• Project Summary
  • Royalty Description
  • Recent Updates
  • Project History

The Church Rock Project is a Development stage, ISR uranium project located in the Grants Mineral Belt of New Mexico, USA, 12 miles north-northeast of Gallup, New Mexico. Laramide has disclosed that the Church Rock Project and nearby properties represent one of the largest and highest-grade undeveloped ISR uranium projects in the United States.

Laramide has disclosed that it holds several regulatory clearances in connection with the Church Rock Project, including: (a) a final environmental impact statement prepared by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the "NRC") in connection with the United States Bureau of Land Management and the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs, dated February of 1997; (b) a radioactive materials license from the NRC, issued in 1998 and amended in 2006 and in "timely renewal"; (c) an aquifer exemption issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, dated 1989; and (d) a water rights transfer, approved by the office of the New Mexico State Engineer, dated October 19, 1999. The Church Rock Technical Report(1) disclosed additional regulatory clearances necessary for the project, including, among others, a discharge permit / underground injection control permit from the New Mexico Environmental Department and a right-of-way permit from the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs or the Navajo Nation.

Laramide filed the Church Rock Technical Report(1) in November 2017. The Church Rock Technical Report(1) included an inferred mineral resource estimate of 50.82 Mlbs of U3O8 (33.88 million short tons or 30.73 million tonnes at a grade of 0.075% U3O8).

Mineral Resources – As of November 14, 2017 (100% Basis)
Measured Indicated Inferred
Tons
(Mt)
Grade
(% U3O8)
Content
(MLbs. U3O8)
Tons
(Mt)
Grade
(% U3O8)
Content
(MLbs. U3O8)
Tons
(Mt)
Grade
(% U3O8)
Content
(MLbs. U3O8)
            33.88 0.08 50.82
Notes on mineral resources:
  1. CIM (2014) Definition Standards were followed for Mineral Resources.
  2. Mineral Resources are reported at a GT cut-off of 0.5 ft-% eU308
  3. A minimum thickness of 2.0 ft was used.
  4. A minimum cut-off grade of 0.02% eU308 based on historical mining costs and parameters from the district was used.
  5. Internal maximum dilution of 5.0 ft was used.
  6. Grade values have not been adjusted for disequilibrium
  7. Tonnage factor of 15 ft3/ton based on historical values used by the mining operators was applied.
  8. Mineralized areas defined by isolated or widely spaced drill holes or located within the area previously subject to past production, were excluded from the estimate
  9. Totals may not add due to rounding.

 

Note:

(1) Technical Report on the Church Rock Uranium Project, McKinley County, State of New Mexico, U.S.A. with an effective date of September 30, 2017, prepared for Laramide and authored by Mark B. Mathisen, C.P.G.

The Church Rock Royalty is equal to 4.0% of net returns. Net returns are calculated based on the gross value received by the payor from the sale of ores, metals, minerals and materials from the property, less certain specified deductions for transportation, insurance, storage, sale, tolling and refining costs and any governmental royalties that are paid in respect of such production. The Church Rock Royalty was created pursuant to a royalty deed between Hydro Resources, Inc. and Uranium Resources, Inc. (now Westwater Resources Inc. ("Westwater")) dated January 5, 2017. Hydro Resources, Inc. was acquired by Laramide Resources Ltd. ("Laramide") from Westwater on January 5, 2017. In addition to the Church Rock Royalty, Laramide has disclosed that portions of the Church Rock Project are subject to royalties, including a sliding scale royalty of 5% to 25% held by Laramide.

In January of 2018, Laramide disclosed plans to commence core drilling and leach-restoration testing, complete an updated mineral resource estimate based on such additional exploration work, and complete a preliminary economic assessment for the Church Rock Project. Laramide has disclosed that planned drilling and leach-restoration work will allow it to satisfy the New Mexico Environment Department's groundwater discharge plan requirements whereby it must demonstrate in a laboratory environment the ability, post-leaching, to restore groundwater in the mining aquifer to an acceptable level.

The information below regarding project milestones and recent developments for the Church Rock Project has been summarized from the Church Rock Technical Report(1), a copy of which is available under Laramide's profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com), and from Laramide's public disclosure.

The history of exploration and mine development activities for the Churchrock Uranium Project dates back to the late 1950s. Mine development occurred at the Section 17 property (Old Churchrock Mine), in the early 1960s by Phillips Petroleum and Affiliates, and in the early 1980s by United Nuclear Corporation (UNC). Exploration and development activities continued through the early 1990s by URI. The Churchrock Uranium Project was acquired by Laramide in January 2017 from Uranium Resources, Inc (now Westwater).