Drilling To Resume At Sand Creek

 

GOLDEN, CO - Atna Resources Ltd. has entered into a Supplemental Agreement to the Sand Creek Uranium Project Exploration, Development and Mine Operating Agreement dated August 25, 2006, with High Plains Uranium Inc., a subsidiary of Uranium One Inc. Under this Supplemental Agreement, High Plains shall assume the role of project manager and may spend up to US$1.6 million before December 31, 2012 to increase its interest in the project from 30 percent to 51 percent. Atna's equity position may decrease from 70 percent to 49 percent, should High Plains meet this commitment.

Atna will be carried at no expense while High Plains spends the funds to increase its interest. High Plains may either provide notice of completion of its expenditures or terminate their earn-in right with prior notice. If High Plains terminates its accelerated earn-in right, they will be credited for expenditures made and their equity in the project will increase accordingly. If they do not earn up to a 50 percent position, then Atna will assume the role of operator in the project. At termination or completion of the Supplemental Agreement, the existing Exploration, Development and Mine Operating Agreement will remain effective and the partners' operating interests will be set in proportion to the amount of their respective expenditures.

High Plains has submitted a work plan and budget for 2009 detailing $320,000 in expenditures. These expenditures cover the cost of property maintenance for the remainder of 2009, permitting activities and a 20,000 foot drilling program with associated analytical testwork.

The Sand Creek uranium joint venture area of interest, located south east of Douglas, Wyoming, was identified by a subsidiary of Atna and its former joint venture partners during a uranium exploration effort in the early 1980s. The company drilled 88 holes for approximately 69,000 feet in 1981 and 1982, discovering several zones of uranium mineralization. In late 2006, the current partners' drill program began in the western portion of the Sand Creek JV area. Fourteen holes totaling 10,395 feet clearly demonstrated the presence of "roll front" style uranium mineralization. A follow up drill program consisting of 16 drill holes totaling 11,700 feet was completed in mid-2007 and the favorable results were announced in a press release in August 2007. Three of the 16 holes intercepted significant uranium grades. The drilling program consisted primarily of wide-spaced, reconnaissance style drilling with drill hole spacing of 500 to 1,000 feet. Uranium mineralization in the area is hosted in sandstones of the White River Formation, which is composed of sandstones, conglomerates, and red to green siltstones and claystones. The sandstones are lenticular in nature and average from five to 20 feet in thickness and occasionally range up to 45-feet thick. The White River Formation is being mined for uranium using In-situ Recovery methods at the Crowe Butte mine in Nebraska.

The company’s address is 14142 Denver West Parkway, Suite 250, Golden, CO 80401, 303-278-8464, fax: 303-279-3772.