The uranium deposits which have been discovered and partially delineated to date at Burke Hollow are similar in many characteristics to several other Goliad deposits in South Texas, in particular the deposits which formed around large closed geologic structures such as Alta Mesa, Mt. Lucas, and Kingsville Dome. Uranium mineralization typically occurs within fluvial channels and associated splay sands as roll front deposits that generally display a “C” or cutoff “C” shape.

The mineralization found within the graben structure at Burke Hollow consists of roll fronts which occur along an extended oxidation reduction boundary, although re-reduction of some segments of the deposits has obscured the oxidized aspect of the oxidation/reduction interface.

The recent Burke Hollow Eastern Lower B discovery consists of two closely related, subparallel trends which are associated with a large anticlinal structure. The roll fronts are deposited around the periphery of the structure, and display typical oxidation/reduction boundaries. This depositional setting is similar to Alta Mesa and Kingsville Dome, where natural gas deposits are located in subjacent formations.

Burke Hollow uranium deposits were formed atop and peripheral to a large positive faulted anticlinal feature. These deposits consist of multiple mineralized sand horizons which are separated vertically by confining beds of silt, mudstone, and clay. Concentration of uranium in various Goliad Formation deposits probably resulted from erosion and migration of uranium from devitrified volcanic tuff, or ash beds, within the updip Frio, Catahoula, and Oakville formations. Leaching of uranium from these source beds and possibly from erosion of earlier-formed uranium deposits probably occurred near the outcrop areas, where oxidizing groundwater mobilized uranium from the ash-rich sediments. Subsequent down gradient migration of the solubilized uranium within oxygenated groundwater continued until uranium minerals were deposited in roll front bodies above and around the flanks of structures where reducing conditions are present.

The Burke Hollow Project uranium-bearing sands discovered to date occur as multiple rollfront type deposits in Goliad A, B, and D sands. Groundwater flowing from west/northwest to east/southeast within the Goliad sands likely contained low to anomalous concentrations of dissolved uranium resulting from oxidizing conditions and the relatively short distance from the recharge area. Examination of drill cuttings from exploration holes drilled on the western side of Burke Hollow reveal that oxidized Goliad sands, mudstones, and clays are generally present in this area. The geochemical conditions in the sands along the Graben area of the UEC property changed from oxidizing to reducing due to an influx of reductant. Both dissolved methane gas in groundwater as well as gaseous-phase methane are believed to have migrated up the fault planes bounding the large graben structure, inducing reducing conditions in the area with consequent precipitation and concentration of uranium mineralization. Production records and petroleum well logs indicate that significant commercial deposits of gas are present in multiple sands of the underlying Frio, Jackson, Vicksburg Formations, and also is present in shallower sands belonging to the Catahoula and Oakville Formations. Natural gas has been produced in Miocene (Oakville) sands as shallow as 1300’ in depth at Burke Hollow.

At the Burke Hollow Project the Goliad Formation is located near the surface underlying the Lissie, and extends to depths exceeding 960 feet on the eastern side of the project. Uranium mineralization discovered to date occurs in at least five sand/sandstone units belonging to the Goliad A, B, and D sands which are all below the saturated zone. These are the Goliad Lower A1, Lower A2, Upper B, Lower B1, Lower B2, and D2 sands. The sands are fluvial in origin, and thicken and thin across the project site. Each zone is hydrologically separated by clay or silty clay beds. The uranium mineralization discovered to date range from several feet to over 30 feet in thickness.

ISR mining involves circulating oxidized water through an underground uranium deposit, dissolving the uranium and then pumping the uranium-rich solution to the surface for processing. Oxidizing solution enters the formation through a series of injection wells and is drawn to a series of communicating extraction wells. To create a localized hydrologic cone of depression in each wellfield, more groundwater will be produced than injected. Under this gradient, the natural groundwater movement from the surrounding area is toward the wellfield, providing control of the injection fluid. Over-extraction is adjusted as necessary to maintain a cone of depression which ensures that the injection fluid does not move outside the permitted area.

The uranium-rich solution is pumped from the ore zone to the surface and circulated through a series of ion exchange columns located at the mine site. The solution flows through resin beds inside an ion exchange column where the uranium bonds to small resin beads. As the solution exits the ion exchange column, it is mostly void of uranium and is re-circulated back to the wellfield and through the ore zone. Once the resin beads are fully-loaded with uranium, they are transported by truck to the Hobson Processing Facility and transferred to a tank for flushing with a brine solution, or elution, which strips the uranium from the resin beads. The stripped resin beads are then transported back to the mine and reused in the ion exchange columns. The uranium solution, now free from the resin, is precipitated out and concentrated into a slurry mixture and fed to a filter press to remove unwanted solids and contaminants. The slurry is then dried in a zero-emissions rotary vacuum dryer, packed in metal drums and shipped out as uranium concentrates, or yellowcake, to ConverDyn for storage and sales.