Otish Basin Uranium Properties

New Uranium Prospects in Otish Basin - Focused on Discovery

Kodiak holds ten uranium properties covering 42,859 hectares (105,903 acres) in Québec's Otish Basin, which is often compared to the Athabasca Basin in terms of its uranium potential, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Wildlife. Like the Athabasca Basin, the Otish basin hosts many uranium showings above, at, or below the unconformity separating basinal sediments from the Archean basement rocks. 

The area made headlines after Strateco Resources Inc. reported a drill intersection of 2.13% U₃O₈ over 15.2 meters on its Matoush property, which adjoins two of Kodiak's claim blocks. Strateco reports that the high grade uranium at Matoush is associated with gabbro dyke remnants in a fault zone that cuts through basinal sediments, well above the unconformity surface.

Uranium explorers Cameco and Areva are also active in the basin with excellent results. Cameco recently reported intersecting 16 meters of 1.06% U₃O₈ equivalent, based on downhole radiometrics, and results of a chemical assay are pending.

The Otish Basin has been considered prospective for uranium for many years. Uranerz, a large European uranium company, explored here in the 1970s, but allowed its claims to lapse after uranium prices collapsed in the early 1980s. Kodiak's properties cover a wide range of geological settings, target types, showings, and geochemical anomalies, on ground formerly held by Uranerz, within and near the margins of the Otish and Paskwati Basins (the Paskwati Basin is an outlier of basinal sediments south of the Otish). The claims were staked to cover specific targets identified by uranium specialist Charles Beaudry, P. Geo., as part of Kodiak's ongoing project generation program.

Kodiak's UR prospect covers 15,404 acres on the northeast rim of the Otish Basin, including a 3 kilometre x 2 kilometre area with more than 100 radioactive boulders discovered by Uranerz. These mineralized boulders returned uranium values ranging from 0.12% to 4.13% U₃O₈. The radioactive boulders are angular and consist of hematite-altered granite. They appear to be locally derived, and are consistent with deep unconformity-style mineralization in the basement rocks. The mineralized boulders appear to have come from a source area three kilometers up-ice from the apex of the boulder field, where a regional fault cuts Archean bedrock. This inferred source area for the high grade uranium mineralization lies within in the northeast part of Kodiak's UR claim block, and is planned to be one of the principal targets of the 2007 exploration. The company has seen no evidence to indicate that Uranerz drill-tested the property.

Kodiak's UR East claims (26,990 acres) are located 5 kilometres northeast of the UR claim block, where basinal sediments and gabbro are cut by sheared gabbro dykes and faults similar to the Matoush structure. Historic lake sediment anomalies up to 159 ppm U, with favourable uranium to thorium ratios, were also recorded within the claim block. The UR East property is regarded as prospective for both unconformity and deep-unconformity style uranium mineralization.

Kodiak's Mat I, II and III claim blocks (2,230 acres) are in the western part of the Otish Basin. Kodiak's Mat I claim block lies on the western rim of the basin, adjoining the northern edge of Strateco's claims. This area is most prospective for shallow unconformity-style uranium mineralization. The Mat II block is located between Strateco's ground and Cameco's claims to the south. The Mat III block is located to the west of Strateco's Matoush discovery. The Mat II and Mat III claims are both prospective for perched and unconformity-style uranium mineralization.

Kodiak's RIM 1 through RIM 3 properties (54,011 acres) are located along the east rim of the Otish Basin, in an area containing the highest concentrations of uranium showings and anomalies. Many of these showings and anomalies are located along or near faults which cross-cut the basinal sediments, making these properties are highly prospective for unconformity and perched-style uranium mineralization.

The RIM 1 prospect is crosscut by two north-northeast trending faults, and the projected westward extension of the Kerveso Fault. Several radioactive sandstone boulders up to 11,000 cps have been documented on the property, along with outcrops of Conflans gabbro, believed to be contemporaneous with uranium mineralization in this area.

The RIM 2 prospect covers a possible source area for a 500-metre train of radioactive boulders containing up to 0.13% U, located on the adjoining Golden Valley Mines property.

The RIM 3 prospect covers an elongated 24 kilometre lake sediment anomaly, which coincides with the surface trace of the Kerveso Fault, and including four lakes which returned values between 20 and 50 ppm U. Four radioactive boulders up to 134 ppm U have been documented within the area of the lake sediment anomaly.

Kodiak's "308" prospects consist of two claim blocks on the north rim of the Paskwati Basin, an outlier southwest of the Otish Basin containing terrestrial sedimentary rocks of the same age.

The 308 West claim block covers 4,626 acres including the historic Yvon uranium showing and an area of anomalous uranium geochemistry. At the Yvon showing (which was never drill-tested) Uranerz found uranium-bearing veins cutting granite-gneiss bedrock and radioactive boulders. Historic lake sediment anomalies ranging from 405 ppm to 1,920 ppm U were recorded near the eastern edge of the claims.

The 308 East claim block covers 2,645 acres and includes a cluster of historic uranium geochemical anomalies and mineralized boulders along the northern extension of a north-south gabbro dyke similar to the one associated with the uranium-bearing Matoush structure. The source area for these anomalies is considered to have the potential to host the root zone of an unconformity deposit at the west contact of the gabbro dyke.

In addition to having potential for deep unconformity-type uranium deposits, both of the "308" claim blocks straddle the unconformity and indicate potential for classic unconformity-style uranium mineralization both below and above the unconformity surface. A historic hole drilled by Phelps Dodge 5.3 kilometres south of Kodiak's 308 East block intersected 1.8 metres grading 0.15% U₃O₈ in metasedimentary rocks immediately overlying the unconformity.

Please click here to view a table showing a detailed summary for each property.

Kodiak is planning detailed radiometric, magnetic and EM surveys to identify radioactive targets within the basinal sediments, and radioactive fault zones cutting bedrock up-ice from known lithogeochemical and lake sediment anomalies near the basement margin.

Due to weather conditions, Kodiak was able to complete only a part of its planned 11,000 kilometer airborne geophysical survey in 2007, and the rest has been deferred until 2008.  The completed part of the survey was done on Kodiak's 15,404 acre UR claim block on the northeast rim of the Otish Basin, where a 3 x 2 kilometer fan of more than 100 radioactive boulders, found by Uranerz in the 1970s, returned values ranging from 0.12 to 4.13% U₃O₈.

Initial data from Kodiak's airborne survey identified a very large and intense radioactive anomaly, directly up-ice from the apex of Uranerz's boulder fan. The radiometric anomaly measures 2 kilometers by 6 kilometers, and has consistent values of 2,000 to 3,000 cps. It is associated with a north-south magnetic structure similar to Strateco's Matoush structure. The size and strength of the anomaly confirms the significant exploration potential of the UR property, and identifies a possible source for the boulder train.

An experienced field crew was sent to ground truth the anomaly, and obtained encouraging results before the prospecting was cut short by the onset of winter. With this new information in hand, we are actively preparing for a much more extensive exploration program that is planned to include drilling.

Québec was voted the most mining-friendly jurisdiction in the world in the Fraser Institute's 2005-2006 Annual Survey of Mining Companies, and Kodiak will benefit substantially from the Québec Government's 45% exploration tax credit for this area.

The information contained on this page has been reviewed and approved by Trevor Bremner, P. Geo., who is the qualified person for the Otish Basin project under the definitions established by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Bremner is an independent consultant to Kodiak.