North Shore Engages Drill Contractor and Continues to Advance Rio Puerco Project
Rhea-AI Summary
North Shore (OTCQB:NSURF) engaged Harris Exploration to run an initial drill program at the Rio Puerco uranium project, planning up to 27 drill holes targeted to start in May 2026 subject to permits. The Company controls 83 BLM claims and aims to twin 1970s Kerr-McGee holes to validate a 2009 historical resource.
The historical estimate cited 6.0 million tonnes at 0.09% eU3O8 (11.4M pounds U3O8) but is unverified and not NI 43-101 compliant; results will be used to pursue a current, compliant resource.
Positive
- Up to 27 drill holes planned, targeting May 2026 start
- Controls 83 BLM claims over seven land sections
- Contracted experienced drill operator with 41 rigs capacity
- Aims to twin historical holes to validate past data
Negative
- Historical resource is unverified and not NI 43-101 compliant
- Drill program start is subject to permits and approvals
- No current NI 43-101 resource or recent work completed
News Market Reaction – NSURF
In the Apr 9 session, NSURF gained 11.91%, reflecting a significant positive market reaction.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / April 9, 2026 / North Shore Uranium Ltd. (TSXV:NSU)(OTCQB:NSURF) ("North Shore" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on its preparations for a drill program at the Rio Puerco uranium project in the Grants Uranium District of northwestern New Mexico ("Rio Puerco" or the "Project "). The Company has engaged Harris Exploration Drilling and Associates of Fallon, Nevada, a subsidiary of Earth Drilling Co. Ltd. (collectively "Harris Exploration") to carry out its drill program at Rio Puerco. North Shore continues preparing for an initial program of up to 27 drill holes, currently scheduled to commence in May, subject to the receipt of all required permits and approvals.
As announced on February 23, 2026, North Shore filed a Minimal Impact Exploration Operation Permit Application for Rio Puerco with the state of New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division. In addition, a Notice of Intent for a mineral exploration program has been filed with the Bureau of Land Management (the "BLM"). On March 24, 2026, North Shore's President and CEO, Brooke Clements, led nine state and federal officials on a tour of the Rio Puerco site that was focused on the proposed drilling locations. The site visit gave North Shore the opportunity to provide on the ground insight to the regulators to aid them in assessing the Company's submissions.
EXPERIENCED URANIUM DRILL CONTRACTOR ENGAGED
Harris Exploration provides mineral exploration, geotechnical and environmental drilling services across the United States and Canada. They operate a fleet of 41 drilling rigs including reverse circulation, diamond core, sonic, mud/air rotary, dual rotary and auger drills. Harris Exploration's uranium experience includes completion of drilling campaigns for NexGen Energy Ltd. in the Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan, Myriad Uranium Corporation in Wyoming and Homeland Uranium Corporation in Colorado. They are proud of having a strong commitment to safety, a major priority for North Shore.
RIO PUERCO EXPLORATION PLANS
A historical resource estimate of 6.0 million tonnes at an average grade of
Brooke Clements, President and CEO of North Shore stated: "W e look forward to working with Harris Exploration at Rio Puerco and to getting the drills turning. Their uranium experience and commitment to safety are valued by us. The logistical and technical components of the program are now being finalized and we look forward to receiving our permits and to verifying Kerr-McGee's historical work at Rio Puerco. "
North Shore currently controls 83 BLM claims at Rio Puerco covering portions of seven sections of land. The goal of the Company's planned 2026 drill program is to validate the Kerr-McGee drill data used to estimate the Historical Resource and begin the process of confirming exploration potential by assessing sites where uranium mineralization was reported outside of the Historical Resource. The Historical Resource was defined with data from approximately 800 drill holes in Section 18. A 1975 consultant's report illustrates Rio Puerco exploration potential. It describes the drilling of over 200 holes in Section 24 by Kerr-McGee that outlined 201,684 tons (short tons) of uranium mineralization at an average grade of
The Company has selected 27 sites for rotary drilling at Rio Puerco. The vast majority of the historical drill holes utilized the mud rotary technique. Each of the drill holes will "twin" the 1970s-era rotary holes drilled by Kerr-McGee. The 25 Section 18 drill hole locations were selected to be representative of the dataset used to estimate the Historical Resource. The two Section 24 drill holes have been selected to work towards expanding the uranium mineralization footprint at the Project. The results from the 2026 drill holes will be compared with the historical results in an effort to validate the historic work and upgrade the Historical Resource to a current and National Instrument 43-101-compliant resource. Many of the proposed drill sites were assessed in the field in late March by State and Federal regulators and Harris Exploration (Figure 1).
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Figure 1. Proposed 2026 drill sites, RP-26-28-467 (L) and RP-26-24-108 (R)
RIO PUERCO BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND HISTORICAL RESOURCE ESTIMATES
Rio Puerco is located at the eastern end of the Grants Uranium District which is the largest historic producer of uranium in the United States (Figure 2). Mines that operated between about 1950 and 2002 produced over 340 million pounds of U 3 O 8 . The district is currently seeing renewed exploration and development activity.
Uranium was first discovered at Rio Puerco in 1968. The claims covering the discovery were ultimately optioned to Kerr-McGee who drilled over 1,100 holes in the immediate area. Based on the results of that work, they began the development of the Rio Puerco Mine in the 1970s. The mine was intended to be a room and pillar underground mine but was never put into production. Activity ceased in the early 1980s after a short trial mining phase due to low uranium prices at the time. The underground mine infrastructure included a 260 m vertical shaft, ventilation shafts, mining adits and support buildings. The mining shaft remains and road access to the site is excellent.
In 2009, Monaro Mining NL ("Monaro") commissioned an independent geological review and resource estimate for Rio Puerco using exploration data generated by Kerr-McGee in the 1960s and 1970s. The data used for the resource estimate consisted of historical maps and data from 764 drill holes including downhole gamma-ray data converted to percent equivalent U 3 O 8 (eU 3 O 8 ), geological logs and drillhole survey data. Monaro reported a JORC Code (2004)-compliant inferred resource of 6.0 million tonnes at an average grade of
In 2011, Australian-American Mining Corporation Ltd. commissioned a technical report on Rio Puerco. This report validated and confirmed the Historical Resource2.
The Historical Resource outlined in this news release has not been verified and should not be relied upon. It is a historical estimate and not current and does not comply with Canadian NI 43-101 guidelines for the reporting of Mineral Resources. The JORC Code (2004) is broadly consistent with the CIM Definition Standards adopted under NI 43-101, though differences may exist in the categorization of inferred resources. A Qualified Person has not verified the Historical Resource estimate on behalf of the Company and North Shore has completed no work programs at Rio Puerco. Though not current, the Company views the Historical Resource estimates as sufficient to justify the initiation of work programs aimed at validating and potentially expanding upon the estimates. There is no guarantee that the work programs envisioned by North Shore will ultimately result in the definition of NI 43-101-compliant resources.
The key assumptions, parameters, and methods used to prepare the Historical Resource estimate are described in the two technical reports referenced in this news release.
The 83 BLM claims in the Project area are subject to the Rio Puerco Option Agreement under which North Shore has the right to acquire up to an
Figure 2. Rio Puerco Location Map, New Mexico. Roca Honda (Energy Fuels Inc.), Marquez-Juan Tafoya (Anfield Energy Inc.) and Cebolleta (Premier American Uranium Inc.) are advanced exploration/development stage uranium projects.
QUALIFIED PERSON
Mr. Brooke Clements, MSc, P.Geol., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and the President and CEO of North Shore, has reviewed and approved of the scientific and technical disclosure in this press release.
Data Verification
Mr. Clements has reviewed and verified all of the data supporting the technical information disclosed in this news release. The data includes the 2009 and 2011 technical reports and supporting data, the 1975 consultant's report by McDougald, a 3-D model prepared by North Shore showing interpreted uranium mineralization, analysis of drill data used to select sites for drilling, original hard copy and scanned drill hole location maps and drill logs prepared by Kerr-McGee and plan maps from the Kerr-McGee underground mine development. In addition, Mr. Clements assessed all of the sites currently selected for drilling in the field in February 2026. As stated above, the Historical Resource outlined in this news release has not been verified, is not current and does not comply with Canadian NI 43-101 guidelines for the reporting of Mineral Resources.
ABOUT NORTH SHORE
The nuclear power industry is in growth mode as more nuclear power will be required to meet the world's ambitious CO 2 emission-reduction goals and the needs of new power-intensive technologies like AI. In this environment, new discoveries of economic uranium deposits will be very valuable, especially in established uranium-producing jurisdictions like Saskatchewan and New Mexico. North Shore is well-positioned to become a major force in exploration for economic uranium deposits. The Company is working to achieve this goal by exploring Rio Puerco in the Grants Uranium District of New Mexico and its Falcon and West Bear properties at the eastern margin of the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan. In addition, the Company continues to evaluate quality opportunities in the United States and Canada to complement its portfolio of uranium properties.
ON BEHALFOF THE BOARD
Brooke Clements,
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
For further information:
Please contact: Brooke Clements, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
Telephone: 604.536.2711
Email: b.clements@northshoreuranium.com
www.northshoreuranium.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact that address activities, events, or developments that the Company believes, expects, or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management's current expectations based on information currently available and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this release include, but are not limited to: the Company's plans to confirm and expand upon the scale of uranium mineralization at the Rio Puerco project; the initiation and results of work programs aimed at validating and potentially expanding upon historical resource estimates; the Company's ability to acquire up to an
1 Monaro Mining NL, 2009,
2 Boyer, D. and Ostensoe, E., 2011, NI 43-101 technical report, Rio Puerco deposit, Sandoval county, New Mexico, USA: Independent report by Australian-American Mining Corporation Ltd.: (link)
3 Information about historical work at Rio Puerco, the limitations of the Historical Resource estimate and data validation are provided in a section of this news release below.
4 McDougald, W. D., 1975, Economic Evaluation on Total Indicated Pounds of Uranium Oxide on the Rio Puerco Kerr McGee Leases in Sandoval County, New Mexico: Internal Consultant's report prepared for royalty holder.
SOURCE: North Shore Uranium Ltd.
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire