click on image to view enlarged

Geological Map of the Harrejokk West Area

Uranium mineralization was discovered at Harrejokk by the Swedish Geological Survey in 1970, using water sampling and boulder tracing. Harrejokk West (contained with the Harrsjön nr 1 permit) consists of a 20m x 400m uranium-bearing boulder train.

Two 100% owned exploration permits have been granted for a period of three years, Harrejåkkå nr 1 (101 hectares) and Harrsjön nr 1 (50 hectares).

Mawson has granted a third party, ASX-listed Hodges Resources Ltd, the right to earn up to 51% in the project by funding work program expenditures of US$1 million over 4 years on 4 of Mawson's earlier stage uranium projects (Norr Döttern, Sjaule, Åsnebogruvan and Harrejokk) in Sweden and up to 75% by fully funding any project to successful bankable feasibility.

Areplog District, NorbottenCounty, Northern Sweden.

Approximately 1 hour drive NW of Malå.

Mineralization is disseminated within a granitic syenite and high uranium grades are common. Sixty five boulders averaged 0.25% U3O8 with values ranging from 0.1% to 4.2% U3O8. The Swedish Geological Survey drilled nineteen drillholes in the area to test for the primary source of the high grade uranium mineralization. This drilling did not locate bedrock uranium mineralization, which remains to be discovered.

Two kilometres away at Harrejokk East (located in the Harrejåkkå nr 1 permit) three boulder trains have been defined. The Swedish Geological Survey drilled twenty five drillholes in 1974 to test the boulder trains, eleven of which intersected uranium mineralization. Two moderately south-east dipping uranium mineralized structures were discovered. Best drill results included 4.5m @ 0.14% U3O8 from 85m in drillhole 74114 and 5.3m @ 0.11% U3O8 from 34m in drillhole 74116.

World Nuclear Association Brief on Sweden

Sweden has an estimated 15% of the world's uranium deposits. Ten nuclear power reactors provide approximately 50% of its electricity.

Swedish mining legislation allows exploration for uranium and places no special restriction on mining where the uranium grade is less than 200 ppm or the production is less than 5 kg. When higher uranium grades are present, permitting will follow a process concerning "nuclear technical activity". Such permitting must pass before the Swedish government for decision making.

Sweden has been an enthusiastic supporter of measures to improve world environmental quality. Among many others, Sweden in 1992 committed itself to stabilise carbon dioxide emissions at 1990 levels by 2000, and this was reaffirmed in Berlin in 1995. The fact that those levels in 1990 were only 60% of 1970's was due to nuclear energy replacing most oil for electricity generation.

Both the Energy Commission report and that of an independent economist, W.D.Nordhaus, project that a full nuclear phase-out would increase Sweden's carbon dioxide emissions by about 50% above the 1990 level. This is why European Union proposals for 1997 climate change negotiations allowed for a 5% increase in Sweden's emission levels due simply to the proposed Barsebäck reactor closure.

One problem with closing any reactor is that in the short run the replacement generation or imports would be fossil fuelled. Local back-up capacity is mostly oil-fired, as indicated in the 1996 figures when hydro production was much less than normal.

Sweden has its nuclear waste management well in hand. A dedicated ship moves the wastes from power plants to repositories. Some low-level waste is disposed of at reactor sites, some is incinerated at Studsvik. A final underground repository for intermediate-level waste (SFR) has been operating near Forsmark since 1988. The CLAB interim repository for spent fuel (treated as high level waste) has been operating since 1985 at Oskarshamn, and its 5000 tonne capacity is being expanded to 8000 tonnes to cater for all the fuel from all the present reactors. The spent fuel is stored under water in an underground rock cavern for some 40 years. It will then be encapsulated in copper and stainless steel canisters for final emplacement packed with bentonite clay in a 500 metre deep repository in granite.

The presence of multiple uranium-rich boulder trains and high uranium grades up to 4.2% U3O8 from boulders, provides a strong exploration target for follow-up. Previous drilling has not discovered the primary uranium-bearing source at Harrejokk West and our field crews will initially target this area.