Non-Core Assets
Canada
Virgin River & Centennial Zone, Athabasca Basin, Northern Saskatchewan, Canada
Uranium
During the year ended February 28, 1999, the Company’s wholly owned subisidiary, Coronation Mines entered into a joint exploration agreement with UEM Inc. whereby Coronation aquired 2% of the Virgin River project with the first right of offer to acquire up to 10% and a carry through to $10 million worth of exploration and development. UEM Inc. was a corporation owned 50% by Cameco Corporation (“Cameco”) and 50% by AREVA. Subsequently, UEM was dissolved and both Cameco and AREVA became equal partners (49% each) in the joint exploration agreement. Cameco is the operator of the project. As of February 28, 2016 over $33.9 million has been spent on the project exploring a large unconformity-type deposit that has resulted in the discovery of the Centennial Deposit.
The Centennial Deposit has been traced over 650 meters of strike length and has a minimum across strike width ranging from 10.0 meters to 52.5 meters. Approximately $11.9 million was reported by Cameco as having been spent on the 2009 – 2011 drill programs that were designed to follow up on the 2004 – 2008 drill results from the Centennial Zone.
High grade U3O8 intersections of up to 298 GT have been intersected within the Centennial Deposit (33.9 meters grading 8.78% U3O8 — see Company News release dated May 30, 2011). GT is defined as % grade U3O8 multiplied by thickness in meters. Assay results returned from diamond drill programs from 2004 to 2011 on the Centennial deposit have resulted in 39 significant primary uranium intersections returning results greater than 10.0 GT.
A total of 7,746.2 meters were drilled in 6 pilot diamond drill holes and 7 wedge off-cuts during the 2011 diamond drill program on the Virgin River project. Results of this program were discussed in the Company’s news release dated January 12, 2012 with final results of the program released subsequent to fiscal year end in a news release dated April 4, 2012.
All drill holes completed on or immediately surrounding the Centennial Deposit in 2011 displayed uranium enrichment throughout the basal sandstone in contact with the basement unconformity with elevated pathfinder elements such as lead, vanadium and nickel. Significant high grade uranium intercepts were intersected in 7 of the drill holes with GT’s over 10.
Note: Inductively Coupled Plasma – Optical Emission Spectroscopy Split assay results with core recovery intervals of less than 75% were replaced by shielded probe results.
All uranium assays were carried out by the Saskatchewan Research Council of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Delayed neutron counting and / or X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy U3O8 check assays were completed on all split assay samples returning greater than 1.0% U3O8. The average of the check assays and the Inductively Coupled Plasma – Optical Emission Spectroscopy results were used in the calculations of grade thicknesses.
The exploration program for 2019 included 6 diamond drillholes for 5,574m.
Kernahan/Bell Project, Athabasca Basin, Northern Saskatchewan, Canada
Uranium
Jervois’s wholly owned subsidiary, Coronation Mines Ltd., granted an option whereby Cameco (40%), and AREVA (40%) have earned 80% interest in certain mineral claims by making payments and completing $1,000,000 in exploration work. AREVA is the acting operator. The project area is located near the northeast rim of the Athabasca Basin approximately 42 km north of Points North Landing. The Kernaghan / Bell project currently consists of 13 mineral claims totaling 4,342 ha. To date 38 diamond drill holes have been completed within the property totaling 10,051m targeting an unconformity that ranges from 160m to 290m in depth.
Eight diamond drill holes totaling 2,683.4m were completed during 2009 exploration, budgeted at $820,000. Four holes were drilled on the KER A conductive trend with the remaining four holes having been drilled on the K1 conductive trend. Although anomalous uranium intersections with a maximum partial uranium value were returned from Ker A Conductor in drill hole KB-11 of 160 ppm and a maximum partial uranium value returned from K 1 Conductor in drill hole KB-07 of 34.2 ppm, none of the holes drilled in 2009 intersected significant uranium mineralization.
There was no proposed budget for field work for the current period.
Australia
Arunta West Project (17%)
The Arunta West project consists of three exploration licences covering 345 sq km about 600km west-northwest of Alice Springs in the Gibson Desert near the WA/NT border. Jervois entered a joint venture agreement with Australian Mines Limited (ASX: AUZ) on the Arunta West Project in 2016, AUZ subsequently spun-out the joint venture to Norwest Minerals Ltd which is the operator and manager of the project.