Toward the discovery of new uranium districts in Québec: Azimut’s strategy and results
Jean-Marc Lulin (Azimut Exploration)

In 2004, Azimut Exploration began a provincial-scale targeting program of the uranium potential of Québec and, along with 8 partners, started extensive exploration work with the aim of discovering major deposits.

Uranium potential modeling

Uranium potential modeling was performed by numerically processing available geoscientific data. The mineral potential map, generated over a surface area of 1,140,000 km², covers a large part of Québec and Labrador. Known uranium districts are clearly distinguished on the map. Three other regions, which have seen little or no uranium exploration, are considered to have significant potential because they display comparable characteristics to the known districts. They are:

• an 80x220 km area east of Ungava Bay;
• a 350 km north-south trend in the central part of Québec (north of James Bay), referred to as the “Central Québec Uranium Lineament”;
• a 60x320 km area on the lower North Shore.

The target deposit type is related to felsic intrusions associated with crustal faults in a high-grade metamorphic context. Azimut is focusing on large targets amenable to open pit mining. A well-known example of this type is the Rössing mine (150,000 t U), a world-class uranium deposit in Namibia.

Partnership development

All significant available targets were acquired by Azimut and now form 25 properties totalling more than 20,000 claims and 9,600 km². Concurrently, Azimut developed partnerships by signing 13 agreements for 16 of the properties. These agreements, which cover approximately 18,100 claims, represent an aggregate investment of $45 million in partner-funded exploration work, of which more than $7.6 million is allocated for 2007. The partners are Kennecott (Rio Tinto Group), within the framework of a strategic alliance, and seven other companies (Central Uranium Corporation, Channel Resources, Majescor Resources, NWT Uranium, Ressources d’Arianne, Rukwa Uranium and Silver Spruce Resources).

Results

In the Ungava Bay region, reconnaissance prospecting at North Rae with NWT Uranium led to the 2006 discovery of more than 20 uranium showings across the property. Uranium anomalies with a cumulative length of 28 km were later detected by a helicopter-borne survey. Since then, seven (7) kilometre-scale zones have been identified by further exploration work, including the Rae-1, Tasialuk, Torrent and Tasik zones. The best result obtained from rock samples in 2006 was 0.59% U₃O₈. At North Rae, the presence of a mineralized regional-scale system associated with a pegmatitic dyke swarm will, in all likelihood, be confirmed by the exploration work presently underway.

In 2007, a reconnaissance field program at South Rae with Majescor Resources revealed more than 100 outcrops with radiometric values ranging from 5,000 to 47,000 cps. The radioactive outcrops, commonly containing uranophane, were recognized over a distance of 35 km. These preliminary results, which were obtained before any geophysical surveying, are encouraging.

The 2006-2007 exploration work across Québec provided a wealth of new results, notably including more than 40,000 line-km of geophysical surveys, 8,000 lake bottom sediment samples and 1,300 rock samples. This new data will allow Azimut and its partners to focus on the targets with the best economic potential.