Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Metal Prices will remain low for 2009, but province's mining companies remain optimistic

Published Saturday January 3rd, 2009

Christopher Anderson is mad about tungsten.

As the vice-president of business development for Geodex Minerals Ltd. (TSX.V:GXM), Anderson helped host a recent industry meet-and-greet to get investors hyped up about the metal, which he said is essential for the construction of any large building.

"We believe that tungsten is one of these new metals at the forefront," Anderson said in a recent interview.

Geodex has been working a tungsten deposit at its Sisson Brook property near Fredericton, which executives hope will one day be among the largest and least expensive open-pit tungsten mines in the world.

The company took a break from drilling last fall due to lack of credit and hunkered down to complete mineralogical studies.

But Anderson said market factors won't impede Geodex from moving forward.

This, despite the crash in metal prices that led to the idling of two northern New Brunswick lead and zinc mines owned by a subsidiary of Blue Note Mining Inc.(TSX.V:BN) in October, and that credit is still scarce.

"We're cashed up and we've got a great deposit. We're trying to work closely with the New Brunswick government to get this up and running," he said.

Anderson's optimism is not unique among mining executives and industry observers.

Experts predict commodity prices won't inch up much before the end of 2009. The industry, though, is eyeing the province's geology in terms of the long-term prospects, which look promising, according to David Plante, the vice-president of New Brunswick's Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters chapter and manager of the New Brunswick Mining Association.

"The mineral industry is going to be the cornerstone of our economy for the next century," Plante said. Read more...

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