Athabasca Uranium Mobilizes Keefe Lake Drill Camp & Completes McCarthy Lake Acquisition

TSXV: UAX
OTCQX:  ATURF

VANCOUVER, March 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Athabasca Uranium Inc. is pleased to announce mobilization of its Keefe Lake drill camp and the completion of the acquisition of a 100% ownership interest in the McCarthy Lake Project.

Keefe Lake Drill Program

The Company is pleased to report the mobilization of crew and equipment to its Keefe Lake drill camp in anticipation of resuming drilling for its 2012 Phase 2 drilling program.  The Company is following up its successful 2011 drill program, in which alteration was encountered in three of its five holes.  A total of up to ten 350-meter holes (3,500 meters total) are planned, including drilling a minimum of one to two holes at Volhoffer Lake (Keefe K-2) to test subsurface conductors.  Comprehensive interpretation of drill results from Phase 1 is ongoing and should be available shortly.

On mobilizing the camp, UAX CEO Gil Schneider commented "With the positive results from the program last winter, the company is extremely excited about exploring the Keefe alteration zone. While all alteration zones and deposits in the basin are unique, they do share commonalities, such as silicification and base metal enrichment. The Keefe alteration zone has both of these features as well as quartz enrichment, which suggests that this zone has been subject to high temperate hydrothermal activity."

The Keefe Lake Phase 2 program is a continuation of last year's drilling and has been designed to test the limits of the alteration zone as well as to drift on Hole AU4-01, which exhibited the most pronounced mineral enrichment, silicification and gamma radiation readings.

McCarthy Lake Acquisition

The Company has completed the acquisition of the remaining 50% interest in its McCarthy Lake Project, details of which were announced in the Company's news release dated February 28, 2012.  Athabasca Uranium is now the 100% owner (subject to a 2.5% NSR royalty) of the 4,082-hectare Project, located in the Athabasca Basin region near the West Bear uranium deposit.  The Company is designing an exploration program for McCarthy Lake which will likely include an IP resistivity survey and drilling to test the RZ10 conductor array, also as announced in February.

Regarding the completion of the McCarthy Lake transaction, UAX CEO Gil Schneider commented "The recent resurgence of interest in the uranium sector, a hot-button topic in the US political arena, has led to an increased interest in exploration of the Athabasca Basin.  The McCarthy Lake Project represents a solid joint venture opportunity and the Company is extremely active in this regard."

Dr. Peter Born, PGeo, Athabasca Uranium's qualified person, is responsible for the geological content of this news release.

About Athabasca Uranium

Athabasca Uranium Inc. is a uranium exploration and development company exploring an aggregate of over 60,000 hectares strategically located in the uranium-rich Athabasca Basin region of northeast Saskatchewan.  The Company's stated vision is to explore the region using leading-edge technology to become a world-class uranium mining company.  Additional information on Athabasca Uranium and its vision is available on the Company's website at www.athabascauranium.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

   "Gil Schneider"

Gil Schneider, President & CEO

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release may contain forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur.  Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements.  Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date such statements were made.  The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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SOURCE Athabasca Uranium Inc.