Item 2. Properties
Item 2. Properties
The Berlin Project
We have an interest in certain mineral concessions
located in Colombia in the municipality of Samaná, Department of Caldas, known as the Berlin Project.
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Mineral Property Location
Berlin Project is located on 5°34’31.5”N
74°54’06.9”W.
Figure 1. Location of the Berlin Project
Ownership Interests
On April 8, 2024, we acquired a 100% indirect
interest in the Berlin Project pursuant to the Berlin Project SPA. Pursuant to the Berlin Project SPA, we acquired all of the issued
and outstanding shares of Gaia Energy from Green Shift on the Berlin Project Closing Date in consideration of (a) an initial cash
payment to Green Shift of C$20,000, (b) the issuance to Green Shift of 1,211,687 Common Shares, and (c) the grant of the Berlin
Project Royalty to Green Shift pursuant to the Berlin Project Royalty Agreement. The book value of our mineral properties in Colombia
as at December 31, 2025 and 2024 is $4,000,000.
Qualified Person
The disclosure in this Annual Report on Form 10-K
of scientific and technical information regarding exploration results for the Berlin Project has been reviewed and approved by SLR, who
is an independent, qualified person under S-K 1300.
Internal Controls
Except for preliminary work performed by our environmental
contractor, we have conducted no exploration work or drill activities since acquiring the property and have no current mineral resources
or reserves at the Berlin Project that could be construed as being a potentially economic discovery. Furthermore, we have not commenced
exploration at the Berlin Project that involves drilling, sampling, or assaying, and therefore internal controls relating to quality assurance
and quality control (“QA/QC”) have not been necessary. However, prior to conducting exploration that involves drilling, sampling,
assaying, and the reporting of results from those activities, we will establish sampling and analytical QA/QC protocols consistent with
industry standards.
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Berlin Project, Caldas, Colombia
Figure 2. Location of the mineralization trend
relative to the mineral concession and the Berlin Project
Project Location and Access
The Berlin Project is located in central Colombia
in the municipality of Samaná, Department of Caldas, approximately 80 km northeast (225 km by road) of the department capital,
Manizales, and approximately 150 km northeast (245 km by road) of the national capital, Bogotá.
The two contiguous mineral concessions, Concession
Contract 664-17 and Concession Contract 736-17, on which portions of the Berlin Project lie cover an area approximately 9,053
ha in extent.
The Berlin Project can be accessed by road from
Bogotá, Manizales, Pereira, Medellín, or Ibague, all of which have commercial airports. The Magdalena River is navigable
by barge from the town of La Dorada, 65 km southeast of the Berlin Project, to the port of Bocas de Ceniza, in Barranquilla on the Caribbean
coast. La Dorada is 190 km from Bogotá and 170 km from Ibague. From La Dorada, a secondary unpaved road leads westwards to Berlin,
passing through the municipality of Norcasia. In addition, a railway line links the town of La Dorada to the port town of Santa Marta
on the Caribbean coast. The rail links between La Dorada and the capital, Bogotá, and to the port of Buenaventura on the Pacific
coast, are part of the Master Railway Plan under which all rail systems are scheduled to be refurbished by 2030.
Project Stage
We have conducted no exploration work or drill
activities since acquiring the property and have no current mineral resources or reserves at the Berlin Project. However, historical exploration
has been conducted on the Berlin Project.
The exploration phase is granted for an initial
three-year period, that can be extended for two years for a maximum of four times (for a total exploration period of 11 years).
The construction phase is granted for an initial three-year period, extendable for a one-year period. The exploitation phase is granted
for the remaining time such that the overall concession period does not exceed 30 years, i.e. the initial exploitation phase is 30 years
minus the exploration and construction periods.
Local Resources, Infrastructure and Physiography
Local Resources
Norcasia, 10 km from Berlin Project, is the closest
urban area to the Berlin Project, with a population of approximately 7,000 and offering shops, a hospital, and public transportation.
In 2010, U3O8 Corp. conducted a socio-economic analysis of the township of San Diego, which is part of the municipality of Samaná.
The analysis reported approximately 4,200 inhabitants in the township within 32 settlements linked by dirt tracks, with no vehicular access.
The main socio-economic activity in the Berlin Project area is small-scale and subsistence agriculture and dairy. There is no mining in
the immediate area, so trained personnel would have to be hired elsewhere in Colombia, which has a source of experienced talent. The local
business sector would need significant training and investment for the development of support services appropriate for a future mine and
processing plant at Berlin Project.
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Infrastructure
Except for a core storage facility located in
the village of Berlin, there are no permanent infrastructures at the Property. The Berlin Project is well situated between the capital
city of Bogotá and Medellín, a city of over two million people near good existing infrastructure and within Colombia’s
agricultural heartland.
The Magdalena River is navigable by barge from
the town of La Dorada, 65 km southeast of the Berlin Project, to the port of Bocas de Ceniza — Barranquilla on the Caribbean
coast. The Magdalena River system has been dammed to provide hydropower at La Miel 395 MW hydroelectric dam, which is located approximately
12 km from the Project area and is a potential source of clean, renewable electricity for the operation. The energy consumed in the Berlin
Project will come from the sub-station of Norcasia (Figure 4-3), which is distributed by the CHEC (Caldas Hydroelectric).
A railway line that links the town of La Dorada
to the port town of Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast was reopened in 2018 (Figure 4-2). The railway linking La Dorada southeastwards
to Bogotá, and southwestwards to the port of Buenaventura on the Pacific coast, form part of the Master Railway Plan under which
all rail systems are scheduled to be refurbished by 2030.
High rainfall and a rich tributary system guarantee
high volumes of quality water. The high rainfall, and the fact that the Project lies in the seismically active Andes, are concerns for
the stability of tailings facilities. Tenova (2013) contemplated a tailings storage facility (TSF) being located in the topographically
flat area in the rain shadow of the cordillera. There is ample flat land in a dry area that lies to the east of the proposed processing
plant site (Figure 4-4). This is an area of limited agricultural value and has the benefit of being underlain by granite which forms
a stable footing. The plan in the PEA was for gravity flow of the tailings to the proposed TSF through a 14 km long pipeline.
Physiography
The Berlin Project lies in the eastern foothills
of the Colombian Central Range that is characterized by the steep topography between 850 m to 1,300 m masl. The foot of the mountain range
lies approximately 10 km east of Berlin Project where there is an abrupt change to the plain of the Magdalena River with savannah-style
vegetation.
The Berlin Project lies in a mountainous area
in which remnants of the original rainforest are confined to the higher topographic areas and steep river and stream valleys; however,
zones of grass and crops can also be seen. Extensive clearing has been undertaken for agriculture and pasture.
Property Claims and Option
We hold the Berlin Concession Contracts, which
are registered under Law 685 of 2001, titled to Gaia Energy. The Berlin Concession Contracts were granted for a 30-year term. Concession
contract applications 508202 and 508645 are currently being applied for by the Company.
Geology
Regional geology
The Berlin Project lies on the eastern flank of
Colombia’s Cordillera Central. The basement in the central part of the Cordillera Central consists of greenschist to lower amphibolite
facies metamorphic rocks correlated with the Precambrian to Early Mesozoic Cajamarca Complex (Bürgl and Radelli, 1962; Moreno-Sánchez
et al., 2008). According to Cediel et al. (2003), the Cajamarca Complex forms part of the Cajamarca-Valdivia terrane that consists of
graphitic schists, amphibolites, intrusive rocks and mafic to ultramafic volcanics of ophiolitic origin.
The Cajamarca-Valdivia terrane is a wedge-shaped
tectonic unit, tapering to the south, that was accreted onto the western edge of the paleo-South American continent in Ordovician-Silurian
time (Figure 6-1, Cediel et al., 2003). In central Colombia, the Cajamarca-Valdivia terrane is sandwiched between the Eastern Cordillera
block in the east and the Dagua-Piñon and San Jacinto terranes in the west. In contrast, in southern Colombia, the Cajamarca Complex
lies directly against the western edge of the Archaean Guyana Shield that extends from there throughout northern South America.
Part of the extensive rift system responsible
for the separation of North and South America in the Triassic and Jurassic extended through Colombia, Ecuador, and northern Peru (Jaillard
et al., 1990; Kerr et al., 1997). Associated half grabens were filled with growth sequences of clastic sediments and volcanic material
of dominantly andesitic composition. Evidence of igneous activity that accompanied this period of crustal extension is provided by the
metaluminous, I-type calc-alkaline Sonsón Batholith, which lies approximately 20 km west of the Berlin Project. The Sonsón
Batholith intruded rocks of the Cajamarca Complex.
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An orogenic magmatic arc was developed along the
eastern flank of the Central Cordillera at approximately 120 million years (Ma) (McCourt and Feininger, 1984), with major intrusions
of calc-alkaline affinity and compressional events at 112 ± 7 Ma (McCourt and Feininger, 1984).
The sedimentary sequence that contains the mineralized
unit at the Berlin Project forms part of an upward-fining progression. The lower part of the stratigraphic sequence corresponds with alluvial
fan facies that is interpreted to have formed against fault scarps during early phases of rift development. The subaerial fan facies grades
upwards into finer-grained marine sands that are overlain by a limestone unit that passes upward into a black shale sequence which is
several hundred meters thick. Fossil bivalves and gastropods in the limestones indicate a late Albian (Early Cretaceous) age and, together
with ammonite fossils in the overlying black shale sequence, confirm a marine environment of deposition. This transgressive continental
to marine sequence forms part of a large basin that extends from Colombia through Ecuador into Peru and the black shales constitute an
important source for hydrocarbons in the region.
Cretaceous seafloor sequences of the Dagua-Pinon
terrane were accreted onto the western edge of the Cajamarca-Valdivia terrane in the Aptian to Paleocene. This accretion was accompanied
by intrusive activity, represented in the Berlin district by the Antioquia Batholith that has been dated at 90-58 Ma (middle to late
Cretaceous; Cediel et al. 2003). It has a similar metaluminous, I-type, calc-alkaline composition to the Sonsón Batholith.
The Samaná Batholith, which is also mid-
to late Cretaceous in age, is located immediately to the west of, and is intrusive into, the sedimentary sequence at the Berlin Project.
During the Oligocene through to the Pliocene,
several other terranes were accreted into the western seaboard of Colombia.
The Colombian Andes developed in response to roughly
east-west shortening in the mid-Pleistocene. Related deformation in the Berlin Project area resulted in the formation of the syncline
that hosts the mineralization in the Berlin Project area.
Property geology
The metamorphic basement in the vicinity of the
Berlin Project is assigned to the Cajamarca Complex (Maya and González, 1995), which correlates with units known by other names
such as Cajamarca Series (Nelson, 1962), metamorphic rocks of the Cordillera Central (Feininger et al.,1972), Cajamarca Terrain (Etayo-Serna
et al., 1986) and Tahamí Terrain (Toussaint & Restrepo, 1988) (Figure 6-2). The Cajamarca Complex, which consists
of greenschist-grade metamorphic rocks that had sedimentary and igneous protoliths (Nelson, 1957), is bounded by the Otú-Pericos
Fault on the eastern flank of the Cordillera Central and the Jerónimo Fault in the Cauca River Valley on the west. Basement rocks
in the Berlin Project area consist of quartz — sericite schist, graphitic schist, slate, and quartzite, locally with disseminated
pyrite that are considered of Early Paleozoic age (Bürgl 1967).
The Abejorral Formation (Bürgl and Radelli,
1962) is a Cretaceous sequence that is preserved in outliers in Department of Caldas and in the adjacent Antioquia Department to the north.
This formation is discordant over the rocks of the Cajamarca Complex and has a faulted contact with the Valle Alto Formation. Facies sequence
investigation by González (1980) in the provinces of Antioquia and Caldas led to the interpretation of a shallow continental
shelf depositional environment with local euxinic conditions. The development of facies deposited in transitional and shallow shelf and
external shelf environments occurred in the Early Cretaceous (Etayo-Serna et al., 2003). Based on ammonites, González (1980) concluded
that this formation is Late Aptian to Middle Albian in age. On a regional basis, the clastic component of the Abejorral Formation correlates
with the Caballos and Hollin formations, while the limestone and black shale sequence corresponds with the Simiti and overlying Villeta
and Napo formations of Pindell and Tabbutt (1995). Mineralization at Berlin occurs in limestone facies that occur immediately beneath
the black shale sequence that was correlated with the Abejorral Formation by Bürgl and Radelli (1962).
The mineralized sequence at Berlin Project lies
between converging faults at the northern end of the Samaná Batholith (Figure 6-2). This igneous complex measures about 30
km north-south by approximately eight kilometers east-west. The rocks consist mainly of diorite and gabbro (approximately 60% of the complex)
with less extensive granodiorites, granites, and tonalities (Muñoz, 1983). Barrero and Vesga (1976) obtained a K/Ar age of
119+/-10 Ma from hornblende in the Samaná Batholith (Barremian — Aptian). Field relationships suggest that an alaskitic
component was emplaced late in the development of the igneous complex (Muñoz, 1983). A contact metamorphic aureole extends approximately
30 m to 150 m into enclosing sedimentary rocks. Igneous rocks of the complex have a homogenous texture with local development of a cleavage
defined by the alignment of biotite plates. Except for the alaskite component, the rest of the complex is characterized by an abundance
of xenoliths of gabbro and basalt. Drilling has shown that the Cretaceous rocks in the Berlin Project were intruded by alaskitic dykes
and sills as well as granodiorites of Cenozoic age. The alaskite has an equigranular, phaneritic, holocrystalline texture and is composed
predominantly of plagioclase and quartz with minor biotite. Two intrusive stocks lie near the eastern margin of the Berlin syncline where
they intrude the Cretaceous sedimentary sequence. The stocks are mesocratic, porphyritic rocks that are made up of plagioclase, quartz,
and amphibole.
The cone-shaped volcanic vent that contains the
San Diego Lake on the north-eastern margin of the Cretaceous sequence in the Berlin area is surrounded by an apron of lithic tuffs that
have a polymictic clast assemblage which reflects the underlying stratigraphy.
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A sedimentary sequence that corresponds to a transitional
continental-marine-lagoonal environment is found overlying discordantly the basement Cajamarca Group. Mineralization at Berlin is made
up of two types of host rock: the host lithology near surface is sandstone, while at depth, mineralization is confined to a carbonate
unit. This distribution is ascribed to the sandstone host being a weathered version of the primary facies in which carbonate has been
removed by oxidation related to weathering. Four zones (Cáceres-Bottia, et. al., 2023) are recognized in the Berlin and these are
remarkably consistent throughout the Project:
● Zone A : a terrigenous lithology
(K1-Sj) of basal conglomerates interbedded with sandstones recorded the beginning of a back-arc extensional event at 150 Ma (Zapata et
al., 2019). The clasts present within the conglomerate layers consist mainly of mafic and intermediate igneous fragments, metamorphic
fragments, and milky white quartz. The upper part of this zone corresponds to a massive silicified, medium to coarse grain size, with
poorly sorted and subangular grains of sandstone. The average thickness of the entire Zone A is 36 m (Naranjo, 1983).
● Zone B : presents a gradation
contact with zone A and corresponds to a fossiliferous calcareous mudstone, with the presence of well-preserved bivalves and gastropods
deposited during basin deepening and the change to a marine environment that took place until Albian (100 million years ago).
The upper part of this unit is defined by a major erosional surface where the different grain size is easily observable between zones
B and C. This disconformity marked not just the change to a compressional tectonic event but the lower limit of the mineralization.
● Zone C : a muddy wackestone
with the presence of reworked fossil fragments, displaying wavy lamination and a high content of authigenic apatite and bitumen. This
is consistent with either the increasing water energy or probably the relative shallowing of the basin (Edelman-Furstenberg, 2009; Zapata
et al., 2019). This zone constitutes the mineralized level, which varies in thickness from 1 m to 3.5 m, with a maximum thickness of
9.2 m (in a drill hole) and 6.7 m (in a trench).
● Zone D : the upper zone (b6-Be)
corresponds to a deformed black carbonaceous shale with bioclast, which may locally reach 600 m in thickness. This was deposited in a
lagoonal environment and is related to the enclosing of the marine basin caused by the accretion of the Romeral terrane and the uplifting
of the Cajamarca-Valdivia even Albian to Campanian (Zapata et al., 2019).
A set of dikes and sills of andesitic to dacitic
composition are found injecting the metamorphic and sedimentary rocks described above. Leucocratic (alaskites) and esocratic (ranging
from tonalite to granodiorite) plutons are recognized as the Samaná Igneous Complex, which is considered of Aptian-Albian age (119±10
Ma — K/Ar in hornblende) according to Barrero and Vesga (1976).
Structural Geology
The Berlin Project is located within the zone
of influence of the Palestina Fault System that forms the western bounding structure to the Cretaceous sequence in the Berlin area. Dextral
displacement ranging from 0.5 km to 30 km occurred in the Late Cretaceous and the Paleogene with lesser displacement having occurred during
the Neogene and Recent (Page, 1986 and Feininger et al., 1972). The eastern margin of the Cretaceous sequence in the Berlin area is marked
by the San Diego Fault, which is a north-striking splay that merges with the Palestina Fault near the northern tip of the Cretaceous sequence
at Berlin.
The Cretaceous sedimentary sequence in which mineralization
in the Berlin Project occurs has been folded into a doubly-plunging syncline. The syncline is asymmetric with a steep to over-turned eastern
limb that dips to the east, while the western limb is moderately inclined to the east (Figure 6-5).
East-dipping faults have been mapped along the
eastern margin of the syncline. In some areas, Palaeozoic schists are in faulted contact with the black mudstone, and kinematic indicators
show an east over west sense of motion. This is consistent with west-verging thrust faults eliminating parts of the overturned stratigraphic
sequence.
Mineralization
The Berlin Project primary mineralization is uranium,
but the deposit also contains a suite of high-value by-products:
● Phosphate: Agricultural Fertilizer and Lithium Ion Batteries: The
Berlin Project contains phosphate, which was traditionally principally used in the agricultural fertilizer industry. Phosphate has become
a key component of lithium-ion batteries, specifically lithium ferro-phosphate batteries.
● Vanadium: Steel Alloy and Vanadium Redox Batteries: Vanadium
is used principally in an alloy that increases the strength and flexibility of steel and for vanadium redox flow batteries that are large-scale
batteries that most manufacturers guarantee for 20 to 25 years.
● Nickel: Steel Alloy and Lithium Ion Batteries: Stainless
steel is the main market for nickel, with growing demand from the lithium-ion battery market (for nickel-cobalt-aluminum (“ NCA ”)
and nickel-manganese-cobalt (“ NMC ”) batteries). NCA batteries are 80% nickel, while NMC batteries use 33% nickel with
newer types using an increasing nickel component.
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● REEs: Magnets and Laser Technology: Berlin
also contains REEs neodymium and yttrium that are used in many hi-tech industries: (i) Neodymium is used in high-strength magnets
used in high-strength magnets for high-efficiency electric motors and for high-efficiency generators in wind turbines and (ii) Yttrium
is used principally in laser technology and is used to generate red phosphors in TV screens, monitors and mobile phones, as well as in
the production of superconductors and electronic filters.
● Rhenium: Superalloy: Rhenium
is added to high-temperature superalloys that are used to make jet engine parts, this accounting for 70% of the worldwide rhenium production.
Another major application is in platinum — rhenium catalysts, which are primarily used in making lead-free, high-octane
gasoline.
● Molybdenum and Zinc: Steel Alloys: The
Berlin Project also contains molybdenum and zinc that could have a modest contribution to the future economics of the Project. Molybdenum
is used in steel alloys to increase strength, hardness, electrical conductivity and resistance to corrosion and wear. Zinc is most commonly
used as an anti-corrosion agent and galvanization coating of iron or steel.
Deposit Types
The Berlin Project is classified as an epigenetic
stratiform sandstone deposit. The Berlin Project deposit in central Colombia consists of a layer of phosphate rock in a layered sedimentary
sequence that contains an unusual mix of metals including uranium, nickel, vanadium, molybdenum, manganese, zinc, and REEs.
Uranium and vanadium strata-bound mineralization
at the Berlin Project corresponds to an epigenetic event that occurred in a muddy wackestone with the presence of reworked fossil fragments.
The black shale of the Abejorral Formation was the source of uranium and vanadium, which were remobilized by diagenetic processes. Geochemical
characteristics of the diagenetic fluids had to be oxidized, alkaline, and carbonate-rich coupled with humic acids with strong anions
such as F-, Cl-, CO32- and PO43- at temperatures below 200°C, to be effective for the transport of the elements of interest. Zone
C acted as an efficient chemical trap that allowed authigenic apatite, uraninite, sphalerite, and chernykhite to precipitate with the
aid of reductant agents such as H2S and other organic complexes.
Exploration History
Uranium was identified in phosphatic strata in
a regional radiometric prospecting program undertaken by the Colombian Instituto de Asuntos Nucleares (“ IAN ”) between
1977 and 1983.
Minatome
From 1979 to 1981, Minatome, which has now been
incorporated into Orano, undertook exploration on mineral concessions that covered the Berlin Project deposit. After Minatome, obtained
permission from IAN to explore the Berlin Project area, it identified a sedimentary unit near the base of the Cretaceous sequence as having
significant uranium grade.
Minatome performed rock chip sampling, which revealed
highly anomalous uranium values over the entire strike length of the synform in the Cretaceous sequence in the Berlin area (Coffey Mining,
2012). Assay results from Minatome’s surface rock-chip sampling was substantiated by independent sampling in 1983. Minatome’s
exploration concentrated on the southern five kilometers of the 10.5 km long syncline where they excavated three tunnels (adits) with
the objective of confirming mineralization extending to fresh exposures beneath the weathered rock (saprolite).
In 1980, Minatome drilled 11 holes from five widely
spaced drill pads for a total of 2,163 m, of which nine drill holes intersected anomalous uranium values.
Minatome withdrew from the Berlin area in 1981
and the United Nations Development Program became involved, where they reviewed the technical work undertaken on the Berlin Project in
1982 and focused on the potential to recover uranium, molybdenum, vanadium, and phosphate.
U3O8 Corp.
U3O8 Corp., through its wholly owned subsidiary
Gaia Energy, began exploration on the Berlin Project when it acquired the property in April 2010 with the objective of defining the
extent and consistency of the known mineralized layer through trenching and drilling. The Berlin Project is in hilly terrain in which
trenches were excavated by hand in areas where the mineralization outcrops, with drilling conducted from platforms cut into hillsides.
Mineralization was traced along trend by geological mapping augmented by detection of radioactivity measured with hand-held GR 135 spectrometers.
Twenty-nine trenches were excavated perpendicular to the strike of the mineralized unit within the Berlin Trend.
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Trench sites were identified using historic data
and geological maps from the Minatome exploration that indicated areas of outcropping mineralization. Most of the trenches are located
on the more accessible southern part and eastern flank of the syncline.
U3O8 Corp’s 2010-2011 drill program
involved 82 diamond drill holes for 18,534 m that were drilled on the southern three km of the folded sedimentary strata. In 2012, an
additional wide-spaced 15 drill holes, totaling 6,441 m, were completed in the area to the north of the main mineralization area showed
a similar suite of commodities to those in the main mineralized zone to the south. Eleven of the 15 holes intersected the mineralized
layer; the mineralized sequence was faulted out in the other four holes.
Exploration has been undertaken entirely through
mapping, ground radiometrics, and drilling due to the continuity of mineralization. Ground magnetic traverses across the mapped contacts
of the stocks and batholiths, supported by forward modeling of the form of the contact at depth with magnetic susceptibility values from
bore hole core would likely help in defining areas where the mineralized layer may be cut and removed by intrusive bodies.
Environmental Considerations
SLR is not aware of any environmental liabilities
on the property. We are currently in the process of obtaining all required permits to conduct the proposed work on the property.
Drilling
We have not conducted any drilling on the Berlin
Project since acquiring the property.
Exploration Program Recommendations
SLR offers the following recommendation for a
two phase program, with a total budget of $2,330,000, to advance the Berlin Project. Phase 2 is dependent on outcomes of the Phase 1
work.
Phase 1 — Mineral Resource
Estimate Technical Report
1 Complete a current Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE). The estimated
cost to prepare an MRE is $150,000. SLR recommends we perform the following activities to support a current mineral resource disclosure:
a) Rerun and perform additional check sampling to confirm legacy
drilling and trench data either by twinning legacy drill holes and logging with downhole radiometric (natural gamma), resampling trenches,
and/or resampling stored core.
b) Rerun statistical analysis on the intercepts to guide updating
previously reported mineral resource estimates.
c) Add and construct three dimensional geologic model to assist
and control grade estimation in block model estimation.
d) Rerun and apply updated classification criteria to categorize
the mineral resource estimate.
Phase 2 — Preliminary Economic
Assessment
2 Complete additional infill/delineation drilling to achieve
the following:
a) Test for mineralization along the east flank of the mineralized
layer Zone C.
b) Upgrade inferred resources estimated in Phase 1 to indicated
resources. This step is contingent on positive Phase 1 results.
The estimated cost to complete drilling
is $2,000,000.
Complete a Preliminary Economic Assessment
(“ PEA ”) on the Berlin Project. The estimated cost to prepare the PEA is $180,000.
Huemul Project
We have an interest in certain mineral concessions
located in the Malargue sector of southwestern Mendoza Province of Argentina, known as the Huemul Project.
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Mineral Property Location
Figure 1. Location of the Huemul Project
Ownership Interests
We acquired a 100% indirect interest in the Argentina
Projects pursuant to the Argentina Projects SPA. Pursuant to the Argentina Projects SPA, we acquired all of the issued and outstanding
shares of 284 Ontario from IsoEnergy on July 19, 2024. The Argentina Projects include Laguna Salada Project located in Chubut Province
and the Huemul Project located in Mendoza Province. The book value of our mineral properties in Argentina as at December 31, 2025
and 2024 is $4,150,000.
Qualified Person
The disclosure in this Annual Report on Form 10-K
of scientific and technical information regarding exploration results for the Huemul Project has been reviewed and approved by SLR, who
is an independent, qualified person under S-K 1300.
Internal Controls
We have conducted no exploration work or drill
activities since acquiring the property and have no current mineral resources or reserves at the Huemul Project that could be construed
as being a potentially economic discovery. Furthermore, we have not commenced exploration of the Huemul Project that involves drilling,
sampling, or assaying, and therefore internal controls relating to QA/QC have not been necessary. However, prior to conducting exploration
that involves drilling, sampling, assaying, and the reporting of results from those activities, we will establish sampling and analytical
QA/QC protocols consistent with industry standards.
Project Location and Access
The Huemul Project is located on the Eastern flank
of the Central Andean Cordillera in the Department of Malargüe, Mendoza Province, Argentina. The municipality of Mendoza is located
approximately 370 km to the north of the Project. It is the closest town with an international airport and is also the capital and administrative
center for the province. Malargüe, with a population of 30,000, is 46 km to the north where there is access to most services, including
a regional airport.
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Figure 2. Access to Huemul Project
Project Stage
We have conducted no exploration work or drill
activities since acquiring the property and have no current mineral resources or reserves at the Huemul Project.
Historical exploration has been conducted on the
Huemul Project.
Local Resources, Infrastructure and Physiography
Local Resources
The area is semi-arid to arid. Small streams are
ephemeral although larger rivers flow most of the year.
Southern Mendoza is moderately well populated
with skilled to unskilled labor available in Malargüe, San Rafael and Mendoza. South of Mendoza Province is the Neuquén Basin,
which has a significant petroleum industry; heavy machinery, construction equipment, and operators are readily available in this area.
Infrastructure
The nearest supply point where goods and services,
including food, fuel and labor can be obtained is in the town of Malargüe, with a population of 30,000. There are a number of hydro-electric/irrigation
projects in the area and power is readily available.
Climate
Annual temperatures range from a winter low of
-10°C to summer highs of 30-35°C. Rainfall is low, with snow and rain in the Cordillera in the winter and thunderstorms
and local flash floods in the summer. Field work can be carried out essentially year round.
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Physiography
Elevations across the entire region vary from
1700 to 2200 masl.
Physiographically, the area consists of rolling
topography with low hills and valleys with local steep underlying bedrock forming ridges and scarps.
Natural vegetation consists of drought resistant
grasses, small bushes, shrubs and cacti. In larger sheltered valleys and around oases trees are found and in addition to indigenous species,
poplar and birch, they have been planted as windbreaks and for firewood.
Property Claims and Option
There are three principal types of mineral concessions
in Argentina: exploration permits called “cateos”, mining concessions termed “ Manifestación de Descubrimiento”
(each, an “ MD ”), and, exploitation (mining) permits called “ Concesións de Explotación ”
(each, a “ Mina ”) The Huemul claim package currently consists of seven claims, totaling approximately 27,700 ha, comprising
two cateos, three Minas, and two MDs and registered with the Mining Notary in Mendoza Province.
Figure 3. Full List of Huemul Concessions
Name
Claim ID
Year
Area (ha)
Claim Type
Cateo Huemul Norte
02967014-A-22
2022
9,896
Cateo
Cateo Huemul Sur
029665342-A-22
2022
9,740
Cateo
Mina Huemul
18-C-57
1957
114
Mina
Mina Silvana
355-C-96
1996
3,000
Mina
MD Mirano Norte
089866266-C-22
2022
1,856
MD
Mina Carmencita
08987498-C-22
2022
496
Mina
MD Cerro Butalo
3161-E-06
2006
2,599
MD
Geology
Regional geology
The Huemul Project is located in the center of
the Late Cretaceous thrust front zone of the Neuquén Basin, Mendoza Province. The geological literature of the Neuquén basin
is oriented towards its hydrocarbon potential (Adkins, A.R., 2006).
In a regional sense, and according to Cobbold
and Rosello (2003), the Neuquén Basin first formed as a rift basin in the early Mesozoic, when regional extension may have resulted
from slow subduction of oceanic crust below the Pacific Margin of South America. The Triassic to Early Cretaceous basin fill, some 5000
m thick, include the main source rock intervals and reservoir rocks for the hydrocarbons. The sedimentary environments of later periods
are more enigmatic. Although the Upper Cretaceous sedimentary rocks are regionally abundant and up to 1500 m thick, they are mainly of
continental origin and contain few fossils. Cenozoic sedimentary rocks are rare.
Subsequent to deposition of the Mesozoic sedimentary
sequences, a continuous tecto-genetic process that began during the Tertiary (Eocene to Miocene), dominated by compressional tectonics,
remained active until the late Miocene, when the basin reached its final structural configuration (Guilsano and Pleimling, 1994). They
state “as a result of the Tertiary compressive forces, a thrust fold belt was established to the west with a structural platform
with almost no deformation to the east.” Widespread volcanic activity took place during the extensional periods between the major
orogenic peaks. From the Oligocene until the Quaternary the volcanism spread gradually to the east.
In section at surface open folding dominated but
with increasing depth some of the folds steepen and show evidence of reverse faulting along their crests. These reverse faults may mark
areas where deeper basin brines and hydrocarbons move upward into the shallower sediments.
The sediments on the property are of the of the
Upper Cretaceous Diamante Formation deposited in a high energy fluvial environment. They range from conglomerates through sandstone to
local shales. The sedimentary units are typically from a few to tens of meters thick.
Across the property the sediments have been intruded
by light grey, coarsely porphyritic andesitic and dacitic dykes and sills of the Lower Miocene Huincán Eruptive Cycle.
42
Property geology
Structural Geology and Mineralization
The project area can be divided into three sectors
with largely similar geology and mineralization. A brief summary of the areas are given below:
● Huemul Agua — Botada : Diamante
Formation sandstones, conglomerates, shales and volcano-clastics striking north south and dipping 20-25 o to the west
in the north and becoming flat lying to the south. There are numerous Tertiary dykes and sills. Alteration consists of local argillization
and weak silicification. Mineralization is hosted in the more permeable units and associated with abundant bitumen. Primary ore minerals
are pitchblende, mixed sulphide and secondary oxides of copper, uranium and vanadium.
● Black Zone-Uryco/Rosa-Vega Larga : As
with the rest of the property Diamante Formation sediments: conglomerates, sandstones, volcano-clastics and shales. Sandstones pale grey
with shales and finer units usually red. Beds are from 1-2 m up to 5-6 m thick striking broadly east-west and dipping shallowly
to the south. More permeable units can have up to 15% bitumen. There are minor porphyritic andesitic dykes. Alteration consists of bleaching
and moderate to strong argillization. Mineralization is strongly associated with more bituminous units and consists of malachite, azurite,
native copper and uranium vanadates. The Black Zone to Vega Larga area extends roughly 4km by 1.5km.
● Cerro Mirano : Host rocks
are the same Diamante Formation sandstones and conglomerates but with numerous porphyritic andesite dykes and sills. These are very distinctive
with 30-35% 1cm hornblende crystals. The dikes are emplaced through pre-existing structures such as joints and fractures, with widths
of 1 m to 2 m. and there is moderate silification related to the intrusives. Mineralization is present as copper oxides and carbonates
(malachite, azurite) and vanadates (carnotite). One of the larger dykes trending NW-SE has various workings along its 200 m strike length
and it seems likely the dykes have remobilized mineralizing fluids.
Deposit Types
There are two deposit types developed on the Huemul
claim package:
1. Sandstone uranium deposits with associated vanadium and copper;
and
2. Contact metamorphic copper-silver-uranium+/-vanadium mineralization.
Sandstone Uranium Deposits
Sandstone uranium deposits occur in carbon and/or
pyrite-bearing fluvial (less commonly marine), arkosic, medium- to coarse-grained sandstones that contain, are interbedded with and are
bounded by less permeable horizons. The primary uranium minerals are predominantly pitchblende, coffinite and, to a lesser extent, uranium-bearing
vanadates and phosphates. Uranium is precipitated under reducing conditions caused by the presence of a variety of reducing agents within
the sandstones (for example, carbonaceous material, sulphides, hydrocarbons and ferromagnesian minerals such as chlorite. Major known
sandstone deposits range in age from Palaeozoic to Tertiary.
With few exceptions, sandstone uranium deposits
are of diagenetic — epigenetic, low temperature origin. Groundwater chemistry and migration are instrumental in leaching
uranium from source rocks and transporting it in low concentrations to a chemical interface commonly provided by reducing or precipitating
agents where it is deposited. Essential parameters that control these processes include a uranium source, host rock lithology and permeability,
groundwater chemistry amenable to leaching and transporting uranium, depositional environment, adsorptive/reducing agents and an arid
to semi-arid climate.
Impermeable or less permeable strata or other
barriers may be instrumental in vertically and laterally channeling uraniferous fluids to favorable sites of deposition, while at the
same time prohibiting widespread flushing and dilution of fluids.
Uranium is soluble in large quantities only in
its hexavalent state. Therefore, uranium transporting fluids must be sufficiently oxygenated to keep the uranium in solution for transport,
but at the same time limited in oxidizing potential so that the reduction and precipitation of uranium generates high enough grades and
in sufficiently high quantities to be commercially important. Complexing agents such as carbonate ions are important for enhancing the
solubility and mobility of the uranyl ion in neutral to alkaline groundwater in either oxidizing or reducing conditions. A reductant is
required to convert (reduce) hexavalent uranium to tetravalent uranium. Many substances have been invoked as uranyl reductants, including
partially coalified vegetal matter, woody fragments (coalification not higher than sub-bituminous), amorphous organic matter (humate),
petroleum, so-called ‘dead oil’, ‘sour’ natural gas, hydrogen sulphide and pyrite or other sulphides.
The mineralization at Huemul belongs to the tabular
and basal channel type and the reducing agents are bitumen and other hydrocarbons in the sandstone units.
43
Contact Metamorphic Cu-Ag-U Mineralization
There are a number of basic volcanic dykes and
sills on the property most notably around the Huemul Mine-Agua Botada area and on Cerro Mirano.
These intrusive bodies have re-mobilized fluids
in the sandstone and resulted in the formation of small, presumably originally sulphide, orebodies that have now been oxidized with mixed
copper and manganese oxides and to a lesser extent uranium and vanadium oxides.
Exploration History
Historic Exploration
The Argentinian government discovered the Huemul-Agua
Botada Zone in 1952 and exploited the deposit between 1955 and 1975. The area was explored with a total of 25,000 m of drilling and 7,000
m of workings. The ore was treated in a concentration plant at the nearby town of Malargüe.
The mine was closed in 1976 with the discovery
and development of the Sierra Pintada mine in San Rafael.
EMSA Exploration
In 2005, Calypso Acquisition Corporation, through
its wholly owned Argentinian subsidiary Energia Minerals SA (“ EMSA ”), acquired approximately 20,900 ha around the old
Huemul and Agua Botado mines.
Mapping, sampling and airborne geophysics was
undertaken and culminated in an IIA in 2007. This was presented and approved by the Ministry of Mines but approval from the Legislature
was never forthcoming.
Work continued until 2009 with further mapping
and sampling and appears to have ceased in 2009.
IsoEnergy Exploration
IsoEnergy (formerly known as Consolidated Uranium
Inc.) undertook mapping and sampling in late 2022 to the end of March 2023.
Drilling
We have conducted no drilling on the Huemul Project
since acquiring the property.
Exploration Program Recommendations
The Huemul Project is an early-stage greenfield
exploration project which represents an underexplored district where previously mined copper (Cu)-uranium (U)-vanadium (V) mineralization
is present alongside a number of other classic sandstone-hosted uranium mineralization prospects.
SLR has proposed a two phase exploration program
with a total budget of $714,815 to advance the Huemul Project, beginning in 2025. The two phases of the program are independent of each
other. Exploration work can only be undertaken within current granted claims or in areas where we have an agreement with landowners.
The objectives of the exploration program are
summarized below:
1 Conduct check sampling and review of historic trench data.
2 Verify the work carried out by the previous operators.
3 Confirm the possibilities of more extensive surficial uranium-copper-vanadium
mineralization at Huemul.
Laguna Project
We have an interest in certain mineral concessions
located in the Chabut Province of southern Argentina, known as the Laguna Project.
For all references to figures, other citations,
and defined terms, please refer to the S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary for the Laguna Salada Project, Chubut Province, Argentina, as
Exhibit 96.2 to this registration statement.
44
Mineral Property Location
Figure 1. Location of the Laguna Projec t
Ownership Interest
We acquired a 100% indirect interest in the Argentina
Projects pursuant to the Argentina Projects SPA. Pursuant to the Argentina Projects SPA, we acquired all of the issued and outstanding
shares of 284 Ontario from IsoEnergy on July 19, 2024. The Argentina Projects include Laguna Salada Project located in Chubut Province
and the Huemul Project located in Mendoza Province. The book value of our mineral properties in Argentina as at December 31, 2024
is $4,150,000.
Qualified Persons
The disclosure in this Annual Report on Form 10-K
of scientific and technical information regarding exploration results for the Huemul Project has been reviewed and approved by SLR, who
is an independent, qualified person under S-K 1300.
Internal Controls
We have conducted no exploration work or drill
activities since acquiring the property and have no current mineral resources or reserves at the Laguna Project that could be construed
as being a potentially economic discovery. Furthermore, we have not commenced exploration of the Laguna Project that involves drilling,
sampling, or assaying, and therefore internal controls relating to QA/QC have not been necessary. However, prior to conducting exploration
that involves drilling, sampling, assaying, and the reporting of results from those activities, we will establish sampling and analytical
QA/QC protocols consistent with industry standards.
Project Location and Access
The Laguna Project is located in the central region
of the Chubut Province, approximately 260 km southwest of the town of Trelew and 220 km north of the town of Comodoro Rividavia. Both
are regional hubs with airports and essential services. Principal access is by paved Provincial Route 25 for 185 km, which links Trelew
with the village of Las Plumas. From Las Plumas, one travels 53 km south on the all-weather, unpaved Provincial Route 48, before
turning west onto a farm road for approximately one kilometer to reach the base camp. The Laguna Project is located at 3,401,500 m east
and 5,088,500 m north in the Gauss Kruger coordinate system.
The exploration project comprises 28 concessions,
totaling approximately 229,978.8 ha.
Project Stage
We have not conducted any exploration work or
drill activities since acquiring the property and have no current mineral resources or reserves at the Laguna Project.
Historical exploration has been conducted on the
Laguna Project.
45
Local Resources, Infrastructure and Physiography
Local Resources
Chubut Province is sparsely populated, especially
away from the major cities on the coast. The Mártires department, in which the Laguna Project is located, has a surface area of
15,445 km² and has a total population of 800 people of whom 605 live in the town of Las Plumas. The remainder of the population is
widely distributed between large, isolated farms. Farms are typically 10,000 ha in extent.
Chubut’s largest city is Comodoro Rivadavia,
with a population of approximately 180,000 and located on the coast near the Province’s southern border with Santa Cruz Province.
Comodoro Rivadavia has a deep water port. The administrative capital of Rawson, with 40,000 people, is located on the coast in the northeastern
part of the province. Puerto Madryn, north of Trelew has a mid-sized, deep water port on the Atlantic Ocean where a 400,000 ton per year
aluminum plant, owned by ALUAR, is located. Puerto Madryn and Comodoro Rivadavia have services that support heavy industry related to
the aluminum refinery.
Chubut’s economy is heavily dependent on
the oil industry and, to some extent, farming and fishing. Oil refining is the mainstay of the economy, principally from offshore fields.
Chubut is also one of the principal commercial fishing provinces in Argentina, providing about one-fifth of the national catch. Sheep
farming is the main economic activity of the dry interior plain that lies between the coast and the Andes Mountains in the west. Economic
activity in the Laguna Project area is largely confined to sheep farming for wool and meat.
Due to the extensive oil industry development
in Chubut Province, skilled and semi-skilled personnel are widely available and many people in Las Plumas are currently unemployed, providing
a ready pool of potential employees and contractors. Heavy machinery is available if needed.
There is no history of metallic mining in the
area; there is some quarrying and extraction of industrial minerals.
The nearest supply point where basic goods and
services, including food, fuel, and labor, can be obtained is in the town of Las Plumas. Other services, including heavy machinery, can
be obtained from Trelew or Puerto Madryn.
Infrastructure
The Rio Chubut to the northwest and the Rio Chico
to the southeast flow throughout the year, however, all other smaller stream and rivers are ephemeral.
The nearest supply point where basic goods and
services, including food, fuel, and labor, can be obtained is in the town of Las Plumas. Other services, including heavy machinery, can
be obtained from Trelew or Puerto Madryn.
Exploration campaigns require the establishment
of a fully serviced camp on the property.
There is a major hydro-electric project 35 km
to the northeast at Dique Florentino Ameghino on the Rio Chubut.
Physiography and Climate
The Laguna Salada area is an exceedingly flat
gravel plain with the only relief coming from isolated basement highs and incised valleys from the larger rivers in the region.
Natural vegetation consists of sparse grass cover
and drought resistant small bushes and shrubs.
The Laguna Project is located on a large, northeast-trending,
10 km by 20 km gravel-topped mesa that is dissected by shallow, ephemeral and dry stream beds that drain westwards and north-westwards
into a confined, shallow, saline lake bed located on the western margin of the concession area. The lake bed is only temporarily covered
with water after occasional rains. There are isolated hills of underlying basement rocks projecting through this gravel cover.
The mesa is bounded to the northwest by the valley
of the Rio Chubut and to the southeast by the valley of the Rio Chico.
Elevations across the entire region vary from
200 masl to 400 masl, averaging approximately 300 masl.
The climate in the region is characterized as
arid to semi-arid with annual temperatures ranging from a winter low of -5°C to summer highs of 20°C to 25°C. Rainfall
is low and sporadic throughout the year with an average rainfall of approximately 200 mm per year, falling as snow in June and July. The
area is characterized by strong winds.
Field work can be carried out essentially year-round,
although care needs to be taken in midwinter as the roads may become waterlogged and impassable.
46
Property Claims and Option
The Laguna Project currently consists of 39 claims,
totaling approximately 236,435.75 ha, comprising 20 cateos and 19 MDs registered with the Mining Notary in Chubut Province.
Figure 2. Details of the Number, Type and Area
Covered by Concessions that Constitute the Laguna Project
NAME
CLAIM ID
YEAR
AREA (ha)
CLAIM
TYPE
TITLE HOLDER
GAP 1
16362
2013
10,000.01
Cateo
2847312 Ontario Inc.
GAP 2
16363
2013
9,994.93
Cateo
2847312 Ontario Inc.
GAP 3
16955
2022
9,994.11
Cateo
2847312 Ontario Inc.
GAP 4
16956
2022
9,951.69
Cateo
2847312 Ontario Inc.
GAP 5
16957
2022
9,877.20
Cateo
2847312 Ontario Inc.
HORQUETA 1
16119
2011
10000
Cateo
2847312 Ontario Inc.
HORQUETA 2
16120
2011
10000
Cateo
2847312 Ontario Inc.
HORQUETA 3
16150
2012
10000
Cateo
2847312 Ontario Inc.
HORQUETA 4
16151
2012
10000
Cateo
2847312 Ontario Inc.
HORQUETA 5
16152
2012
9,899.01
Cateo
2847312 Ontario Inc.
HOPE 1
15280
2007
6000
Cateo
2847312 Ontario Inc.
HOPE 2
15281
2007
5989.57
Cateo
2847312 Ontario Inc.
HOPE 3
15282
2007
2400
Cateo
2847312 Ontario Inc.
HOPE 4
16994
2022
9,372.40
Cateo
2847312 Ontario Inc.
LAGO SECO
15222
2007
3,442.52
Cateo
2847312 Ontario Inc.
LAGO SECO 2
15229
2007
9,998.06
Cateo
2847312 Ontario Inc.
LAGO SECO OESTE
15576
2009
5165.66
Cateo
2847312 Ontario Inc.
LAGO SECO SUR
15623
2009
9,991.11
Cateo
2847312 Ontario Inc.
LA ROSADA
16160
2012
9997.93
Cateo
2847312 Ontario Inc.
NORTE
15800
2010
9,891.62
Cateo
2847312 Ontario Inc.
SUSANA
16553
2015
7000
MD
2847312 Ontario Inc.
MDLS I
17344
2025
2500
MD
2847312 Ontario Inc.
MDLS II
17345
2025
3362
MD
2847312 Ontario Inc.
LAGO SECO II
17334
2025
3377.44
MD
2847312 Ontario Inc.
GUANACO I
15496
2008
4,009.41
MD
2847312 Ontario Inc.
GUANACO II
15497
2008
6,959.16
MD
2847312 Ontario Inc.
GUANACO III
15498
2008
5,559.63
MD
2847312 Ontario Inc.
GUANACO IV
15657
2009
3,194.56
MD
2847312 Ontario Inc.
GUANACO V
15873
2010
3,967.14
MD
2847312 Ontario Inc.
GUANACO VI
15874
2010
3,949.56
MD
2847312 Ontario Inc.
GUANACO VII
15875
2010
3,679.01
MD
2847312 Ontario Inc.
HOPE I
17264
2025
2300
MD
2847312 Ontario Inc.
HOPE II
17263
2025
2500
MD
2847312 Ontario Inc.
HOPE III
17265
2025
2263.29
MD
2847312 Ontario Inc.
HOPE IV
17266
2025
2263.29
MD
2847312 Ontario Inc.
HOPE V
17298
2025
1896.36
MD
2847312 Ontario Inc.
HOPE VI
17299
2025
1896.36
MD
2847312 Ontario Inc.
HOPE VII
17300
2025
1896.36
MD
2847312 Ontario Inc.
HOPE VIII
17301
2025
1896.36
MD
2847312 Ontario Inc.
47
Figure 3. Location of the Concessions constituting
the Laguna Project shown on a Satellite Image (Cateos are shown in red and MDs in blue)
Geology
Regional geology
The Laguna Project is located near the western
edge of the Cretaceous San Jorge Basin, which covers most of Chubut Province. The substratum of the San Jorge Basin consists of a sequence
of sedimentary, metamorphic, intrusive, and volcanic rocks of Paleozoic and Triassic age that are overlain by the Jurassic volcanic complex
of the Marifil Formation. The Jurassic sequence covered a large part of the area that is now covered by the San Jorge Basin with a thick
sequence of ignimbrites and rhyolitic lava flows that is exposed in outliers and in the floors of some of the deeper valleys in the project
area.
The basal part of the San Jorge Basin consists
of conglomerates and sandstones of the Cretaceous Puesto Manuel Arce Formation. These are in turn, overlain by the littoral marine sandstones
and interlayered mudstones of the Early Tertiary Salamanca Formation that is interpreted to have accumulated during one of the last marine
transgressions by the Atlantic Ocean (Sylwan, 2001).
48
In the Laguna Project area, the Puesto Manuel
Arce and Salamanca Formations are unconformably overlain by Quaternary strata of fluvial and alluvial origin that constitute the Pleistocene
Pampa de Arroqui (or Montemayor) Formation and the Holocene Gran Laguna Salada Formation. The Pampa de Arroqui Formation consists of layers
of unconsolidated gravel with a sandy to silty matrix. Clasts are well-rounded, moderately well sorted and mainly volcanic in origin.
These gravels constitute an outwash plain that marks the migration of the course of the Rio Chico River through Quaternary times. This
outwash plain, located to the east of the Andes Mountains, is vast, measuring many tens of thousands of square kilometers in extent, and
is now being dissected by the active ephemeral stream system that feeds into the south bank of Rio Chico.
The Gran Laguna Salada Formation is restricted
to an area several tens of square kilometers in extent on the east flank of the saline lake called the “Laguna Salada” that
lies near the western edge of the project area. This formation is Holocene in age and consists of a polylithic, matrix-supported gravel
in which the matrix is fine-grained sand and silt. Discontinuous, 20 cm to 30 cm thick gypsum beds occur within the gravel sequence. The
Gran Laguna Salada Formation is interpreted to have accumulated in the depocenter of the Gran Laguna Salada from material eroded from
the Pampa de Arroqui Formation.
Property geology
Uranium mineralization in the Laguna Project has
been encountered in terraces on the north bank of the Rio Chico, one of the principal rivers in the region that flows northeastwards into
the Rio Chubut. Jurassic rocks of the Marifil Formation are exposed in the most deeply incised areas adjacent to the river and as inliers
to the southwest and immediately west of the Laguna Salada Lake.
Cretaceous rocks in the Laguna Project are represented
by tuffs and fine-grained sandstones that are exposed as inliers immediately to the north, west and southwest of the property. Cretaceous
sandstones and interbedded green to brown siltstones of the Puesto Manuel Arce Formation are concentrated in the western part of the property
package. These strata are overlain in the central and eastern part of the property by sandstones and interlayered greenish mudstones of
the Salamanca Formation, which prior drilling, identified as being approximately 30m thick in the Project area.
In the central part of the Project area, the Salamanca
Formation is exposed in an elongate, north-trending inlier that separates Pleistocene strata in the east from younger Holocene strata
in the vicinity of the Laguna Salada Lake to the west. The north-trending inlier forms a palaeochannel on which the north- and west-flowing
Holocene drainages were superimposed.
A Quaternary terrace of the Rio Chico river system
lies to the east of the north-trending paleochannel, constituting a mesa that is hundreds of square kilometers in extent. This “Eastern
Mesa” consists of the Pleistocene Pampa de Arroqui Formation, which is an unconsolidated gravel unit that rests on a generally planar
basal contact that is occasionally interrupted by erosional channel features into the underlying Salamanca Formation. Gravels of the Pampa
de Arroqui Formation are clast- and matrix-supported and are arranged in crude, planar beds interlayered with cross-bedded sand beds and
lenses of sand. Clasts consist mainly of volcanic rocks including rhyolite, andesite and basalt. The matrix consists of sand with some
interstitial silt and is partially and patchily cemented with calcite and or gypsum. The “Guanaco” mineralized area is located
on the west side of the Eastern Mesa.
The west side of the north-south orientated palaeochannel
(that exposes the Salamanca Formation) forms part of an extensive, fault-related depression in which the Laguna Salada Lake is located.
This area has a mesa-like morphology and is called the “Western Mesa,” The Western Mesa consists of gravels and sands of the
Gran Laguna Salada Formation which has a geomorphology and facies distribution typical of an alluvial fan that is now being dissected
and eroded by the present ephemeral stream system. Gravels of the Gran Laguna Salada Formation are clast-and matrix-supported and have
a silty matrix. Clasts are similar in composition to those of the Pampa de Arroqui Formation. The “Lago Seco” area of mineralization
is located on the eastern edge of the Western Mesa.
● Guanaco Area : The Guanaco
area lies in the Eastern Mesa where the surface of the terrace slopes slightly westwards. Mineralization has been identified over an
area of approximately 40 km square in Pleistocene gravels of the Pampa de Arroqui Formation. The gravel unit, which is 3 m to 6 m thick
in the mineralized area, has a generally planar basal contact that is occasionally interrupted by erosional channel features scoured
into the underlying green to brown siltstones of the Salamanca Formation. The gravel sequence is covered by a layer of carbonate-rich
soil that is typically unmineralized and is 20 cm to 40 cm thick. The unconsolidated, clast- and matrix-supported gravel unit is arranged
in crude, planar beds interlayered with sandy beds. The matrix consists of sand with some interstitial silt and powdery calcareous minerals
and is partially and patchily cemented with gypsum. The uranium-vanadium mineralization of this area is evident as greenish and yellow
staining in the sand and carbonate matrix of the gravel and as partial rims on clasts.
● Lago Seco Area : Mineralization
in the Lago Seco Area extends for tens of square kilometers along the eastern side of the Western Mesa which slopes gently westward toward
the topographic depression in which the Laguna Salada Lake lies. Uranium-vanadium mineralization occurs in the interlayered gravel and
sand facies of the Gran Laguna Salada Formation which is 2 m to 4 m thick in the area of interest and lies unconformably on the greenish
mudstones and sandstones of the Salamanca Formation and partially on sandstones and gravels of the Puesto Manuel Arce Formation. The
gravel unit is partially covered by unmineralized calcareous soil up to 30 cm thick. The main lithology constituting the Gran Laguna
Salada Formation is matrix- and clast-supported gravel with rounded pebbles up to 5 cm in diameter. The matrix consists of sandy silt
with powdery calcite and gypsum. Discontinuous layers of massive gypsum up to 30 cm thick occur in some parts of the Lago Seco Area.
The nature and composition of the mineralization is similar to that of the Guanaco area.
49
● Buried Lake Area : Buried
Lake refers to a different style of mineralization located in the northern part of the Guanaco area and is observed at the unconformity
between the Pampa de Arroqui Formation and the underlying Salamanca Formation. Mineralization is concentrated near the base of the gravel,
on the unconformity surface and in fractures in mudstone in the underlying Salamanca Formation.
● La Rosada Area : La Rosada
Target (La Rosada) is in the northeastern part of the Project area, located approximately 45 kilometers from the Laguna Salada historical
mineral resource. The country-rock of La Rosada area is composed of a sequence of acidic volcanic rocks and unconsolidated sediments.
The stratigraphic sequence is composed by rhyolitic lava flows (Mesozoic-Jurassic) of the Marifil Formation (volcanic complex), marine
and transitional sediments, unconsolidated gravel sandy fossil rich (Mesozoic, Cretaceous) of the Salamanca Formation, paleochannel sediments,
unconsolidated gravel with sandy matrix (Cenozoic-Paleogene) of the Salamanca Formation and a sequence of unconsolidated sandy conglomerates
(Neogene-Pleistocene) of the Arroqui Formation. In the central part of the project, paleochannels show an east-west, southeast-northwest
trend. The main alteration basement volcanics in the area is early silica (SIL1) and silica-clay (SIL-CLY) along fractures.
Mineralization
The uranium mineralization of the Laguna Project
is related to “caliches”, which is the partial cementation of the host by calcium carbonates. “Caliche” and “calcrete”
type uranium deposits are surficial uranium deposits found in semi-desert environments. Caliche-type uranium deposits differ from calcrete-type
uranium deposits in that they typically occur in unconsolidated clastic sediments such as gravel, as opposed to cemented sediments in
the case of calcrete-type uranium deposits.
There are three principal styles of uranium-vanadium
mineralization that have been identified at Laguna Salada as follows.
● Of principal economic interest is a tabular, gently undulating
layer that contains yellow-green uranium-vanadium minerals at shallow depth within unconsolidated, sandy gravel. This style of mineralization
occurs in the Guanaco and Lago Seco areas in gravel-dominated clastic facies of different ages — Pleistocene at Guanaco
and Holocene at Lago Seco. Powdery and finely crystalline uranium-vanadium minerals occur between the grains in the sandy matrix of the
gravel and also as partial coatings on sand grains and clasts. Carnotite (K 2 (UO 2 ) 2 (VO 4 ) 2 .3H 2 O)
is the dominant uranium-vanadium mineral and has a variable habit from slightly cohesive to compact masses of crystals.
● The second style of mineralization is found in the “Buried
Lake” area where carnotite straddles the unconformity between the gravel sequence and the underlying, organic-rich mudstones. Mineralization
within this layer occurs in interstices in the sandy matrix and on pebbles in the gravel as well as within cracks and associated with
organic material in the underlying mudstone. The true potential of this style of mineralization at Laguna Salada is undefined currently.
● In the Pescado Prospect at La Rosada, uranium-vanadium mineralization
is not restricted to the paleochannels and is also present in the strongly altered rhyolite basement itself with mineralization indicated
as yellow-green carnotite presented disseminated in the matrix of weathered remnants of the rhyolite. Shallow mineralization of this
style is open in at least two directions.
Deposit Types
Uranium-vanadium mineralization in the Laguna
Project has the principal characteristics of surficial uranium deposits according to the classification of Toens et al ., 1984.
Surficial deposits comprise approximately 4% of
the world’s uranium resources (WNA, 2009). These deposits are typically tabular bodies of mineralization that are located in close
proximity to the surface. They are typically located in sequences of Tertiary to Recent age in fluvial, alluvial and eolian clastic sediments
and associated playa lake facies.
Uranium in surficial deposits is thought to have
been leached from such source rocks and transported to the site of deposition in the younger sediments by groundwater flow.
Examples of surficial uranium deposits are Yeelirrie
and Lake Maitland in Western Australia and Langer Heinrich and Trekkopje in Namibia (WNA, 2009). A close analogy is apparent with the
Tubas Red Sand deposit in Namibia, in which carnotite mineralization occurs in free-digging aeolian sand adjacent to a paleochannel.
The current conceptual model for the mineralization
in the Laguna Salada Project is as follows:
● Uranium was derived from fertile source rocks such as rhyolites
in the Jurassic basement and older uranium accumulations. Uranium was transported in solution by oxidized meteoric waters that flowed
through the permeable, conglomeratic terraces of the Rio Chico.
● Vanadium is likely to have been derived from the mudstones
of the underlying Salamanca Formation. Samples from the mudstone contained up to 600 ppm vanadium, showing that the mudstones are a viable
source for the vanadium-bearing fluids at Laguna Salada.
● These minerals deposited together because of evaporation
causing an increase in their concentration in the near-surface environment, resulting in a blanket-like, near-surface layer of mineralization.
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● Mineralization in the Pampa de Arroqui Formation may have
been eroded and leached and subsequently precipitated in the younger Gran Laguna Salada Formation in the Holocene depocenter.
A different style of mineralization is encountered
in the basement at La Rosada with carnotite occurring in fractures in the volcanic sequence.
The volcanics are argillically altered and it
is unclear whether this mineralization is coincident with the mineralization that has precipitated in caliches in the Quaternary gravels,
albeit in a different host rock, or may even be the source for the surficial uranium mineralization in the gravels.
Exploration History
Historical Exploration for Uranium
Reconnaissance work on Laguna Salada was first
conducted in 2007 by Mega with the aim of confirming anomalies detected in a 1978 airborne radiometric survey undertaken by CNEA. U3O8
Corp. acquired this Project from Mega in April 2010 and immediately undertook metallurgical test work.
Exploration from 2008 onwards primarily focused
on the Guanaco and Lago Seco claims, in the southwestern part of the property, with an initial mineral resource estimate completed by
Coffey Mining Pty Ltd. (Coffey) in 2011 (Coffey 2011) and a PEA completed in 2014 (Tenova 2014). Limited reconnaissance sampling was also
carried out at La Rosada and the Horqueta claims, approximately 45 km to the northeast, and at the Susana claims to the south.
Mineralization has also been discovered in the
La Rosada and La Susana areas in the Laguna Project area.
Uranium and vanadium at Laguna Salada were initially
discovered along the edge of the gravel mesas where the mineralized layer is exposed from beneath a typically barren gravel cap. It was
only with trenching and pitting in the interior of the mesas that the extent of the mineralization became clear at Laguna Salada. Similar
mineralization is evident in the La Susana area, where the uranium-vanadium bearing layer has been traced along the western and eastern
edges of the mesa, approximately 10 km to 15 km apart.
The Laguna Project was acquired by IsoEnergy in
2021, and a mapping and sampling program was carried out in 2022.
Environmental Considerations
Environmental Impact Assessments (“ EIA ”s)
are required as part of the process of maintaining exploration and mining concessions in good standing with the Provincial Mining Directorate
(“ PMD ”). An initial EIA is required before field work is permitted on a concession and an update to the EIA is required
when the approximate location and number of planned trenches and/or bore holes has been established from initial exploration. The updated
EIA requires approval by the PMD before the planned trenching and/or drilling can commence.
SLR is not aware of any environmental liabilities
on the property. We have all required permits to conduct the proposed work on the property. SLR is not aware of any other significant
factors and risks that may affect access, title, or the right or ability to perform the proposed work program on the property
Drilling
We have not conducted any drilling on the Laguna
Project since acquiring the property.
Mega drilled 57 RC bore holes for 1,561 m in the
Laguna Project in 2008. 15 of these holes were relatively deep (average bore hole length was 80 m) with the objective of exploring for
mineralization in favorable stratigraphic units beneath the unconsolidated gravel beds. 42 shallow holes (maximum 10 m depth) were drilled
in three principal target areas of the Project area to explore the shallow, caliche-style of mineralization.
This drilling was effective in providing a means
of using a downhole Mount Sopris spectrometer to estimate the grade of U3O8; however, the accuracy of these estimates suffered from variable
disequilibrium over the Laguna Project area.
Diamond and RC drilling were unsuccessful in providing
samples for assay due to poor recoveries from the unconsolidated gravels. These factors, combined with the fact that the most economically
attractive style of mineralization in the Laguna Project is the near-surface caliche layer, rather than mineralization located at the
deeper unconformity, led to a decision to abandon drilling; all further exploration was done by trenching and pitting.
Vibrosonic drilling may provide a means of recovering
material adequate for representative geochemical assaying in the future.
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Exploration Program Recommendations
We have proposed a two-phase exploration program
with a total budget of approximately $1,900,000 to advance the Laguna Project. The two phases of the program are independent of each other.
SLR has reviewed the 2025 program proposed by the Company and is of the opinion that it is a reasonable approach to the advancement of
the Laguna Project. Exploration work can only be undertaken within current granted claims or in areas where Jaguar has an agreement with
landowners.
The objectives of the exploration program are
summarized below:
1. Acquire proper exploration permits, renegotiate surface access
agreements with current landowners, and pursue acquisition of small government concession area located south of the Guanaco VII
and north of the Hope 4 concessions.
2. Conduct check sampling and review of historical trench data,
verify the work carried out by the previous operators, and confirm the possibilities of more extensive surficial uranium-vanadium mineralization
at Laguna Salada.
3. Perform trench versus drilling sampling study to determine
most appropriate method for advancing the Project.