ATHA Energy: New High-Grade Uranium Discovery Unlocks District-Scale Potential

• ATHA Energy confirmed a significant new uranium discovery at RIB North, with maiden drilling returning 34.7m of composite mineralization including 13.6m grading 0.53% U₃O₈
• The discovery extends the Mineralized RIB Corridor to 4.4km of prospective strike length in the eastern limb and 4.0km in the western limb
• The company controls 7+ million acres across Canada's top uranium jurisdictions, including 3.8 million acres in the Athabasca Basin
• ATHA's flagship Angilak Project demonstrates district-scale potential with multiple discoveries along a 31km structural corridor
• Trading at C$278 million enterprise value versus peers at C$640 million to C$7.2 billion, ATHA offers significant exploration leverage

Canada's uranium exploration sector gained fresh momentum following ATHA Energy Corp.'s announcement of a significant new discovery at its flagship Angilak Project in Nunavut. The company's maiden drill hole at RIB North intersected 34.7 meters of composite uranium mineralization, including a high-grade zone of 13.6 meters grading 0.53% U₃O₈. This discovery comes as global uranium markets experience a structural supply shortage, with spot prices recovering from US$64.23 per pound in March 2025 to approximately US$80 per pound by late 2025.

The timing proves particularly relevant for investors seeking exposure to uranium's supply-constrained market. With reactor fuel demand rising globally and years of mining underinvestment creating bottlenecks, uranium exploration companies with substantive discoveries are attracting institutional attention. ATHA's confirmation of mineralization across a 4.4-kilometer prospective corridor positions the company among a select group of explorers advancing district-scale projects in tier-one jurisdictions.

The Angilak Project sits within the Angikuni Basin, a geological analogue to Saskatchewan's prolific Athabasca Basin, which hosts the world's highest-grade uranium deposits. ATHA's extensive 2024 exploration program, one of the largest in Canada's uranium sector, has systematically delineated multiple mineralized trends across a 31-kilometer structural corridor, suggesting the potential for numerous deposits within a single district-scale system.

Company Overview

ATHA Energy Corp. (TSXV: SASK) operates as a uranium-focused exploration company with strategic land positions across three premier Canadian uranium jurisdictions. The company controls approximately 7 million acres of prospective ground, including 3.8 million acres in the Athabasca Basin, 3.1 million acres in Nunavut's Thelon and Angikuni basins, and 268,000 acres in Newfoundland and Labrador's Central Mineral Belt.

The company's management team brings operational experience from Cameco, NexGen Energy, IsoEnergy, and Mega Uranium, combining technical expertise in uranium exploration with capital markets capabilities. This background has enabled ATHA to execute systematic exploration programs while maintaining financial discipline. With basic shares outstanding of 315.3 million as of September 30, 2025, and a share price of C$0.94, the company's enterprise value stands at C$278 million.

ATHA's asset portfolio spans the exploration risk curve from grassroots targets to post-discovery projects. Beyond the flagship Angilak Project, the company holds a 10% carried interest in key exploration lands operated by NexGen Energy and IsoEnergy in the Athabasca Basin. This carried interest structure provides exposure to active exploration programs without diluting capital, while ATHA's direct land holdings include advanced targets such as the Gemini, Pinnacle, Ridge, and Zenith projects.

The RIB North Discovery

The RIB North discovery represents a breakthrough for ATHA's systematic exploration approach at Angilak. Drill hole RIBN-DD-001 intersected ten distinct zones of uranium mineralization between 345.55 meters and 460.05 meters downhole, totaling 34.7 meters of composite mineralization. The most significant interval spans 13.6 meters averaging 0.53% U₃O₈ from 426.25 to 439.85 meters depth, with assays reaching 1.66% U₃O₈ over 1.0 meter and 1.45% U₃O₈ over 0.5 meters.

Downhole gamma logging detected peak radioactivity of 55,731 counts per second, with 1.7 meters of off-scale readings exceeding 10,000 CPS within the high-grade zone. The discovery validates the company's targeting methodology using electromagnetic geophysics to identify graphitic structural corridors that host uranium mineralization. The RIB North mineralization extends the eastern limb of the Mineralized RIB Corridor from previous discoveries at RIB South, creating a continuous 4.4-kilometer prospective trend.

Troy Boisjoli, CEO, ATHA Energy stated:

"The RIB North discovery is a transformational result for ATHA as it further confirms the district-scale uranium potential at Angilak and solidifies the Angikuni Basin as an area of major strategic importance for global uranium supply."

Parallel mineralization along the western limb, confirmed through drill holes RIBW-DD-003 and historical RIB showings, adds another 4.0 kilometers of strike length. This geometry suggests a large-scale structural system capable of hosting multiple deposits, similar to patterns observed in Saskatchewan's major uranium districts.

Strategic Significance of District-Scale Potential

The Angilak Project's emerging district-scale characteristics distinguish ATHA from single-deposit exploration stories. The company has now identified multiple discoveries along a 31-kilometer RIB-Nine Iron structural corridor, including the established Lac 50 Deposit, the newly confirmed Mineralized RIB Corridor, and the KU showing. This pattern of stacked mineralized trends mirrors the architecture of major uranium districts in Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin.

The Angikuni Basin's geological setting features basement-hosted unconformity-style mineralization in Proterozoic metasediments, paralleling that of the Athabasca Basin, which produces uranium at average grades of 16.36% U₃O₈ compared to global averages of 0.05% to 2.64%. ATHA's 2024 exploration program, which included over 10,000 meters of diamond drilling and targeted airborne geophysics, has systematically tested this district-scale model with all 25 drill holes intersecting uranium mineralization.

The company has outlined four additional 15-kilometer-long corridors with confirmed uranium mineralization running parallel to the Lac 50 Trend, designated as the Lac 48, Lac 52, and Lac 54 Trends. This multi-trend architecture increases the probability of discovering multiple economic deposits within the project area, a key characteristic that attracts major mining companies seeking district-scale consolidation opportunities.

Market Context & Uranium Fundamentals

The uranium market's structural transformation provides favorable conditions for exploration success to translate into shareholder value. Spot uranium prices bottomed at US$64.23 per pound in March 2025 before recovering to approximately US$80 per pound by late October 2025, reflecting fundamental supply-demand tightening. Market analysts project 2025-2026 contract prices in the US$85 to US$95 per pound range, assuming current structural dynamics persist.

This price recovery stems from converging supply constraints and demand growth. Global nuclear reactor fuel requirements continue rising as new capacity comes online in China, India, and other markets pursuing energy security and decarbonization goals. Meanwhile, years of limited capital investment in uranium mining have reduced capacity growth, while traditional secondary supply sources have dwindled.

Canada plays a central role in global uranium supply, with Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin having produced over 900 million pounds U₃O₈ and containing known resources of 606,600 tonnes U₃O₈. The province ranks seventh globally for mining investment attractiveness according to the 2025 Fraser Institute survey. This jurisdictional quality reduces political and permitting risk compared to uranium projects in less stable regions.

Valuation & Peer Comparison

ATHA's C$278 million enterprise value positions the company at a significant discount to uranium developers while offering comparable or superior exploration torque versus peers. NexGen Energy trades at C$7.2 billion enterprise value, Denison Mines at C$3.3 billion, and IsoEnergy at C$640 million. Among exploration-focused peers, ATHA's land position exceeds 7 million acres compared to competitors controlling less than 2 million acres.

The company's exposure across multiple jurisdictions and project stages provides portfolio diversification unusual in the sector. ATHA maintains exposure to the Athabasca Basin through direct land holdings and 10% carried interests with NexGen and IsoEnergy, reducing capital requirements while participating in active exploration. The Thelon Basin exposure via Angilak offers potential for independent development, while Central Mineral Belt holdings provide additional optionality.

Analyst coverage from Hannam & Partners, Beacon Securities, Canaccord Genuity, Red Cloud Securities, and Paradigm Capital provides institutional visibility. The company's September 2025 financing, which included special warrants convertible to units, strengthened the balance sheet to fund the aggressive 2025 exploration program without immediate dilution pressure.

The Investment Thesis for ATHA Energy

• RIB North's 13.6m at 0.53% U₃O₈ validates district-scale potential and de-risks regional targets along the 31km structural corridor.
• Systematic drilling at Lac 50 and MRC will likely support maiden or updated resource calculations in 2025-2026, typically re-rating exploration stocks.
• Each US$10/lb increase in uranium prices disproportionately benefits explorers through higher project valuations and improved development economics.
• ATHA's 10% carried interests with NexGen and IsoEnergy provide free optionality on active Athabasca Basin drilling without capital dilution.
• District-scale projects in tier-one jurisdictions attract takeover interest from mid-tier producers seeking to replenish reserves as uranium prices strengthen.
• Uranium equities remain volatile; build positions during market pullbacks while maintaining 5-10% portfolio allocation to manage sector-specific risk.

ATHA Energy's RIB North discovery fundamentally strengthens the investment thesis for the company's shares. The confirmation of high-grade uranium mineralization across a 4.4-kilometer corridor, combined with parallel mineralization extending another 4.0 kilometers, demonstrates district-scale potential rare among junior exploration companies. With uranium markets experiencing structural supply deficits and prices recovering toward US$85-95 per pound, ATHA's extensive Canadian land position provides multiple pathways to value creation.

The company's systematic exploration approach, validated by 100% drill success rates in 2024, reduces execution risk while the diversified portfolio across Nunavut, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador mitigates single-project concentration. For investors seeking uranium exposure, ATHA offers exploration leverage at a compelling valuation relative to both developers and exploration peers. As the uranium cycle matures and institutional capital allocates to the sector, companies with substantive discoveries in tier-one jurisdictions historically experience significant re-ratings.

TL;DR

ATHA Energy confirmed a major new uranium discovery at Angilak Project's RIB North, with maiden drilling returning 34.7m of composite mineralization including 13.6m grading 0.53% U₃O₈. The discovery extends the Mineralized RIB Corridor to 4.4km of prospective strike and reinforces district-scale potential across a 31km structural trend. Trading at C$278M enterprise value versus peers at C$640M-C$7.2B, ATHA offers significant exploration leverage in a uranium market experiencing structural supply shortages and price recovery from US$64/lb to US$80/lb in 2025.

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