Drilling Success Positions Junior Explorer Baselode Energy to Unlock Further Upside

Baselode Energy’s recent ACKIO drilling success and strategic project advancement reinforce upside for disciplined uranium explorer, as rising sector momentum aligns with high-grade resource growth potential.
- Baselode Energy recently completed a successful summer drill program at the ACKIO uranium project, hitting high-grade mineralization.
- The company aims to continue infill and step-out drilling in 2024 to expand resources and make discoveries across its projects.
- The CEO believes ACKIO could potentially be developed into an open pit mine, given amenable infrastructure and precedents in the region.
- Baselode Energy is conducting studies to further evaluate the economic potential and path to production for ACKIO.
- With rising uranium prices and sector momentum, the company hopes to advance ACKIO while maintaining its explorer focus of “drill, drill, drill, make another discovery.”
About Baselode Energy
Baselode is a mineral exploration company focused on discovering high-grade uranium deposits in the Athabasca Basin area of northern Saskatchewan, Canada. The company controls approximately 264,172 hectares of exploration land that is free of any option agreements or underlying royalties.
In September 2021, Baselode discovered the near-surface ACKIO uranium prospect on its land package. ACKIO measures over 375 meters along strike and over 150 meters wide, with at least 9 separate uranium mineralized zones. Mineralization starts as shallow as 28 meters and 32 meters beneath the surface, extending down to about 300 meters depth, with most mineralization occurring in the top 120 meters. ACKIO remains open at depth and to the north, south and east.
Baselode's exploration strategy, dubbed Athabasca 2.0, focuses on finding near-surface, basement-hosted, high-grade uranium deposits outside of the Athabasca Basin. The company uses innovative and established geophysical survey methods to identify structural controls that may point to shallow drill targets.
Interview with Chief Executive Officer, James Sykes
Baselode Energy has spent years methodically proving up and interpreting the plot potential of its flagship ACKIO uranium project in Saskatchewan's prolific Athabasca Basin. With higher grades hitting over broad widths from recent step-out drilling, CEO James Sykes believes the company has opened up mineralization along strike and at depth, with the deposit “still having room to grow.”
“We hit better holes in many different areas on many different pods than we thought previously,” said Sykes. “It just shows that ACKIO has still some room to grow and still needs to be interpreted a little bit better."
The most recent hole AC-22-102, a 50-meter step-out, intersected 8 meters grading 1.03% U3O8, including 6 meters at 1.76% U3O8. This high-grade intercept remains open in all directions. Earlier drilling activity this year focused on resource delineation, to reach initial NI 43-101 indicated resource categorization. Sykes explained further: "A lot of what we did this summer was mostly...infill drilling and delineation. We wanted to get into the indicated category."
While still committed to expanding resources through additional drill-based discovery, Baselode Energy has begun assessing downstream requirements to understand ACKIO's ultimate production potential. Studies are underway on mineralogy, leachability, access road options and other components.
"We're serious about this," said Sykes. "We've started things like mineralogy studies and leachability studies because we want to move this.”
Rising Uranium Prices Enabling More Ambitious Plans
With the uranium spot price rising over 60% in the past year to over $80 per pound, Sykes believes investor mindsets have shifted to asking: “How long are you going to get into production?"
In response, Baselode Energy aims to balance its core competency as an explorer while advancing ACKIO to be production-ready within typical timeframes. Open-pit amenable projects in Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin have historically transitioned from discovery to mining in 6 to 12 years. "I like the challenge," said Sykes. "We will push it as far as we can.”
Open-pit Precedent and Existing Infrastructure De-Risk Potential Path to Production
If exploration success continues at depth and along strike, Sykes sees a relatively clear path to unlocking ACKIO's production potential. Nearby road access and the existing Key Lake mill and tailings facility provide ready regional infrastructure. Prior open-pit mines in the basin, with similarly high grades to ACKIO's recent results, also offer precedence.
“The last open pits that mined were in 2005, 2007,” said Sykes. “Those were the Sue deposits, high grade, 1%-5% type material sometimes 16% and they had no problems mining that out very easy from the permitting process all the way to the mining.”
The Company's Focus Remains On Discovery Through the Drill Bit
Even while advancing studies and de-risking aspects of ACKIO, Baselode Energy remains committed to exploration. A fully funded 2024 drill program will systematically test high-potential targets across the company's Athabasca Basin portfolio.
“Next year is nothing but drilling," remarked Sykes. "We hope to be drilling on all 4 projects right so just drill, drill, drill, make another discovery, that's what we're all about."
With rising sector momentum centered on uranium fundamentals and mounting pressure on global supply, Baselode Energy looks to be coming into its own after years of meticulous project advancement. Its CEO sums up the path ahead:
“Be ready for some more discoveries, it’s going to be exciting. We love discoveries."
The Investment Thesis for Baselode Energy
- Recent high-grade drill results validate Baselode Energy’s systematic exploration methodology and reinforce ACKIO's significant resource expansion potential
- Advancing project de-risking efforts position Baselode to potentially fast-track a low-cost, open-pit amenable project into development amid rising uranium prices
- Philosophy rooted in drill-based discovery provides a continual pipeline of shareholder value-creation opportunities across an extensive Athabasca Basin portfolio
- Clear exploration upside remains, with a funded 2024 drill program set to unlock further mineralization at ACKIO while testing additional high-potential targets
- Attractive entry point to gain exposure to disciplined explorer uniquely leveraged to rising uranium bull market
With recent drilling now hitting significant high-grade uranium over broad widths, Baselode Energy finds itself on the cusp of a considerable resource expansion at its ACKIO project. While maintaining its core focus on drill-based discovery, the company recognizes an opportunity to simultaneously advance ACKIO down a potential production pathway. Located in a premier jurisdiction amidst supportive infrastructure and industry precedents for open-pit mining, ACKIO may represent one of the fastest and lowest-cost sources of new uranium supply amid a structurally undersupplied global marketplace. Supported by a proven technical team and strengthened balance sheet, Baseload Energy appears poised to continue unlocking value across all facets of its portfolio into 2024 and beyond.
Analyst's Notes


