Traction Uranium Starts 800-Metre Drill Program at Aurora

Traction Uranium Corp. (CSE: TRAC) said diamond drilling has begun at the Aurora Uranium Project in Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin region, a roughly 800-metre program in four to six holes fully funded by Traction under a February 10, 2026 option agreement that lets it earn up to 80% by spending $9.15 million on exploration.

Traction Uranium Corp. (CSE: TRAC), which also trades as TRCTF in the United States and under Z1K in Frankfurt, has put a drill rig to work at the Aurora Uranium Project in the Athabasca Basin region of Saskatchewan. The program is small by design: roughly 800 metres across four to six holes, aimed at shallow conductive targets picked out of airborne geophysical data rather than at depth-testing a known deposit.

Aurora is owned and operated by Cosa Resources Corp., which is running the drilling. Traction is paying for all of it. That arrangement flows from an option agreement dated February 10, 2026, under which Traction can earn up to an 80% interest in the project by funding $9.15 million in exploration expenditures and making the required cash and share payments. The first holes are therefore both a geological test and the opening instalment on a multi-year spending commitment.

What the rig is actually testing

The targets come primarily from a 2024 airborne VTEM electromagnetic survey flown by Cosa. VTEM is a helicopter-borne system that measures how readily the ground conducts electricity. In the Athabasca Basin, graphite-bearing faults in the basement rock show up as conductors, and those structures are the classic plumbing for unconformity-style uranium deposits — the mineralising fluids move along them. Finding a conductor is not finding uranium, but in this basin it is the first filter almost everybody uses.

Traction says target selection also drew on gravity and magnetic data plus a property-wide high-resolution magnetic and radiometric survey completed in July 2026. The radiometric layer is the more interesting addition. Three of the four target areas carry associated radiometric anomalies interpreted to reflect uranium-bearing sources, and those anomalies sit down-ice of the conductive targets — meaning in the direction glaciers dragged surface material. Boulders and till scraped off a mineralised zone and smeared down-ice are a long-standing Saskatchewan prospecting trick, and a radiometric signature in the right glacial direction from a conductor is a more compelling coincidence than either signal alone.

The word doing the heaviest lifting in the announcement is "shallow." A roughly 800-metre program spread over four to six holes implies average hole lengths somewhere in the 130-to-200-metre range on an illustrative basis, which is a fraction of what deep basin drilling costs per hole. Shallow targets are cheaper to test, faster to turn around, and allow more holes per dollar — the right profile for a first pass whose job is to decide which targets deserve a second, larger program.

The earn-in is the real commitment

For investors, the option structure matters more than the metre count. Traction is not buying Aurora; it is buying the right to acquire up to 80% of it through work. The $9.15 million exploration spend, plus cash and share payments, is the price of that right, and the expenditure is staged across time rather than paid upfront.

This is how junior uranium exploration is financed when one party holds the ground and another holds — or can raise — the capital. Cosa keeps operatorship and retains the residual interest; Traction converts treasury into ground position without an acquisition premium. The risk sits squarely with the funder: if the first holes miss, Traction has spent money on a project it does not yet own outright, and the decision about whether to keep spending arrives quickly.

The flip side is optionality. An earn-in lets a junior control exposure to a large land package for a defined outlay, with the ability to walk away at a defined point. Share-price leverage to a genuine discovery on an 80%-earned project is substantial for a company of Traction's size, which is precisely why these structures proliferate in the Athabasca. The announcement was carried by INN Battery Metals.

Where the stock sits going into results

Traction's US-listed shares closed the most recent session at 0.64, down 3.16% from the prior close of 0.66, according to market data as of 20:00 GMT on Friday, September 25, 2026. The day range was flat at 0.64 on both ends, which is typical of a thinly traded OTC line where a single print can set the day. Investors tracking the name should note the primary listing is the CSE line under TRAC; the OTC quote is a secondary venue and tends to lag on liquidity.

That session was a broadly constructive one for the wider market. The S&P 500 tracker closed at $771.35, up 0.54%; the Nasdaq 100 proxy finished at $744.50, up 0.46%; and the Dow tracker ended at $517.49, up 0.94%. A sub-dollar exploration stock does not take its direction from those benchmarks, though — its price is set by drill news, uranium sentiment and the terms of its next financing.

What to watch as the holes come back

Three things will determine whether this program moves the stock.

• Do the conductors explain themselves? Intersecting graphitic basement along a modelled conductor confirms the geophysical interpretation. That is the base case and, on its own, is a technical result rather than a market event.
• Is there alteration? Clay alteration, bleaching and structural disruption around the unconformity are the vectors that tell geologists a hydrothermal system passed through. Strong alteration without grade still justifies follow-up drilling; no alteration is the quietest outcome of all.
• Do the radiometric anomalies tie back? The three target areas with down-ice radiometric signatures are the ones to watch for a source. If drilling can link a surface signature to bedrock mineralisation, the second program gets a much sharper focus — and a much easier funding conversation.

Timing is the other variable. Diamond drilling in northern Saskatchewan is season-dependent, assay labs run on queues that lengthen when the basin is busy, and a program of this size typically produces geological observations well before certified grades. Expect visual and radiometric field descriptions first, with the caveat that hand-held scintillometer readings are not a substitute for assays.

The broader Athabasca backdrop

Aurora joins a crowded field. The Athabasca Basin hosts the world's highest-grade uranium deposits, and that reputation pulls in exploration capital every time uranium sentiment improves. The competitive reality for a company like Traction is that shallow, near-surface targets on the basin margin are where the remaining greenfield running room is — the deep, obvious targets under thick sandstone were mapped and drilled long ago.

Fully funding another operator's program is a way to get a rig turning without building an in-house exploration team, and it puts Traction's capital directly into metres drilled rather than overhead. Whether that converts into an 80% stake worth holding depends entirely on what comes out of the core boxes over the coming weeks.

Key facts

• Ticker and last close: TRCTF at 0.64, down 3.16%, as of 20:00 GMT Sept. 25, 2026 (primary listing CSE: TRAC)
• Program size: Approximately 800 metres in four to six diamond drill holes
• Earn-in terms: Up to 80% interest for $9.15 million in exploration spend plus cash and share payments, per the Feb. 10, 2026 option agreement
• Operator: Cosa Resources Corp., owner and operator of Aurora; Traction provides full funding

Frequently asked questions

What is Traction Uranium drilling at Aurora?

Traction Uranium is funding a diamond drill program of roughly 800 metres in four to six holes at the Aurora Uranium Project in Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin region. The holes are testing shallow conductive targets identified through airborne geophysics, including a 2024 VTEM electromagnetic survey flown by project operator Cosa Resources Corp.

How does the earn-in agreement work?

Under an option agreement dated February 10, 2026, Traction Uranium can earn up to an 80% interest in the Aurora project by funding $9.15 million in exploration expenditures and completing required cash and share payments. Cosa Resources owns and operates the project and is conducting the current drill program, with Traction covering the full cost.

What is a VTEM survey and why does it matter here?

VTEM is a helicopter-borne electromagnetic survey that maps how well the ground conducts electricity. In the Athabasca Basin, graphite-bearing basement faults register as conductors, and those structures are the typical pathways for uranium-bearing fluids. Conductors are therefore the standard first-pass target in the basin, though a conductor alone does not prove uranium is present.

What are the radiometric anomalies mentioned in the announcement?

Three of the four target areas at Aurora have associated radiometric anomalies interpreted to reflect uranium-bearing sources. Critically, they sit down-ice of the conductive targets — in the direction glaciers moved surface material. That glacial relationship is a classic Saskatchewan exploration indicator, suggesting mineralised material may have been dispersed from a bedrock source near the conductor.

Where does Traction Uranium stock trade and at what price?

Traction Uranium's primary listing is on the Canadian Securities Exchange under TRAC, with secondary quotes as TRCTF in the United States and Z1K in Frankfurt. The US line last closed at 0.64, down 3.16% from a prior close of 0.66, as of 20:00 GMT on September 25, 2026. OTC volumes in such listings are typically thin.

What results should investors watch for next?

Three markers matter: whether the drilling confirms graphitic basement along the modelled conductors, whether the core shows clay alteration and structural disruption indicating a hydrothermal system, and whether the down-ice radiometric anomalies can be traced to a bedrock source. Geological observations usually arrive before certified assay grades, which depend on laboratory turnaround times.

Sources

• Traction Uranium Commences Drilling at the Aurora Uranium Project — INN Battery Metals