Why the Western Athabasca

As part of the Denison/Fission agreement, Denison will be acquiring Fission’s Athabasca Basin properties with the key exceptions of PLS and two other properties located in the Western rim of the Basin. These three properties, along with Fission’s Peru properties will form the portfolio of NewCo, the company being spun out as a result of the deal.

Let’s take a look at Western Athabasca. PLS is obvious – we have a brand new, shallow depth high grade discovery there. But what about Paterson Lake and North shore which are also on the Western side and will be spun out with PLS? Well the interesting fact about the Western edge of the Basin is that’s where the first major (and I mean major) discoveries were made including Cluff Lake and they shared the common characteristics of high grades at shallow depth – sound familiar? Once these deposits were mined out, the geo teams moved further into the Basin on the assumption that the Western edge had given all it had.

They were wrong. PLS is proof of that, as is the UEX discovery at Shea Creek and we feel strongly enough about our other two properties there that we’ve recently staked even more ground (and I can tell you we’re not the only ones doing that…). The West is back in favour in a big way and NewCo will be the leading explorer there.

Dev Randhawa

Fission COO and Head Geo discusses the Denison Deal

Plans for PLS

A $4million drill program got underway this month to expand the new discovery make at our PLS property in November. If you missed the news back, I really recommend you check out the press releases and my blog posts at that time.

In short, we had been hunting for the source of a large, particularly high grade boulder field that we had discovered at PLS and confirmation came when every one of the last four holes of our Winter 2012 drill program hit high grade uranium at shallow depth.

So, a $4million drill program at the most exciting new discovery to be made in the Athabasca in recent times but what next?

Well in case you don’t already know, PLS will be the flagship of the NewCo that is being spun out of the Denison/Fission deal. I’ll be heading up that company and taking the hugely successful Fission geo team and management team with me along with approx.. $18 million in cash.

While NewCo will also have other Western Athabasca properties and a great land package in the emerging uranium district of Macusani in Peru, we are going to be fully focused on using our highly experienced (and successful) geo and drill teams to develop PLS. The geology present there – with high grades and shallow depth – is a geologist’s dream and I expect to be sharing a lot of news about our progress there as time passes. Watch this space

Dev Randhawa

Fission COO and Head Geo sums up 2012 for Fission and investors

NewCo: The most exciting new uranium junior to emerge in the Basin

As you are all aware by now, Denison has signed a binding letter of intent to acquire a selection of Fission’s properties, including Waterbury Lake, the Easterm Athabasca properties and our part of the Namibia Dome JV (with Rio) in Namibia.

What Denison is not acquiring are Fission’s Westerm Athabasca properties, foremost of which is PLS, which you may know by its full name of Patterson Lake South.  Denison is also not acquiring approx. $18 million that Fission will have in cash and in fact, they’ll be paying Fission back for any money spent on Waterbury Lake between now and April when the deal will be finalized.

So, what happens to Fission’s Western properties, PLS, approx. 18 million in cash and a very attractive land package in Peru’s Macusani region? It becomes part of NewCo – a spinout run by the same management and geo team that made the Waterbury Lake and PLS discoveries….

I’ve been successfully running uranium exploration companies for a number of years now and I can tell you that PLS is one of the most prospective properties out there right now. If you check out the press releases and my blog posts in Nov and Dec you’ll see what I mean:

A shallow depth, high grade discovery and we’ve only just scratched the surface of PLS. And with a serious chunk of money in the bank and a head Geo (Ross McElroy) who’s been instrumental in five of the last nine major uranium discoveries in the Athabasca, NewCo is already extremely well-positioned – something that current Fission shareholders are going to be very pleased about when NewCo spins into existence at the end of the Denison deal and they receive one share for every FIS share held.

Dev Randhawa

Denison to acquire Fission : Reasons why you should be excited

If you didn’t catch the press release this week, Denison Mines (DML CN) has announced the signing of a Binding Letter of Intent to acquire Fission. The release has the full details but I wanted to share my opinion.

Why I Like This Deal: 
1. We are increasing Fission shareholder value in a volatile market
2. This is a chance for Fission shareholders to be part of a great company (Denison)
3. It’s a win for Denison (and therefore for Fission shareholders) because:

     One - the addition of the aforementioned Fission assets gives Denison an incredible portfolio in the Athabasca Basin – the world’s leading source of high-grade uranium.
     Two - Fission’s Waterbury lake is the proven extension of Rio Tinto’s Roughrider deposit (acquired during the takeover of uranium explorer Hathor) and not only would Rio appreciate extending  this ore-body but Rio will also require a mill and Denison owns 25% of the McLean Lake mill.
     Three - Kepco (the Korean Energy Company, in addition to holding 14.92% of Denison, also owns the other 40% of the Waterbury JV with FIS.

What the Media is NOT saying:
The media has focused on the Denison shares that Fission shareholders will receive but they don't realize the incredible value that NewCo will have and that, in my opinion, is one of the most compelling parts of the deal:
1.  NewCo will have $18m in cash and Denison will repay Fission any money spent on Waterbury between now and the closing of the deal
2.  NewCo will have 50% of PLS (one of the most exciting new discoveries  to occur in the Basin)
3.  NewCo will have three other properties in Western Athabasca
4.  NewCo will have one of most experienced  and successful management and geo teams in the uranium exploration business. 

Dev Randhawa

PLS update: $4 million drill program to define and expand recent discovery

Having two discoveries under our belt means it’s definitely exciting times for Fission. We announced a new $5.5m drill program for our Waterbury Lake property earlier this month and now it’s time for PLS.

We’re starting a $4.0m winter drilling program for PLS in mid-January and as you can imagine, we are laser-focused on the recent high-grade uranium discovery we made there at the end of 2012.

Here’s what Ross McElroy,Fission’s President, COO, and Chief Geologist had to say, "Our success at PLS during the previous twelve months of exploration, particularly with the last drill program, means we have a very clear goal. Every one of the last four holes of in the Fall 2012 program identified high grade uranium at shallow depth so our aim here is the further delineation and expansion of that discovery.”

I encourage you to read the full release which covers the key technical details. Be sure to get in touch with any questions, as well as connect with us on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube (all links on the Fission homepage) to stay up to date with company and industry news.

Dev Randhawa

China: the build out continues

The World Nuclear Association (WNA) recently reported that a new reactor in China (at the Ningde nuclear power station in Fujian province) has started supplying power to the grid, 58 months after construction start.  The Ningde power station will ultimately have six reactors, four of which will come on line to 2015.

This brings the number of operating reactors in China up to 16, with a further 29 under construction, 52 planned and 120 proposed. There are a couple of important points worth bearing in mind when you consider China’s energy plans.

Firstly, the Chinese don't have elections which means, unlike Japan, Korea or Germany for example, China’s energy strategy is based on common sense while other governments must temper the need to secure the right energy mix with the need to get reelected.

The second is that China is by no means the only country aggressively adding nuclear to its energy mix but, as these impressive figures show, it’s the bell weather for the nuclear energy industry and right now the forecast is most definitely growth.

Dev Randhawa

$5.5million, 60 hole drill program announced for Waterbury Lake

If you’ve not seen today’s press release, I’m excited to tell you that we’ve announced a major drill program of 21,000m over 60 drill holes for Waterbury’s Winter 2013 exploration program.

As you would expect, the main focus will be to continue expanding the J Zone’s high grade unconformity mineralization, in addition to the basement mineralization found throughout, particularly in the western part of the J-Zone.

The press release covers the technical detail of the program but to summarize: we’ll be using three drills to test the J Zone in three key areas with a grid drilling program to systematically expand the areas of proven mineralization.

You can find an updated map highlighting the planned 2013 winter drill program, in addition to the final results of the summer 2012 program on the Waterbury project page.

Dev Randhawa

PLS Update: Assay results confirm 54% of boulders over 10% U308

If you haven’t seen our latest press release I’m delighted to confirm we now have the assay results from the boulder prospecting and survey program at PLS. 37 boulders, ranging in size from 1cm to 45cm were reported, with half of them returning grades over 10% U3O8. The highest grade assayed at a huge 40%.

To put the figures into greater perspective, the world average grade for uranium is a mere 0.2% U308….
The press release contains more detailed information on the announcement but in the meantime, here are a few points regarding its significance:

The recent results have not only expanded the high-grade uranium boulder field in the immediate vicinity, they’ve also identified new areas to the west and south-west by up to 800m and 2.5km respectively. We believe that this large distribution of mineralized boulders discovered to the south-west may represent debris from more than one mineralized source from the up-ice direction.

As you’ll know if you caught the news about our successful drill results last month at PLS, advanced planning for a new and aggressive drill program during the winter 2013 field season is in progress. The primary focus will be expanding the shallow depth, high-grade uranium discovery announced in drill holes PLS12-(022 to 025) (see news release Dec 05, 2012).

This is a very exciting time for Fission and PLS so be sure to stay with us while we look to build on the extremely successful end to our 2012 activity as we enter 2013. Please get in contact with any questions and be sure to follow us on Twitter (@FissionEnergy) and LinkedIn to keep up with the latest updates.

Dev Randhawa

An end to out of control costs and emissions? Japan’s PM declares wish to build more reactors

Japan’s new PM, Shinzo Abe, made it clear during an interview on Sunday with television network TBS that he is in favour of building new reactors, stating that "new reactors will be totally different from the ones built 40 years ago -- those at the Fukushima Daiichi plant that caused the crisis," and that "We will be building them while earning understanding of the public as to how different they are." You can read coverage of the interview here.

By getting Japan’s nuclear energy industry moving again with new builds and restarts Shinzo Abe, whose party won the recent election by a landslide, will be able to put an end to out of control energy costs and carbon emissions in Japan. As many observers have highlighted, Japan simply cannot sustain the vast economic and emission costs brought on by using fossil fuels in place of nuclear energy and the new PM clearly plans to resolve the problem the right way.

Great news for Japan. Great news for the nuclear energy industry.

Dev Randhawa