The property is composed of four mineral dispositions totalling 23,760 ha., located along the northwest margin of the Athabasca Basin. It is located approximately 72 km southwest of Uranium City, Saskatchewan and approximately 10 km southeast of the Maurice Bay uranium deposit (Cameco).
The Beartooth Agreement
On January 20th 2006, Ditem Explorations signed a letter of intent with Golden Valley Mines Ltd., now Uranium Valley Mines Ltd., allowing Ditem to earn up to a 66% interest in the Beartooth Island Prospect. Following the completion of a $3.5M exploration program, Ditem earned operatorship and maintains a 60% interest (September 2008) in the Beartooth Island property.
Geological Settings
The area of western Lake Athabasca is underlain by northeast trending Archean to Paleoproterozoic granitic and gneissic rocks of the Rae Province in the Canadian Shield. Within this Province and directly below the Beartooth Island area, is the northeast trending fault contact boundary between the Zemlak Domain on the west side and the Beaverlodge Domain on the east. Unconformably overlying these rocks is the northern margin of Proterozoic Athabasca Basin rocks. The Zemlak Domain is dominated by migmatitic gneiss that may contain components of many of the granitic suites in the Beaverlodge Domain and some attenuated and dismembered components of the Murmac Bay Group supracrustal rocks.
Very prominent NE-SW and N-S faults and lineaments were recognized in the area of western Lake Athabasca. The most prominent of these major structures is the NE-SW trending Black Bay fault, which may extend to the area of the Beartooth Island property. Additionally, the property is underlain by the Zemlak Domain, and the Black Bay belt of the Beaverlodge Domain.
Overlying these rocks is the Athabasca succession, with thickness varying from a few meters up to approximately 1000 meters. In the area of the Beartooth Island property, the succession contains the Lazenby Lake Formation mainly composed of quartz arenite with clay intraclasts and red mudstone interbeds, the Manitou Falls Formation composed of fine-grained well-sorted sandstone with few centimetres of a basal conglomerate and <1% clay intraclasts and the Fair Point Formation composed of coarse-grained pebbly quartz arenite with fine grained pink quartz arenite interbeds. On the Beartooth Island property, The Fair Point Formation is estimated to be >500m thick. Close to the unconformity, The Fair Point Formation is an interbed sequence of fine to medium-grained sub-arkose with coarse-grained arkose and pebbly quartz arenite. A regolithic weathering zone at the base of the Fair Point Formation indicates that the formation was deposited in an aqueous near shore or stream channel environment.
Mineralization discovered in 1979 on the property was associated with mineralized erratics located on Beartooth Island. A recent survey indicates that these erratics are composed of sandstones with local hematite alteration that may be from the Manitou Falls Formation.. These erratics could have been transported from a distal source from somewhere to the east or northeast.
Milestones and Projected Work
The drilling program in 2008 totalled 2511.55 meters, testing three separate conductors as defined by the winter 2007 Spartan MT survey. Variable hydrothermal alteration (hematite, chlorite, limonite and clay) normally associated with uranium deposits in the area was intersected to the unconformity and into the basement rocks. A follow-up down-hole time domain electromagnetic survey (BHTEM) identified two off-hole conductors in two of the three holes completed. These first drill intersections on the Beartooth Island property are highly encouraging in light of the evidence of hydrothermal alteration, elevated boron values and off-hole electromagnetic conductors. This may indicate a neighbouring mineralized structure. Both targets coincide with the ground magnetotelluric geophysical anomalies. Ditem's geologist Alan Davies was present on the Beartooth Island property for the drilling and MT program.
Regarding significant results from the diamond drill program such as anomalous uranium values above background levels, evidence of hydrothermal alteration, elevated boron values and off-hole electromagnetic (BHTEM) conductors, the off-hole BHTEM conductors proximate to the unconformity contact represent high priority drill targets, along with remaining untested geophysical features within the property.
A Phase III work program of follow-up drilling is recommended for the 2010-2011 winter exploration season. |