Skyharbour Secures Option to Acquire an Initial 51% and Up to 100% of the Russell Lake Uranium Project from Rio Tinto in the Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan
Suite 1610 – 777 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V7Y 1K4
www.skyharbourltd.com
TSX-V Trading Symbol: SYH
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: (604) 687-3376
Facsimile: (604) 687-3119
May 19th, 2022
NEWS RELEASE
Skyharbour Secures Option to Acquire an Initial 51% and Up to 100% of the Russell Lake
Uranium Project from Rio Tinto in the Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan
Vancouver, BC - Skyharbour Resources Ltd.’s (TSX-V: SYH) (OTCQB: SYHBF) (Frankfurt:
SC1P) (the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an Option Agreement with
Rio Tinto Exploration Canada Inc. (“RTEC”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto Limited (“Rio
Tinto”), to acquire up to 100% of the Russell Lake Uranium Project (the “Property” or “Project”),
which comprise s 26 claims covering 73,294 hectares of prospective exploration ground
strategically situated between the Company’s Moore Uranium project (to the east) and Denison
Mines’ Wheeler River project (to the west) in the eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin.
Russell Lake Project Location Map:
http://www.skyharbourltd.com/_resources/images/SKY-RussellLake-20220325-Inset.jpg
The Project is a premier, advanced-stage exploration property given its large size, proximity to
critical regional infrastructure, and the significant amount of historical exploration carried out on
the pro perty, which has identified numerous prospective target areas and several high -grade
uranium showings as well as drill hole intercepts. The Property is centrally located between
Cameco Corp.’s Key Lake mill to the south and McArthur River mine to the north. Access to the
Property is via Highway 914 , which services the McArthur River Mine and runs through the
western extent of Property along with a high-voltage powerline that energizes the existing mining
operations in the eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin.
Jordan Trimble, President and CEO of Skyharbour Resources, stated:
“We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with Rio Tinto to acquire up to a 100%
interest in Russell Lake . This is a significant transaction for Skyharbour and involves the
acquisition of a premier exploration property adjacent to our Moore project . Uranium properties
with the pedigree and prospectivity of Russ ell Lake are few and far between given the very
strategic location, notable historical exploration and findings, as well as the numerous property -
wide targets with the potential to generate new discoveries.”
“Additionally, we welcome Rio Tinto as a new strategic shareholder and project partner. We have
a shared vision for the exploration of the various prospective target areas that remain to be fully
tested on the Property using modern exploration methods and techniques. We look forward to
working with Rio Tinto to generate a new meaningful discovery in the years to come.”
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Highlights:
• Option to acquire an initial 51% and up to 100% of Rio Tinto’s 73,294 ha Russell Lake
Uranium Property strategically located in the central core of the Eastern Athabasca Basin
of northern Saskatchewan.
• Both Highway 914 servicing McArthur River and a high-voltage power line connected to
the provincial power grid run through the Property’s western claims.
• Skyharbour, as operator, can earn an initial 51% interest in the Property by paying CAD
$508,200 in cash , issuing 3,584,014 common shares to RTEC, and funding CAD
$5,717,250 in exploration on the Project , inclusive of a 10% management fee to
Skyharbour, over a period of 3 years.
• Skyharbour has a second option to earn an additional 19% interest for a total of 70%, and
a further possible option to obtain the remaining 30% interest in the Project for an
undivided 100% ownership interest.
• The Property has been the subject of significant historical exploration efforts including over
95,000 metres of drilling in over 220 drill holes . This provides the Company with an
excellent dataset to direct subsequent exploration on high-priority areas with the potential
for near-term discovery of high-grade uranium mineralization.
• Previous exploration work has identified numerous highly prospective target areas, some
of which host high-grade uranium mineralization in historical drill holes. Furthermore, there
are over 35 k ilometres of untested conductors on the Property in magnetic lows, which
are indicative of pelitic basement rocks conducive to uranium deposition in the Athabasca
Basin.
• The Property has a permitted and functional exploration camp suitable for over forty
people, and conveniently located near Highway 914 and within 5 km kilometres of
Denison’s Phoenix deposit. The Property’s claims are in good standing for 2-22 years from
banked assessment credits.
• This transaction adds another drill -ready, advanced-stage uranium exploration asset to
Skyharbour’s project portfolio and offers significant operational and exploration synergies
with the adjacent Moore uranium project.
Skyharbour’s Uranium Project Map in the Athabasca Basin:
http://www.skyharbourltd.com/_resources/images/SKY-SaskProject-Locator-20220324.jpg
Russell Lake Uranium Project:
The Russell Lake Project is a large, advanced-stage uranium exploration property totalling 73,294
hectares strategically located between Cameco’s Key Lake and McArthur River Projects and
adjoining Denison’s Wheeler River Project to the west and Skyharbour’s Moore Uranium Project
to the east. Highway 914 , which services the McArthur River mine, runs through the western
extent of the Property and greatly enhances accessibility. Similarly, a high -voltage powerline
situated alongside Highway 914. Skyharbour’s acquisition of Russell Lake creates a large, nearly
contiguous block of highly prospective uranium claims totalling 108,999 hectares between the
Russell Lake and the Moore uranium projects.
There has been a meaningful amount of historical exploration carried out at Russell Lake but with
most of it conducted prior to 2010 . The Property has been the subject of over 95,000 metres of
drilling in over 2 30 drill holes . The Property’s claims are in good standing for 2-22 years with
assessment credits built-up from previous programs.
Several notable exploration targets exist on the property including the Grayling Zone, the M-Zone
Extension target, the Little Man Lake target, the Christie Lake target, and the Fox Lake Trail target.
More than 35 kilometres of largely untested prospective conductors in areas of low magnetic
intensity exist on the Property as well.
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At the Grayling Zone, drilling of the 2,200 metres long, up to 100 metres thick sub -parallel
Grayling conductor intersected an 800 metres long discontinuous zone of basement -hosted
uranium mineralization with localized perched and unconformity-hosted associated mineralization
along a graphitic thrust fault. Drill hole RL-85-07 intersected 3.45% U 3O8 over 0.3 metres at a
depth of 363.2 metres and 0.1% U 3O8 over 0.5m at a depth of 366.4 metres. This target is
prospective for additional high-grade uranium discoveries and is open in several directions.
At the M-Zone Extension target, historical drilling at neighbouring Denison’s M-Zone along trend
from the Grayling Zone intersected basement hosted uranium of 0.70% U3O8 over 5.8 metres at
a depth of 374.0 metres. Like the Grayling Zone, the mineralization is hosted by a graphitic thrust
fault. The northeast extension of the M-Zone-Grayling corridor onto the Property has seen limited
drilling, but mineralization was intersected in historical drilling, returning 0.7 metres of 0.123%
U3O8 at 619.1 metres depth in hole MZE-11-03.
The Little Man Lake Zone target is 500 metres long, 10 to 15 metres thick, 25 to 35 metres wide,
and is a zone of prospective geology associated with an unconformity depression. The last drilling
in this area was in 1989, prior to modern uranium exploration models, with historical uranium
grades ranging from 0.03% up to 0.1% U3O8 at around 300 metres depth.
At the Fox Lake Trail target area, uranium mineralization was intersected in a few historical drill
holes. Significant intercepts include 0.0743% U3O8 over 1.0 metres at 525.5 metres depth in hole
FLT-08-06, and 0.053% U 3O8 over 0.3 metres at 516.9 metres depth in hole FLT-11-14. A
prospective quartzite ridge runs through the area along with anomalous geochemistry in faulted
basement metasediments. Significant sandstone-hosted sulphides are also found in this area.
The Christie Lake target area contains basement-hosted uranium mineralization with historical
drill results returning 0.17% U 3O8 over 0.4 metres at 436.4 metres depth in hole CL-10-03. A
prospective clay altered basement fault system runs throughout this area.
In addition to the aforementioned target areas, t here are more than 35 k ilometres of untested
conductors on the Property underlain by rocks of low magnetic intensity, suggestive of prospective
graphitic meta-pelitic basement rocks. The Project has seen limited exploration in the previous
twelve years, so minimal modern exploration techniques and methods have been used to expand
existing zones of mineralization as well as to make new discoveries.
There is a fully permitted exploration camp on the Project suitable for over forty people located
on the highway and within 5 kilometres of Denison’s Phoenix deposit. Skyharbour is planning an
initial phase of exploration and drilling at the Project with details forthcoming.
Terms of the Agreement:
Under the terms of the Option Agreement, which is subject to TSX Venture Exchange (the
“Exchange”) approval, Skyharbour may acquire up to a 100% interest in the Russell Lake Uranium
Project and will become operator of the Project during the earn-in period and afterwards if a joint
venture is formed.
An initial majority 51% interest in the Property may be earned by paying CAD $508,200 and
issuing 3,584,014 common shares of Skyharbour to RTEC upon Exchange approval. Skyharbour
must also fund CAD $5,717,250 in exploration expenditures, inclusive of a 10% management fee
to Skyharbour, over a period of three years, of which a total of CAD $1,905,750 must be spent
within eighteen months. Skyharbour at this point can elect to enter into a 51% / 49% joint venture
with RTEC subject to a standard dilution clause, or the Company can earn additional interest in
the project.
Skyharbour may then acquire an additional 19% to earn a total of a 70% interest in the Property
by paying CAD $1,588,125 in cash or by issuing 2,226,096 shares. Additionally, Skyharbour must
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fund CAD $6,352,500 in exploration expenditures, inclusive of a 10% management
fee to Skyharbour, over a period of the following two years.
Upon Skyharbour earning a 70% interest, the Company may elect to continue on a 70% / 30%
joint venture basis, subject to a standard dilution clause, or it may acquire the remaining 30%, if
RTEC elects not to contribut e, for a total undivided interest of 100% of the Property by paying
CAD $33,033,000 in cash or by issuing 42,598,565 shares or a combination thereof to prevent
RTEC from owning over 19.9% of Skyharbour.
Upon Skyharbour’s 100% acquisition , the Property will become subject to a 1% NSR Royalty
payable to RTEC. The royalty may be reduced to 0.5% by payment of USD $750,000 to RTEC.
The claims comprising the Property are subject to various existing underlying royalties to other
parties.
Qualified Person:
The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the
Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43 -101 and revie wed and
approved by David Billard, P.Geo., a Consulting Geologist for Skyharbour as well as a Qualified
Person.
About Rio Tinto Limited:
Rio Tinto is one of the largest mining and metals companies globally, operating in 35 countries
with over 49,000 employees. Rio Tinto’s purpose is to produce materials essential to human
progress.
About Skyharbour Resources Ltd.:
Skyharbour holds an extensive portfolio of uranium exploration projects in Canada's Athabasca
Basin and is well positioned to bene fit from improving uranium market fundamentals with fifteen
projects, ten of which are drill -ready, covering over 450,000 hectares of land. Skyharbour has
acquired from Denison Mines, a large strategic shareholder of the Company, a 100% interest in
the Moore Uranium Project which is located 15 kilometres east of Denison's Wheeler River project
and 39 kilometres south of Cameco's McArthur River uranium mine. Moore is an advanced-stage
uranium exploration property with high -grade uranium mineralization at the Maverick Zone that
returned drill results of up to 6.0% U3O8 over 5.9 metres including 20.8% U3O8 over 1.5 metres at
a vertical depth of 265 metres. Adjacent to the Moore Uranium Project is Skyharbour’s recently
optioned Russell Lake Uranium Project fr om Rio Tinto, which hosts historical high -grade drill
intercepts over a large property area with robust exploration upside potential. The Company is
actively advancing these projects through exploration and drill programs.
Skyharbour has a joint -venture with industry-leader Orano Canada Inc. at the Preston Project
whereby Orano has earned a 51% interest in the project through exploration expenditures and
cash payments. Skyharbour now owns a 24.5% interest in the Project. Skyharbour also has a
joint venture with Azincourt Energy at the East Preston Project whereby Azincourt has earned a
70% interest in the project through exploration expenditures, cash payments and share issuance.
Skyharbour now owns a 15% interest in the Project. Preston and East Preston ar e large,
geologically prospective properties proximal to Fission Uranium's Triple R deposit as well as
NexGen Energy's Arrow deposit. Furthermore, the Company owns a 100% interest in the South
Falcon Point Uranium Project on the eastern perimeter of the Basin, which contains a NI 43-101
inferred resource totaling 7.0 million pounds of U3O8 at 0.03% and 5.3 million pounds of ThO 2 at
0.023%.
Skyharbour has several active option partners including: ASX-listed Valor Resources on the Hook
Lake Uranium Project whereby Valor can earn-in 80% of the project through CAD $3,500,000 in
exploration expenditures, $475,000 in cash payments over three years and an initial share
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issuance; CSE -listed Basin Uranium Corp. on the Mann Lake Uranium Project whereby Basin
Uranium can earn-in 75% of the project through $4,000,000 in exploration expenditures, $850,000
in cash payments as well as share issuances over three years; and CSE -listed Medaro Mining
Corp. on the Yurchison Project whereby Medaro can earn-in an initial 70% of the project through
$5,000,000 in exploration expenditures, $800,000 in cash payments as well as share issuances
over three years followed by the option to acquire the remaining 30% of the project through a
payment of $7,500,000 in cash and $7,500,000 worth of shares.
Skyharbour's goal is to maximize shareholder value through new mineral discoveries, committed
long-term partnerships, and the advancement of exploration projects in geopolitically favourable
jurisdictions.
Skyharbour’s Uranium Project Map in the Athabasca Basin:
http://www.skyharbourltd.com/_resources/images/SKY-SaskProject-Locator-20220324.jpg
To find out more about Skyharbour Resources Ltd. (TSX -V: SYH) visit the Company’s website
at www.skyharbourltd.com.
SKYHARBOUR RESOURCES LTD.
“Jordan Trimble”
Jordan Trimble
President and CEO
For further information contact myself or:
Riley Trimble
Corporate Development and Communications
Skyharbour Resources Ltd.
Telephone: 604-687-3376
Toll Free: 800-567-8181
Facsimile: 604-687-3119
Email: [email protected]
NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER
ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT OF
THIS NEWS RELEASE.
The securities offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any U.S. state securiti es laws,
and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, United
States persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements
of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. sta te securities laws. This press release does not
constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor
in any other jurisdiction.
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements".
All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or
developments that management of the Company expects, are forwa rd-looking statements,
including the Private Placement. Although management believes the expectations expressed in
such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not
guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from
those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these
forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors,
should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-
looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, regulatory
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approvals, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, mar ket or
business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further
information.