Announcement • Apr 20
Power Metal Resources plc Announces Badger Lake Drill Programme Results
Power Metal Resources PLC completed a diamond drilling programme with four holes and a total of 1,922 metres drilled. Drilling successfully tested fault structures and analogies of major deposits. Highly encouraging hydrothermal alteration intersected, including distinct bleaching and preserved palaeoweathering profiles, confirming the presence of potential REDOX fronts necessary for uranium precipitation. No elevated radioactivity was encountered, despite the promising geology and mineralogy encountered. Core samples have been dispatched for comprehensive laboratory analysis. Four NQ diameter drill holes (47.6mm core diameter), with a total metreage of 1,922m, were drilled on the Badger Lake Property over the period 2 March - 9 April 2025. Three holes (BL26-01 to BL26-03) were drilled from a single central location, and one (BL26-04) was drilled approximately 270m to the north-north-west. BL26-01 was drilled to test a combined magnetic low (inferred fault structure), intersecting both the S-Zone and the inferred Eastern Shear Zone, this hole was planned for 650m, and 647m were drilled. This hole was targeting shear/fault-hosted mineralisation and was designed to provide information on the alteration and geochemistry of the Eastern Shear Zone. BL26-02 was drilled to test the inferred Western Shear Zone, the S-Zone and the overlying anomalous uranium in soil. This hole was planned for 650m, of which 584m was drilled due to the earlier than expected intersection of the target zone. This hole was targeting shear/fault-hosted mineralisation and was designed to provide information on the alteration and geochemistry of the Western Shear Zone. BL26-03 was drilled to test for a potential Cigar Lake Analogy between the two Shear Zones, as well as investigate the S-Zone and the inferred gravity high. This hole was planned for 400m, but terminated at 305m due to the unconformity being shallower (250m) than anticipated. BL-26-04 was drilled to test for mineralisation at the apex of the Western Shear Zone and the unconformity. This hole was planned for 400m, and terminated at 386m. The centralised drilling setup for BL-26-01 to BL-26-03 allowed the programme to test the two fault structures, the Cigar Lake Anomaly and the S-Zone, without moving the drill, thereby increasing the programme's efficiency. The drill programme was carried out by ITL Diamond Drilling Ltd, with technical services provided by Mercator Geological Services, and helicopter support from Access Helicopters Ltd. The drilling campaign was staged out of Big Bear Camp in western Saskatchewan. BL-26-01 inclined (-57°) hole intersected the unconformity at 302.79 metres down-hole depth equivalent to 253.9m vertical depth or true-depth ("TD"). The overlying Athabasca sandstone is primarily fine- to medium-grained and pale brick-red, with minor cross-bedding. A notable zone of desilicification was observed at 123.00m down-hole (103.2m TD), whilst the lower sandstone column exhibits weak to moderate illite bleaching (242.0m-275.5m downhole /203.0m-231.1m TD) and intense maroon haematite alteration approaching the basement contact. Beneath the unconformity, a well-developed palaeoweathering profile is preserved, featuring a heavily hematised Red Zone (302.79m-313.65m downhole /253.9m-263.1m TD) and a transitional clay-rich Green Zone (313.65m-336.00m downhole /263.1m-281.8m TD) dominated by chlorite, illite, and kaolinite. The basement lithology is primarily augen gneiss with minor pegmatitic sections, intruded by a series of mafic dykes starting at 501.73 metres downhole (420.8m TD) and continuing to the end of the hole. The basement was variably silicified throughout, with the field observations indicating the Silicification to be late in the alteration sequence. Structurally, minor faulting and shear zones are clustered immediately below the unconformity (between 313m and 331m downhole /262.5m and 277.6m TD), with no strong evidence of sustained faulting to depth, although annealed clay-filled fractures were observed. No uranium mineralisation was encountered, with localised blebby and fracture-fill pyrite (up to 8%) concentrated between 347.85m and 349.55m downhole (291.7m-293.2m TD), accompanied by a secondary hydrothermal overprint of chlorite, illite, and calcite veining within the upper basement. BL-26-02 inclined (-57°) hole intersected the unconformity at 316.40 metres downhole (265.4m TD). The overlying Athabasca sandstone displays variably bedded pale brick-red to burgundy hues, with significant intermittent bleaching starting at 277.32m downhole (232.6m TD) and continuing to the basement contact. Beneath the unconformity, a well-defined palaeoweathering profile is evident, comprising a Red Zone (316.4m-321.6m downhole /265.4m-269.7m TD), a transitional Red/Green Zone (321.6m-345.8m downhole /269.7m-290.0m TD), and a Green Zone (345.8m-387.0m downhole /290.0m-324.6m TD). The basement lithology transitions from an augen gneiss to a structurally complex granitic and pelitic gneiss sequence, and is similarly silicified, as with BL2026-01. However, the deeper basement (below 500m downhole /419.3m TD) is characterised by significant structural deformation, including multiple breccias and fault structures infilled with clay, chlorite, and calcite with a silicified overprint. No uranium mineralisation was identified within the drillhole. BL-26-03 drillhole BL2026_03, drilled vertically, encountered the unconformity at a shallower downhole depth of 251.31 metres. The sandstone showing patchy trace to moderate bleaching and diagenetic haematite banding, the unconformity is well preserved, and does not indicate intense hydrothermal alteration. The basement rocks are dominated by pelitic gneiss, transitioning into semi-pelitic gneiss and granite. The palaeoweathering profile features a pronounced Red-Green Zone (251.3m-263.9m downhole) with pervasive haematite and chloritisation of mafic minerals. Structure in this hole is relatively weak, mostly limited to open fractures; this weak structural geology and minimal clay alteration is not supportive of a Cigar Lake model for uranium mineralisation. BL-26-04 vertical hole reached the unconformity at 262.30 metres downhole, marked by 5 centimetres of clay gouge. The sedimentary sequence exhibits patchy bleaching. The basement is primarily pelitic gneiss grading into granitic gneiss. A complete, albeit compressed, regolith profile was intersected: a thin Bleached Zone (262.3m-262.5m), a Red Zone (262.5m-275.9m), and a Red-Green Zone (275.9m-291.4m). As with the other holes, the basement is highly silicified and shows moderate fracturing with a notable crackle breccia zone towards the end of the hole (379.5m), coated with illite, chlorite, and pyrite.
