HALIFAX, NS, Feb. 21, 2024 /CNW/ - Fortune Bay Corp. (TSXV: FOR) (FWB: 5QN) (OTCQB: FTBYF) ("Fortune Bay" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the acquisition of two additional uranium projects through staking on the north-central margin of the Athabasca Basin, in proximity to the Company's recently announced Spruce, Pine and AspenUranium Projects (Figure 1).
Gareth Garlick, Technical Director for Fortune Bay, commented "The acquisition of the Birch and Fir projects adds to our growing uranium portfolio of newly acquired, 100% owned projects on the north-central margin of the Athabasca Basin. This extensive portfolio now totals five new uranium projects covering over 40,000 hectares and provides Fortune Bay with further opportunity to create value through exploration and/or transactional success. The Birch and Fir projects have known uranium endowment with historical occurrences of up to 55.1% U3O8, in addition to Rare Earth Element potential with historical outcrop grades of up to 2.4% Total Rare Earth Elements."
In addition, the Company reports on progress for its Murmac and Strike Uranium Projects ("Murmac" and "Strike"), located on the north-western margin of the Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan, for which an Option Agreement was recently signed.
Dale Verran, CEO for Fortune Bay, commented, "We are delighted with the progress Aero Energy Limited has made for Murmac and Strike, with exploration drilling planned to commence in the coming months. Together with Aero's award-winning technical advisory team, operational planning and prioritization of drill targets is well underway. Murmac and Strike present significant opportunity for the discovery of high-grade, basement-hosted uranium and we look forward to working with Aero to advance exploration, while retaining upside in future discovery."
Newly Staked Uranium Projects
Birch Project
The Birch Uranium Project ("Birch") comprises four mineral claims totalling 5,751 hectares located approximately 35 kilometres north of the Athabasca Basin margin, and has potential for unconformity-related, basement-hosted deposits and bulk tonnage R?ssing-style uranium deposits. Birch remains underexplored with no drilling to date.
As follow-up to Government regional airborne radiometric surveys, historical prospecting between 1968 and 1970 identified widespread and voluminous uranium-bearing pegmatites in the Box Lake Area (Figure 1 – Birch Project Block A). Individual pegmatites were traced over lengths exceeding 150 metres and widths exceeding 30 metres, with average sampled grades ranging from 200 to 300 ppm. Notably, higher grades were also recorded where structures could be sampled with grades between 0.22% and 0.36% U3O8. Uranium mineralization included uraninite and carnotite staining. Exploration is warranted to, 1) re-investigate the pegmatite uranium occurrences, 2) establish the nature and extent of the structurally-associated higher grade uranium mineralization (which would be expected to predominantly occur in low-lying areas with sediment/water cover), and 3) explore for extensions of these two types of mineralization to the south-southwest into a large favorable hinge zone target area of structural complexity which appears to be largely unexplored. To the south (Figure 1 – Birch Project Block B), ground radiometric anomalies were identified during historical prospecting at Miller Lake (equivalent uranium grades of up to 861 ppm eU), within a smaller hinge zone, also warranting modern follow-up.
Fir Project
The Fir Uranium Project ("Fir") comprises a single mineral claim of 794 hectares located approximately ten kilometres north of the Athabasca Basin margin, and has potential for unconformity-related, basement-hosted deposits and bulk tonnage R?ssing-style uranium deposits. Fir remains underexplored with no drilling to date.
A historical pebble sample assayed 55.06% U3O8, one of several radioactive pebbles found in a low-lying area covered by muskeg. An additional historical uranium occurrence of 0.24% U3O8 from an outcrop sample is present 400 metres to the southeast. The area is characterized by interpreted structural complexity at the intersection of east and northeast trending structures. Follow-up of the occurrence was limited to localized prospecting, and the occurrence warrants more detailed systematic follow-up, particularly in low-lying areas with surficial cover where structures are likely to exist.
In addition to the uranium potential, pegmatite outcrops enriched in Rare Earth Elements ("REE") were discovered during historical prospecting for uranium. This included an outcrop sample of 2.4% Total Rare Earth Elements ("TREE"), and a 400 x 200 m outcrop of "white granodiorite" displaying broadly elevated TREE content and highlight grades from four samples of 1.1% to 1.9% TREE. High-value Nd and Pr account for approximately 20% of the TREE content. These historical REE occurrences warrant follow-up to determine the extent and grades of the mineralization. Far northern Saskatchewan has a precedent for high-grade pegmatite REE deposits, including Alces Lake (grades up to 30% TREE), Bear Lake (16% TREE rock sample), and Hoidas Lake (historical NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate including 2.6 million tonnes at 2% TREE).
Figure 1: Birch and Fir Uranium Projects. (CNW Group/Fortune Bay Corp.)
Similar to other recently announced uranium projects, Fortune Bay may seek to find a suitable partner/s to advance the Birch and Fir Projects through an earn-in, or similar agreement, that provides Fortune Bay with upside in future discovery.
Murmac and Strike Update:
On December 18, 2023 Fortune Bay Corp. announced that it had entered into an "Option Agreement" whereby 1443904 B.C. Ltd., an arms-length private company, was granted the right to acquire up to a 70% interest in the wholly-owned Murmac and Strike Uranium Projects over a three-and-a-half-year period by funding C$6 million in exploration expenditures, making cash payments totalling C$1.35 million, and issuing C$2.15 million in common shares following completion of a going public transaction (see News Release for further details)
On February 8, 2024, Aero Energy Limited (TSXV: AERO) (OTC Pink: AAUGF) (FSE: 13L0) ("Aero") completed the acquisition of 1443904 B.C. Ltd. pursuant to the terms of a share purchase agreement, thereby completing the going public transaction. Concurrent with completion of the acquisition, the Company has changed its name from "Angold Resources Ltd." to "Aero Energy Limited".
On February 13, 2024 Aero announced a non-brokered private placement for aggregate gross proceeds of $5,000,000. The gross proceeds received from the sale of the Flow-Through units and the Charity Units will be used for work programs on Aero's optioned properties including Murmac, Strike and Sun Dog (owned by Standard Uranium Ltd.), all located along the northwestern margin of the Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan.
In accordance with the Option Agreement Fortune Bay has received the initial $200,000 cash payment and the initial $200,000 in common shares (1,333,333 shares using a transaction price of $0.15 per share).
Planning is ongoing for drilling programs to commence at Murmac and Strike during 2024 on numerous high-priority targets that have been identified with the potential for a high-grade basement-hosted uranium discovery.
Correction to Previously Announced Deferred Share Unit Grant
On January 10, 2024, the Company announced the grant of Deferred Share Units ("DSUs") to certain directors and officers. It was noted that 150,000 DSUs were granted to the directors of the Company to settle director fees for the year ended December 31, 2023. The number of DSUs granted should have been stated to be 200,000. The DSUs will vest in accordance with the Company's deferred share unit plan.
Technical Disclosure
The historical results contained within this news release have not been verified and there is a risk that any future confirmation work and exploration may produce results that substantially differ from the historical results. The Company also cautions that historical results on adjacent properties are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved on the Project. The Company considers these historical results relevant to assess the mineralization and economic potential of the property. Further details regarding the historical occurrences mentioned in this news release can be found within the Saskatchewan Mineral Deposit Index ("SMDI") using the reference numbers provided in Figure 1. Additional information has been obtained from historical reports found within Saskatchewan Mineral Assessment Database ("SMAD") with the following Assessment File Numbers 74O10-0002, 74O10-0003, 74O10-0008 (Birch Project), and 74O09-0023, MAW02300 (Fir Project). Details regarding the other REE occurrences in far northern Saskatchewan can be found using the following references/links: Alces Lake: Appia Rare Earths and Uranium Corp. (https://appiareu.com/alces-lake/); Bear Lake: SMDI#3571; Hoidas Lake: SMDI#1612.
Qualified Person
The technical and scientific information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Gareth Garlick, P.Geo., Technical Director of the Company, who is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Garlick is an employee of Fortune Bay and is not independent of the Company under NI 43-101.
About Fortune Bay Corp.
Fortune Bay Corp. (TSXV:FOR, FWB:5QN, OTCQB:FTBYF) is an exploration and development company with 100% ownership in two advanced gold exploration projects in Canada, Saskatchewan (Goldfields Project) and Mexico, Chiapas (Ixhuatán Project), both with exploration and development potential. The Company is also advancing seven uranium exploration projects on the northern rim of the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, which have high-grade potential. The Company has a goal of building a mid-tier exploration and development Company through the advancement of its existing projects and the strategic acquisition of new projects to create a pipeline of growth opportunities. The Company's corporate strategy is driven by a Board and Management team with a proven track record of discovery, project development and value creation. Further information on Fortune Bay and its assets can be found on the Company's website at www.fortunebaycorp.com or by contacting us as [email protected] or by telephone at 902-334-1919.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions, and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. Words such as "expects", "aims", "anticipates", "targets", "goals", "projects", "intends", "plans", "believes", "seeks", "estimates", "continues", "may", variations of such words, and similar expressions and references to future periods, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.
Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the Company's objectives, goals, intentions or future plans, statements, exploration results, potential mineralization, timing of the commencement of operations and estimates of market conditions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to failure to identify targets or mineralization, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals, political risks, inability to fulfill the duty to accommodate First Nations and other indigenous peoples, inability to reach access agreements with other Project communities, amendments to applicable mining laws, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing or partnerships needed in the future, changes in equity markets, inflation, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in the development of projects, capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, and those risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR+. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. For more information on Fortune Bay, readers should refer to Fortune Bay's website at www.fortunebaycorp.com.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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