Analysts and investors on the inaugural site visit to Rook I and the Arrow discovery last week (Photo: CEO.CA)

Analysts and investors on the inaugural site visit to Rook I and the Arrow discovery last week (Photo: CEO.CA)

Coming off their best drill hole to date (AR-14-15 which hit up to 55.8% U308 over 0.45 metres) as well as the inaugural site visit to their Rook I property that had the analyst crowd very excited, NexGen Energy (NXE:TSXV) continued their successful summer program by announcing the next batch of preliminary drill results from Arrow and other regional targets.  Assays still to come.

As a result of the latest drill data, NexGen has now increased the width of known mineralization at Arrow by 20% to 215 metres (up from 180 metres).  They have identified over 515 metres of strike which continues to remain open in all directions.

Leigh Curyer, CEO commented, "Every drill hole at Arrow is accelerating our understanding of the factors controlling mineralization. This batch of results increases the number of broad vertical parallel zones of mineralization to the N-NW. Further, the characteristics we are seeing at such an early stage of exploration at Arrow are analogous to other significant uranium deposits in the Athabasca Basin."

NexGen has completed 15,318.05 metres of drilling and are budgeting a total of 18,500 metres this summer.

In the release were more 'off-scale' readings from numerous sections within the drill holes.  These included:

  • AR-14-27 intersected 111.05 metres of total composite mineralization including 2.2 metres of off-scale radioactivity (>10,000 cps) within a 185.95 metres section (226.65 to 412.6 metres).
  • AR-14-25 intersected 158.55 metres of total composite mineralization including 0.75 metres of off-scale radioactivity (>10,000 cps) within a 401.3 metres section (247.9 to 649.2 metres).
  • AR-14-26 intersected 69.82 metres of total composite mineralization including 2.15 metres off-scale radioactivity (>10,000 cps) within a 360.0 metres section (437.2 to 797.2 metres).
Arrow drill holes to-date (Image: NexGen Energy)

Arrow drill holes to-date (Image: NexGen Energy)

Hole AR-14-26 represents the deepest mineralization intersected to date, which continues to prove the company's thesis that mineralization is not only open at depth but also improves there as well. This hole was drilled as a 50 metre step-out to the northwest from mineralization intersected in hole AR-14-24.

Garrett Ainsworth, NexGen's Vice-President, Exploration and Development, commented "The recent fence of drill holes has resulted in a two-fold success:  an exploration model that shows multiple sub-vertical stacked mineralized shear zones at Arrow that has given us even greater confidence going forward in targeting high grade zones; and we have expanded the breadth of Arrow from 180 to 215 m."

The company also released three holes from Area A which was the initial focus of drilling on the Rook I project and is located to the southwest of Arrow.  None of the holes encountered anomalous radioactivity.

Also, hole AR-14-23 did not encounter any anomalous radioactivity but it did drill through all of the right rocks.  The hole intersected dravite alteration which is commonly associated with most of the unconformity-hosted high-grade uranium deposits in the Athabasca Basin (including: McArthur River, Cigar Lake and Collins Bay).

Hole AR-14-24 was drilled as an approximate 50 metres step-out northwest from mineralization intersected in AR-14-21a.

Hole AR-14-25 was drilled as an approximate 50 metre step out to the northwest from mineralization intersected in RK-14-27.  RK-14-27 intersected 29 metres of 1.04% U308 from 235 to 264 metres deep.

Hole AR-14-27 was drilled to intersect the interpreted plunge of mineralization intersected in holes RK-14-27 and AR-14-25.

Importantly, all of the drill holes encountered Athabasca Group sandstones, strong clay alteration as well as dravite alteration which speaks to the prospectivity that NexGen could host an unconformity-hosted deposit nearby.

Arrow is continuing to prove itself as bonafide high-grade uranium discovery that should continue to garner analyst and investor support especially now that they are getting a better understanding of the structure of the mineralization.

NexGen has a number of holes remaining from their successful summer program including assays for holes that previously showed highly anomalous radioactivity.

Read: The Arrow Zone Broadens with Continued Significant Intercepts of Uranium Mineralization

Disclosure: NexGen Energy Ltd. is an advertiser and I own shares which makes me biased, always do your own due diligence.