Myriad builds Wyoming uranium district as report shows scale
A merger is set to hand Myriad Uranium (CSE: M) a huge district under its Copper Mountain umbrella in Wyoming while a new report compiles decades of historical drilling that position the project at an advanced exploration stage.
The planned all-share tie-up with Rush Rare Metals (CSE: RSH), announced in February, would give Myriad Rush's a quarter interest in the project. The deal consolidates a fragmented district for the first time in more than 50 years, mining analyst David Talbot said in Red Cloud Securities' first note Thursday on the company. Copper Mountain is about 270 km west of state capital Cheyenne.
"No one firm has controlled so much of the district since Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) in the 1970s," Talbot said, citing the railroad company's past activity in the area, worth the equivalent of C$117 million ($85.5 million) in 2024 dollars in exploration spending.
Wyoming has emerged as the United States' dominant uranium output jurisdiction, with the state hosting most of the country's producing uranium mines. The report's release and looming merger come as the uranium sector has been boosted this year as countries seek cleaner energy sources and technology companies try to procure contracts for power-hungry AI data centres.
Two mines in Saskatchewan's Athabasca basin uranium hotspot announced production starts over the past two months and Kazakhstan's Kazatomprom (LSE: KAP), the world's top producer of uranium, unveiled plans to sell a large amount of nuclear metal output to India. Canadian producer Cameco (TSX: CCO; NYSE: CCJ) also signed a C$2.6 billion supply deal with the Asian country in March.
Uranium activity at Copper Mountain dates back as far as the 1950s, when about 500,000 lb. of uranium oxide (U₃O₈) was mined at the Arrowhead project, Myriad said in the technical report.
Myriad shares gained 3% to C$0.51 apiece on Thursday morning in Toronto for a market capitalization of C$55.1 million ($40.2 million).
Following initial drilling in 2024-2025 at the project, Myriad plans a second stage 4,500-metre program to test historical resource estimates and to expand mineralization at Copper Mountain. An initial resource and technical studies in a potential third stage would follow.
The historical estimate comprises 16.5 million to 26.7 million lb. across seven deposits, with the Canning deposit the largest.
Myriad's drilling would also seek to prove estimates made by the Department of Energy and Bendix Field Engineering from 1976 to 1982. That drilling estimated that the "control and assessment" areas at Copper Mountain host 245 million to 655 million lb. U₃O₈. Myriad holds about 80% of the control area and 62% of the assessment area.
"Critically, Myriad's own assay data suggest historical grades are understated … pointing to meaningful resource upside as modern drilling methods are applied for the first time," Talbot said.
The company is entering its stage two exploration program with a "high level of conviction," Myriad CEO Thomas Lamb said in a release this week.
"Our maiden drill program surpassed expectations by a significant margin … validating Copper Mountain as a genuinely world-class exploration address," he said. "The picture that emerges is one of remarkable district-scale potential."
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