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The Right Way to Hunt for Uranium

With Chris Frostad, President & CEO, and Scott Frostad, VP Exploration of Purepoint Uranium Recording date: 18th March 2025 In a recent discussion, PurePoint Uranium's President & CEO Chris Frostad and VP of Exploration Scott Frostad shared valuable insights into uranium exploration strategies in the Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan, one of the world's premier uranium districts known for exceptionally high-grade deposits. The Frostad brothers emphasized the methodical approach required for successful uranium exploration, highlighting the critical role of geophysical surveys before committing to expensive drilling campaigns. According to Scott Frostad, magnetic surveys reveal underlying basement rock characteristics, with explorers looking for specific indicators: magnetic lows indicating softer rocks, graphite conductors, and structural features like faults where fluid flow might concentrate. "The magnetics will tell you the different rock types in the basement. The Sandstone is magnetically invisible," explained Scott, noting that prime exploration targets emerge where multiple favorable features converge. The discussion highlighted the tension exploration companies face between thorough geological work and market expectations. "It's very difficult for us from an investor standpoint because for all of this work... none of which poked a hole through a deposit, which is really the inflection point for investors," Chris noted. Scott added their philosophy: "We've always kind of worked on the mantra that if we act like a major, maybe someone will treat us like a major." Uranium exploration in the Athabasca Basin presents unique technical challenges, including maintaining hole integrity through varied rock layers and dealing with pressurized water zones. Scott described their experience at Spitfire: "It was the fifth drilling company, believe it or not, that finally figured out how to get through this water." Such difficulties can lead to lost equipment, increased costs, and project delays. For evaluating exploration news, the Frostads provided useful benchmarks: natural background uranium levels typically range from 10-50 ppm, with 500 ppm intersections considered significant for guiding follow-up drilling. The Saskatchewan government considers 0.1% U3O8 over 10 meters significant enough to require special environmental measures. The brothers also shared a cautionary tale about Orano's exploration at the McClean pods, where initial promising results were followed by diminishing returns, leading the company to abandon the area. When they returned a decade later, they found "7½% over 10 meters, much to everybody's shock and awe," illustrating how significant deposits can be missed by mere meters. This conversation reveals that successful uranium exploration requires geological expertise, capital discipline, and systematic approaches to maximize discovery probability while minimizing expenditure. Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com