Keefe Lake Project

The 29,000-hectare Keefe Lake Project is on the eastern margin of the uranium-rich Athabasca Basin, the most productive uranium-producing region in the world. The Project is approximately 22 kilometers southeast of the McArthur River Mine, the world’s largest high-grade uranium mine with proven and probable reserves of 335.5 million pounds U3O8 and an average reserve grade of over 15%. The Keefe Lake Project, which is also proximal to Cameco’s Harrigan Deposit, is being investigated with a host of geophysical datasets, most notably a multi-million dollar 2D seismic survey that is currently being interpreted by the seismology department of the University of Saskatchewan under the direction of Dr, Zoltan Hajnal.  The Project also has been surveyed by both Geotem and Aerotem systems for Mag/EM. In addition, a down hole geophysical survey was performed in 2012 by SEMM Logging to determine the acoustical properties of the geological layers, which is essential in further unlocking the seismic data.

Results

Over 6000m of diamond drilling was completed in 2011 and 2012, which led to the discovery of a massive zone of alteration, concurrent with faulting, base metal enrichment and uranium enrichment in the basement.

Hole KEF-12-08 was drilled to a depth of 553 metres (374 metres beyond the unconformity) and encountered basement alteration beyond the expected regolith alteration to the bottom of the hole that was drilled to test the extent of alteration encountered at the bottom of Hole AU4-01, which was drilled to a depth of 402 metres in 2011. Hole KEF-12-08 confirmed the base metal enrichment (Lead, Cobalt, Arsenic and Nickel) in the sandstone, which was encountered in Hole AU4-01. In addition to confirming the elevated uranium enrichment (112ppm U* over 2 metres) at approximately 400 metres depth which was encountered in Hole AU4-01, two other zones of anomalous uranium mineralization were encountered at a greater depth. These additional intervals, listed below, are associated with hematite alteration and fracturing of altered quartzofeldspathic gneiss.

Despite the great depths of the mineralized zones, exploration will focus on an unconformity deposit model, believing that the deeper mineralized zone is the “plumbing system” for a shallower deposit; unconformity depths at Keefe Lake are typically at 170 metres.  In addition, the discovery of base metal enrichment in the overlying sandstone, and uranium enrichment at depth, as well as the high degree of silicification (which has been repeatedly fractured and healed), is significant in that it indicates that the Keefe Lake Alteration Zone has been subject to multiple hydrothermal alteration events, typical of Athabasca Basin deposits. The target area, which is coincident with a magnetic low feature that extends for several kilometers to the northeast and southwest, appears to extend beyond 325 metres into the basement. All holes at Keefe Lake showed alteration that extended into the basement.

Exploration History

In 2008, Aeroquest International Ltd. completed a 737 line-kilometer helicopter-borne geophysical survey over the Keefe Lake property. This geophysical survey consisted of an AeroTEM IV (‘Oscar’ System) time domain helicopter electromagnetic survey and a magnetic survey. The survey was flown at 200-meter line spacing in a NW-SE flight direction. The survey was successful in delineating multiple EM anomalies coincident with magnetic lows and interpreted faults.

In 2007-2008 Kinetex Resources completed a high-definition 2D seismic reflection survey on the northern two claim blocks of the Keefe Lake Project to: (a) define the unconformity along all the lines and generate a structural depth map of this subsurface contact; and (b) establish relevant structural trends in the basement to identify potential target areas for future mineral exploration. Approximately 50 kilometers of access line over the Keefe Lake Project were completed as well as 69 line-kilometers of 2D seismic reflection data acquisition over 8 seismic lines. This survey has been performed on several important uranium deposits and mines in the Athabasca Basin, including the McArthur River Mine, and the Millennium Deposit. Kinetex also performed this survey for Hathor Exploration, which was instrumental in the discovery of their Roughrider Zone.

Processing and interpretation of the survey data was completed by the Seismic Laboratory of the Geology Department of the University of Saskatchewan under the supervision of Zoltan Hajnal, PhD, Professor of Geophysics. The seismic survey was successful in generating high quality and regionally coherent data sets. The intersecting survey lines provided sufficient information for establishment of the prominent regional structural framework in the prospect area. The data revealed, with significant details, the multi-phase deformation of the subsurface, which was confirmed with startling accuracy by diamond drilling in 2011 and 2012.

Keefe Lake Exploration Gallery

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