High-Grade JR Zone Exploration Continues with $5M Program in 2025

• F3 Uranium is advancing the Patterson Lake North (PLN) uranium project in Canada's Athabasca Basin
• High-grade uranium mineralization was discovered at the JR Zone in 2022, with drilling ongoing to expand the deposit
• The company is conducting geophysical surveys and exploration drilling to identify additional uranium deposits on the PLN property
• F3 Uranium plans to spend approximately $5 million on drilling and geophysics in early 2025
• The goal is to delineate a high-grade uranium resource that could potentially be developed as a satellite deposit to feed a central mill

The Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan, Canada is one of the world's premier regions for high-grade uranium deposits. It is home to the largest and highest grade uranium mines globally, including Cameco's Cigar Lake and McArthur River operations. Exploration companies have flocked to the Basin for decades searching for the next major uranium discovery. One company that has recently found success is F3 Uranium (TSXV: FUU), which announced the discovery of high-grade uranium mineralization at its 100%-owned Patterson Lake North (PLN) project in 2022.

The Discovery

In late 2024, F3 Uranium intersected an impressive 4.5 meters grading 50.1% U3O8 in discovery hole PLN24-176 at what is now called the JR Zone. This was one of the best drill holes reported globally in the uranium sector in 2024. Follow-up drilling has confirmed that the JR Zone is a shallow, high-grade uranium deposit hosted in basement rocks along a major structural corridor.

Sam Hartmann, F3 Uranium's VP Exploration, elaborated on the significance of hole PLN24-176:

"It's probably our top hole. We have another several holes that are in that range, for grade thickness you're looking at, close to 200. That's basically how we're going to build pounds in the JR Zone by defining very closely the very high-grade material."

Exploration Upside

While the JR Zone is an exciting discovery on its own, F3 Uranium believes there is strong potential to find additional uranium deposits elsewhere on the PLN property. The company has identified several highly prospective exploration corridors based on geophysics, geochemistry, and structural mapping.

One such target is the A1B1 Trend, located along strike to the northeast of the JR Zone. Limited historical drilling at A1B1 encountered strong alteration, anomalous geochemistry and favorable rock types for hosting uranium mineralization. F3 Uranium has a theory that the mineralized system from the JR Zone may extend onto the A1B1 Trend.

The company is also very enthused about a new area called the PW Trend in the southwestern portion of the property. According to Sam Hartman:

"It's called BRS, the Broach Lake South conductor on the South edge of the lake. PW has seen maybe four holes historically, none of them on the conductor or what we think the conductor is going to be."

F3 Uranium is currently conducting ground geophysical surveys at PW to refine drill targets for testing in 2025. Any uranium mineralization discovered along the PW Trend would represent a brand new area for the company.

Interview with VP of Exploration, Sam Hartmann

Next Steps

F3 Uranium plans to be very active exploring the PLN project over the next 12 months. 

The main priorities will be:

• Expanding the JR Zone through step-out and infill drilling
• Exploring along strike of the JR Zone to the A1B1 area
• Drill testing new geophysical targets at the PW Trend
• Generating additional targets through continued geophysical surveying and data interpretation

In total, the company anticipates spending approximately $5 million on exploration in 2025 alone. The goal is to put out a steady stream of drill results and build towards a maiden resource estimate at the JR Zone.

Potential for Discovery

The Athabasca Basin is known for monster uranium deposits, with several exceeding 100 million pounds U3O8 in size. Based on the shallow depth, strong grades and apparent continuity of uranium mineralization seen in drilling so far, the JR Zone has the potential to reach that threshold size with continued exploration success.

It's still early days, but Sam Hartmann is optimistic about F3 Uranium making additional discoveries in the area:

"Typically these deposits are not singular, they always come in multiple pods. Because whatever geological circumstance there was to cause this thing to be in the shear zone located here, those similar circumstances would have existed elsewhere in these long structures. So you can expect more of the same opportunities for mineralization."

If the company is able to delineate a significant uranium resource across the PLN property, it could be a very attractive acquisition target for larger uranium producers active in the Athabasca Basin like Cameco or Orano.

Resource Potential

Based on the current drilling, the JR Zone deposit appears to have a strike length of at least 150-165 meters. Sam Hartmann noted that about half of a typical uranium deposit's resource in the Athabasca Basin comes from the high-grade core:

"Typically in these basement hosted deposits in the Basin, about half of the pounds are within the high grade core, right. We call it the ultra highgrade core, which is like 20% plus, and sort of like a sandwich in the middle of the deposit."

The Investment Thesis for F3 Uranium

• F3 Uranium made a high-grade uranium discovery at the JR Zone in 2022, with the best hole drilled globally for the sector that year, suggesting potential for a top-tier deposit
• Drilling in 2025 could rapidly expand the size and resource potential of the JR Zone
• Additional discoveries along strike (A1B1) and on new conductors (PW) could further increase the company's resource base and net asset value
• Growing resource base and prime location in the eastern Athabasca Basin make F3 Uranium a prime takeover target for larger uranium producers
• Well-funded for 2025 exploration with over $5M budget set aside.

Macro Thematic Analysis

The global push towards decarbonization is expected to be a major demand driver for the uranium sector in the coming decades. Nuclear power is seen as a reliable, carbon-free baseload energy source that many countries are counting on to help them meet ambitious emissions reduction targets. 

This projected growth in the nuclear power sector should provide a strong demand backdrop for uranium. The current spot price of approximately $70/lb U3O8 is still well below incentive levels needed to spur new mine development. With several major mines in the Athabasca Basin coming offline in the next few years due to resource depletion, the market could face a supply deficit by the second half of the decade. 

Sam Hartman summarized the opportunity:

"The closest analog to the JR Zone in terms of the style of mineralization is probably Triple R. And at Triple R, there’s this chain of deposits that vary from 6 million pounds to you know 80 million pounds"

If F3 Uranium is able to find even a 50-million-pound deposit with high grade U3O8 at PLN, it would be one of the most significant uranium discoveries in the Athabasca Basin in decades.