/NOT INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES/

VANCOUVER, BC, June 30, 2023 /CNW/ – ATHA Energy Corp. (CSE: SASK) (FRA: X5U) (OTCQB: SASKF) (“ATHA” or the “Company“) is pleased to announce that it has appointed Mr. Troy Boisjoli as Chief Executive Officer of the Company to advance ATHA in its next phase of development, effective June 28, 2023. Concurrent with Mr. Boisjoli’s appointment, Mike Castanho has resigned as Chief Executive Officer but will continue to serve as an independent director of the Company. The Company thanks Mr. Castanho for his invaluable contributions and looks forward to working with Mr. Boisjoli as Chief Executive Officer and continuing to work with Mr. Castanho as a member of the board of directors of the Company.

Mike Castanho, Director of ATHA commented, “ATHA and its shareholders are extremely fortunate to welcome a leader with such an exceptional track record of success in the uranium sector and more specifically – the Athabasca Basin. Troy not only brings a strong pedigree from his previous roles at industry-leading uranium companies like NexGen and Cameco but also provides a strong network of industry relationships, successful track record of community engagement, and a wealth of knowledge exploring, developing, and managing uranium projects that will be instrumental in unlocking ATHA’s potential to become the next leading explorer in the basin.”

Mr. Boisjoli’s experience within the Athabasca Basin most notably includes his role as Vice President Operations and Project Development as well as Vice President Exploration and Community for NexGen Energy Ltd. (TSX: NXE)(NYSE: NXE). More specifically, Mr. Boisjoli led NexGen’s project team through the development of the Arrow Deposit – considered to be the largest, high-grade uranium development project in the world¹ – including delivery of multiple mineral resource estimates, the preliminary economic assessment, the prefeasibility study, the feasibility study, operations development, the environmental assessment work, and multiple other discoveries along the Patterson Lake Corridor. Additionally, Mr. Boisjoli also established and maintained multiple local relationships with communities close to the Arrow project, resulting in the successful signing of Impact Benefit Agreements with two Indigenous communities.

Prior to joining NexGen Energy in 2016, Mr. Boisjoli worked as an exploration geologist for Cameco Corporation (TSX: CCO)(NYSE: CCJ) on projects throughout northern Saskatchewan and Australia. In Saskatchewan, Mr. Boisjoli served as the Chief Geologist at the underground Eagle Point uranium mine, where his team increased the mineral resources threefold, while reducing drilling and discovery costs. While at Eagle Point, Mr. Boisjoli also implemented innovative processes that led to improved grade control, production reconciliation and short-range and life of mine planning.

Troy Boisjoli, CEO of ATHA commented, “I am thrilled to be joining ATHA and have a deep level of admiration for what has been accomplished by the team to date. Increasing support for nuclear energy has underscored the importance of making new uranium discoveries and by combining the largest exploration package in a basin renowned for its world-class uranium deposits, a deep team of technical experts, and a substantial exploration budget, I firmly believe ATHA is positioned as one of the most attractive uranium exploration opportunities in the world.”

The appointment of Mr. Boisjoli is subject to the receipt of satisfactory review by the Canadian Securities Exchange.

The Company is also pleased to announce the issuance of an aggregate of 1,600,000 incentive stock options (“Options“) and 2,300,000 restricted share units (“RSUs“) to certain eligible participants under the Company’s omnibus equity incentive plan. Upon vesting, each Option shall be exercisable to acquire one common share for a period of ten years at an exercise price of $1.30. Each RSU, which shall vest on the twelve-month anniversary of the date of issuance thereof, shall entitle the holder thereof to the issuance of one common share of the Company upon redemption thereof.

The Company is also pleased to announce that its common shares are now eligible for electronic clearing and settlement through the Depository Trust Company (DTC) in the United States.

DTC is a subsidiary of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, a U.S. company that manages the electronic clearing and settlement of publicly traded companies. Securities that are eligible to be electronically cleared and settled through DTC are considered to be “DTC eligible”. DTC eligibility is expected to simplify the process of trading and enhance liquidity of the Company’s common shares in the United States. With DTC eligibility, existing investors benefit from potentially greater liquidity and execution speeds. This also opens the door to new investors that may have been previously restricted from our common shares and simplifies the process of trading our common shares in the United States.

The Company also announces that Bruce Durham has resigned from the board of directors, effective June 28, 2023, but will continue to serve as an advisor to the Company moving forward. ATHA would like to thank Mr. Durham for his contributions to the Company during his time as a director and looks forward to working with him as an advisor. 

 

ATHA is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral resource properties. The Company has an option to acquire a 100% interest and title to the Golden Rose Property located in Northeastern Ontario and has acquired 3.4 million acres in the Athabasca basin in Saskatchewan and Alberta along with a 10% carried interest portfolio of claims operated by NexGen Energy Ltd. (TSX: NXE)(NYSE: NXE) and IsoEnergy Ltd. (TSX-V: ISO).

For more information visit www.athaenergy.com.

Certain information in this news release constitutes forward-looking information. In some cases, but not necessarily in all cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “plans,” “targets,” “expects” or “does not expect,” “is expected,” “an opportunity exists,” “is positioned,” “estimates,” “intends,” “assumes,” “anticipates” or “does not anticipate” or “believes,” or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may,” “could,” “would,” “might,” “will” or “will be taken,” “occur” or “be achieved.” In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances including, without limitation, statements regarding the any benefits that may be derived as a result of DTC eligibility constitute forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts but instead represent management’s expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events.

Forward-looking information is necessarily based on a number of opinions, assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by ATHA as of the date of this news release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to risks regarding the uncertain nature of mineral exploration; market perception and acceptance of the common shares of the Company and its assets and properties both in Canada and in the United States; commodity pricing; stock market volatility and general market conditions; changes in global and regional demand for products; the business prospects of ATHA, competition; inflation; trade uncertainties as a result of, among other things, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian-Ukrainian war and changes to global trade restrictions and tariffs; the availability of credit on commercially reasonable terms; foreign exchange risks; legal and regulatory risks (including changes in law or regulation); risks related to relationships with stakeholders including any first nations or aboriginal groups; costs of inputs; weather and other acts of god and their impact on activities proposed to by carried on by ATHA; and the factors described in greater detail in the “Risk Factors” section of ATHA’s final prospectus dated March 23, 2023 available at www.sedar.com. These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect ATHA; however, these factors should be considered carefully. There can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. There is no assurance that any benefit will be derived by any party as a result of the information presented in this news release. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and ATHA expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements containing any forward-looking information, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE ATHA Energy Corp.