Athabasca Explorer Launches Major Uranium Drilling Program in Saskatchewan

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Skyharbour Resources Ltd. (SYH:TSX.V; SYHBF:OTCQX; SC1P:FSE) announced it has started the winter phase of diamond drilling at its co-flagship Russell Lake uranium project in the central core of the eastern Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan.

Combined with planned drilling at its other co-flagship project, Moore, Skyharbour's fully funded 16,000- to 18,000-meter campaign in 35 to 45 holes is the "largest annual drill campaign ever carried out by the company."

Skyharbour said in a release that it plans to complete an initial 5,000 meters in 10 to 12 holes at the 73,314-hectare (ha) Russell Lake project. Its geologists and a contracted drilling crew are already on site.

"We are thrilled to commence the 2025 drill campaign, which will consist of 16-18,000 meters in multiple phases of drilling at Russell and Moore throughout the year," President and Chief Executive Officer Jordan Trimble said. "This will provide steady news flow as we follow up on the 2024 programs with the benefit of low-cost drilling and relatively shallow target depths at our co-flagship projects."

Trimble continued, "This first phase of drilling at Russell will continue to test the exploration upside at the project, which hosts widespread uranium mineralization and has the geology necessary for larger, high-grade Athabasca Basin uranium deposits."

Russell Lake is 57.7% owned by Skyharbour as operator, with Rio Tinto Exploration Canada Inc. owning the other 42.3%.

The focus of the Phase 1 winter drilling at Russell Lake will focus on the Fork and Sphinx targets with the broader Grayling target area, the company said, as well as the M-Zone extension and Fox Lake Trail targets. Details from geochemical assay results are also pending from drilling carried out at the project in late 2024.

"Recent improvements include the addition of new technical expertise and adoption of advanced drilling techniques and geophysical surveys like Moving Loop EM, which helped pinpoint targets at the Fork and Grayling areas," wrote Red Cloud Securities Analyst David Talbot in a February 7 research note.

"The company has also set aside CA$0.5-1.0 million as a buffer for additional work if successful at either project," wrote Talbot, who gave the stock a Buy rating with a target price of CA$0.55 per share.

New Target on Strike With Wheeler River Zone

The newly identified Fork target is southwest of the Grayling Zone and is on strike with Denison's M-Zone at their adjacent Wheeler River Project, Skyharbour noted.

Last year, high-grade uranium was discovered at the Fork target in hole RSL24-02, which returned a 2.5-meter-wide intercept of 0.721% U3O8 at a relatively shallow depth of 338.1 meters, including about 3% U3O8 over 0.5 meters just above the unconformity in the sandstone.

"The company has also set aside CA$0.5-1.0 million as a buffer for additional work if successful at either project," wrote Talbot, who gave the stock a Buy rating with a target price of CA$0.55 per share.

"This high-grade intercept is a new discovery which had very limited historical exploration due to a lack of reliable geophysical data and drill targets hampered by interference from nearby powerlines," the company wrote.

"The mineralization remains open in most directions, including along strike and up-dip, and will be a high-priority target for this drill program. The potential for basement-hosted mineralization at the Fork target remains virtually untested."

According to its website, Skyharbour has an extensive portfolio of uranium exploration projects in Canada's Athabasca Basin, with 36 projects covering over 614,000 ha with nine partners advancing 13 projects and 20 other 100 percent owned projects available for option or joint venture. In addition to being a high-grade uranium exploration company, Skyharbour utilizes a prospect generator strategy by bringing in partner companies to advance its secondary assets.

In an updated research note last year, Analyst Sid Rajeev of Fundamental Research Corp. wrote that Skyharbour "owns one of the largest portfolios among uranium juniors in the Athabasca Basin."

"Given the highly vulnerable uranium supply chain, we anticipate continued consolidation within the sector," Rajeev wrote. "Additionally, the rapidly growing demand for energy from the AI (artificial intelligence) industry is likely to accelerate the adoption of nuclear power, which should, in turn, spotlight uranium juniors in the coming months."

The Catalyst: Bull Market Has 'Further Room to Run'

The growth of artificial intelligence, the eventual adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), and the need for more net-zero power means to power it all means the world is turning more toward nuclear power and the uranium that generates it.

One major sign was Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT:NASDAQ) recently announced deal with Constellation Energy Group (CEG:NYSE) to restart and buy all of the power from one of the shut-down reactors at its infamous Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania.

While uranium spot prices have slipped nearly 40% from highs last year above US$100 per pound, analysts said persistent supply challenges and rising global nuclear commitments support a return to higher prices, reported Jeff Lagerquist for Yahoo! Finance on February 25. According to Sprott Asset Management, the U3O8 spot price has risen a cumulative 186.14% over the five years ended January 31, he reported.

"With no meaningful new supply on the horizon for three to five years, we believe this bull market has further room to run," Sprott ETF Product Manager Jacob White wrote in a report earlier this month, according to Lagerquist.

Tariffs proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump also are expected to drive up prices for the nuclear fuel, at least in America, which gets more than a quarter of its uranium from north of the border, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Lagerquist reported.

Ownership and Share Structure

Management, insiders, and close business associates own approximately 5% of Skyharbour, the company said.

President and CEO Jordan Trimble owns 1.48%, and Director David Cates owns 0.65%, Reuters said.

Institutions own about 40% of the company, Skyharbour said. Other top shareholders include Extract Advisors LLC with 13.76%, Alps Advisors Inc. with 10.02%, Mirae Asset Global Investments with 6.35%, and Vident Investment Advisory LLC, Reuters said.

There are 204.46 million shares outstanding with 199.68 million free float traded shares, while the company has a market cap of CA$67.72 million and trades in a 52-week range of CA$0.31 and CA$0.56.