis, alteration profile analysis, routine core sampling for multi-element ICP/MS analysis and other isotope analytical programs.  The ACR will provide a comprehensive litho-geochemical and clay-alteration 3-D profile over the Athabasca Basin that will, among other things, help in the selection of favorable underexplored corridors for land acquisition purposes. 

Although the interpretation and evaluation of the Cigar West Survey and Athabasca Core Review, described above,  are on-going, preliminary results suggest specific sampling techniques and analytical protocols are providing surface anomalies that appear to image bedrock sources of uranium mineralization at depths >450 meters. In the summer 2010, some of these new technologies have been applied to Uravans' Outer Ring and Johannsen projects in the Athabasca Basin. 

Exploration Geochemistry for Deep Uranium Deposits

Uravan recently entered into a new applied research study and is funding through a Collaborative Research and Development grant (CRD grant) with QFIR, with matching funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). The goals of this new study, titled 'exploration geochemistry for deep uranium deposits' are: (1) apply recently developed geochemical protocols (the Cigar Lake Study) for remote sensing undercover deposits to the Outer Ring and other Athabasca Basin projects held by Uravan; and (2) develop new protocols for more reliable and definitive indicators of mineralization at depth in these prospective but under-explored areas.

The CRD grant is for a term of three (3) years whereby Uravan is funding one-hundred-thousand dollars ($100,000) per year plus the cost of field support amounting to fifty-thousand dollars ($50,000) per year. These amounts funded by Uravan are partially matched by NSERC amounting to one-hundred and five thousand dollars ($105,000) per year over the three (3) year term of the grant.