URANIUM: Strateco asks court to set aside refusal to issue Matoush permit

QUEBEC – On Dec. 5, 2013, Strateco Resources of Montreal filed a motion to invalidate the decision rendered by Quebec's Minister of Sustainable Development, the Environment, Wildlife and Parks a month earlier whereby he refused to deliver the certificate of authorization for the underground exploration of the Matoush uranium project.

The Matoush property lies 275 km north of Chibougamau in the Otish Mountains. Strateco was actively working the project and had prepared a scoping study, when the Cree Nation declared a moratorium on uranium exploration and development on its lands in August 2012. The company has spent more than $123 million on the project in the past six years.

The resource numbers at the end of 2012, included 586,000 indicated tonnes grading 0.954% U₃O₈ and containing 12.33 million lb of uranium oxide. There were also 1.69 million inferred tonnes at 0.442% U₃O₈ for 16.55 million lb of uranium dioxide.

Strateco's petition to the court sets out certain facts the company says make the minister's decision illegal. Besides seeking to reverse his decision, the company is asking the Superior Court to force the minister to issue the appropriate certificate of authorization. It is the only permit still required to move exploration into the underground phase.

Follow the fortunes of the Matoush project at Stratecoinc.com.