News Release 08-06
Vancouver, British Columbia - Artha Resources Corporation (TSX.V: AHC) is pleased to announce the beginning of its Phase One uranium exploration program in Wyoming. The principle goal of Phase One is to define in-situ recoverable resources and confirm historical resources outlined on projects in at least four key uranium districts.
*WY Project - 74 Holes to Test the Wind River Formation
Located in the Shirley Basin, birth place of ISR mining, the WY project is currently Artha's key uranium target. After drilling 2,200 holes, Wold Nuclear documented in a geological report dated September 1978 uranium resources in two separate areas on the property. In the north area a resource of 877,000 lbs U3O8 contained within 528,000 tons grading 0.083% U3O8 at a cutoff of 0.04% was estimated. In the south area, Wold estimated a resource of 493,000 lbs U3O8 contained within 432,000 tons grading 0.058% U3O8 using a cutoff grade of 0.03%. Wold recommended a follow up drill program of 480 holes which was suspended due to weak uranium prices at the time.
To date, Artha has identified over 6000 feet of trend that remains to be drilled. The Phase One program includes 74 holes to an average depth of 270 feet for a total of 20,000 feet. This drilling will all be in the Wind River formation which rests on the Steele Shale or Cody and dips slightly to the north. The most promising sand zone is up to 80 feet thick with roll fronts up to 35 feet thick. Here the aquifer is contained above and below by sealing shales which bodes well for in situ recovery.
*DCB - 20 Holes Planned for the Wasatch and Fort Union Formations
The DCB claims are located in the Powder River Basin less than 12 miles from the Smith Ranch/Highland Mine of Cameco, the largest uranium production facility in the United States. After 493,264 feet of drilling, Nuclear Exploration Co. published a geological report identifying a uranium resource of 462,048 tons at a grade of 0.063% U3O8 containing 585,167 pounds of U3O8. The report also noted that ten different sandstones containing roll front trends had been mapped and that 40 to 60 miles of uranium bearing trend remains to be explored.
Artha will be drill testing uranium roll fronts in the Wasatch and Fort Union formations. Phase One includes 20 holes to an average depth of 400 feet for a total of 8000 feet.
Clarkson Hill - 8 Holes to Further Define NI 43-101 Resource
Clarkson Hill is located on the southern edge of the Wind River Basin, 26 miles from Casper, Wyoming. Roll-front type uranium mineralization was first discovered here during the 1950's. Previous companies are reported to have drilled an estimated 383 holes, including 21 core holes for a total of 124,565 feet. Clarkson Hill is Artha's qualifying property and as such the company commissioned an NI 43-101 report authored by Douglas Beahm, PE, PG and Principal Engineer of BRS INC. BRS estimated a new U3O8 inferred resource at Clarkson Hill:
-----------------------------------------------
Avge Grade
GT Minimum Lbs. U3O8 Tons % U3O8
-----------------------------------------------
0.10 1,148,287 1,051,618 0.055
-----------------------------------------------
0.25 939,888 753,611 0.062
-----------------------------------------------
0.50 546,136 329,870 0.083
-----------------------------------------------
Economics, mining method, and recovery will dictate the appropriate cutoff grade and/or GT to be applied to the in-the-ground resources. The 0.10 GT cutoff estimates were reported to assess the total resource. The 0.25 cutoff is more appropriate for in situ recovery, ISR, and/or conventional mining operations and is recommended for reporting purposes. The 0.50 GT cutoff was employed to highlight the areas of strongest mineralization.
Phase One at Clarkson Hill includes 8 holes to an average depth of 500 feet for a total of 4000 feet. This drilling will test the White River, Wind River and Fort Union formations which rest on steeply dipping Cretaceous formations in the southeastern corner of the Wind River Basin.
*Artha is not treating historical estimates at DCB and WY as current mineral resources as they have not been classified according to CIM resource categories and are non National Instrument 43-101 compliant and therefore these historical estimates should not be relied on. While there are no resources established under the current National Instrument 43-101, Artha considers the historical data to be substantial and relevant as it will be invaluable to guiding further exploration and resource definition.
Roger Motten, P.Geo is the qualified person under NI 43-101 responsible for the technical information in this news release.
Artha Resources was founded by a team of mining industry professionals with a proven track record in project generation, exploration, mining and finance. The team's primary goal is to build Artha into a world class uranium company, focused on the development and mining of economic deposits.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors,
"Todd McMurray"
President and Chief Executive Officer
For Information Contact:
Todd McMurray
Tel: 604 648 1530
www.artharesources.com
Barry Tomlinson
Progressive IR
Tel: 604 689 2881
Email: barry@progressive-ir.com
The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.