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Gladiator Resources Ltd (ASX: GLA) (Gladiator or the Company) is pleased to provide an update on its ongoing exploration activity at the Mkuju Uranium Project, located in southern Tanzania.
- Drill-hole LNDD020 drilled at the Likuyu North deposit, part of the Mkuju Project, returns 6 mineralised intervals including 7.1 metres averaging 1,963ppm eU3O81, from 63.1 metres depth. This hole was drilled central to the deposit to provide core for an assessment of In Situ Recovery (ISR) of the uranium.
- ISR is the preferred method for mining uranium deposits. ERM Australia Consultants Pty Ltd (ERM) are undertaking an initial ISR assessment for Likuyu North.
- Drill-hole LNDD015 down-dip of the deposit has a ~5m mineralised interval; samples have been dispatched to the lab. This interval is 100m south of the current Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE).
- The 2022 JORC compliant MRE for Likuyu North (4.6 Mlbs U3O8) was based on a pit- shell assuming conventional open-pit mining methods; adoption of ISR may support expansion of it.
Commenting on the drill results, Gladiator’s Chairman Greg Johnson said:
“Drillhole LNDD020 demonstrates the quality of the Likuyu North deposit, and we are excited by the potential opportunity the area provides. Grade and other characteristics appear to be well-suited to ISR. With that in mind, Gladiator has appointed ERM (formerly CSA Global) to help advance this strategy, and if the ISR study is encouraging the Company will consider larger-scale exploration at Likuyu North, Likuyu South and at the Mtonya deposit area, with an aim of maximizing the resource available for a potential ISR operation”.
Drillhole LNDD020
This hole was drilled to provide fresh drill-core to assist with initial assessment of the potential of ISR as a mining method for the Likuyu North deposit. The deposit has a JORC compliant Mineral Resource Estimate of 4.6Mlbs U3O8 with an average grade of 267ppm U3O8. The hole was positioned in an area relatively central to the deposit known to have thick and high-grade mineralisation, hosted by medium to coarse grained sandstone beds. Figure 1 is a cross-section and shows LNDD020. The hole contains 6 mineralised intervals (Table 2) including:
- 2.5 metres with an average grade of 438 ppm eU3O8 from 17.1m depth.
- 7.1 metres with an average grade of 1,963 ppm eU3O8 from 63.1m depth.
Figure 1: North-south cross-section showing the downhole logged eU3O8, mineralized layers and oxide/transitional zones. LNDD015 and LNDD020 are shown.
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GLA:AU
Gladiator Resources
Overview
Gladiator Resources (ASX:GLA) is an Australian explorer focused on uranium projects. The company’s portfolio of uranium assets covers 1,811 square kilometres located in Tanzania. The company’s key projects include – Mkuju, Minjingu, Liwale, Foxy and Eland. Mkuju is the company’s flagship project, having the potential to host world-class uranium deposits given its proximity to the Nyota deposit, which contains 124.6 million pounds (Mlbs) U3O8. Nyota is regarded as one of the largest uranium deposits in the world.
The company is planning a 2024 drill program at Mkuju focusing on the South West Corner (SWC), Mtonya and Likuyu North targets. The 2024 drilling program will commence with initial core drilling at the SWC target, where 2023 trenching revealed up to 7,139 parts per million (ppm) U3O8. Additionally, drilling at Mtonya and Likuyu North will aim to explore potential extensions and new zones of the existing uranium deposits.
The Minjingu project is the other key focus area for Gladiator. This project compliments the company’s flagship Mkuju uranium project in southern Tanzania. Surface pit samples at the Minjingu project have returned high-grade uranium mineralization up to 269 ppm U3O8. Follow-up auger drilling is planned to understand the thickness of the mineralized layer and potential extension.
Tanzania is an ideal location for uranium mining due to its favourable geology. It is rich in uranium-bearing deposits, notably the Mkuju River project, among the world's largest undeveloped uranium reserves. The Tanzanian government’s mining-friendly policies, including taxation and quick permitting process, are encouraging for uranium miners. The presence of well-developed infrastructure, including several ports, makes it easy to transport uranium ore. Further, the country has a large and skilled workforce with graduates in various fields, such as geology and mining. These factors make Tanzania a favourable jurisdiction for uranium exploration and development.
Get access to more exclusive Uranium Investing Stock profiles here
Capitalizing on the uranium momentum with prolific assets in Tanzania
Skyharbour Resources
Investor Insight
In the current strong market dynamic for uranium, Skyharbour Resources is a compelling investment opportunity driven by its large portfolio of exploration assets in Canada’s most prolific uranium district in the Athabasca Basin.
Overview
Nuclear energy is a key driver in the transition to net zero, offering clean, reliable, and secure power to meet global electricity demand, which is expected to grow by 50 percent in 2040.
Skyharbour Resources (TSXV:SYH,OTCQX :SYHBF,FWB:SC1P) is strategically positioned to support this growing demand through its high-grade uraniumprojects. As a leading uranium exploration company, Skyharbour partners with industry stakeholders to advance projects that contribute to the secure and sustainable energy future nuclear power promises.
Skyharbour has launched its winter drill program at the Russell Lake uranium project, initiating its planned 16,000–18,000 metre campaign across 35–45 holes at its co-flagship Russell Lake and Moore projects. A total of 11,000 to 12,000 metres will be drilled at Russell Lake, along with an additional 5,000 to 6,000 metres at Moore Lake in 2025. This initial phase at Russell will focus on exploring the project’s significant upside potential, leveraging its widespread uranium mineralization and favorable geology for large, high-grade Athabasca Basin uranium deposits.
Company Highlights
- Company Overview: Skyharbour Resources is a junior mining company with one of the largest uranium exploration portfolios in Canada’s Athabasca Basin, spanning 37 projects over 616,000 hectares.
- Athabasca Basin Advantage: The Athabasca Basin is the world’s top uranium district, with deposits averaging grades 10 to 20 times higher than the global average.
- Strategy: The company pursues a dual strategy: advancing its co-flagship Russell Lake and Moore projects while leveraging a prospect generator model to fund exploration at secondary assets through partnerships.
- Moore Uranium Project: Moore hosts high-grade uranium at the Maverick Zone, where drilling has returned 6 percent U3O8 over 5.9 metres and 20.8 percent U3O8 over 1.5 metres at 265 metres depth.
- Russell Lake Uranium Project: Adjacent to Moore, Russell Lake is a 73,314-hectare advanced-stage project in which Skyharbour holds a 57.7 percent interest acquired from Rio Tinto. The 2024 winter program confirmed new sandstone-hosted uranium mineralization, with assays of up to 2.99 percent U3O8 over 0.5 metres.
- Current and Planned Drilling: Skyharbour’s 2025 winter program at Russell Lake includes 5,000 metres across 10–12 holes, with total funding secured for 16,000 to 18,000 metres at Russell and Moore.
- Partner-Funded Exploration: Partners are financing an additional 12,000 to 14,000 metres of drilling, including 6–7,000 metres by Orano at the Preston project.
- Prospect Generator Model: Skyharbour advances non-core assets through partners who fund exploration and provide cash or stock, while it retains minority interests and equity stakes.
- Market Tailwinds: Global momentum toward nuclear energy as a decarbonization solution is driving uranium demand, positioning Skyharbour’s Athabasca Basin projects for growth.
Flagship Projects
The Moore Project
The project covers an area of 35,705 hectares, located in the eastern Athabasca Basin near existing infrastructure with known high-grade uranium mineralization and significant discovery potential. Skyharbour acquired the project from Denison Mines (TSX:DML), a large strategic shareholder of the company. The project can be easily accessed year-round via winter and ice roads, streamlining logistics and reducing expenses. During the summer months, a significant portion of the property remains accessible as well. The property has been the subject of extensive historic exploration with over $50 million in expenditures, and over 140,000 meters of diamond drilling completed historically.
Moore hosts high-grade uranium mineralization at the Maverick zones. Over the past few years, Skyharbour Resources has conducted diamond drilling programs, resulting in the intersection of high-grade uranium mineralization in numerous drill holes along the 4.7-kilometer-long Maverick structural corridor. Some of the high-grade intercepts include:
- Hole ML-199 which intersected 20.8 percent U3O8 over 1.5 meters at 264 meters,
- Hole ML-202 from the Maverick East Zone which intersected 9.12 percent U3O8 over 1.4 meters at 278 meters.
- Hole ML20-09 which intersected 0.72 percent U3O8 over 17.5 meters from 271.5 meters to 289.0 meters, including 1 percent U3O8 over 10.0 meters represents the longest continuous drill intercept of uranium mineralization discovered to date at the project.
- Drill hole ML-61 returned 4.03 percent eU3O8 over 10 meters;
- Drill hole ML -55 encountered high-grade mineralization, returning 5.14 percent U3O8 over 6.2 meters
- Drill hole ML -47 intersected 4.01 percent U3O8 over 4.7 meters
Merely 50 percent of the total 4.7-kilometer promising Maverick corridor has undergone systematic drilling, indicating significant discovery potential both along its length and within the underlying basement rocks at depth. Skyharbour completed a 2024 winter drill program which consisted of 2,800m of drilling at the project which focused on infill/expansion drilling at the Main Maverick Zone. Assay results from the program intersected 5 metres of 4.61 percent U3O8 from a relatively shallow downhole depth of 265.5 metres to 270.5 metres including 10.19 percent U3O8 over 1 metre at the Main Maverick Zone from hole ML24-08. The Company recently received the remaining assay results from its late 2024 diamond drilling program, which totaled 2,759 metres in nine holes. Of the nine holes, four holes (ML24-10 to -12 and ML24-18) focused on the Main Maverick Zone and five holes (ML24-13 to -17) on the Maverick East Zone.
Skyharbour is planning for an additional, fully-funded 6,000 – 7,000 metres of drilling at the Main Maverick and Maverick East Zones to further expand, characterize and define the extents of the mineralized zones.
Apart from the Maverick Zone, diamond drilling in various other target areas has encountered multiple conductors linked with notable structural disturbances, robust alteration, and anomalous concentrations of uranium and associated pathfinder elements.
Russell Lake Uranium Project
The Russell Lake project is a large, advanced-stage uranium exploration property spanning 73,314 hectares, strategically positioned between Cameco’s Key Lake and McArthur River projects. Skyharbour has completed its earn-in requirements for an option agreement with Rio Tinto and has now acquired 57.7 percent ownership interest in the Russell Lake project.
The project is adjacent to Denison’s Wheeler River project and Skyharbour’s Moore uranium project. It is supported by excellent infrastructure in terms of highway access as well as high-voltage power lines. The project has undergone a significant amount of historical exploration which includes over 95,000 meters of drilling in over 220 drill holes. The exploration identified numerous prospective target areas and several high-grade uranium showings as well as drill hole intercepts.
The property hosts several noteworthy exploration targets, including the Grayling Zone, the M-Zone Extension target, the Little Man Lake target, the Christie Lake target, and the Fox Lake Trail target. Skyharbour completed a 19-hole drilling program totaling 9,595 meters in three phases in 2023. The initial drilling phase encompassed 3,662 meters across eight completed holes at the Grayling Zone, followed by a second phase involving four holes totaling 2,730 meters drilled at the Fox Lake Trail Zone. The third drilling phase involved 3,203 meters across seven holes targeting additional areas within the Grayling Zone.
Drilling at Russell in 2024 was completed in two separate phases with a total of 3,094 metres drilled in six holes. Phase One of drilling resulted in the best intercept of uranium mineralization historically on the property from hole RSL24-02, which returned a 2.5 metre wide intercept of 0.721 percent U3O8 at a relatively shallow depth of 338.1 metres, including 2.99 percent U3O8 over 0.5 metres at 339.6 metres just above the unconformity in the sandstone. The second phase of drilling was recently completed which totalled approximately 4,500 metres, with assays pending.
Skyharbour has recently commenced its 2025 drilling program at the Russell Lake project with a first phase consisting of approximately 5,000 metres to follow up on notable recent exploration success and to test new targets developed by the geological team.Prospect Generator Strategy
Skyharbour implements a prospect generator model. Through joint ventures and option agreements, partners fund exploration and provide cash or share payments to earn interests in secondary projects. This allows Skyharbour to focus its resources on core assets, including the Moore Lake and Russell Lake projects, while partners advance the rest of the portfolio.
Skyharbour partner companies include Orano Canada, Azincourt Energy, Thunderbird Resources, Nexus Uranium (previously Basin Uranium), North Shore Uranium and Terra Clean Energy, advancing the Preston, East Preston, Hook Lake, Mann Lake, Falcon and South Falcon East Projects, respectively.
More recently, three new earn-in option agreements have been signed with UraEx Resources at the South Dufferin and Bolt Projects, Hatchet Uranium at the Highway Project, and Mustang Energy at the 914W Project, bringing the total partner companies to nine. UraEx Resources has commenced an inaugural 2,600-metre diamond drilling program at the South Dufferin uranium project located south of the southern margin of the Athabasca Basin, proximal to Cameco's Centennial deposit. In 2025, several partner companies are slated to be active, contributing an additional 12,000 to 14,000 metres of drilling on top of the 16,000 to 18,000 metres planned at Russell and Moore Lake.
Furthermore, Skyharbour's project portfolio is bolstered by several other 100 percent owned projects scattered throughout the Athabasca Basin that they can look to option/JV or sell to grow their robust model.
Management Team
Jordan Trimble - President, CEO and Director
With a background in entrepreneurship, Jordan Trimble has held various positions in the resource industry, focusing on management, corporate finance, strategy, shareholder communications, business development, and capital raising with multiple companies. Prior to his role at Skyharbour, he was the corporate development manager at Bayfield Ventures, a gold company with projects in Ontario. Bayfield Ventures was subsequently acquired by New Gold (TSX:NGD) in 2014. Throughout his career, Trimble has established and assisted in the management of numerous public and private enterprises. He has played a pivotal role in securing significant capital for mining companies, leveraging his extensive network of institutional and retail investors.
Jim Pettit – Chairman of the Board and Director
Jim Pettit currently serves as a director on the boards of various public resource companies, drawing from over 30 years of experience in the industry. His expertise lies in finance, corporate governance, management and compliance, particularly in the early-stage development of both private and public enterprises. Over the past three decades, he has primarily focused on the resource sector. Previously, he served as chairman and CEO of Bayfield Ventures, which was acquired by New Gold in 2014.
David Cates - Director
David Cates currently serves as the president and CEO of Denison Mines (TSX:DML). Before assuming the role of president and CEO, Cates was the vice-president of finance, tax, and chief financial officer at Denison. In his capacity as CFO, he played a pivotal role in the company's mergers and acquisitions activities, including spearheading the acquisition of Rockgate Capital and International Enexco. Cates joined Denison in 2008, initially serving as director of taxation before he was appointed CFO. Prior to joining Denison, he held positions at Kinross Gold and PwC with a focus on the resource industry.
Joseph Gallucci - Director
Joseph Gallucci was previously a senior manager at a leading Canadian accounting firm. He possesses more than two decades of expertise in investment banking and equity research, specializing in mining, base metals, precious metals, and bulk commodities worldwide. He serves as a senior capital markets executive and corporate director. Presently, Gallucci is the managing director and head of investment banking at Laurentian Bank Securities, where he assumes responsibility for overseeing the entire investment banking practice.
Brady Rak - VP of Business Development
Brady Rak is a seasoned investment professional who has focussed on the Canadian capital markets over his 13-year career at several independent broker dealers including Ventum Financial, Salman Partners and Union Securities. As a registered investment advisor in the private client division of Ventum Financial, Brady has been involved in advising high-net-worth and corporate clients, structuring transactions, raising capital and navigating global market sentiment. Brady graduated from Northwood University with a BBA in Management and holds his Options license.
Serdar Donmez - Vice-president of Exploration
Serdar Donmez is a professional geoscientist with decades of uranium exploration and development experience in Saskatchewan and Zambia. Over 17 years at Denison Mines, he played key roles in advancing the Phoenix and Gryphon deposits at Wheeler River from discovery to feasibility in 2023. As resource geology manager, he contributed to mineral resource estimates, NI 43-101 reports, and the evaluation of in-situ recovery techniques for high-grade Athabasca Basin deposits. Donmez holds an engineering degree in geology and is a registered professional geoscientist in Saskatchewan.
Dave Billard - Head Consulting Geologist
Dave Billard is a geologist with over 35 years of experience in exploration and development, focusing on uranium, gold and base metals in western Canada and the western US. He served as chief operating officer, vice-president of exploration, and director for JNR Resources before its acquisition by Denison Mines. He played a crucial role in the discovery of JNR’s Maverick and Fraser Lakes B zones. Earlier in his career, he contributed to the discovery and development of several significant gold deposits in northern Saskatchewan. Prior to joining JNR, Billard worked as a geological consultant specializing in uranium exploration in the Athabasca Basin. He also spent over 12 years with Cameco Corporation.
Christine McKechnie - Senior Project Geologist
Christine McKechnie is a geologist with a specialization in uranium deposits, particularly those hosted in the basement and associated with unconformities in the Athabasca Basin and its vicinity. Throughout her career, she has worked with various companies such as Claude Resources, JNR Resources, CanAlaska Uranium and Cameco, engaging in gold and uranium exploration activities. She completed her B.Sc. (High Honors) in 2008 from the University of Saskatchewan and completed a M.Sc. thesis on the Fraser Lakes Zone B deposit at the Falcon Point project. She also received the 2015 CIM Barlow Medal for Best Geological Paper.
