A Vancouver company is sitting on what could be the largest undeveloped uranium deposit in Canada.
UEX Corp. (TSX:UEX) announced the first 43-101 resource estimate for its Shea Creek project in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin Wednesday morning. The basin is considered the world’s richest source of uranium.
The estimate revealed a total resource of 88.1 million pounds of uranium in indicated and inferred categories, which are standardized classifications based on drill results.
Burnaby-based Golder Associates Ltd. prepared the estimate, and UEX president and CEO Graham Thody called the news a “milestone.”
Thody said in a statement: “This announcement is also a milestone in the evolution of UEX from the company with the highest exploration expenditures in the Athabasca Basin, to one now focused on the development of the third and sixth largest known uranium resources … being Shea Creek and Hidden Bay."
UEX was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2002 after it was formed under an agreement between Pioneer Metals Corp. and Cameco Corp. (TSX:CCO), which is one of the world’s largest uranium producers.
In 2009, UEX spent $14.5 million on exploration in the Athabasca Basin.
Shea Creek is a joint venture between UEX, which has a 49% stake in the project, and AREVA Resources Canada Inc., which owns the rest.
UEX’s share price range during the past week: unchanged $0.80; 52-week high $1.61; 52-week low: $0.64.