MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - April 6, 2010) - Uragold Bay Resources Inc. (Uragold) (TSX VENTURE:UBR), is pleased to announce that it has signed an option agreement with a private vendor regarding the acquisition of 100% interest in three separate claim blocks representing sixty five (65) mineral claims situated in the James Bay area of the Province of Québec. The properties are located 80 km southeast of Uragold's Uskawanis Uranium property.
All three claims blocks are adjacent to the joint Sirios Resources (TSX-V: SOI) and Dios Explorations (TSX-V: DOS) Pontax project. The area is part of a Greenstone Belt characterized by pegmatites found in mafic volcanic rocks. Recent drill results by the Sirios/Dios venture returned impressive results for the Rare Metals elements rubidium, beryllium, tantalum and lithium.
Future exploration work on the property, to be named Enistuwach, will happen in conjunction with an evaluation of the Rare Metals and other minerals potential of UBR 314 km2 Uskawanis Uranium property ("UUP") and the resumption of Uranium exploration work on the Uskawanis Uranium property. The reopening date of Uragold's James Bay mining camp has yet to be determined.
The motivation of the resumption of Uranium exploration on the UUP is that re-assessment of the available data from the Uskawanis area has compared the data with published work completed on radon anomalies associated with springs in Europe. These springs showed abnormal concentrations of radon being issued by the springs. It is suggested by the author of the paper that radium is collected in the groundwater flowing towards the investigated spring. The radium is collected on organics at the point where the water issues from underground (due to Eh/ pH changes). This creates a high radium concentration at this point and hence a high radon concentration. This is because radium and radon are two of the elements lying towards the centre of the break down chain of uranium to stable lead. Both have relatively short half-lives and breakdown rapidly. A similar process is seen at Uskawanis.
Comparison of this model with the large disequilibrium seen at Uskawanis (both in absolute terms and in volume of rock affected) and the substantial amounts of radon present as witnessed in the springs and on equipment, etc, more than ever convinces Uragold staff that it would take a massive uranium deposit to replenish the radon in order to create such high radon gas readings and the massive rock disequilibrium seen at Uskawanis. The company's chief geologist, Vivian Stuart-Willams, is happy that the currently proposed model of a deeply buried uranium source for the radium and radon present at Uskawanis is correct. A programme to investigate this further will be evolved.
Note: Mr. Vivian Stuart-Williams, (SACNASP), a Director of the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the information in this news release.
Material terms of the agreement are as follows (all amounts are expressed in Canadian dollars). In order to acquire its interest in the claims, the Corporation shall make the following payments to the vendor:
The Vendor agrees to grant the Purchasers the exclusive and irrevocable right to earn a one-hundred per cent (100%) interest in the Claims, in consideration of one million (1,000,000) units, each unit consisting of one common treasury share of Uragold and one warrant; each common share purchase warrant entitles the holder thereof to acquire one additional common share of Uragold at a price of $0,10 for a period of 24 months following the closing of the agreement.
The Vendor shall be entitled to a two per cent (2%) Net Smelter Return ("NSR") royalty on all smeltable minerals or metals extracted from the Claims.
Uragold shall at any time have the right to buy back one per cent (1%) of the Royalty for one million dollars ($1,000,000). The Purchaser shall have the right of first refusal to purchase the remaining one per cent (1%) Royalty in whole or in part and shall have thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of a written notice from the Vendor to exercise its right of first refusal.
The transaction is made with a party that is non-related to the Corporation. The option agreement is conditional to the approval of the Board of Directors of Uragold and the transaction is subject to approval by regulatory authorities. Further to the acquisition and its approval, the Vendor will transfer the titles of the claims to Uragold.
Bernard Tourillon, UBR Chairman and CEO comments: "The acquisition of the Enistuwach property is motivated by our desire to combine the re-start of our exploration on our UUP project to the discovery of Rare Metal elements on the Pontax Project near our properties. We have always believed in the truly unique blue sky Uranium potential of our UUP concession and the re-assessment of the available data only strengthens this position. Thanks to this acquisition, we intend also to evaluate any other minerals potential that could be found on our massive concessions holdings in the area. The Goal of the Company is still to find a business model that will allow us to delineate a significant gold resource that can be placed into production relatively quickly on our Appalachians properties, while advancing the exploration of our blue sky Uranium project on UUP. In this regards the Corporation is presently elaborating it's 2010 exploration program and shareholders will be soon informed of our plan going forward to develop our existing group of concessions. "
About Uragold Bay Resources Inc.
Uragold Bay Resources Inc. is a Canadian based junior resource and exploration company trading under the symbol UBR on the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company has 109,444,367 shares outstanding. The Company holds 100% of the 314 km2 Uskawanis Uranium property located just south of the Opinaca reservoir, 100% of the Blue Lake Base Metal and Gold property situated close to Radisson in the James Bay region, 100% of the "Saint-François and Dudswell Tertiary Gold concessions", 100% of the "Moe River Placer Gold Project", 100% of the "Eaton North Placer Gold Project, 100% of the Calway River Gold project, 100% of the Rivière du Loup Gold and Platinum placer mine, 100% of the Samson River Gold Project and 50% with an option to get 100% of The Beauce Placer Gold Project". In addition the Corporation is also staking promising projects in the eastern regions of the Province of Quebec.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements," as identified in the Uragold Bay periodic filings with Canadian Securities Regulators that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.