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Feb. 20, 2020 08:09AM PST
UEX Corporation announces start of cobalt, nickel, and uranium-focused drilling program on the West Bear Project.
UEX Corporation (TSX:UEX) (“UEX” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that the winter drilling program has commenced on the West Bear Project. The drill program will be focused on the discovery of new cobalt, nickel and uranium mineralization within similar geological settings to that observed at the West Bear Co-Ni Deposit.
The first holes of the program will be drilled in the Umpherville target area, located 2 km immediately north of the West Bear Co-Ni Deposit along the northern rim of the highly prospective West Bear Dome (see Figure 1 below). The one and only drill program at Umpherville occurred in 1977, long before UEX discovered that the Athabasca Basin contains basement-hosted Co-Ni Deposits. At the time these holes were drilled the prevailing uranium exploration practice dictated that drill holes be terminated at depth of no more than 25 m below the unconformity surface. At West Bear, the best cobalt and nickel concentrations occur within the fault structure at least 30 m below the unconformity.
Figure 1 – Map of the West Bear Property
Within the Umpherville area, the historical drilling encountered uranium mineralization at the unconformity on two fences of holes located approximately 1200 ft apart (see Figure 2). The historical drill holes did not test the ideal uranium or cobalt target on and between these two fences. Of significant interest to UEX is historical hole ML-77-05, which intersected 0.22% eU3O8 over 4 ft (1.22 m) near the unconformity. Encouraged by these results, the historical operator made two separate attempts to expand the size of the ML-77-05 uranium mineralization. Both attempts were abandoned when the holes collapsed after encountering intense hydrothermal clay alteration, similar to that observed in the West Bear deposits.
Figure 2 – Geological Map of the Umpherville Target Area
Using modern drilling technology, UEX is confident that results of historical hole ML-77-05 will be successfully followed-up during this winter’s drill program.
There has been no historical drilling over a distance of 1.5 km along strike of the easternmost fence of Umpherville holes (ML-77-15 & 16). A total of 15 drill holes totaling 1,900 m is planned for the Umpherville target area and along strike to the northeast where several other prospective targets have been identified containing anomalous cobalt and nickel concentrations.
UEX Increases its Interest in Christie Lake to 64.34%
The Company has confirmed with its joint venture partner, JCU (Canada) Exploration Company Limited (“JCU”) that UEX’s interest in the Christie Lake Project is currently 64.36% and JCU’s interest is 35.66% effective December 31, 2019
UEX’s interest increased as a result of JCU’s decision to not fund its share of the approved 2019 exploration program at Christie Lake and as a result diluted their ownership stake in the Joint Venture. The 2019 program incurred approximately $2.9 million in expenditures. UEX agreed to fund JCU’s share of the expenditures.
JCU has also informed UEX that JCU will not be participating in the approved 2020 exploration program. UEX has agreed to fund JCU’s share of the 2020 exploration program, and UEX’s equity interest in the project is expected to increase accordingly.
UEX Webinar on Tuesday, February 25, 2020
UEX will be holding a webinar at 12 pm EST/9 am PST on Tuesday, February 25, 2020 to update shareholders on UEX’s exploration activities. The webinar is open to all audiences.
The purpose of the webinar is to provide an update on the 2020 exploration activities and UEX’s views on the uranium and cobalt markets. All participants will have the opportunity to submit questions prior to and following the presentation.
To access the webinar, participants will need to register in advance through the following link:
https://webinar.ringcentral.com/webinar/register/WN_qT8E-qiVRAC_cI6KM6KZ2Q
After registering, participants will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Please be advised that the total number of registrants is limited. For those interested but unable to attend, a video of the webinar will be posted on the UEX website (www.uexcorp.com) shortly after the event has concluded.
About the West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Deposit
The West Bear Property is an advanced exploration project located in the eastern Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan, Canada that contains both the West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Deposit and the West Bear Uranium Deposit. The Property is approximately 740 km north of Saskatoon, west of Wollaston Lake and measures approximately 7,983 hectares comprising of 24 contiguous areas to which UEX has 100% ownership, with the exception of Mineral Lease 5424 in which UEX owns a 77.575% interest. The Deposit is located within an area of the Athabasca Basin that has excellent infrastructure and is situated within 10 km of an existing all-weather road and power lines that service Cameco Corporation’s nearby Cigar Lake Mine and Rabbit Lake Operation, as well as Orano’s McClean Lake Operation.
The West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Deposit currently has a strike length of over 600 m and a dip length of over 100 m. Prior to expanding the size of the deposit in 2019, on July 10, 2018, the Company announced a maiden inferred resource estimate for the Deposit of 390,000 tonnes grading 0.37% cobalt and 0.22% nickel, which equates to 3,172,000 pounds of cobalt and 1,928,000 pounds of nickel which does not include any results from the 2019 drilling program. The West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Deposit mineral resources were determined using a cut-off grade of 0.023 percent cobalt equivalent (“CoEq”), using the equation CoEq = Co + (Ni x 0.2). Only mineralization located within a conceptual open pit was included in the final resource estimate.
About the Christie Lake Project
UEX currently holds a 64.34% interest in the Christie Lake Project and has entered into a joint venture with JCU. The Project is located approximately 9 km northeast and along strike of Cameco’s McArthur River Mine, the world’s largest uranium producer. The P2 Fault, the controlling structure for all of the McArthur River deposits, continues to the northeast beyond the mine. UEX believes that through a series of en-echelon steps the northeast strike extension of the P2 Fault not only crosses the Project but also controls the three known uranium deposits on Christie Lake, the Ōrora, Paul Bay and Ken Pen Deposits.
The Christie Lake Project is currently estimated to contain 588,000 tonnes grading 1.57% U3O8, which equates to 20.35 million pounds of U3O8 using a cut-off grade of 0.2% U3O8 and are documented in the “Technical Report for the Christie Lake Uranium Project, Saskatchewan, Canada” which was filed on February 1, 2019 and has an effective date of December 13, 2018. The Technical Report is available on the Company’s website at www.uexcorp.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Qualified Persons and Data Acquisition
The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Roger Lemaitre, P.Eng., P.Geo., UEX’s President and CEO, Trevor Perkins, P.Geo., UEX’s Exploration Manager, and Chris Hamel, P.Geo., UEX’s Chief Geologist, who are each considered to be a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
About UEX
UEX (TSX:UEX, OTC:UEXCF.PK, UXO.F) is a Canadian uranium and cobalt exploration and development company involved in an exceptional portfolio of uranium projects, including a number that are 100% owned and operated by UEX, one joint venture with Orano Canada Inc. (“Orano”) and ALX Uranium Corp. (“ALX”) that is 50.1% owned by UEX and is under option to and operated by ALX, as well as eight joint ventures with Orano, one joint venture with Orano and JCU (Canada) Exploration Company Limited, which are operated by Orano, and one project (Christie Lake), that is 64.34% owned by UEX with JCU (Canada) Exploration Company Limited which is operated by UEX.
The Company is also leading the discovery of cobalt in Canada, with three cobalt-nickel exploration projects located in the Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan, including the only primary cobalt deposit in Canada. The 100% owned West Bear Project was formerly part of UEX’s Hidden Bay Project and contains the West Bear Cobalt-Nickel Deposit and the West Bear Uranium Deposit. UEX also owns 100% of two early stage cobalt exploration projects, the Axis Lake and Key West Projects.
Our portfolio of projects is located in the eastern, western and northern perimeters of the Athabasca Basin, the world’s richest uranium belt, which in 2017 accounted for approximately 22% of the global primary uranium production. UEX is currently advancing several uranium deposits in the Athabasca Basin which include the Christie Lake deposits, the Kianna, Anne, Colette and 58B deposits at its currently 49.1%-owned Shea Creek Project (located 50 km north of Fission’s Triple R Deposit and Patterson Lake South Project, and NexGen’s Arrow Deposit) the Horseshoe and Raven deposits located on its 100%-owned Horseshoe-Raven Development Project and the West Bear Uranium Deposit located at its 100%-owned West Bear Project.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT
Roger Lemaitre
President & CEO
(306) 979-3849
Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains statements that constitute “forward-looking information” for the purposes of Canadian securities laws. Such statements are based on UEX’s current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections. Such forward-looking information includes statements regarding the West Bear Co-Ni Deposit drill program, the Christie Lake Property drill program, the McClean South drill program, UEX’s drill hole results, uranium, cobalt and nickel prices, outlook for our future operations, plans and timing for exploration activities, and other expectations, intentions and plans that are not historical fact. Such forward-looking information is based on certain factors and assumptions and is subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from UEX’s expectations include uncertainties relating to the, interpretation of drill results and geology, assay confirmation, additional drilling results, continuity and grade of deposits, fluctuations in uranium, cobalt and nickel prices and currency exchange rates, changes in environmental and other laws affecting uranium, cobalt and nickel exploration and mining, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in UEX’s Annual Information Form and other filings with the applicable Canadian securities commissions on SEDAR. Many of these factors are beyond the control of UEX. Consequently, all forward-looking information contained in this news release is qualified by this cautionary statement and there can be no assurance that actual results or developments anticipated by UEX will be realized. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking information. Except as required by applicable law, UEX disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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Investor Insight
Generation Uranium offers investors high-leverage exposure to a potential major discovery in Canada’s underexplored and resource-rich Thelon Basin, led by a management team with a proven track record of securing high-value exits.
Overview
Generation Uranium (CSE:GEN, OTCQB:GENR, FRA:W85) is a Canadian exploration company focused on wealth creation through discovery within the uranium sector. The company’s primary strategy is to build a high-caliber exploration team that can rapidly test and drill high-potential targets, de-risking projects for potential takeover by larger producers. Currently centered in the prolific Thelon and Angikuni Basins of Nunavut, the company is also actively evaluating additional project acquisitions in the Athabasca Basin to expand its portfolio.
The company is led by a veteran management team with nearly 30 years of experience in mineral development. CEO Michael Collins has a significant track record of building and exiting public companies, including the co-founding of Bluerock Resources, a conventional uranium producer during the 2000-2008 cycle. This expertise is paired with a focused business model that leverages modern geophysical targeting to accelerate exploration timelines and reduce costs, ensuring the company can deliver results quickly in a bullish uranium market.
Company Highlights
- Strategic Location in a Premier Uranium District: The flagship Yath Project is located in Nunavut’s Thelon Basin, contiguous to ATHA Energy’s Angilak Project, which hosts the high-grade Lac 50 deposit.
- High-Grade Discovery Potential: Historical surface sampling at the Yath Project has yielded exceptional uranium grades, including boulders testing at 9.81 percent, 3.95 percent, and 2.14 percent U3O8.
- Expert Management with Exit Experience: Led by CEO Michael Collins, the team has decades of experience in mineral exploration and a history of co-founding companies that were later acquired, such as Prime Mining and Nuclear Fuels.
- Low-Cost, Rapid Exploration Strategy: By leveraging modern geophysics and extensive historical data, the company aims for a "short road to discovery," de-risking projects quickly to maximize shareholder value.
- Bullish Market Fundamentals: Generation Uranium is well-positioned to meet the growing global demand for carbon-free nuclear power, supported by a projected supply deficit and increased interest from major tech companies seeking clean energy.
Key Project
Yath Project - Nunavut, Canada
The Yath Project is Generation Uranium’s flagship project. This 100 percent owned property covers about 120 square kilometers within the underexplored Thelon Basin in Nunavut, Canada. The project is located where the Yathkyed and Angikuni sub-basins meet, which is a region known globally for high-grade uranium potential. It sits directly along the same trend as the Angilak Project owned by ATHA Energy (TSXV:SASK, OTCQB:SASFK, FWB:XSU.F), which contains the Lac 50 deposit, one of the highest-grade uranium resources found outside of the Athabasca Basin with a historical mineral resource estimate of 43.3M lbs at an average grade of 0.69 percent U3O8.
The Yath Project is contiguous to the Lac 50 trend and is crossed by several regional faults and basin boundaries. Past exploration work has already identified high priority targets, while surface sampling in the area has produced uranium grades from boulders, with some testing at 9.81 percent, 3.95 percent, and 2.14 percent U3O8.
The company has commenced its initial field program at the site, set to define and rank drill targets. Historic showings will be combined with new anomalies from the MMT geophysics survey, preparing the project for an anticipated drill permit.
Management Team
Michael Collins - CEO & Director
Michael Collins is a professional geoscientist with nearly 30 years of experience in mineral exploration. He has co-founded several public companies, including Exploits Discovery, Prime Mining (acquired in 2025), and Nuclear Fuels (merged with Premier American Uranium in 2025). He is also currently a director of First Atlantic Nickel.
Christoph Bruening - Director
Christoph Bruening is the founder and managing partner of Value Relations GmbH, a full-service investor relations and public relations agency in Frankfurt with over 25 years of excellence, focusing on mining, exploration, biotech and health care. In addition, he has listed over 600 companies on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and is a speaker and author of several publications, including on rare earths and uranium.
Dallas Miller - Director
Dallas Miller has been working within the international mining industry for over 15 years, working with BHP and Santos Ltd. He has experience on the ground from an operational standpoint, as well as being an integral part of raising millions of dollars in capital funding for both private and public companies in recent years.
Roger Leschuk - VP Corporate Development
Roger Leschuk has been in corporate management for over two decades, with the past 15 years dedicated to corporate development and investor relations. He has experience participating in and assisting with mergers and acquisitions, and was an investment advisor for various services such as stocks, mutual funds and tax-sheltered investments. He is a Chartered Investment Manager and a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute.
Monty Sutton - CFO
Monty Sutton brings over 35 years of experience in public markets and corporate governance. He previously served as CFO for Nuclear Fuels from its IPO through its acquisition.
Investor Insight
Metals.io is a real-world asset platform built within the Tezos ecosystem, enabling direct investment exposure across uranium, gold, cobalt, nickel, and a diversified basket of strategic metals via tokenization. It reflects the ecosystem’s expansion into precious metals, rare earth elements, and critical minerals that underpin energy systems, industrial supply chains, and advanced technologies.
Overview
Metals.io is a unified real-world asset platform built on Tezos infrastructure, designed to simplify access to physically backed commodities through blockchain tokenization. It enables investors to gain exposure to uranium, gold, and strategic metals through a single digital interface, reducing fragmentation, limited accessibility, and opacity traditionally associated with commodity markets.
The platform builds on the foundation of tokenized uranium and expands into a broader multi-asset framework aligned with growing global demand for critical resources. Uranium remains central due to its role in nuclear energy and long-term decarbonization efforts, while gold continues to function as a global store of value in periods of macroeconomic uncertainty.
Alongside these core assets, Metals.io incorporates exposure to strategic and rare earth metals that are increasingly vital to modern industrial systems. These materials underpin semiconductors, electrification, defense technologies, and AI-driven infrastructure, reflecting their growing importance in global supply chains.
By integrating blockchain infrastructure with real-world commodity markets, Metals.io enables fractional ownership, real-time settlement, 24/7 global trading access, and programmable financial utility. The platform represents a streamlined gateway to tokenized commodities that are central to both energy transition and technological advancement.
As of June 2026, the company has also purchased and tokenized cobalt and nickel, allowing investors to own the metals through xCo and xNi tokens. This allows for easier access, ownership and trading of both metals, which are utilized in high-demand sectors such as electric vehicles, battery storage systems and clean energy technologies.
Company Highlights
- Multi-Asset Commodity Platform: Provides access to tokenized uranium (xU3O8), cobalt (xCo), nickel (xNi), gold (VNXAU), a diversified strategic metals basket (RARE) through a single interface, with more coming soon
- Built on Tezos: Utilizes Tezos smart-rollup technology to enable scalable, low-latency and energy-efficient real-world asset tokenization.
- Physically Backed Assets: Tokens represent ownership of underlying physical commodities or allocated reserves, ensuring a direct link between digital assets and real-world commodity.
- Institutional-Grade Custody: Archax, an FCA-regulated digital asset custodian, provides secure and compliant custody, with uranium stored in regulated facilities operated by Cameco, and physical nickel and cobalt stored at industry-certified bonded warehouses in the Netherlands
- Established Supply Chain: Curzon Uranium supports sourcing and logistics for uranium; Steinweg / C. Steinweg are physical custodian of the underlying cobalt and nickel; while VNX and Noemon Tech contribute gold and strategic metals exposure.
- Global Market Access: Enables 24/7 access to tokenized commodities through digital asset infrastructure, supporting broader investor participation.
- Enhanced Market Transparency: Integrates pricing and data systems aimed at improving visibility in traditionally opaque commodity markets.
- On-Chain Financial Utility: Tokenized commodities can be used within decentralized finance applications, enabling liquidity access without selling underlying assets.
- Aligned with Global Demand Trends: Provides exposure to commodities central to nuclear energy, monetary hedging, industrial production, and advanced technologies, including AI and electrification.
Key Assets
xU3O8 – Tokenized Uranium
xU3O8 provides direct exposure to physically backed uranium ore concentrate, a core input in nuclear energy generation. Each token represents ownership of uranium stored in regulated facilities, enabling fractional access to a historically institutional market.
Uranium plays a critical role in the global energy transition as nuclear power expands to meet rising electricity demand and decarbonization targets. xU3O8 enables investors to participate in this sector through a transparent, digitally accessible structure linked to physical supply.
On July 2026, Metals.io announced that xU3O8 is now available for trading on global crypto platforms Kraken and Kraken Pro. Aside from the Metals.io website, xU3O8 is also accessible via Gate, KuCoin, MEXC, Bitrue, LBank, BingX, the decentralized exchange Hanji and uranium.io.
The company highlighted the value of access to uranium with fractional ownership, no minimums, 24/7 global availability and near-instant settlement, providing individual investors with ownership options amidst the growing global electricity demand.
VNXAU – Tokenized Gold
VNXAU represents allocated physical gold stored in secure, regulated vaults. Each token reflects direct ownership of gold reserves, combining the stability of gold as a traditional store of value with the efficiency and divisibility of blockchain infrastructure.
Gold continues to serve as a hedge against inflation, currency volatility, and macroeconomic uncertainty. Tokenization enhances accessibility and transferability while preserving full physical backing.
RARE – Strategic Metals Basket
RARE provides diversified exposure to strategic and rare earth metals essential to modern industrial and technological systems. The basket includes metals used in semiconductors, renewable energy infrastructure, defense technologies, and advanced manufacturing.
As global supply chains tighten and demand accelerates for critical inputs, strategic metals have become increasingly important to economic and technological resilience. RARE enables diversified exposure through a single tokenized instrument.
xCo - Tokenized Cobalt
xCo enables investors to own and trade physical cobalt in an investment-friendly and transparent manner by administering fractional ownership of physical cobalt in the form of a smart contract ledger. Each xCo represents a right of ownership of cobalt held by Archax as a trustee for investors.
Over 70% of cobalt comes from one country. Supply is tightening as the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) caps exports at 96,600 metric tons per year. Global EV (Electric Vehicle) battery demand is projected to increase cobalt consumption.
xNi - Tokenized Nickel
xNi enables investors to own and trade physical nickel in an investment-friendly and transparent manner by administering fractional ownership of physical nickel in the form of a smart contract ledger. Each xNi represents a right of ownership of nickel held by Archax as a custodian for investors.
Nickel powers the modern industry, essential for stainless steel and increasingly critical for EV (Electric Vehicle) batteries. Indonesia controls over 60% of supply and is tightening quotas. Trade restrictions, export bans, and policy shifts influence price movements, making real-time investment access vital.Key Technology Platform
Tezos Infrastructure
Metals.io is built on Tezos smart-rollup architecture, enabling high-speed execution, low latency, and scalable tokenization of real-world assets.
Physically Backed Asset Framework
Each token is backed by physical commodities or allocated reserves, ensuring verifiable linkage between digital assets and underlying real-world holdings across uranium, gold, cobalt, nickel, and strategic metals.
Institutional Custody & Supply Chain
- Archax provides FCA-regulated custody
- Cameco-operated facilities store uranium reserves
- Curzon Uranium manages sourcing and logistics for Uranium
- VNX supports allocated gold issuance structures
- Steinweg / C. Steinweg are physical custodian of the underlying nickel and cobalt, with material held in LME (London Metals Exchange)-approved or equivalent warehouse facilities
Market Infrastructure
Metals.io incorporates pricing and transparency systems designed to improve visibility in historically opaque commodity markets, particularly uranium and strategic metals.
On-Chain Utility
Tokenized commodities can be used as collateral in decentralized finance applications, enabling access to liquidity without requiring asset liquidation; currently available for Uranium and being expanded to other metals.
