Drilling Commences And Work Towards Reopening Of Troy M Mine Underground

TORONTO - Consolidated Uranium Inc. (CUR) reported the commencement of comprehensive work programs at the Troy M Mine in southeastern Utah. Troy M is one of three past producing uranium mines in Utah owned by CUR, and is a large-scale, fully developed and permitted underground mine that produced nearly one million pounds of U3O8 during two different periods of operation from 1979-1984 and from 2007-2008. The work programs being initiated follow key recommendations in a technical report.
Defining the Vanadium Potential of the Troy M Deposit – CUR has commenced an up to 59-hole infill drill program from surface totalling ~38,000 feet along with an underground sampling program designed to collect detailed information on the distribution and grades of vanadium mineralization from both the drill program and underground sampling programs with the ultimate aim of calculating a vanadium mineral resource. Historically, there has been very little investigation of the vanadium potential at Troy M. CUR’s confirmation drill program in 2022 showed V2O5/U3O8 ratio ranges from an average of 1:1 to greater than 17:1 in places.
The drilling may also have the added benefit of potentially allowing for an upgrade of a portion of the currently estimated “Inferred” mineral resources to the “indicated” category. Indicated Mineral Resource of 1,185,000 tons grading 0.28% eU3O8 for 6.6 million pounds contained uranium; and Inferred Mineral Resource of 404,000 tons grading 0.27% eU3O8 for 2.2 million pounds contained uranium.
Reopening of the Underground for Sampling and Mine Preparation – Once the Troy M portal has been opened, an extensive sampling program is expected to be undertaken for both uranium and vanadium. Consultants have been retained to oversee the design and implementation of the ventilation plan and assess ground conditions. This program is a key step toward the ultimate restart of the mine.
ventilation plan and assess ground conditions. This program is a key step toward the ultimate restart of the mine. Next Step, Completion of a Preliminary Economic Assessment – A further key recommendation of the Technical Report was the completion of a Preliminary Economic Assessment for Troy M. Results from both the surface and underground programs, including an updated Mineral Resource estimate, are expected to form the basis for this assessment which could be completed prior to the end of the year.
Chairman and CEO Phil Williams, said, “With uranium market fundamentals showing significant strength and the unquestionable need and political support for domestic U.S. uranium production, we believe advancing the Troy M project toward a near term production decision is the correct course of action. The programs announced today will not only provide detailed information to guide ultimate mining of the Troy M resource, by potentially upgrading mineral resources into the indicated category and allowing us to evaluate the conditions of the extensive underground workings, but, if successful, could add meaningful value to the deposit through the possible addition of vanadium resources not previously evaluated. CUR remains one of the few junior uranium companies actively advancing its projects through drilling and pre-development activities. We believe this not only sets us apart from our peers but positions us as a potential first mover back into production providing investors with strong leverage to increasing uranium prices.”