Released on March 2, 2005
With the mining industry booming in Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Research Council's (SRC) Geoanalytical Laboratories have been busy analyzing samples for industry clients. A recent donation of lab equipment from two uranium exploration companies will help the labs streamline processes to provide even shorter turnaround time for their clients."Since 1991 the uranium industry has invested more than $1.5 billion in Saskatchewan," Minister responsible for SRC Eric Cline said. "A positive climate for economic growth includes top quality research capability, and today the industry is contributing here as well. This new equipment will help the SRC labs continue to provide world-class analytical services for their clients, including industry. This is a win-win situation for everyone."
JNR Resources Inc. (JNR), a junior uranium exploration company based in Saskatoon, and their partner International Uranium Corporation (IUC), a mid-tier uranium company based in Vancouver, contributed a new $43,000 distillation system to SRC. The benefits of the new equipment include substantial reductions in processing times (from days to hours) and a reduction in the consumption and cost of chemicals (up to $30,000 annually).
JNR and IUC recently announced a $3 million winter exploration program on their Moore Lake uranium project, which is located in the Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan. "We are currently exploring on one of the three best exploration projects in the Basin and we are producing a high volume of samples," JNR president Richard Kusmirski said. "We expect, and we continue to receive, high quality and timely service from SRC's labs. We recognized an opportunity to give something back to the lab and we are pleased to be able to help."
"We are very excited about the potential of our projects in the Athabasca Basin," IUC president Ron Hochstein said. "In 2005, IUC has an exploration budget of just over $13 million, of which about $10 million will be spent in the province of Saskatchewan."
For the past two decades, roughly one third of the western world's primary uranium supply has come from the Athabasca Basin. Basin-wide exploration expenditures are estimated at $26 million for 2004, nearly double the 2003 level.
SRC's Geoanalytical Labs offer a wide variety of mineral analysis services for the uranium, diamond, gold and base metals industries in Canada and throughout the world.
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For More Information, Contact:
| Karen Potter Corporate Relations Saskatoon Phone: (306) 933-7089 Cell: (306) 221-1097 |