Anfield Announces Completion of Verification Drilling, Plans for Updated Resource and Mine Permitting at Slick Rock

 

Anfield Energy Inc. (TSX.V: AEC; OTCQB: ANLDF; FRANKFURT: 0AD) announced that it has completed a 14-hole, 14,100-foot rotary drill program at its Slick Rock uranium and vanadium project, located in San Miguel County, Colorado. Anfield will use the drill results to both upgrade its uranium and vanadium resource estimate for Slick Rock – as found in its existing PEA – and prepare mine designs for a large mine permit for the project.

We are very pleased to have completed our Slick Rock drill program as part of our plan to advance our Slick Rock project through the permitting stage and, ultimately, to production. Anfield will pursue a Plan of Operations and mine plan for Slick Rock in 2025. The mine plan will also include the potential of incorporating the uranium and vanadium resources of one or more of the Anfield-controlled DOE leases in the vicinity into a larger mining operation. The Company then will pursue detailed mine planning and hydrological studies for the purpose of obtaining a mine permit in 2026.
This program has helped to confirm existing historical results and to also provide data from which we can both recategorize some of the current Inferred uranium and vanadium resource to Indicated and delineate an updated uranium and vanadium resource. We expect to have an updated resource estimate for Slick Rock in Q2/25. In addition, as part of the current drill permit held for Slick Rock, Anfield is authorized to install monitoring wells at site. Up to four wells are planned with at least one to be cored for metallurgical and equilibrium testing. The monitor wells will provide initial groundwater characterization and will be sampled quarterly to determine background water quality. The Company plans to complete this work in Q2/25.
Finally, Anfield intends to align the development timelines for both the Slick Rock and Velvet-Wood mines. The aim is to have both projects ready for production prior to the restart of the Shootaring Canyon mill, with initial feed ready for transport once the mill is ready to receive it.   As a reminder, the combined 2023 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for Slick Rock and Velvet-Woods demonstrated a pre-tax NPV8% of US$238M and IRR of 40% assuming U3O8 and V2O5 prices of US$70/lb and US$12/lb, respectively.Corey Dias, CEO, Anfield Energy Inc.

Slick Rock Project Drilling

Highlights

  • 14 drill holes completed at the Slick Rock property in 2024 for 14,100 feet drilled
  • Gamma ray logging results show elevated uranium mineralization exceeding 200ppm eU3O8 in 7 of 14 drill holes
  • Significant intercepts of mineralization include:
    • 10.0 ft grading 1560 ppm eU3O8 (GT of 1.56) in Hole SR-24-01, peak of 2610 ppm eU3O8 at 925.0 ft
    • 5.0 ft grading 2180 ppm eU3O8 (GT of 1.09) in Hole SR-24-04, peak of 5910 ppm eU3O8 at 809.5 ft

Drilling results confirm the presence of uranium mineralization at depths and locations consistent with the historical drilling dataset

The objective of Anfield’s initial drilling program was to verify the historical drilling dataset of 285 drill holes at Slick Rock which was generated by the USGS and various subsequent operators. The company has completed fourteen rotary drill holes in the Slick Rock project area totaling 14,100 feet of drilling. The drilling locations and results are summarized in Figure 2 and Table 1.

The local drilling contractor, Tri Park Corporation, mobilized out of Nucla Colorado on September 22, 2024. The drilling employed standard circulation rotary drilling techniques, varying between Air, Foam, and Mud circulation depending on the depth and groundwater conditions. Lithological samples were taken on 5-foot intervals and recorded by on-site geologists. Fourteen drill holes were completed by November 12, 2024 and all associated drill pads were reclaimed and seeded by November 22, 2024.

Figure 1: Exploratory Drilling Operation Underway at Slick Rock

The drill holes were designed to offset and verify drilling targets derived from historical drilling data used in preparation of the Inferred Mineral Resource estimate for the Slick Rock project (PEA dated May 6, 2023). The depths and grades of mineralization encountered in this drilling program were consistent with the historical depths and grades of mineralization contained in the historical drilling data. Variance between the historical drill hole intercepts and the verification holes was experienced, with some intercepts yielding greater or lesser values. Variances are to be expected due to the distances between the historical collars and offset holes and the variable downhole drift of the drill holes. The verification holes demonstrated close stratigraphic correlation and a prevalence of mineralization of similar tenor and character to the historical intercepts, placing a high level of confidence in the quality and validity of the historical drill hole data.

Figure 2: Slick Rock Drill Collar Location Map

Table 1: Slick Rock Drilling Results

*All depth units are Feet below drill hole collar.
**GT is calculated as: Grade x Thickness (ft)

Intercepts are reported at a 0.02 (200 ppm) eU3O8% grade cut-off. All grades were calculated from gamma-ray logs measured by an experienced commercial independent logging contractor, Hawkins CBM Logging of Cody, Wyoming. Hawkins CBM’s downhole sonde was calibrated at the US Department of Energy’s Casper, Wyoming logging test pits prior to deployment to the field. The calibrated downhole sonde is used to measure natural gamma emission from the rock formation down the borehole. The recorded natural gamma data was used in creating the geophysical well log and calculate “equivalent” (“e”) grades of U3O8.

The drill holes were vertical in orientation and all drill holes were measured for downhole drift with the geophysical probe. Drift values for each drill hole are listed in Table 1 and in the most extreme cases, the drill hole deviation value was less than 3 degrees from vertical. The geologic units hosting the mineralization are generally flat lying, therefore reported thicknesses are apparent true thicknesses.

Qualified Person
Douglas L. Beahm, P.E., P.G., principal engineer at BRS Inc., is a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.

For additional information regarding the Company’s Slick Rock Project, including data verification related to certain scientific and technical information described in this news release, please see the Technical Report titled “The Shootaring Canyon Mill and Velvet Wood and Slick Rock Uranium Projects, Preliminary Economic Assessment” dated May 6, 2023, which is available under the Company’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca

Duane Hope is a Partner at Capital 10X, he brings over 15 years of communications and research experience to the firm. His research and writing have appeared in publications for North American, European and Asian audiences.

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