Completes Major Drilling Programme In Canada
Fission Uranium Corp. (TSX:FCU) has completed a 72-hole geotechnical drill programme in addition to resource upgrade drilling and metallurgical drilling.
The 72-hole geotechnical program was designed to advance the feasibility study at its’ PLS project, in the Athabasca Basin region of Saskatchewan, Canada .
The primary goals were to collect data to support the Feasibility Study, confirm the design of surface and underground infrastructure proposed in the PFS, and update information to further de-risk the project.
Preliminary data assessment indicates that the location of proposed infrastructure, including the decline, ventilation shafts, stockpiles, TMF, and mill buildings, is optimal. Further laboratory testwork will be required to confirm the initial assessment.
President and CEO, Ross McElroy, said the drill programme was completed successfully, and with minimal delays. Additionally, Fission has appointed Tetra Tech Canada as the lead consultant for the feasibility study.
“With the 72-hole geotechnical summer program complete on schedule and with all goals successfully met, the work required for our feasibility study at PLS is off to a very strong start,” Mr McElroy said.
“Our expanded technical team and engineering consultants are now in place, and we are looking forward to continuing to deliver on our advancement plans.”
Gary Haywood , VP Project Development for Fission, said Tetra Tech has agreed to come on board as Fission’s lead consultant for continuing with the feasibility study.
“Their team has an impressive track record in feasibility level work, which includes global experience in uranium mining and processing,” he said.
“Tetra Tech has presented Fission with an ideal opportunity to make the PLS project a future world class operation and we are committed to extracting the maximum value from the project through the Feasibility Study.”
Feasibility Study Team
Tetra Tech, as lead consultant during the course of the feasibility study, will be supported by Clifton Engineering, a leading engineering and environmental consultancy, which has been retained by Fission to work on the Tailings Management Facility section of the study. In addition, SLR Consultants (formerly RPA) will continue as an independent support group to Fission during the feasibility study.
Northern Summer 2021 Feasibility Study Work Programme
- 72 holes were drilled for engineering and geotechnical purposes. These include:
21 holes along proposed decline alignment; - 18 Geotechnical holes along the proposed decline alignment to gather data to be used to confirm decline constructability and final design;
- Three Condemnation holes to confirm location of decline does not intersect mineralised zones or other major geological features that may interfere with decline construction;
- Six holes for Waste Rock Stockpile area (overburden only) to collect geotechnical data for stability assessment of the overburden to be used to confirm waste stockpile design height and slopes;
- Three holes for area of Mill (overburden only) to collect geotechnical data for stability assessment of the overburden to be used to confirm mill building foundation design;
- Eight holes for Vent Shaft (Fresh Air and Exhaust Air) including four geotechnical holes drilled along each shaft alignment to gather data to be used to confirm shaft constructability and final design. A further four condemnation holes were drilled to confirm location of the shafts does not intersect mineralised zones or other major geological features that may interfere with shaft construction
- Four Metallurgical test sample holes
- Three Rock Mechanic holes
- Five Hydrogeology holes (pumping and water monitoring holes) including four holes drilled around the planned decline, and onr deep well drilled in the R840W zone to collect data required to characterize the hydrogeologic conditions and support hydrogeologic assessments in those areas. This data will be used for determining dewatering rates and impact on groundwater.
- 25 Tailings Management Facility holes (essentially all overburden holes) were drilled within the planned TMF area to collect geotechnical and hydrogeological data to confirm the planned TMF location, support the EIA pathways modelling work, and enable constructability assessment and design work to proceed at a Feasibility Level.
- One Camp Area hole (overburden hole) to collect geotechnical data for stability assessment of the overburden to be used to confirm camp building foundation design.
In addition, waste rock and mineralized rock samples were collected from both fresh and historical core samples to conduct assessment of the metal leaching (ML) and acid rock drainage (ARD) potential of mine wastes (i.e., waste rock, low grade ore, and overburden) to be produced during mine life.
For further information please visit: https://fissionuranium.com/
