Uranium and exploration company Denison Mines has announced a $15-million investment in F3 Uranium Corp, as it seeks to provide shareholders with exposure to what it describes as a top new uranium discovery.

F3 is currently advancing the Patterson Lake North (PLN) property in the Athabasca basin. 

“F3’s technical team has an incredible track record of exploration success, including the discovery of the JR zone on the PLN property, which represents one of the top new uranium discoveries globally,” said Denison president and CEO David Cates.

Denison’s investment will be in the form of unsecured convertible debentures, carrying a 9% coupon, payable quarterly over a five-year term. The debentures will be convertible at Denison’s option into common shares of F3 at a conversion price of $0.56 a share, representing a 30% premium to its five-day volume weighted average share price on the TSX-V.

The Patterson Lake area has made headlines as an emerging uranium district hosting large, high-grade deposits, including Triple R, Arrow, Shea Creek and Cluff Lake. The discovery of what is now the Triple R deposit in 2012, set off a staking rush in the area followed by a level of exploration activity unseen in the western Athabasca basin region in 40 years.

In late 2022, the technical team responsible for the Triple R discovery at PLS made another high-grade uranium discovery on the PLN property, named JR zone. 

Discovery drill hole PLN22-035 intersected off-scale radioactivity within the A1 main shear zone, which assayed 6.97% uranium oxide (U₃O₈) over 15 m, including 5.5 m at 18.6% and 1 m at 59.2% U₃O₈ over 263 m to 265 m. The JR zone remains open in all directions and depth.   

The same team has identified and staked F3’s current property portfolio, which includes seven area projects totalling 105 440 ha, each with potential to host high-grade uranium occurrences.