Avocet Resources has signed a definitive farm-in and joint-venture agreement with U3O8 Corp. regarding U3O8’s 100%-owned Sierra Cuadrada uranium project in Chubut province, Argentina. Under the agreement, Avocet can earn a 51% interest in the Sierra Cuadrada Joint Venture project by spending $1 million in exploration over a maximum of four years. Avocet will manage exploration of the project.
The Sierra Cuadrada project is an early-stage prospect targeting sandstone-hosted uranium mineralization that is geologically similar to the state-owned Cerro Solo deposit, which is also in Chubut and currently is being advanced by CNEA (Argentinean National Nuclear Commission).
Argentina is a nuclear energy producing country seeking domestic uranium supply to fuel its reactor fleet. The country’s third reactor will come online this year, and at that time, Argentina will derive 9% of its electricity from nuclear. A fourth reactor is out for tender.
Argentina views uranium as a strategic resource, and the government has signed nuclear cooperation agreements with the United Arab Emirates and China. The country has previously been a uranium producer, having a number of mine sites that are now closed. It is currently endeavoring to become self-sufficient with its own mines.
Avocet Resources is an Australian junior company headquartered in West Perth, Western Australia, with exploration projects in Western Australia, Queensland, and South Australia. U3O8 Corp. is a Canadian junior company headquartered in Toronto, with active exploration projects on Argentina, Colombia and Guyana.
(www.avocetresources.com.au)
