Foremost Clean Energy Ltd. (NASDAQ:FMST) said it expects to begin a 5,000-metre diamond drilling program in mid-February at its Hatchet Lake Uranium Project in northern Saskatchewan’s eastern Athabasca Basin.
The upcoming campaign will follow up on the company’s 2025 winter drill program, which led to a new uranium discovery in the Tuning Fork target area. Mineralization was identified within a previously untested 600-metre gap between historic drill holes.
Discovery hole TF-25-16 returned 0.87% U₃O₈ over 0.45 metres within a wider 6.2-metre interval grading 0.10% U₃O₈. Subsequent drilling extended strong hydrothermal alteration at least 50 metres along strike to the northeast — features typically associated with unconformity-related uranium systems and potentially indicative of a larger mineralized body nearby.
Jason Barnard, President and CEO, said: “This upcoming 5,000-metre drill program represents a significant next step at Hatchet Lake and is designed to systematically follow up on the TF-25-16 discovery. The results from our completed 2025 drill program confirmed the presence of a fertile uranium system at the Tuning Fork target, and the additional geophysical work completed since has materially expanded our target inventory across the property. With multiple drill-ready targets now defined, and with the benefit of Denison Mines’ (AMEX:DNN) historical drilling and geophysical work that helped establish the technical framework for Hatchet Lake, we believe the timing is ideal to execute a focused winter program, particularly with uranium prices recently reaching the US$100-per-pound level. This program is designed to expand on the discovery and test additional high-priority targets in one of the world’s premier uranium districts, the Athabasca Basin.”
Target Areas and Strategy
Hatchet Lake consists of two claim blocks — Hatchet Lake South and Hatchet Lake North — each hosting several drill-ready targets identified through geological, structural and geophysical indicators consistent with unconformity-related uranium mineralization.
The 2026 program will concentrate on:
- The Tuning Fork and Beta Grid targets at Hatchet Lake South
- The Richardson SE area at Hatchet Lake North
Primary efforts will focus on step-out and infill drilling around hole TF-25-16 to test both along-strike and down-dip continuity, refine structural controls and vector toward additional uranium mineralization.
The campaign will also evaluate high-priority zones previously outlined by historical drilling and geophysical interpretation conducted by Denison Mines (AMEX:DNN). Foremost has supplemented this dataset with modern reprocessing and reinterpretation of legacy magnetic and electromagnetic surveys, including updated conductor modeling to better define target geometry and depth.
Management said the integrated geological and geophysical approach is intended to enhance drill precision and maximize the potential for further discoveries within the Athabasca Basin, widely regarded as one of the world’s leading uranium-producing regions.