Azincourt Energy 2020 East Preston Drill Program Continues to Advance Prospectivity
AZINCOURT ENERGY 2020 EAST PRESTON DRILL PROGRAM
CONTINUES TO ADVANCE PROSPECTIVITY
• DRILL PROGRAM UNCOVERS HIGHLY ENRICHED REE ZONE SIMILAR TO
DENISON’S WHEELER RIVER PROJECT MAW ZONE
• IMMEDATIATE FOLLOW UP FIELD PROGRAM PLANNED
Vancouver B.C., June 8, 2020 - AZINCOURT ENERGY CORP. (“Azincourt” or the
“Company”) (TSX.V: AAZ, OTC: AZURF) , is pleased to announce results from the Company’s
Winter 2020 phase two drill program at the East Pre ston uranium project, located in the western
Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, Canada.
The 2020 Winter drill campaign continues to advance and enhance the prospectivity of the East
Preston project. Three main target areas were drill tested with promising basement lithologies and
graphitic structures intersected along with associa ted, anomalous Rare Earth Element (“REE”)
mineralization and favourable alteration. The basem ent lithologies and litho-tectonic setting at East
Preston are very similar and appear analogous to th e Patterson Lake South-Arrow-Hook
Lake/Spitfire uranium deposits’ host rocks and sett ing, and the recognition of REE mineralization
setting appears to represent a basement mineralizing system similar to sandstone-hosted REE
mineralization associated with uranium deposition o bserved at the Wheeler River project in the
eastern Athabasca.
Nine diamond drill holes totalling 2,431 meters wer e completed in three zones within a 7km x 2km
area. All drill holes targeted combined electromagn etic ± gravity geophysical and geochemical
anomalies in concert with structural/topographic di scontinuities. East Preston hosts multiple closely
spaced discreet graphitic conductor trends with coi ncident gravity low anomalies often indicative of
alteration or thicker overburden due to enhanced gl acial scouring over altered, or structurally
disrupted basement.
“We are very encouraged with the results from the 2 020 winter drill program at East Preston” said
Ted O’Connor, Director and Technical Advisor for Ea st Preston. “We continue to see the right
basement unconformity uranium setting – rocks, stru cture and alteration from drilling on the
project. The recognition of what is believed to be a basement analogue to uranium deposit-related
REE mineralization and alteration suggests that min eralizing fluid systems were active on the
project, at the right time. The winter results comb ined with the number and strike extent of the
existing, untested prospective conductor corridor s ystem target areas, ensures that the East Preston
project is advancing as we continue to vector towar ds our discovery goal.” continued Mr.
O’Connor.
“Drilling continues to show us we are on the right track at East Preston,” said president & CEO,
Alex Klenman. “The presence of Rare Earth Element m ineralization, similar to Wheeler River, adds
to the growing prospectivity of the project. This d ata is a positive development that demonstrates
East Preston continues to reveal it has the necessa ry environment for uranium deposition,”
continued Mr. Klenman.
Numerous untested graphitic conductive corridor tre nds remain on the project for additional drill
testing. A summer 2020 ground geophysical targeting program is currently being planned and
scoped to support future drill programs based on th e existing property-wide heli-borne VTEM
survey interpretation and results.
Drilling Details
The 2020 winter diamond drilling program at the Fiv e Island Lakes area comprised a total of
2,431m drilled in nine holes (Figure 1 – East Prest on Drill Hole Location Map, below). The drilling
tested three zones within a 7km x 2km area, with ta rgets prioritized on basis of combined
geophysical and geochemical anomalies in concert wi th structural/topographic discontinuities. All
drill holes were analyzed downhole with a Mt. Sopri s 2SNA gamma probe. Representative
lithologies and anomalous core samples were collect ed and shipped to SRC Geoanalytical
laboratories in Saskatoon for complete geochemical analysis.
Figure 1 – East Preston Drill Hole Location Map
The East Preston project lies immediately south of the interpreted southern edge of the Athabasca
Basin, so no Athabasca sandstone was expected. Ove rburden thickness ranged from 15 to 33 m
thick, and as expected, no Athabasca sandstone was intersected.
Results of the drilling confirms interleaved sequen ces of moderately to strongly deformed
orthogneissic basement rocks with compositions rang ing from granodiorite to diorite, monzonite to
syenite, and gabbro with rare anorthosite. Most are as of the property have been further intruded by
minor 0.5 to 2m simple pegmatite and/or mafic (+-la mprophyre) dykes, generally at or near major
lithologic contacts. Cohesive deformation fabrics a bound, with ductile mylonitic fabrics the most
common, along with occasional more brittle-cohesive cataclastic fabrics, and rare brittle fault
gouge. In general, the more strongly deformed zones are associated with increased alteration
intensity, with mafic host rocks exhibiting elevate d chlorite-garnet-biotite+-hematite+-epidote and
rare clay, and intermediate to felsic host rocks al tered with elevated sericite(illite)-chlorite-
hematite+-garnet.
Graphite-rich (1-25%) intervals are notable in most holes with thicknesses ranging from 0.5 to 10m.
Not surprisingly, they are generally found within t he most strongly deformed rock sequences and
are invariably associated with vein and disseminated pyrite (1-20%), and broad halos of moderate to
strong blue and grey quartz alteration. Although gr aphite-bearing deformation zones may be found
in any lithology, they are inordinately associated with darker (more mafic) schistose host rocks.
Collectively, these strongly altered and variably d eformed graphitic orthogneisses and schists
constitute what Saskatchewan government geologists coined “pseudopelite” (i.e. mimicking altered
metasedimentary [semi-pelite] paragneiss). This roc k “type” is one of the main uranium hosting
units along the Patterson Lake uranium deposit tren d. Additional details by zone are highlighted
below:
A-Zone
The A-zone was tested by three holes (EP20001 to 00 3) all of which intersected two or more
parallel graphite+ pyritic horizons mantled by stro ng bluish quartz-chlorite alteration over intervals
of 10’s of meters. Drilling in the A-zone confirms the presence of a basement-hosted north to
northeast trending cohesive fault zone, associated with strong hydrothermal fluid interactions
centred around graphite-rich strata. Anomalous prob e radioactivity was detected bracketing the
graphite-rich horizons in 2 out 3 of the A-zone hol es and is also associated with anomalous REE
contents.
B-Zone
The B-zone was tested by holes EP20006 to 009, with all four holes intersecting similar sequences
of graphite-rich rocks mantled by strong quartz-chl orite alteration. Hole EP20007 encountered
significant radioactivity at 281m depth, with a bes t count of 2202 counts-per-second (cps) over a
2m intercept averaging 816 cps. Analytical results for this interval returned 3.5 ppm U, and 587
ppm Th over 4.25m with associated trace element enrichment (Cu, Zn, Pb, REEs). Drilling in the B-
zone confirms the presence of a second basement hosted northeast trending cohesive fault zone with
a history of strong hydrothermal fluid interactions which includes the presence of anomalous
radioactivity.
The strong chlorite-silica alteration zones noted a t both the A and B-zones that mantle the graphitic
rocks display ductile older structures with later s emi-brittle to brittle reactivation associated with
anomalous radioactivity also display highly anomalo us Rare Earth Element (REE) contents. At the
B-zone, Heavy REE (HREE) contents are far more enri ched than Light REE (LREE). HREE
examples include Ce (up to 8660 ppm), La (up to 480 0 ppm) and Nd (up to 2720 ppm) that are up
to 100 times enriched relative to ‘normal’ backgrou nd basement values, whereas LREE examples
Sm, Dy, Ho, etc. are enriched 5-10 times background . The anomalous intervals, sampled over
several metres have associated enrichment in S, B, P 2O5, Zr and Th interpreted, from chemical
element associations, to represent some combination of sulphide, apatitite-xenotime-zircon REE-
bearing mineralizing fluids in silicified and react ivated fault zones. This structural mineralizing
system is interpreted to be post-Athabasca sandston e deposition and could represent a basement-
hosted analogue to the sandstone-hosted MAW Zone RE E mineralization on Denison Mines’
Wheeler River Project in Saskatchewan’s eastern Ath abasca.
The MAW Zone is a sandstone-hosted HREE-Yttrium dom inant mineralized system without
uranium, associated with silica-chlorite-dravite al teration, located directly along strike 5 km
southeast of the Phoenix Uranium Deposit (>70 Mlbs U 3O8 – Denison Website). The MAW Zone is
also surrounded by multiple uranium mineralized zones and uranium deposits along strike and along
sub-parallel graphitic-structural corridors, which is similar to the East Preston basement litho-
tectonic setting. According to historical researche rs, the Maw Zone REE phosphate mineralization
could represent the distal, near surface expression of the diagenetic-hydrothermal system above
developing unconformity-type uranium deposits.
The presence of similar HREE mineralization in base ment structures displaying silica and boron
enrichment at East Preston confirms mineralizing ba sement fluid systems were active and, although
this system is not uranium-bearing, the litho-tecto nic setting and conditions remain highly
prospective for basement-host uranium mineralizatio n discovery in the vicinity. Follow-up drilling
is warranted at both A-Zone and B-Zone conductor tr ends as both infill drilling and strike extension
testing.
Swoosh Zone
Two holes (EP20004 and 005) tested the Swoosh zone which is a target of interest due to especially
strong surface geochemical and radon anomalies over a 4km long drainage lineament. Neither hole
intersected significant radioactivity or graphitic strata, but a number of rubbly sections bounded by
quartz-chlorite+-hematite alteration indicates the presence of late brittle fault structures in this
sparsely tested zone. This zone returned the best hydrothermal sulphide pathfinder results with up to
1.5 ppm Ag over 1m and 673 ppm Zn over 1m in hole EP20005. No immediate follow-up drilling is
presently warranted for the Swoosh area.
Follow-Up Program
Based on the recent drilling results and the simila r geological and structural setting to the prolific
Patterson Lake trend, detailed follow-up drilling i s recommended for the existing A- and B- zones,
along with step-out drilling to the northeast and s outh along the B-zone trend, to the South zone
along the SW strike extension of the A-zone. The ad ditional target areas that have yet to be drill
tested are also recommended for target refinement a nd future drill testing (Figure 2 – East Preston
Project Target Area Location Map with VTEM Interpretation, below).
Figure 2 – East Preston Project Target Area Locatio n Map with VTEM Interpretation
A summer 2020 work program is currently being plann ed. Helicopter-supported ground
geophysical surveys including Horizontal Loop Elect romagnetic (HLEM) and/or ground gravity
methods are being scoped for completion later this summer/fall 2020. The surveys will be utilized
to refine, prioritize, and better locate conductive corridors more precisely in several of the current ly
untested areas depicted in Figure 2. Survey plannin g, layout and specifications will be started
ideally this month, however, with the current COVID -19 travel restrictions into and out of
northwestern Saskatchewan, in particular, there is presently no indication of potential survey
execution timing.
Figure 3: Project Location – Western Athabasca Basi n, Saskatchewan, Canada
About East Preston
Azincourt is currently earning towards 70% interest in the 25,000+ hectare East Preston project as
part of a joint venture agreement with Skyharbour R esources (TSX.V: SYH), and Dixie Gold Inc.
(TSX.V: DG).Three prospective conductive, low magnetic signature corridors have been discovered
on the property. The three distinct corridors have a total strike length of over 25 km, each with
multiple EM conductor trends identified. Ground prospecting and sampling work completed to date
has identified outcrop, soil, biogeochemical and ra don anomalies, which are key pathfinder
elements for unconformity uranium deposit discovery.
The East Preston Project has multiple long linear c onductors with flexural changes in orientation
and offset breaks in the vicinity of interpreted fa ult lineaments – classic targets for basement-hoste d
unconformity uranium deposits. These are not just s imple basement conductors; they are clearly
upgraded/enhanced prospectivity targets because of the structural complexity.
The targets are basement-hosted unconformity relate d uranium deposits similar to NexGen’s Arrow
deposit and Cameco’s Eagle Point mine. East Presto n is near the southern edge of the western
Athabasca Basin, where targets are in a near surfac e environment without Athabasca sandstone
cover – therefore they are relatively shallow targe ts, but can have great depth extent when
discovered. The project ground is located along a parallel conductive trend between the PLS-Arrow
trend and Cameco’s Centennial deposit (Virgin River-Dufferin Lake trend).
Quality Assurance, Quality Control and Data Verification
Drill core samples were interval grab samples of in teresting lithologies from 0.7m to 2 m in length,
split in half longitudinally, with one-half of the core retained, and the other half placed in sealed
bags and shipped to SRC Geoanalytical Laboratories (SRC) in Saskatoon, SK for sample
preparation, processing and ICP-MS multi-element an alysis using Total and Partial digestion, gold
by fire assay and boron by fusion. SRC is an ISO/IE C 17025/2005 and Standards Council of
Canada certified analytical laboratory. The Company ’s Qualified Persons for the drill program, Mr.
Jarrod Brown, P.Geo. of TerraLogic Exploration Inc. and Mr. Ted O’Connor, P.Geo. have verified
the data disclosed, including drilling, sampling an d analytical data. The program is designed to
include analytical quality assurance and control routines comprising the systematic use of standards,
blanks and duplicate samples.
Qualified Person
The technical information in this news release has b een prepared in accordance with the Canadian
regulatory requirements set out in National Instrum ent 43- 101 and reviewed on behalf of the
company by Ted O’Connor, P.Geo. a director of the Company, as well as a qualified person.
About Azincourt Energy Corp.
Azincourt Energy is a Canadian-based resource compa ny specializing in the strategic acquisition,
exploration and development of alternative energy/f uel projects, including uranium, lithium, and
other critical clean energy elements. The Company is currently active at its joint venture East
Preston uranium project in the Athabasca Basin, Sas katchewan, Canada, and the Escalera Group
uranium-lithium project located on the Picotani Plateau in southeastern Peru.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF AZINCOURT ENERGY CORP.
“Alex Klenman”
Alex Klenman, President & CEO
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in
the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts r esponsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release.
This press release includes “forward-looking statem ents”, including forecasts, estimates,
expectations and objectives for future operations t hat are subject to a number of assumptions, risks
and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the con trol of Azincourt. Investors are cautioned that
any such statements are not guarantees of future pe rformance and that actual results or
developments may differ materially from those proje cted in the forward-looking statements. Such
forward-looking information represents management’s best judgment based on information
currently available. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and actual future results may
vary materially.
For further information please contact:
Alex Klenman, President & CEO
Tel: 604-638-8063
Azincourt Energy Corp.
1430 – 800 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC V6C 2V6
www.azincourtenergy.com