
Fortune Bay Corp. (TSX-V: FOR) (FWB: 5QN) (OTCQX: FTBYF) is pleased to announce initial drilling results from its maiden exploration drilling program on the 100% owned Murmac Uranium Project, located in northern Saskatchewan (see Figures 1 and 2).
The drilling program, which tested regional targets across the Project, identified elevated radioactivity in multiple drill holes within favorable geological settings for high-grade, unconformity-related basement-hosted deposits typical of the Athabasca Basin.
Results included near-surface intersections of elevated radioactivity (measured in counts per second or “cps”), between 20 and 150 metres below surface, within prospective graphitic units associated with favourable structure and hydrothermal alteration.
Highlights included:
“This exploration drilling program represents our first pass testing Murmac for high-grade uranium deposits. The initial results demonstrate we are exploring fertile corridors for these deposits, and importantly, the intersections of elevated radioactivity within a number of drill holes indicate potential proximity to high-grade uranium mineralization. The Project has significant scale with over 30 kilometres of prospective graphitic rocks, and we see potential to make new discoveries through the follow-up of these results and testing of numerous other targets on the Project.” commented Eric Bort, Exploration Manager for Fortune Bay.
Dale Verran, CEO for Fortune Bay, added “Nuclear energy is set to play a critical role in the drive toward a clean energy future, and now is the time to be exploring for uranium resources to meet the demand from the growing number of nuclear reactors globally. The Company’s uranium projects present compelling exploration opportunities, with the right geological ingredients for Athabasca Basin basement-hosted uranium deposits, and proximity to local infrastructure within a historical uranium mining district in Saskatchewan.”
Drill Program Summary
A total of 15 drill holes (3,168 metres) were completed at Murmac between June 16 and August 7, 2022 to test targets documented in the News Release dated June 16, 2022 along the Pitchvein, Armbruster and Howland Corridors. Drill holes targeted compelling geophysical features selected from VTEMTM (electromagnetic and magnetic) and ground gravity datasets, often associated with favourable structural settings and historical exploration results of interest. Operational efficiencies during the drilling program allowed the Company to increase the previously announced drill meterage from an estimated 2,500 metres to 3,168 metres. Drill hole collar information is summarized in Table 1, drill hole locations are shown in Figure 3, and select drill core photographs are provided in Figure 4 and Figure 5.
Table 1: Murmac Drill Hole Summary
Hole ID | Target | Easting | Northing | Dip | Azimuth | Length (m) |
M22-001 | H4 | 630248 | 6587778 | -45 | 280 | 251.0 |
M22-002 | A6 | 631386 | 6590433 | -50 | 300 | 197.0 |
M22-003 | A7 | 631750 | 6590935 | -45 | 290 | 221.0 |
M22-004 | H1 | 629228 | 6586598 | -45 | 305 | 161.0 |
M22-005 | A4 | 630429 | 6589095 | -45 | 305 | 290.0 |
M22-006 | H9 | 631195 | 6589481 | -45 | 330 | 176.0 |
M22-007 | H8 | 632250 | 6591251 | -45 | 335 | 176.0 |
M22-008 | H7 | 631969 | 6590663 | -45 | 300 | 176.0 |
M22-009 | A11 | 628821 | 6587569 | -45 | 165 | 275.0 |
M22-010 | P3 | 631185 | 6593686 | -45 | 285 | 275.0 |
M22-011 | H10 | 632623 | 6592006 | -45 | 312 | 200.0 |
M22-012 | H11 | 633362 | 6592995 | -45 | 315 | 176.0 |
M22-013 | P1 | 630645 | 6593037 | -45 | 310 | 270.0 |
M22-014 | P1 | 630645 | 6593037 | -85 | 320 | 126.4 |
M22-015 | A10 | 631225 | 6590123 | -70 | 335 | 198.0 |
Notes: Coordinates are reported in UTM NAD83 Zone 12N. Azimuth is true north. Target prefix A= Armbruster Corridor; H = Howland Corridor; P = Pitchvein Corridor. |
Initial Drill Results
In summary, the drill holes encountered highly favorable geological settings for high-grade basement-hosted deposits associated with the Athabasca Basin. This included:
A summary of elevated radioactivity (>300 cps) encountered is provided in Table 2, with descriptions of the relevant lithological, structural and alteration features. Final drill results will be announced following receipt of uranium assay, geochemical and reflectance spectrometry data.
Table 2: Summary of Elevated Radioactivity Intersected
Target | Hole ID | From (m) | To (m) | cps | Description | |
A6 | M22-002 | 81.2 | 82.7 | 460 | Disseminated radioactivity along foliation and locally along fractures in graphitic pelite, below the contact with overlying quartzite. Associated with hematization, chlorite alteration, graphitic shearing and faulting. |
|
including | 82.0 | 82.3 | 1,100 | |||
91.0 | 91.1 | 350 | ||||
H1 | M22-004 | 82.8 | 83.0 | 375 | Disseminated radioactivity in chlorite altered graphitic pelite, proximal to a graphitic fault. |
|
A11 | M22-009 | 134.0 | 134.6 | 308 | Radioactivity occurs at the base of a semipelite, associated with hematitic brecciation. Significant faulting within hole associated with cross-cutting Heatherington Fault. |
|
H11 | M22-012 | 101.9 | 102.5 | 551 | Disseminated radioactivity within graphitic pelite in a hematized graphitic shear / breccia zone. |
|
including | 102.2 | 102.3 | 1,100 | |||
P1 | M22-013 | 24.7 | 31.6 | 334 | Disseminated to fracture-hosted radioactivity, within a graphitic pelite characterized by patchy hematization, chloritic shears, pyrite, local quartz flooding and disseminated sericite. Bleaching and clay alteration continues below zones of radioactivity. Drill hole located approximately 225 m SW (along strike) |
|
Including | 30.7 | 31.4 | 718 | |||
including | 31.2 | 31.3 | 1,000 | |||
35.8 | 37.6 | 402 | ||||
including | 36.0 | 36.1 | 820 | |||
44.1 | 44.6 | 572 | ||||
including | 44.3 | 44.4 | 860 | |||
55.6 | 58.0 | 303 | ||||
58.8 | 59.9 | 315 | ||||
63.5 | 64.5 | 322 | ||||
226.3 | 227.4 | 340 | Radioactivity associated with vuggy texture in psammite with bleaching, hematization, chloritization and elevated pyrite content. |
|||
P1 | M22-014 | 34.7 | 34.8 | 310 | Disseminated and fracture-controlled radioactivity, within a locally brecciated graphitic pelite with increased sulphide content. Association with chloritic shearing. Designed as a follow-up hole testing approx. 50 m |
|
36.6 | 39.9 | 443 | ||||
including | 38.5 | 38.8 | 817 | |||
including | 38.6 | 38.7 | 1,100 | |||
47.8 | 48.1 | 413 | ||||
A10 | M22-015 | 158.1 | 158.3 | 750 | Elevated radioactivity occurs along shears and fractures. A bleached and hematized fault zone is intersected immediately below zone of radioactivity. |
|
including | 158.2 | 158.3 | 1,150 | |||
163.8 | 163.9 | 330 | ||||
Notes: Radioactivity is total gamma from drill core measured with a Super-SPEC RS-125 handheld spectrometer reported in counts per second (“cps”). The cps values are averages for the reported drill interval. The Company considers values > 300 cps to be elevated for the Project based on measurement of background lithologies. Measurements of total gamma cps are an indication of the presence of uranium, thorium and/or potassium, but may not directly correlate with chemical uranium assays. Total gamma cps results are preliminary in nature and may not be used directly to quantify uranium concentrations in the drill core samples. True thicknesses of the drill core intersections are yet to be determined. Target prefix A= Armbruster Corridor; H = Howland Corridor; P = Pitchvein Corridor. |
Deferred Share Unit Plan
The Company also announces that at its Annual General and Special Meeting of Shareholders held on June 20, 2022, the Company’s disinterested common shareholders approved the adoption of its amended DSU Plan. Under the amended Plan, the maximum number of common shares which the Company may issue from treasury in connection with the redemption of DSUs granted under the Plan has been increased from 500,000 to 1,000,000. The Plan is fully described in the Company’s management information circular dated May 16, 2022. The full text of the Plan is also appended to the Information Circular as Appendix “B”, a copy of which has been filed on SEDAR at sedar.com under the Company’s profile.
Technical Disclosure
All drilling is being carried out with NQ2 or NQ diameter. Radioactivity measured in counts per second has been measured using a Super-SPEC RS-125 Scintillometer. The measurements reported in this News Release are the measurements over 0.1 metre core increments, which is the approximate width of the instrument sensor. Core is removed from the core box and moved, if necessary, to a location where the instrument reads below background, and the measurement is collected by placing the sensor against the core at the required location. Background radioactivity is estimated at 200 cps, and values > 300 cps are considered to be elevated. The oriented drill cores are being subjected to comprehensive logging and sampling to characterize mineralization, alteration and structure. Drill core samples will be submitted to the Saskatchewan Research Council (“SRC”) Geoanalytical Laboratories (ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited) for uranium assay and multi-element characterization. Reflectance spectrometry will be undertaken on additional core samples to determine the presence of indicator clay alteration.
Unless otherwise stated, the historical results (including drill results) contained within this news release have not been verified and there is a risk that any future confirmation work and exploration may produce results that substantially differ from the historical results. The Company considers these results relevant to assess the mineralization and economic potential of the property. The historical drill results obtained by SMDC in drill holes CKI-9 and CKI-10 can be found within the Saskatchewan Mineral Assessment Database references 74N07-0310 and 74N07-0311.
The technical and scientific information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Dale Verran, M.Sc., P.Geo., Chief Executive Officer of the Company, who is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Verran is an employee of Fortune Bay and is not independent of the Company under NI 43-101.
About Fortune Bay
Fortune Bay Corp. is an exploration and development company with 100% ownership in two advanced gold exploration projects in Canada, Saskatchewan (Goldfields Project) and Mexico, Chiapas (Ixhuatán Project), both with exploration and development potential. The Company is also advancing the 100% owned Strike and Murmac uranium exploration projects, located near the Goldfields Project, which have high-grade potential typical of the Athabasca Basin. The Company has a goal of building a mid-tier exploration and development Company through the advancement of its existing projects and the strategic acquisition of new projects to create a pipeline of growth opportunities. The Company’s corporate strategy is driven by a Board and Management team with a proven track record of discovery, project development and value creation.
Figure 1: Location of the Murmac, Strike and Goldfields Projects relative to the Athabasca Basin. (CNW Group/Fortune Bay Corp.)
Figure 2: Location of the Murmac, Strike and Goldfields Projects. (CNW Group/Fortune Bay Corp.)
Figure 3: Location of the drill holes completed on the Murmac Uranium Project. (CNW Group/Fortune Bay Corp.)
Figure 4. Select drill core photographs from the Murmac Uranium Project highlighting elevated radioactivity. (CNW Group/Fortune Bay Corp.)
Figure 5. Select drill core photographs from the Murmac Uranium Project showing favorable hydrothermal alteration and structure. (CNW Group/Fortune Bay Corp.)
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