Kirrin Resources Inc. today announced the completion of a 1,076 line-kilometre magnetic-electromagnetic (EM) airborne survey of the Key Lake Southwest (‘Key Lake SW’) uranium property located on the southeastern margin of the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan, Canada. Fugro Airborne Surveys Corp. of Ottawa, Ontario (‘Fugro’) was contracted to complete the survey. In addition, a review of the technical disclosures following the January 10, 2010 announcements by Delta Uranium Inc. (‘Delta’) and Denison Mines Corp. (‘Denison’) of the expansion of their Phoenix Discovery, just 60 km from Key Lake SW, has revealed many geological similarities between Phoenix and Key Lake SW.

Kirrin’s airborne magnetic-EM survey at Key Lake SW utilised Fugro’s fixed-wing Tempest(R) Digital Time Domain Electromagnetic (DTDEM) system which provides maximum quantitative discrimination of relatively near surface (upper 200 to 300 m) conductivity variations. Kirrin has appointed Condor Consulting, Inc. of Lakewood, Colorado,  to undertake the processing and analysis of the airborne EM and magnetic data acquired by Kirrin. Condor anticipates submitting its report by July.

On January 10, 2010, Delta and Denison reported that high-grade uranium mineralization continues to be encountered on the Phoenix discovery on the Wheeler River Property located in the Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan, and that the results of the fall 2009 drilling program have confirmed that the Phoenix discovery has the potential to host an economically significant, high-grade uranium deposit.

The Key Lake SW property is at the southwest end of the geologically favourable trend that hosts numerous uranium mines and important deposits, including the Phoenix and Millennium deposits, and the former Key Lake mine. Although the Key Lake SW property is believed to be somewhat southwest of the margin of the current Athabasca Basin, there is evidence (regolith encountered in some old drill holes) that indicates the Athabasca Supergroup-Wollaston Group basement unconformity was not far above the present ground surface within the property. Discovery of several ‘Ingress style’ uranium deposits, such as Phoenix (up to 117 m below unconformity), Millennium (up to 100 m below unconformity), Eagle Point (up to 450 m below the unconformity) and some other deposits within the Athabasca Basin, indicate that important uranium deposits can occur from several tens of metres up to a few hundred metres below the unconformity. Hence, there is potential for important basement-hosted uranium deposits to exist within the Key Lake SW property. Regional aeromagnetic data show the Phoenix discovery is associated with a fault which cross-cuts the P2 Rift Fault.

Important features at the Phoenix basement-hosted uranium discovery which are similar to the geological setting at the Key Lake SW property include the geological composition of the host basement rocks, the spatial association with the projected regional P2 fault, and the localization of the Phoenix uranium prospect on cross-cutting faults. Gracie (2009) has postulated that the Key Lake SW property is along the projected extension of both the P2 fault, which extends southerly from the McArthur River mine, and the Key Lake fault, which extends southwesterly from the former Key Lake mine.

The eastern margin of the Athabasca Basin is home to the most productive uranium mines in the world with roughly 25% of the world’s uranium production coming from this area. Kirrin’s target at Key Lake SW is basement-hosted unconformity-type uranium deposits, similar to Cameco’s basement-hosted Millennium deposit, located about 50 km to the northeast; the Phoenix discovery, located about 60 km northeast; and the former Key Lake mine, located about 35 km east-northeast.