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Thunderbird Resources Limited (Thunderbird) or (the Company) (ASX: THB) is pleased to advise that it is in the final stages of preparation for its maiden drilling program at the highly prospective Hidden Bay Uranium Project in the Athabasca Basin, Canada, with six quotes received from prospective drilling contractors.
Highlights
- Six drilling contractors have submitted quotes with a drilling contract on track to be signed shortly.
- 2,400m of diamond drilling planned, with drilling scheduled to commence mid-August.
- Entitlement Offer closes at 5pm WST on Wednesday 10 July 2024. Share price on Friday closed at 3.3c, a 10% premium to the Entitlement Offer price of 3c.
- Thunderbird will be fully-funded for its upcoming exploration programs following the completion of its $4.1m capital raising and a recent $1.07m share sale.
The Company is aiming to appoint its preferred drilling contractor shortly, with the drilling program on track to commence by mid-August, with Dahrouge Geological Consulting providing technical support. Hidden Bay is located 20km south-west of the Rabbit Lake uranium deposit on the eastern flank of Canada’s world-class Athabasca Basin.
The upcoming drilling program will comprise 2,400m of diamond drilling across five high-priority target areas that have been meticulously refined by the Company’s exploration team.
Entitlement Offer
The fully underwritten entitlement offer closes at 5pm on Wednesday 10 July. The share price closed on Friday at 3.3c, which is a 10% premium to the 3c price of the entitlement offer.
The Company will be fully funded for the Hidden Bay drilling program following the completion of the Entitlement Offer and Placement, as well as the recent sale of 10 million Firetail Shares (ASX: FTL) raising $1.07 million.
The Company has recently participated in the Firetail Resources Entitlement Offer, acquiring 1.5m @ 4c for $60,000. This will increase its holding to 16.5 million Firetail Shares. Based on the closing price on Friday 5 July 2024 of 10c, Thunderbird’s investment is valued at $1.65 million.
Management Comment
Thunderbird Executive Chairman George Bauk said: “We are pleased to have received proposals from six drilling contractors and look forward to finalising the contract shortly. Everything is on track to commence the Company’s maiden drilling program at Hidden Bay by mid-August.”
Hidden Bay Drilling Targets
The drill targets defined at Hidden Bay are based on airborne gravity and magnetic surveys, radon in soil surveys, and re-interpretation of historical exploration data. Six priority gravity low targets were identified within an ENE-trending structural corridor proximal to the regional Athabasca unconformity. The ENE-corridor is defined by EM conductors (historical surveys), structures and fold axes. Historical drilling in the southwest part of the property returned up to 0.13% U3O8 1 and elevated radon geochemistry occurs proximal to the gravity lows.
Figure 1. Location of Hidden Bay Uranium Project in the Athabasca Basin
Hidden Bay is located approximately 20km south of the historic Rabbit Lake Uranium mine, which was the longest running uranium mine in North America with over 41 years of mining, producing over 203 million pounds of uranium concentrate1. This part of the Athabasca Basin is highly endowed with several uranium deposits and producing mines within a 40km radius including Eagle Point, Collins Bay, Cigar Lake, Roughrider, and Horseshoe-Raven (see Figures 1 and 2). Despite its proximity to multiple uranium prospects and deposits only one hole has been drilled on the property in the last 35 years (see Figure 3).
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This article includes content from Thunderbird Resources, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
xU3O8 (uranium.io)
Investor Insight
Purpose-built for today’s energy transition, xU3O8 sits at the intersection of technology, finance, and nuclear energy, offering a simplified and transparent alternative to legacy uranium investments amid surging global demand. The xU3O8 token, now accessible on leading global exchanges, is a groundbreaking digital asset that provides direct, efficient exposure to the uranium market.
Overview
Uranium.io is a next-generation platform revolutionizing how investors access and trade physical uranium (U3O8). By leveraging blockchain technology, it enables individuals and institutions to directly own and trade uranium, bypassing many of the inefficiencies, opacity and high costs traditionally associated with uranium exposure. Each xU3O8 token represents real, physical uranium stored securely in a regulated depository operated by Cameco, with Archax, a UK-regulated digital asset firm, as the custodian for the physical uranium ensuring transparency and trust in asset backing.
The platform is designed to meet growing investor demand for exposure to uranium, a commodity that is a critical component of the global energy transition. As countries commit to reducing carbon emissions, nuclear energy is increasingly seen as a reliable and scalable source of low-carbon electricity. Governments across North America, Europe and Asia are ramping up their nuclear energy capacities, as part of their net-zero targets. This includes restarting idled reactors, constructing new reactors, and accelerating the development of small modular reactors.
Nuclear power is also emerging as a stable and scalable option for supporting artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, which require massive amounts of electricity to operate. Industry leaders, including Microsoft, have announced nuclear energy investments, and several technology firms have secured long-term agreements for nuclear power.
Like gold and silver before it, uranium is entering a phase of financialization — with physical holding trusts, ETFs, and now platforms like uranium.io offering direct physical uranium ownership via xU3O8, making it more accessible to a wider set of investors.
As traditional financial markets converge with digital innovation, tokenized assets are becoming a preferred vehicle for commodities investing. Uranium.io’s use of the Etherlink blockchain ensures secure, real-time trading with minimal friction — a distinct advantage in an increasingly digitized investment landscape.
Development of the uranium.io platform is led by the team at London-based Trilitech, a group of entrepreneurs and technologists driving blockchain innovations.
With its emphasis on direct fractional ownership and 24/7 worldwide accessibility, xU3O8 is uniquely positioned to serve as the gateway to physical uranium exposure for a global investor base. Alignment with broader energy and digital asset trends makes it a compelling vehicle for those seeking to capitalize on uranium’s strong fundamentals and the disruptive power of decentralized finance.
In July 2025, the company launched its xU3O8 token on KuCoin, MEXC, and Gate.io — ushering in a new era of uranium investment. This simultaneous, multi-platform listing marks a major milestone in the evolution of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, delivering institutional-grade exposure to uranium markets to a combined audience of over 115 million global traders.
By debuting across multiple top-tier platforms, xU3O8 ensures broad accessibility and liquidity for investors:
- KuCoin – With over 41 million users in 200+ countries, KuCoin offers a full suite of trading services—spot, margin, options, and futures. As a technology-first exchange focused on accessibility, KuCoin shares xU3O8’s mission to dismantle traditional investment barriers.
- MEXC – Founded in 2018, MEXC serves 36 million users globally and has seen explosive 2024 growth: 143 percent increase in spot trading and 118 percent in futures. Its intuitive platform makes crypto trading “simple, accessible, and rewarding,” mirroring xU3O8’s goal of democratizing uranium investment.
- Gate.io – Ranked among the top 3 global crypto exchanges by real trading volume, Gate.io boasts 32 million users and supports over 3,600 digital assets. With institutional-grade security and a commitment to 100 percent reserve holdings, Gate.io provides the infrastructure essential for tokenized commodity trading.
Each xU3O8 token represents fractional ownership of physical uranium ore concentrate (yellowcake) securely stored by Cameco in regulated facilities, eliminating the high barriers to entry that once restricted uranium investment to institutions and major corporations.
Company Highlights
- Uranium.io is a pioneering platform for buying and selling uranium, providing direct ownership of physical uranium via a blockchain-powered token xU3O8.
- Built on Etherlink, powered by Tezos technology, enabling transparency, low fees, energy efficiency and programmable compliance.
- FCA-regulated digital asset custodian, Archax, holds physical uranium in trust on behalf of token holders.
- Physical supply is brokered by Curzon Uranium, a trusted uranium trading and logistics partner with deep industry roots and over $1 billion in uranium trades.
- The uranium bought on the platform is physically stored at a regulated depository owned and operated by Cameco, one of the world’s leading global uranium providers/converters.
- Global 24/7 market access offering fractionalized and direct uranium exposure with real-time settlement and cross-border accessibility.
- Capitalizing on nuclear energy’s role in clean energy transition and the financialization of critical minerals.
- The company has launched the xU3O8 token across three of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges: KuCoin, MEXC, and Gate.io.
- Uranium.io launches a near-real-time pricing oracle, disrupting uranium market opacity and delivering unmatched transparency and efficiency.
Technology Platform
Uranium.io is built on a secure, decentralized technology stack that integrates blockchain infrastructure, digital asset custody, and real-world commodity supply — delivering unprecedented access and transparency to the uranium market. The platform bridges traditional commodities trading with Web3 innovation, allowing users to seamlessly acquire, hold and trade physical uranium via xU3O8 tokens.
Uranium.io unveiled the world's first uranium spot pricing oracle, aimed at addressing the price opacity issues in the uranium market. Unlike oil, gold, base metals, and agricultural commodities, uranium pricing has traditionally relied on fragmented, privately negotiated over-the-counter deals, leaving market participants in the dark and creating inefficiencies and uncertainty that limit broad participation.
Uranium.io’s oracle transforms this landscape with:
- Real-time pricing oracle: Launched to tackle uranium market opacity, providing near-instant spot price updates and boosting transparency and efficiency.
- Tokenized uranium trading: Investors can trade fractional shares of physical uranium, democratizing access to a traditionally restricted market.
- Market interest surging: Uranium-related financial instruments, including ETFs, have outperformed Bitcoin in 2025, reflecting growing investor demand.
- Data-driven insights: Aggregates dozens of sources—spot feeds, nuclear equities, commodity funds—and uses algorithms to mirror uranium’s complex market dynamics.
Blockchain Infrastructure: Etherlink, Powered by Tezos
At the heart of xU3O8’s digital asset engine is the Tezos blockchain, a highly secure, energy-efficient and self-amending Layer 1 protocol. Tezos is uniquely suited to power real-world asset tokenization due to its low transaction costs and energy efficiency; on-chain governance and smart contract flexibility; and enterprise-grade security and decentralization.
Tezos’ track record with real-world assets, including tokenized real estate and art, positions it as an ideal foundation for the secure, scalable digitization of uranium ownership.
Digital Custody: Archax
To ensure that each xU3O8 token is backed with physical uranium, uranium.io is supported by Archax, a London-based, digital asset custodian and exchange regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Archax provides regulated asset custody, KYC/AML-compliant onboarding, and real-time asset reconciliation.
Archax brings institutional-grade governance and accountability to the storage and oversight of physical uranium, ensuring that investor holdings are not just theoretical but physically secured.
Physical Supply: Curzon Uranium
Access to physical uranium is facilitated by its partnership with Curzon Uranium, a specialized uranium trading and logistics firm. Curzon acts as the platform’s uranium provider, sourcing, purchasing and delivering uranium from trusted upstream suppliers to secure storage.
Curzon’s decades of experience in uranium procurement adds physical credibility and market depth to the xU3O8 ecosystem — making the platform more than just a digital asset project, but a fully integrated uranium trading platform.
Physical uranium storage: Cameco
The physical uranium ore concentrate (U3O8) is securely stored at a regulated storage facility, operated by Cameco, one of the three globally recognized uranium conversion and storage providers. For transparency, Proof of Reserves is always available on the website and is updated with monthly statements from Cameco.
Together, Tezos, Archax and Curzon Uranium form the digital, custodial and physical backbone of the uranium.io platform. This trio of technologies and partnerships ensures a secure, compliant and efficient path for investors to gain physical uranium exposure — fractionalized, tokenized and tradable 24/7 on a global scale.
