Introduction
The Key Lake Road Project area consists of 6 projects, covers over 90,000 ha and 70 km of prospective structural trends and conductors. This location, the eastern margin of the Athabasca basin, is home to the most productive uranium mines in the world with roughly 25% of the world's uranium production coming from this area. The projects are, Key Lake Road, Romulus, Orchid Lake, Costigan, Highrock Lake and Karpinka.
Geology
The projects of the Key Lake Road area cover favourable basement rocks within the Mudjatik-Wollaston tectonic zone, a northeast trending structural zone on the eastern margin of the Basin along which the district's most productive uranium mines occur. Over 95% of known Canadian uranium deposits and all current uranium producing mines in Canada are located on this trend.
The Mudjatik-Wollaston Tectonic Zone is the NE trending high strain tectonic zone marking the boundary between the Archean gneisses and granitoids of the Mudjatik Domain to the west and Archean gneisses, Proterozoic metasediments and pegmatite intrusions of the Wollaston domain to the east. Uranium mineralization on the Key Lake Road Project generally occurs within a suite of Proterozoic, graphite-bearing metapelitic gneisses, calc-silicate and arkosic metasediments found within this high strain zone.
Exploration on the Key Lake Road project area is targeting basement hosted, structurally controlled uranium deposits such as Cameco's Millennium deposit (containing 47.2M lbs of U
3O
8 indicated and inferred) and the Eagle Point/Rabbit Lake deposit (containing 120M lbs of U
3O
8 proven and probable). These deposits are generally structurally controlled by faults, fractures and breccias, with the mineralization occurring as veins and massive replacement.
Key Lake Road Project
- 100% owned, consisting of 15 mineral claims covering 68,447 ha
Forum's Key Lake Road (KLR) project is located south of Cameco's Key Lake deposits, and 20 km southwest of Cameco's Key Lake Mine/Mill Complex, the principal processing facility for the nearby high grade McArthur River uranium mine and site of the formerly productive Key Lake deposits. The KLR project is underlain by rocks that host all the known uranium deposits in the eastern Athabasca Basin. The project is almost 50km from north to south, and 12 to 20km wide.
Geology
The KLR property is situated along the contact of the Mudjatik and Wollaston Domains (Figure 1), two of the major lithotectonic subdivisions of the Precambrian rocks in Saskatchewan. The contact area between these two domains is very important for hosting most of the uranium deposits on the east side of the Athabasca Basin. The contact and related cross-cutting structures are the main control for the location of the deposits: all major uranium deposits in the Athabasca Basin occur along one of these trends. Several of these structural trends exist within the KLR property: the contact between the Mudjatik and Wollaston Domains named the Key Lake Road Shear Zone (KLRSZ), and several N070 trending cross-structures. The KLRSZ is approximately 50 km long and is present the entire length of the KLR property. Another major structure is the Costco Trend, orientated at N070. This structure is sub-parallel to the Key Lake structure that hosts the Key Lake deposits located 25 km to the north. The project is well located as it has the all-weather Key Lake Road running through the middle of the property. The deposit model Forum is using is the basement-hosted model, as there is no sandstone on the project. Examples of this model are Millennium (54 million lbs.), P-Patch (17 million lbs.) and Eagle Point (120 million lbs.).
Historical Work
The Key Lake Road property was acquired by Forum Uranium Corp. in 2004. In the summers of 2005, 2006 and 2007, reconnaissance geological mapping and radiometric prospecting were carried out. Numerous basement hosted uranium showings were found in pelitic gneiss, pegmatite and calc-silicate. The larger uranium showings, such as the DD Zone, the Molly Zone and the Millison Lake showings, were mapped in detail. In 2007, a total of 1,454 lake sediment samples were collected over almost the entire project using a helicopter-supported survey.
Airborne VTEM and magnetic surveys were carried out in 2005 and in 2006. Two strong sub-parallel north-south trending conductors, the C-1 and C-2, were outlined over the entire length of the KLRSZ. Ground Horizontal Loop EM surveys were carried out over some of the airborne conductors to better define drill targets in 2007 and 2008, and in 2009 concentrated on the ENE trending Costco conductors. Ground gravity surveys were also conducted over the Costco trends in 2009 to identify possible zones of hydrothermal alteration, which typically have a gravity low as a signature.
All drilling done by Forum in 2006 to 2008 was situated along the 50km long KLRSZ and most target areas were accessible by drill road. The majority of holes were drilled to test the C-1 conductor, others were drilled to test the C-2 conductor and a few to test the western Hobo conductor. Only one hole was drilled to test the C-3 conductor. Other holes were drilled to investigate the outcrop uranium mineralization found by prospecting such as in the DD area, Hobo area and Molly area. Drilling in 2010 investigated a small part of the Costco trend in the northern part of the project. Mineralization intersected in these campaigns was typically short and narrow (0.15m at 0.1%), typical of primary mineralization in the area. The concentrated uranium formed by a hydrothermal system (unconformity mineralization) was not found by these programs. Further work needs to be done to locate any hydrothermal alteration associated with intense uranium mineralization along the KLRSZ. A total of 79 holes for 12,137 metres have been completed on the project to date by Forum Uranium Corp.
Future Exploration
Future exploration work on the project will involve ground gravity surveys along the northern half of the KLRSZ, closest to the Athabasca sandstone. Detailed gravity will take place in areas of known structural complexity and surface mineralization. This will be followed by a diamond drill program. The ground gravity surveys are planned to be conducted in the winter of 2011.
Highrock Lake
- 100% Owned, 1 claim for 3,117ha
The Highrock property covers a section of the southern extension of the graphitic horizon (EM conductor) that hosts the Key lake deposits and the GAX and BV showings. The conductive package that runs through the Highrock property trends roughly north south and is very conductive. The main conductor system runs the entire 6 km length of the project and varies in strike from north-south to north-northeast.
Numerous overburden holes were drilled on the project in the late 70's, but only three diamond drill holes have been completed to date, only one of them testing the main conductor. Forum conducted line-cutting program followed by a ground EM survey and a ground gravity survey in 2009. Several drill targets have been identified by these surveys and by a regional structural analysis. Several ENE cross-cutting structures intersect the main NNE trending conductor. A soil sampling program (over 400 samples) was completed in the summer of 2010 and the project is now ready for a drill program. Because of its small size, this project is a bit of a sleeper. However, the strength and orientation of the conductor, its proximity to the Athabasca Basin and the fact that the same conductive horizon hosts the Key Lake deposits to the north make this a high priority project.
Costigan Lake Joint Venture
- Forum (operator) 65%, NVI Mining, a wholly owned subsidiary of Breakwater Resources Ltd ("Breakwater"), 35%; 1 mineral lease for 743ha.
The Costigan Lake project is located 15 km southwest of the Key Lake deposit on what is interpreted to be the same graphitic horizon that hosts the deposits, but on the west side (Highrock is on the east). The property consists of one mineral lease, ML 5487, and was acquired in 2006. An HLEM survey was completed over the entire property that outlined four sub-parallel conductors through the entire length of the property.
A diamond drill program from consisting of 6 holes (824m) was completed by April of 2006, followed by another 2 holes in 2007 to test the southern conductors. Thick tectonized graphitic pelitic gneiss and weak uranium mineralization was encountered in drill holes COS-03 (0.069 % U
3O
8 over 0.1 m), COS-04 (0.026 % U
3O
8 over 0.2 m) and COS-05 (0.109 % U
3O
8 over 0.1 m) and in a historic hole CS 79-03 (0.088 % U
3O
8 over 4.02 m). Strong alteration was encountered in all four mineralized holes. Holes COS-07 and COS-08, drilled in 2007 encountered thick graphitic pelitic gneiss but no major structures or mineralization was intersected. A gravity survey has been completed over the entire Mineral Lease in the winter of 2010.
Romulus
- 100% owned, consisting of 6,140 ha
The Romulus property was staked in 2007 and covers the northern extension of the Key Lake Road shear zone. Approximately 16 kilometres of conductor are on this property. Line-cutting, ground EM and a soil gas hydrocarbon survey were completed in 2009. A ground gravity survey was completed in 2010 and this project is now ready for a drill program.
Karpinka
- Forum (operator) 50%, Virginia Uranium Inc. 50%, 2 claims for 8,151 ha
The Karpinka property was staked in 2008 and also covers the northern extension of the Key Lake Road shear zone to the east of the Romulus project. Several historical showings are present, located in meta-arkose. Approximately 6 kilometres of conductor are on this property. Line-cutting, ground EM and a soil gas hydrocarbon survey were conducted in 2009, and a ground gravity survey was conducted in 2010. This project is also in a drill ready state.
Orchid Lake
- 100% owned, 2 claims for 7,229 ha
The Orchid Lake project was acquired in 2005 and Forum conducted a VTEM survey and an airborne magnetic survey. Two separate VTEM conductors, the P and the Q conductors, were outlined. The P conductor is 10 km long and the Q conductor is 5 km long, with graphitic pelitic gneiss present along this conductor. A limited geological mapping and radiometric prospecting program was carried out on the property during the summers of 2005 and 2006. Lake sediment sampling had been done by other companies during the 1980's and anomalous lake sediments were found.
In 2007, Forum carried out a drilling program, with the first nine holes accessed by ground and the last four holes had to use a helicopter. Thirteen holes, OL-01 to OL-13, for a total 1,754m were completed. The drill targets were selected based on the VTEM surveys results and the ground EM surveys were carried out to pin-point the targets. First pass drilling along the conductor was done at 800 to 1000 meter spacing, followed by additional drilling at 400 to 500 metre spacing.
Good alteration and weak uranium mineralization was found in hole number OL-04 and OL-05. Hole OL-04 intersected uranium mineralization of 0.016% U
3O
8 over 1.25m and hole OL-05 intersected 0.085% U
3O
8 over 0.6m which includes a sample containing 0.185% U
3O
8 over 0.2m. OL-10 intersected anomalous uranium values of 175 ppm U
3O
8 at 91.5 to 91.7m depth and 410 ppm U
3O
8 at 96.3 to 96.5m depth in a silicified gneiss near a fault zone. The highest uranium value found in this hole was 25.4 ppm, from a composite sample at 107.6 to 109.9m. OL-13 intersected strongly altered pegmatite (sericitized) and assay results of 390ppm U
3O
8 and 179 ppm Pb were obtained at 86.7 to 86.9m. A split sample from 98.6 to 98.8 m depth assayed 670 ppm U
3O
8 and 48.9ppm Pb. The strongest anomalous radioactivity was intersected in hole OL-12. High background radioactivity from 150 to over 1000 cps (Mt. Sopris) was encountered from 107 to 162m depth in altered marble/calc-silicate and in the granite at the contact with the metasediments.
Maps
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