A West Coast natural resources company has launched a $1.1 million drilling project in northern Saskatchewan, seeking to identify uranium deposits in an area that has seen limited full-scale exploration since the 1990s.
Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. announced on Oct. 5 that its partner, Xcite Uranium Inc., has started a diamond drilling program at Eagle Plains’ fully owned Black Bay Project, located 20 kilometres south of Uranium City, Sask.
The Cranbrook, British Columbia-based company says the site hosts near-surface uranium deposits and a formerly operational uranium mine.
Chuck Downie, president and CEO of Eagle Plains Resources, told The Epoch Times that the company is using modern exploration techniques to find uranium in an old mining area. He said most companies have focused on the central Athabasca Basin and made discoveries there, while the Black Bay area has “been overlooked for a long time.”
“Saskatchewan is the place on the planet to be for uranium,” he said.
Downie said companies have largely overlooked the Beaverlodge area for decades because the uranium deposits discovered have generally been lower grade than those in the main Athabasca Basin. However, he said companies have made little effort to find higher-grade deposits in the area.
Some of the modern exploration techniques being used include radiometric geophysics, advanced computer modelling, digital mapping, and improved drilling processes.
Downie noted that Eagle Plains is “a long way” from proving that “economic mineralization” is present, with the determining factors including the grade and amount of uranium found in drill holes and the width of the mineralized zones.
“In our minds, [the drilling is] a technical success. We’ve hit uranium mineralization [and] the drilling is technically going really well,” he said. “We haven’t had any problems with that.”
He expects the first assay results to be delivered by mid-November.
Exploration Details
Xcite plans to drill six holes at five locations, covering a combined 1,300 metres, to test for uranium mineralization identified through historical exploration and the 2025–26 field programs. Eagle Plains said Xcite has acquired a second drill rig to complete the planned drilling programs before Christmas.
Eagle Plains granted Xcite the right in December 2023 to acquire up to an 80 percent interest in Black Bay and five other uranium projects near Uranium City, subject to meeting exploration spending and other financial commitments.
Eagle Plains said the budget for the 1,114-hectare (2,753-acre) Black Bay project is roughly $1.1 million, with $125,000 for completed fieldwork and $975,000 for drilling. The drilling will focus on three historically identified mineralized zones, which range from 6.1 to 22.9 metres long and 0.9 to 4.6 metres wide.
The fieldwork included prospecting, rock and soil sampling, structural mapping, and radiation surveys, the company said. Crews analyzed 32 rock samples and surveyed 4 square kilometres using drone-mounted lidar technology.
The company said samples collected from three historical trenches during the 2026 field program contained uranium oxide concentrations of up to 1.17 percent, while a separate sample collected near the historic Brunston Zone returned 7.37 percent. Eagle Plains cautioned that selective rock samples do not necessarily represent uranium concentrations across the property.
Historical Uranium Production
Eagle Plains said Black Bay is part of the Beaverlodge Uranium District near Uranium City, which has been explored since the 1940s. The district was Canada’s first uranium producer, yielding roughly 70.25 million pounds of uranium oxide between 1950 and 1982.
The Black Bay mine operated from 1953 to 1960, producing approximately 1,375 tons of material containing an average of 0.17 percent uranium oxide, while other companies remained active in the area until the 1980s. However, the region has seen limited uranium-focused exploration since the early 1990s.
Downie said another difference between Black Bay and other areas of the Athabasca Basin is that Black Bay has mineralization near the surface, while mines in the main basin have uranium deposits beneath layers of sandstone ranging from 50 metres to 300 metres thick.
He added that it was too early to speculate on whether mines in the Black Bay area could ever reopen, as further exploration would have to determine the extent and economic viability of the remaining uranium deposits.
Geologist’s Perspective
Guoxiang Chi, a professor in the Faculty of Science at the University of Regina, told The Epoch Times that the Black Bay area was historically important in uranium production in northern Saskatchewan, before producers discovered the main Athabasca Basin’s resources in the 1960s.
The Beaverlodge area may not have the “most promising potential,” but compared with other areas of the world, it can be considered promising, he said. Moreover, the area contains older geological formations than those associated with the main Athabasca Basin.
Chi added that geological conditions differ between the Beaverlodge area and the Athabasca Basin, particularly in the characteristics of the fluids associated with uranium mineralization.
He said that highly saline fluids contributed to the formation of the Athabasca Basin’s uranium deposits.
“We believe the Athabasca Basin is very special because of the very acidic fluid that can dissolve lots of uranium,” he said.
Chi said differences in the fluids associated with uranium mineralization help explain why deposits in the Beaverlodge area are generally lower grade than those in the main Athabasca Basin.
Uranium’s Importance
Uranium has become increasingly important in Saskatchewan and Canada as governments pursue nuclear power expansion and new export opportunities.
Premier Scott Moe said on Sept. 29 that Saskatchewan planned to expand nuclear power generation, including a goal of at least 2,600 megawatts (MW) of nuclear capacity by 2050. The province is considering at least two reactors in northwest Saskatchewan, with the first potentially coming online by 2042. The reactors would initially generate more than 2,000 MW.
Moe also highlighted Saskatchewan’s uranium industry, saying the province is the world’s second-largest uranium-producing jurisdiction and should use its uranium resources to generate power at home.
“Saskatchewan has the uranium. We have the expertise. We have the workforce. We have the partnerships,” Moe said. “And we most certainly have the vision.”
Meanwhile, on March 2, Canada announced a nine-year agreement for Saskatoon-based Cameco to supply nearly 22 million pounds of uranium to India between 2027 and 2035.
Ottawa also announced on June 22 a nuclear strategy involving up to 10 new reactors, more international sales of Canada Deuterium Uranium technology, and a goal of doubling Canadian uranium exports.
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