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Fission Energy starts expanded drilling program at Patterson Lake South

Uranium explorer Fission Energy Corp. (CVE:FIS)(OTCQX:FSSIF) announced Monday an expanded $2.76 million, 33 hole winter drill program at its joint venture Patterson Lake South (PLS) property in Saskatchewan.

Patterson Lake South is a 50/50 joint venture with ESO Uranium (CVE:ESO). The project consists of 12 mineral claims, totalling 13,497 hectares.

The winter exploration program is designed to follow-up the inital 838 metre drill program that began in November, 2011, and will include sonic and/or reverse circulation drilling, core drilling and airborne and ground geophysics.

"We are pleased with the progress made at the PLS property since the discovery of the high grade Uranium boulder field last summer," said Fission's president and COO, Ross McElroy.

"After a detailed review of the work completed to date, the JV decided to significantly expand the budget for 2012 and has begun allocating additional time and resources to further advance this project."

The initial Patterson Lake South drill program, which began in November, tested 75 - 108 metres of overburden through to the basement rocks on the "up-ice" side of the high grade Uranium boulder field discovered in June of last year, targeting shallow basement mineralization.

Drill holes PDD11-06 and 07 showed anomalous radioactivity in overburden intersections from 64.4 metres to 70.0 metres with a maximum peak of 400 counts per second (cps), and from 49.6 metres to 58.2 metres with a maximum peak of 90 cps, respectively.

Fission said the shallower depth of the anomalous radioactivity in hole 07 could be consistent with a semi-continuous till sheet dipping to the northeast, towards a possible up-ice bedrock source for the Uranium boulders.

Meanwhile, hole PDD11-003 intersected graphitic metapelitic basement rocks. Basement faulting and graphitic metapelites are often seen as key indicators associated with structurally-controlled Uranium mineralization within and on the margin of the Athabasca Basin.

Further drilling, which will be completed as part of the expanded winter 2012 exploration program, will be required to determine if these initial results represent an intersection of the radioactive till sheet being sought, Fission said.

Fission is the operator of the project, which is accessible by road from all weather Highway 955, which runs north to the former Cluff Lake mine.

In mid-December, the company announced trenching results from its Patterson Lake South joint venture in Saskatchewan, where the highest grade samples included 31.4 percent and 31.2 percent U308 (Uranium).

Assays were received from the 49 radioactive boulders discovered during the trenching program carried out during October 2011. These boulders occur in the high grade boulder field that has been traced for a north-south length of approximately five kilometres by up to 0.9 kilometres wide.

Fission is engaged in the acquisition and exploration of Uranium properties in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Quebec in Canada, as well as the Macusani District in Peru.

Its flagship Waterbury Lake project is located immediately west of Hathor Exploration’s (TSE:HAT) Roughrider Uranium deposit, which is in the heart of the Athabasca Basin district that hosts over 110 million pounds of Uranium.

Hathor was recently subject to a takeover battle in late 2011 between mining giants Cameco Corp. (TSE:CCO)(NYSE:CCJ) and Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO)(LON:RIO), with the latter emerging as the winner with its $654 million friendly bid trumping Cameco's $625 million bid.