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Winter drilling at Fission's Patterson Lake South project.

Several Athabasca Basin uranium plays announced their winter exploration plans this morning, including Fission Uranium, CanAlaska Uranium, Purepoint Uranium and ALX Uranium Corp.

For CanAlaska's (CVV-V) plans, check out Tommy's article.

It's an interesting time in the Basin, with leading explorers Fission Uranium and NexGen Energy very active on the financing and resource fronts. Fission just inked an $82-million financing deal with CGN Mining that will give the Chinese company a 20% equity stake (and offtake), while NexGen is expected to announce their maiden resource estimate on Arrow in early March.

Fission Uranium (FCU-T)
Fission plans a $7.2-million winter exploration program including 11,800 metres in 35 holes (29 core drilling, 6 RC) and an airborne magnetometric conductivity survey at PLS.

Eighteen of the holes will focus on the high-grade, shallow mineralized zones including R600W, R780E and R1620E (R600W and R1620E are not included in the Triple R resource estimate) and 11 holes will test high-priority exploration targets.

Fission plans a $7.2-million winter exploration program including 11,800 metres in 35 holes (29 core drilling, 6 RC) and an airborne magnetometric conductivity survey at PLS.

Eighteen of the holes will focus on the high-grade, shallow mineralized zones including R600W, R780E and R1620E (R600W and R1620E are not included in the Triple R resource estimate) and 11 holes will test high-priority exploration targets.

With Basin neighbour NexGen on the verge of releasing a resource estimate on its fast-growing high-grade Arrow zone, Fission is likely feeling the pressure to up its own resource estimate. In market cap terms, the gap between the two companies has narrowed to about $60 million.

Fission shares were up 2 cents, or 3.3%, to 63 cents on the news.

NR: Fission Targets R600W, Triple R and High-Priority Regional Drilling With 35 Hole Program

Purepoint Uranium (PTU-V)
Drilling has begun on Purepoint's (21% owned) Hook Lake JV project targeting uranium mineralization in the Patterson Lake corridor of the western Basin. The company has some giants as JV partners: Cameco (CCJ-T) and AREVA.

Last winter, hole HK15-29 in the Spitfire zone intersected 12.9% U3O8 over 0.4 metres within 2.23% U3O8 over 2.8 metres.

NR: Purepoint Uranium Group Inc. Initiates 2016 Winter Drill Program at Hook Lake JV Project

ALX Uranium Corp (AL-V)
ALX is focusing surface exploration efforts on five properties:

Hook-Carter: An electromagnetic survey to define conductors in the Patterson Lake and Carter Lake corridors, which the company says are along strike of Fission's Triple R and NexGen's Arrow zone;

Gorilla Lake: A ground gravity survey to cover two targets: the untested northeast and southwest strike extensions of the main northeast-striking conductive trend at Gorilla Lake, about 10 km north of the past-producing Cluff Lake uranium mine (operated from 1980 to 2002).

Lazy Edward Bay: A radon-in-lake survey to extend to the northeast a 2014 survey, in the southeastern Athabasca Basin.

Perch: A ground gravity survey to cover a 4-km conductor and coincident magnetic low, in the northeastern margin of the Basin.

Newnham Lake Property: A ground Moving Loop Time Domain Electromagnetic (MLTDEM) survey to define conductive targets in the southwestern portion of the property, located along the northeastern margin of the Basin.

ALX also says it's evaluating three "high-priority targets" for follow-up diamond drilling. The company was formed out of the combination of Lakeland and Alpha Exploration.

NR: ALX Uranium Corp. Announces 2016 Exploration Plans in Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan

Disclosure: Author owns shares of NexGen Energy.