Mawson Resources Ltd.
Långvattnet Uranium Project
Project

At Långvattnet, three areas of uranium mineralization have been discovered over an area approximately 450m by 200m. The first area consists of a linear array of mineralized outcrops, while the other two are comprised of glacial boulder trains.

Ownership

The project and is located within the 100%-owned Hotagen nr 1 exploration permit of 5,273 hectares.

Location

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Map of the Regional Hotagen nr 1 Permit Area with Airborne Radiometric (Uranium) Grid
 

The prospect lies 4.2 kilometres west of Mawson's Kläppibäcken prospect and is contained within the Company's 100%-owned Långvattnet nr 1 exploration permit, which forms part of the contiguous 8,315 hectare Hotagen project area.

The Långvattnet prospect is located in the south western brown rectangle

Property Geology

At all three sites, the host rock to uranium mineralization is a foliated to mylonitic granite or fine grained felsic intrusive. Uranium mineralization consists of pitchblende within fluorite veins or breccias and is geologically similar to Mawson's Kläppibäcken uranium prospect. Mawson has completed geological mapping, geochemical sampling, radon cup surveys, gridded ground scintillometer measurements and ground magnetics to determine the extent of the mineralized area and to search for buried mineralization associated with the boulder trains. There has been no previous drilling within 1.5km of the Långvattnet prospect.

Radon cup anomalies lie slightly offset from the locally sourced uranium mineralized boulders which suggests bedrock mineralization may lie very close to the boulder trains. The location of mineralized outcrops and boulders suggest that east-west striking zones of uranium-bearing mylonite and breccia may exist in the area. The results from ground magnetic and radon cup surveys support this interpretation.

Mineralization

In the outcrop area, mineralization is associated with an east-west trending fluorite bearing fracture zone, developed in fine grained foliated granite. The fracture zone has a maximum width of 3 metres and a strike in outcrop of 70 metres. One of the radiometric outcrops has been sampled, which returned a value of 0.26% U3O8.

The western boulder train lies 150 metres south of the outcrop area and consists of more than 50 radioactive boulders over an area of approximately 60 metres by 80 metres. A fluorite veined and brecciated granite is the typical host to uranium mineralization. Ten radiometric boulders have been analyzed, which returned values ranging from 0.02 to 0.55% U3O8 and averaged 0.22% U3O8. The boulders are angular, fissile and well clustered, suggesting they are very proximal to the source outcrop.

The eastern boulder train lies 400 metres west of the outcrop area and is comprised of at least 60 radioactive boulders over a 75 metre by 50 metre area. Thirteen radiometric boulders have been analyzed, which returned values ranging from 0.08 to 1.06% U3O8 and averaged 0.37% U3O8. Uranium mineralized boulders at this location are fine grained, foliated felsic intrusive with abundant uranium bearing fluorite veins and breccias, and again are interpreted to be very close to the bedrock source of the mineralization.

History

World Nuclear Association Brief on Sweden

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.

Conclusion

Långvattnet represents another first-class project in the Hotagen area with good uranium grades discovered at surface discovered over a broad area. Our Hotagen project is shaping as one of the most exciting uranium areas in Northern Europe. More projects will emerge from this area as we interpret results from our summer field programs. A request for permission to drill the Långvattnet prospect will be submitted immediately.

 
PROJECTS

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