REG - Power Metal Res. - Uranium JV: Reitenbach Exploration Update

Power Metal ResourcesAnnouncement

21/03/2025 07:00

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RNS Number : 5712B  Power Metal Resources PLC  21 March 2025

21 March 2025

Power Metal Resources PLC

("Power Metal" or the "Company")

Uranium Joint Venture: Reitenbach Exploration Update

Geophysical Surveys and Fieldwork Reveal Promising Targets on the Expanded
Reitenbach Property

Power Metal Resources plc (AIM:POW, OTCQB:POWMF), the London-listed
exploration company with a global project portfolio, is pleased to provide an
exploration update for the Reitenbach Uranium Property ("Reitenbach " or the
"Property"). The update concerns work undertaken by Power Metal and Fermi
Exploration ("Fermi"). Fermi is the uranium-focused joint venture (the "Joint
Venture" or "JV") comprising Power Metal's portfolio of uranium licences, of
which Reitenbach is a constituent.

HIGHLIGHTS:

·    Geophysical data indicated the presence of multiple prospective
target areas on Reitenbach, which was subject to systematic fieldwork during
the summer of 2024.

·    Fieldwork in the northeastern portion of the property, including the
Nuphar and Goodleap Targets, has identified multiple potential basement
sources of uranium, supported by radon anomalism, down-ice uranium dispersion,
and favourable lead isotope results, with the summer 2024 exploration at the
Nuphar Target specifically inferring a basement source in the north of the
Target Zone.

·    Reitenbach was expanded from 16,009 hectares to 20,401 hectares, an
increase of 27.5%, by direct mineral claim staking undertaken by the Fermi
technical team, through the Mineral Administration Registry Saskatchewan
("MARS") electronic registry system. Further information on the staking
process can be found in the 'Further Information' section below.

·    Further work on the property is being finalised.

Sean Wade, Chief Executive Officer of Power Metal Resources PLC commented:

"It's great to be able to report continued progress across the uranium
portfolio as we eagerly look forward to starting drilling in around 10 weeks.

 

We will be drilling more or less continuously through to October and are very
excited indeed about the prospects of a commercial discovery. We will shortly
be laying out a detailed drill programme, which will set out the expected
timing of multiple drill results over that period.

 

This is the biggest and best funded exploration project that the Company has
ever undertaken and marks a major turning point in the scale of our ambition."

 

FURTHER INFORMATION

This release details the expansion of the Reichenbach Property, the magnetic
and radiometric survey results, the results from the summer 2024 fieldwork and
the next steps for further work on the Property.

Expansion of Reitenbach

The mineral claims constituting the eastern extension of Reitenbach (Figure 1)
were acquired directly through the Mineral Administration Registry
Saskatchewan ("MARS") electronic registry system.

The total cost of additional staking of the 5,724.95 hectares (57.25 km(2))
that make up the 20,401 hectare (204km(2)) Reitenbach Project was CAD $3,395.
The newly staked licences have a two-year term with no minimum spending
requirement, which can then be extended for subsequent years by a minimum work
expenditure of Canadian $85,874 per annum (C$15/hectare).

The property was expanded to:

Ø Secure additional ground to the northeast and up-ice of the Nuphar Target.

Ø Encompass a historical airborne radiometric geophysical survey anomaly
situated at the centre of the newly acquired ground. Limited exploration has
been conducted on this radiometric anomaly. Although a survey was carried out
in 1970(1) and identified localised uranium mineralised boulders, these
boulders were considered insufficient to explain the extent of the radiometric
anomaly.

Ø This expansion extends Reitenbach's footprint parallel to the Needle Falls
Shear Zone, a deep crustal-scale structure regionally associated with uranium
mineralisation.

 

Magnetic and Radiometric Survey

Dias Airborne completed a combined airborne Full-Tensor Magnetic Gradient
("FTMG") and radiometric geophysical survey during summer 2023(2). This
geophysical programme was designed to inform future fieldwork by providing
high-resolution magnetic data, as over 95% of the property is understood to be
covered by surficial deposits of sands and gravels, leaving the underlying
bedrock largely unknown.

The radiometric survey was carried out simultaneously with the magnetic survey
to provide information on the properties of shallow radioactivity. A total of
966 line-km of airborne FTMG and radiometric data were acquired at a line
spacing (distance between the survey lines) of 100 metres.

S.J.V. Consultants Ltd. of Vancouver were commissioned in late 2024 to
complete the interpretation of the data following an initial review by the
Fermi Exploration Technical Team. This work outlined two target areas, which
correlated closely with the target areas identified by the Fermi Exploration
Technical Team and were subject to exploration in the summer of 2024.

Summer 2024 Fieldwork Targets

The Nuphar Target is associated with a discrete magnetic body, approximately
900m in length, in the centre of the Target area. This magnetic body shares a
spatial relationship with historically recorded boulder fields(2) and
anomalous and highly elevated radon in water(3), and it exhibits exceedingly
anomalous U-in-lake sediment results of up to  508ppm U(4) The radiometric
response from the area is highly elevated (30cps), and extends over 4km.

2 km to the northeast of Nuphar Target, the Fermi Technical Team selected the
Goodleap Target for further work. The Goodleap Target is in close proximity to
north-south 'Tabernor' style faulting, at an inferred 'step-over' within the
fault system, where the geology has been pulled apart, potentially creating
scope for uranium mineralisation in a dilation zone, this area is associated
with an anomalous radiometric response, which may be indicative of shallow
uranium mineralisation.

The Western Lake Target is located 4.5 km to the west of the Nuphar Target,
and is associated with a linear north-south (i.e. down ice) trend of elevated
uranium counts (20 cps) and historical boulder fields. The Western Lake Target
is considered to be in close proximity to the contact between the Wollaston
and Peter Lake Domains.

The Wollaston and Peter Lake Domains on Reitenbach are crossed by significant
'Tabernor' north-south faulting, which extends across the property and is
present in close proximity to the Nuphar, Goodleap and Western Lake Targets;
these cross-cutting structures have been inferred to control uranium
mineralisation elsewhere(5), and are targeted elsewhere to the east of the
Athabasca Basin(6).

 

Figure 1: Overview of the Reitenbach Property, highlighting the new 2025
staking, 2024 fieldwork target areas, and the extent and results of the 2023
airborne magnetic geophysics survey

 

Summer 2024 Fieldwork

Introduction and Aims

Reitenbach is located within a highly prospective location in close proximity
to two major crustal scale fault structures, with the tectonic boundary
between the Wollaston Doman and the Peter Lake Domain in the west of the
Property, and major shear structure, the Needle Falls shear zone in the south.
The Property displays similarities to locations which host significant
intrusive related deposits (8,9) and is also considered to be prospective for
basement-hosted unconformity uranium mineralisation(7).

The principal aim of the summer 2024 fieldwork was to determine if the
radiometric anomalies noted on the 2023 airborne radiometric survey may be
representative of in situ uranium mineralisation or transported material,
which may be derived from off the property. The magnetic survey data indicated
multiple in-situ potential targets below the elevated radiometric response.

A uraniferous boulder train is located near the airborne radiometric anomaly
on the Nuphar Target and the Western Lake Target areas. Boulder trains have
been instrumental in discovering multiple mineral deposits in northern
Saskatchewan, including Triple R(10).

To overcome the limitations of working in heavily glaciated terranes-where the
surficial material may contain transported uraniferous minerals unrelated to
the sampled area-combined radon and Ionic Leach sampling was completed over
the target area. These complementary methods were intended to aid in the
delineation of bedrock sources of uranium mineralisation.

Ø Significant radon response can be expected from uraniferous bedrock
sources, while transported uraniferous material is expected to give some
emissions, it would not be at the same level as a shallow bedrock source.

Ø The Ionic Leach method utilises a weak leach designed only to extract the
'mobile' portion of the sample's geochemistry. That 'mobile' portion should be
more representative of basement sources than more traditional leach
techniques, which may also extract detrital minerals that are not
representative of a bedrock source. As with radon, the technique is limited by
the volume of transported material, as very high levels of detrital uranium
will form 'pseudo-anomalies' as that material also emits 'mobile' ions, which
the technique is susceptible to. The method reports very low concentrations of
elements (part per billion level), and thus cannot be directly compared to
other analytical methods.

This combined radon and Ionic Leaching sampling was completed over two target
areas, the Nuphar Target and Goodleap Target, while the Western Lake Target
received only a small Ionic Leach soil programme due to time and weather
constraints.

These sampling programmes, detailed below, represented the first modern,
systemic sampling over the Reitenbach property, and the 2024 sampling on each
target area included;

·    Nuphar Target - 152 Ionic Leach Soil Samples, 158 Radon Samples

·    Goodleap Target - 61 Ionic Leach Soil Samples,  38 Radon Samples

·    Western Lake - 66 Ionic Leach Soil Samples

Results of 2024 Sampling Programme

Nuphar Target

As shown in Figure 2 at the Nuphar Target, elevated and anomalous radon
concentrations are offset and located up-ice from most zones of elevated
uranium and very high (206/204)Pb isotope ratios. In the southern portion of
the Nuphar Target, (206/204)Pb isotope ratios in the soil geochemistry results
reach up to 84, with twelve samples exceeding a ratio of 70 - values
indicative of anomalous lead isotope signatures. The (206/204)Pb ratio
measures the proportion of uranium-derived lead ((206)Pb) relative to
non-radiogenic 'primordial' lead (204)Pb, which is not produced by uranium
decay. Ratios greater than 40 are considered very high, indicating significant
uranium-derived lead. (11,12)

Elements commonly associated with intrusive and pegmatite-hosted uranium,
including both light and heavy rare earth elements, are similarly elevated.
The southern part of the sampling grid records locally anomalous values as
sustained multipoint anomalous areas. Sporadic anomalies are also present in
the northern portion of the grid, including the highest uranium value recorded
in the project area (3,160 ppb U) and lead isotope ratios of 78 and 80.

Multiple glacial eskers distributed across the property indicate a predominant
north-south palaeo-ice flow direction on Reitenbach, suggesting that the mass
transport of surficial materials aligned with this trend. During periods of
glaciation, any uranium-bearing material derived from a source currently
concealed by overlying surficial deposits would likely have been transported
in a north-south direction. Eskers generally preserve the most recent
direction of glacial and subglacial ice and meltwater flow(13). This transport
pattern is critical for understanding the dispersion of uranium and its
associated pathfinder elements, which were sampled as part of the fieldwork in
2024.

Based on this inferred palaeo-ice flow direction and historical exploration,
the company interprets the radon and soil geochemical results to indicate:

Ø Samples with anomalous and elevated uranium and (206/204)Pb ratios in the
soil geochemistry do not show a sustained correlation with elevated radon
results. This is interpreted to suggest that the elevated uranium and lead
isotopic signatures are not derived from primary mineralisation but rather
from remobilised uranium and (206)Pb within the transported material.

Ø In this case, radon results are inferred to be more representative of the
basement uranium source than the Ionic Leach samples. The volume of uranium,
and consequently the amount of radon emitted, is expected to be greater in the
basement source. Due to radon's short half-life, it cannot accumulate over
time or be influenced by the southerly palaeo-ice flow direction, unlike
elements in the soils, which can be affected by the transport process.

Ø The elevated radiometric response extending 3 km to the south is inferred
to be a result of an elongate boulder train and sub-surface elevations in
uranium derived from a uraniferous source in the north of the Nuphar Target.

Ø The sporadic uranium and (206/204)Pb isotope ratio results in the north of
the grid suggest that there may have been some migration from a primary source
at depth.

 

Thus, the summer exploration results on the Nuphar Target are inferred to
indicate a potential basement source of uranium in the north of the Target
Zone spatially related to the radon results, with a 'pseudo-anomaly' of
elevated uranium, (206/204)Pb in soil geochemistry and the boulder train 'down
ice' to the south. These results present a significant target on the
Reitenbach Property.

Goodleap Target

Due to wildfires, weather conditions, and time constraints, it was not
possible to complete the sampling as originally planned. However, based on the
limited work conducted, the grid displayed a pattern similar to the Nuphar
Target, with an 'up-ice' elevated radon response and 'down-ice' elevated
(206/204)Pb and uranium results. This suggests the potential for uranium
mineralisation to the northeast of the sampling grid.

 

Western Lake

Targeting a secondary radiometric anomaly and a magnetic low, sampling in this
area identified slightly elevated uranium and (206/204)Pb isotopes.

 

Figure 2: Results from the Reitenbach Property over the Nuphar and Goodleap
targets

 

Next Steps for Work on the Reitenbach Property

Following the expansion of the Reitenbach Property, the company is currently
evaluating the potential for future geophysical surveys in this area to help
delineate additional areas of interest. Aside from the 2023 survey conducted
by Power Metal, the Property has not undergone any modern, high-resolution
geophysical surveys.

Further geophysical interpretation is pending on the Nuphar Target, which will
support a small field campaign in the summer of 2025 to test the northern
extent of both the Nuphar and Goodleap targets, using similar techniques to
those employed in the 2024 field campaign. If the results are promising,
ground-based geophysical methods will be implemented in preparation for a
drilling campaign.

 

GLOSSARY

 Term                                     Description
 (206/204)Pb Ratio                        A measure of the ratio of uranium-derived lead ((206)Pb) to non-radiogenic
                      "primordial" lead ((204)Pb). High ratios may suggest uranium mineralisation.
 Airborne Radiometric Anomaly             An area identified from aircraft surveys as having higher-than-normal
                      radiation levels, often indicating uranium or other radioactive minerals.
 CPS                                      Counts per Second - a measure of radioactivity.
 Detrital Minerals                        Minerals that have been weathered, eroded, and transported from their original
                      source may have a composition totally unrelated to the underlying geology.
 Dilation Zones                           Areas in rocks that have stretched or opened up, creating spaces where magma
                      can be intruded into, often dilation zones are associated with economical
                      mineralisation in deposits associated with intrusions.
 Esker                                    An esker is a long, sinuous ridge of sand and gravel deposited by meltwater
                      streams within or beneath glacial ice. It is preserved after ice retreat and
                      indicates past subglacial drainage patterns and ice flow direction.
 Full Tensor Magnetic Gradiometer (FTMG)  A geophysical instrument that measures the complete gradient tensor of the
                      Earth's magnetic field. It detects subtle variations in magnetic anomalies by
                      capturing all spatial derivatives of the magnetic field, improving resolution
                      and target detectability. FTMG is widely used in mineral exploration, oil and
                      gas prospecting, and subsurface imaging, providing enhanced structural detail
                      compared to conventional total field magnetometers.
 Intrusive Igneous Rocks                  Rocks formed from magma that cooled below the Earth's surface, often
                      associated with uranium deposits. Examples include granite, diorite and
                      syenite.
 Half-Life (of Radon)                     The time it takes for half of a radioactive substance (e.g., radon) to decay.
                      Radon's half-life is 3.8 days.
 Leach Techniques                         Two main leach techniques are commonly used in mineral exploration.:

                      Partial Leach: A method that uses mild chemicals to dissolve mainly mobile
                      elements in soil or rock, rather than the minerals which may have been
                      transported to make up the soil (detrital minerals)

                      Total Leach: A stronger chemical process that dissolves all target elements in
                      a sample, providing a complete picture of its composition, this can be
                      strongly affected by detrital minerals.

                      Ionic Leach: A very weak acid is used only to dissolve ions that are loosely
                      bound to minerals in the soil and thus are more likely to be transported from
                      somewhere else and thus expected to be more related to buried mineralisation.

                      (https://www.alsglobal.com/en/geochemistry/generative-exploration/ionic-leach)
 Magnetic Surveys                         A technique used to map variations in the Earth's magnetic field caused by
                      different rock types, helping identify geological structures.
 'mobile' (in geochemistry)               Refers to the tendency of an element or compound to move within the
                      environment due to geological, chemical, or hydrological processes. High
                      mobility often indicates that an element can be transported by fluids, such as
                      groundwater or hydrothermal solutions, leading to dispersion patterns useful
                      in mineral exploration. Elements like uranium, arsenic, and certain rare earth
                      elements can be highly mobile under specific redox or pH conditions.
 Pegmatite                                A coarse-grained igneous rock that is formed from a fractionated melt in the
                      final stages of a body of magma cooling
 Radiometric Surveys                      A method of exploration that measures natural radiation (e.g., gamma rays)
                      emitted by rocks to identify areas with elevated uranium, thorium, or
                      potassium.
 Uranium-Thorium Ratio                    A comparison of uranium and thorium concentrations is often used to identify
                      uranium-rich areas.

 

 

 

REFERENCES

(1) Francana Oil and Gas Ltd, Report on Ground Geophysical Surveys of Francana
Oil and Gas Ltd Holdings, Wollaston Lake Area, Saskatchewan, 1970,
(64L01-0004)

(2) Dias Airborne Limited, 2023, Logistical Report Reitenbach Property
Saskatchewan, Canada Airborne QMAGT and Radiometric Survey,

(3) SMDC, 1978 Summer Field season Summary, Wollaston East Project, 1979,
(64L-0013)

(4) SMDC, 1978, Final Report - 1977 Field Season, Wollaston East Project, SMDC
Permits 7-10, CBS 4907.

(5) Davies, J.R. 1998: The origin, structural style, and reactivation history
of the Tabbernor fault zone, Saskatchewan, Canada; Master's thesis, McGill
University, Montreal, Quebec, 105p.

(6)
https://purepoint.ca/purepoint-uranium-reports-results-from-tabbernor-project-geophysical-survey/
(https://purepoint.ca/purepoint-uranium-reports-results-from-tabbernor-project-geophysical-survey/)

(7) Gorham, J., 2022. Updated NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Reitenbach
Property, Saskatchewan, Canada. Prepared for Teathers Financial PLC, by
Dahrouge Geological Consulting, September 30, 2022.

(8) Muday, R.J., 1976, Ground Elevation of Airborne Radiometric anomalies in
crown reserve 694119, northern Saskatchewan during summer 1975 (64L-0018)

(9) Harrigan, D., 1977, Final Report 1976 Field season, Wollaston East
Project, SMDC permits 7-10, 64L-0008

10
https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/85637/fission-energy-hits-significant-basement-mineralization-at-patterson-lake-south-28187.html
(https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/85637/fission-energy-hits-significant-basement-mineralization-at-patterson-lake-south-28187.html)

11 Absalon, M.Z., 2021, Geochemical exploration for buried sandstone-hosted
uranium mineralisation using mobile U and Pb isotopes: case study of the REB
deposit, Great Divide Basin, Wyoming, Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment,
Analysis, Volume 21

12 Quirt, D.,Benedicto, A., 2020, Lead Isotopes in Exploration for
Basement-Hosted Structurally Controlled Unconformity-Related Uranium Deposits:
Kiggavik Project (Nunavut, Canada), Minerals10(6), 512;

13 Boulton, G.S., Lunn, R., Vidstrand, P., Zatsepin, S., 2007, Subglacial
drainage by groundwater-channel coupling, and the origin of esker systems:
Part 1-glaciological observations, Quaternary Science Reviews, Volume 26,
Issues 7-8, Pages 1067-1090

 

 

QUALIFIED PERSON STATEMENT

The technical information contained in this disclosure has been read and
approved by Mr Nick O'Reilly (MSc, DIC, MIMMM QMR, MAusIMM, FGS), who is a
qualified geologist and acts as the Qualified Person under the AIM Rules -
Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies. Mr O'Reilly is a Principal
consultant working for Mining Analyst Consulting Ltd which has been retained
by Power Metal Resources PLC to provide technical support.

 

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic
law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is
disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of
MAR.

 

 

For further information please visit https://www.powermetalresources.com/
(https://www.powermetalresources.com/)  or contact:

 Power Metal Resources plc
 Sean Wade (Chief Executive Officer)                                            +44 (0) 20 3778 1396

 SP Angel Corporate Finance (Nomad and Joint Broker)
 Ewan Leggat/Jen Clarke                                                         +44 (0) 20 3470 0470

 SI Capital Limited (Joint Broker)
 Nick Emerson                                                                   +44 (0) 1483 413 500

 First Equity Limited (Joint Broker)
 David Cockbill/Jason Robertson                                                 +44 (0) 20 7330 1883

 BlytheRay (PR Advisors)

 Tim Blythe/Megan Ray                                                           +44 (0) 20 7138 3204

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

Power Metal Resources plc - Background

Power Metal Resources plc (LON:POW) is an AIM listed metals exploration
company which finances and manages global resource project portfolios and is
seeking large scale metal discoveries.

 

The Company has a principal focus on opportunities offering district scale
potential across a global portfolio including precious, base and strategic
metal exploration in North America, Africa and Australia.

 

Property interests range from early-stage greenfield exploration to
later-stage prospects currently subject to drill programmes.

 

Power Metal will develop projects internally or through strategic joint
ventures until a Property becomes ready for disposal through outright sale or
separate listing on a recognised stock exchange thereby crystallising the
value generated from our internal exploration and development work.

 

Value generated through disposals will be deployed internally to drive the
Company's growth or may be returned to shareholders through share buy backs,
dividends or in-specie distributions of assets.

 

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