Excellent Interview 7/20/10
posted on
Jul 21, 2010 02:01PM
ATHABASCA BASIN: WHERE GRADE IS KING!
An Interview with Stephen Stanley,
President and CEO with Hathor Exploration
(As of July 20, 2010)
Q. It has been a while since we did an interview with
Stephen Stanley from Hathor and wanted to get him back
to give us an update, so Stephen what has been accomplished
so far in 2010?
A. Hathor completed what I believe was the largest exploration
drill program in the Athabasca Basin this past
winter. We drilled 77 holes, more than 27,000 metres and
most importantly, we obtained some of our best results to
date, such as 23 m of 24% U3O8. . Overall, we could not be
happier at achieving success on all three of our core objectives
for the winter drilling: 1. Infill the deposit; 2. Extend
the deposit; 3. Upgrade the low-grade cells to high-grade.
Since the discovery more than 2-years ago we have continued
to identify ``new metal`` and grow the size of Roughrider.
Q. Hathor completed a financing in the spring, how
much cash does Hathor currently have and how long will
that last?
A. We are currently sitting on just under $30M which is
enough to aggressively drill at Roughrider for two years.
We are also building into our budget sufficient capital for
Russell Lake where we will have a drill rig turning later this
summer to test our highest priority targets
I know everyone is focused on Roughrider but seen as
how you mentioned Russell Lake what are the plans for
2010? Well as you know we formed a dedicated project
team for Russell Lake. Remember, Russell Lake is one of
the most underexplored pieces of prime real-estate in all of
the Athabasca Basin. It certainly has the right address for a
big discovery. It sits between Key Lake to the south,
McArthur River to the North and Millennium to the west.
Cameco and Denison’s Phoenix discovery on their Wheeler
River project is just off our western property boundary and
adds even more relevance to the project.
We are currently compiling all the data on Russell, forward
modeling geophysical data and re-logging core from
previous drill programs, all of which are giving us some
new and valuable insight. We look forward to seeing what
turns up this fall when we get back to the property for drilling.
Stephen
Stanley
President and
CEO of Hathor
Exploration
Hathor Exploration (HAT) $1.60 +0.01
David Pescod T: 780.408.1750 Debbie Lewis T: 780.408.1748 Fax: 780.408.1501 Page 2
Q. Before we get into Roughrider let`s touch on the
uranium sector. There has been a lot of talk that the uranium
market is starting to turn, when do you think we will
see the spot price start to move up?
A. That is truly the million dollar question; investors
always love to time things perfectly and want to buy at the
bottom and sell at the top. I think the reality is the uranium
price is at a level that most mines have trouble making
any money. If the nuclear renaissance is going to continue
then the spot price must go up. In addition we continue to
see strong demand as new reactors come on line and supply
continues to fall short. I am no expert on market timing
but sometime in the next 6-18 months I would expect to
see a stronger uranium market.
Q. Why?
A. Because the fundamental issues of primary global
supply remain fragile, with far too many reactors dependant
on far too few mineral deposits. Yes Kazakhstan and
western Africa have provided some bright spots, but the
“production response” to the recent price rise has been
muted. At the same time, the time lines for the depletion
of secondary supplies remain unchanged. Under such an
imbalance, the sector is ripe for a sudden spike in the uranium
price. I think the signs are there that now is a great
time to get into the market.
Q. Your latest news release announced that the summer
drill program has commenced at Roughrider, how are
things going?
A. They say drilling makes you smarter, you can build
all the exploration models you want but until you drill it, it
is just an idea. As everyone knows Hathor has done a lot
of drilling and if you want to be smarter when exploring
for high-grade uranium in the Athabasca Basin you need
to do a lot of drilling. We currently have three drill rigs
turning, one at RRE, one testing the resistivity low that
was identified this past winter and the third which just
started turning yesterday is on the barge at RR. When a
single drill hole can literally add millions of pounds to
your resource it gives you a strong conviction to keep
drilling!
Q. You mentioned that you are testing the resistivity
low to the south, what is the significance of a resistivity
low?
A. Resistivity is one of the most important exploration
tools in the Athabasca Basin when looking to identify drill
targets. Resistivity lows are an indication of alteration and
you need alteration to find uranium. Having a resistivity
low does not guarantee you have uranium it just identifies
alteration. The great thing about this resistivity low is in
the north-west corner sits Roughrider East, so we know
there is uranium we just don’t know how much. It certainly
gives us a big target to grow Roughrider east which is
already indicating it is the meat of the Roughrider system.
Page 3
Q. Hathor certainly does a lot of drilling but I guess the main question everyone wants to know is how many
pounds of uranium do you have? And when will we see the next 43-101 resource calculation?
A. We are looking to have version 2 of the 43 -101 resource calculation completed by early October with version 3
to follow a couple months later, hopefully before Christmas. How many pounds of uranium are at Roughrider, that is
truly the number one question I get asked. As most people know we are restricted on giving resource estimates and
must rely on third party reports known as 43-101. We are looking forward to the next two versions of our resource calculation
as we feel there will be a significant increase from our first 43-101, especially in version 3 that should include
Roughrider East. A strong resource model is dependent on a robust geological model for its foundation, and that is
what Hathor is currently developing internally. Senior staff and third-party mining consultants are outlining the deposit
in detail, hole by hole, section by section. Mineralization polygons from this work will facilitate a more optimized
resource model by providing more rigour for wireframes and three-dimensional solids. Hathor will initiate knowledge
sharing with external resource model experts this summer, with the aim of having version 2 of the current model completed
in October, with a third update done by year-end, hopefully to include Roughrider East. .
Q. So you expect to have two resource updates before the 2011 winter program, does that get Hathor to the point
someone decides to make an offer to buy?
A. I guess if the spot price is the million dollar question then I am hoping this is the billion dollar question. Our
geological model work over the last two months has given us more confidence that Roughrider contains more pounds
then the 12 million we get credit for by the market. We do not want to get bought out until we can capture the full value
of Roughrider for our shareholders. If we are going to be in a new uranium bull market in the next 12-18 months then
we have a tight time line to make this happen. Obviously Hathor could get an offer at any time and yes the next two
resource calculations could be the catalyst to make this happen but personally I think the summer drill program and
this coming winter program will show that Roughrider has what it takes to be a standalone deposit. And if this becomes
a reality, I think there will no longer be just two majors in the Athabasca Basin.
Q. Since we spoke last you have added a new member to your management team, Dr Michael Gunning, how has
his addition helped the company?
A. Hathor is currently going through a transition and part of that transition is the addition of Mike to our team. Twoyears
ago we were an early stage exploration company trying to make a discovery, and ask most other juniors in the
basin and they will tell you that is not an easy thing to do! But we made the discovery and now we are making the
transition from wild cat exploration to developing a world class uranium deposit. Mike has been a big part of this transition,
between him, Alistair and our team in Saskatoon they are diligently working to optimize a geological resource
model from Roughrider which successfully captures the contained metal in the mineral deposit. When Hathor completed
its first resource calculation we just handed over the assays to RPA for a preliminary evaluation, this time it is
different. Hathor is currently in the process of completing the detailed geological model, hole by hole, assay by assay,
section by section, polygon by polygon, level plan by level plan. This should allow the author of the next 43-101 to
capture the majority of the uranium and more fully optimize the model.
Q. Anything else you would like to add?
A. Dave I think it is important for investors to remember “Grade is King” and the Athabasca Basin has the highest
grade uranium deposits in the world. The rest of the world a high-grade uranium deposit is 1% in the Athabasca Basin
it is 20%. This makes Hathor a very unique opportunity, with assays as high as 84% if a major wants a high-grade deposit
they really have only one choice, Hathor’s Roughrider Deposit. If we can deliver a standalone high-grade deposit
at the same time as the uranium market takes off this might just be a perfect storm for Hathor’s shareholders!