Debt and High Grading to Push up Metal Commodities

[...] One of the obvious beneficiaries of this will be commodities, especially metals as the steel mills once again run at full capacity lifting the prices of coal, iron, manganese and specialty metals like molybdenum, tungsten, magnesium, cobalt and niobium. Copper, lead, zinc and nickel demand will also increase concurrently.

The surviving miners, developers and explorers will once more see an appetite for their shares and financings will again be available. You are already seeing 'bought deals' for up to 100's of millions of dollars. The recipients are profitable companies, mostly in precious metals with money in the bank, low cost operations and advanced gold/silver resources looking to expand. This tells us there is a lot of money on the sidelines, which will eventually invest in traditional risky development and exploration. More...

Sultan Minerals Identifies Potential New Tungsten and Zinc Deposits at Jersey-Emerald, BC

Sultan Minerals Inc. (TSX VENTURE:SUL)(FRANKFURT:RZN) ("Sultan" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the discovery of a new area of tungsten and zinc mineralization on its Jersey-Emerald Property in southeastern British Columbia. The mineralization, including assays of 5.0% zinc and 0.9% tungsten, was discovered at four widely spaced locations during a recent prospecting program on the 93 square kilometer property. Additional prospecting, trenching and a preliminary 350 metre diamond drill program are planned for 2009 to test this new discovery.

The mineralization, situated approximately 2.0 km south of the historic Emerald Tungsten Mine, was discovered during a prospecting program designed to investigate a 4.0 square kilometer area of tungsten and zinc soil anomalies. The new discoveries referred to as the Lost Creek Zone add significantly to the potential of the property. They are important because they have potential to host mineral deposits comparable in size to the historic Jersey and Emerald Tungsten and Lead-Zinc-Silver mines. Soil anomalies for zinc and tungsten are comparable in size and metal concentrations to the anomalies seen over the two historic mines. The zinc and tungsten concentrations found in surface showings are comparable to values found in surface exposures of the Jersey and Emerald mines and are similar to the two mines which carry associated molybdenum concentrations.

Significant Zinc, Tungsten and Molybdenum assays obtained from the sampling program are given in the following table:

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SAMPLE           UTM        UTM     SAMPLE       Zn      WO3     MOS2
NUMBER         North       East     TYPE         (%)      (%)      (%)
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08POS-04     5435946     484649     Rock       5.18     0.10
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08POS-05     5435946     484649     Rock       0.63     0.13
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08POS-08     5437165     484592     Rock       0.04     0.90     0.04
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08POS-09     5437165     484592     Rock       0.01     0.01     0.31
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08POS-11     5435977     484758     Rock       1.05     0.14     0.01
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08POS-12     5435350     484180     Rock       0.38     0.18
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All samples were comprised of a series of random chip samples taken from mineralized outcrops and rock piles discovered by prospecting. The samples are not representative of a defined sample interval and are therefore considered to be "grab samples".

Samples 08POS-04, 08POS-05, 08POS-11 and 08POS-12 were taken from skarny laminations hosted within argillaceous sediments along the ridge top south of Lost Creek. Historic trenches (1970's) were noted at different locations along the ridge.

Samples 08POS-08 and 08POS-09 were taken from interpreted waste piles adjacent to a small historic adit, approximately 2000 metres northeast of the ridge top samples. These samples indicate the metal potential of the mineralized zone mined from this adit. The skarn banding that hosts this mineralization was noted to continue to the northeast of the adit.

The historic Jersey Emerald tungsten and lead-zinc mines were formerly owned and operated by Placer Dome. The Emerald Mine was Canada's second largest tungsten producer and the Jersey Mine was British Columbia's second largest lead-zinc mine. Sultan has recently completed 20,000 metres of diamond drilling, a scoping study, a mine planning study and a 12-month environmental baseline study as milestones towards reopening the Emerald Mine.

The highway accessible project is located 10 km south of the historic mining community of Salmo and has excellent infrastructure including power, water, an educated work force and a natural gas pipeline. The new discoveries highlight the potential of Sultan's large land package in this historic mining camp.

In September 2008, Sultan participated with Geoscience BC in a $542,000 Airborne Geophysical Survey centered on the Jersey-Emerald Property. The survey may provide information on the size and extent of the recently discovered mineralization as well as identify new exploration targets elsewhere on the 93-square kilometre property. Results of the survey are expected to be available in the spring of 2009.

Mr. Perry Grunenberg, P.Geo., of PBG Geoscience from Kamloops, BC, is Sultan's project supervisor and "Qualified Person" as defined by NI 43-101, who has reviewed and verified the contents of this news release. Mr. Ed Lawrence, P.Eng, former Manager of the Jersey and Emerald Mines under Placer Dome, oversees all on-going diamond drilling programs for Sultan.

To view Sultan's New Tungsten Zinc Discovery Map please click here http://sultanminerals.com/i/misc/JE_NewTungstenZincDiscoveryFeb2009.jpg.

For further information on the Company's projects, visit www.sultanminerals.com.

Arthur G. Troup, President and CEO

This release was prepared by Sultan management. This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address future production, reserve potential, exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments that the Company expects are forward-looking statements. 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 or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and those actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company, investors should review the Company's filings that are available at www.sedar.com or the Company's website at www.sultanminerals.com.

SEC 12g3-2(b): 82-4741

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

New Business Development Manager appointed to expand distribution of Hardide’s patented tungsten carbide-based coating in UK and Europe.

Nick King brings 30 years experience in the surface treatment market and joins from Praxair Surface Technologies Ltd where he most recently held the position of UK sales manager. He previously spent 25 years with Praxair progressing through a number of technical, production and sales roles.

He will be responsible for developing the UK and European sales of Hardide's patented tungsten carbide-based coating across high-wear industries including oil and gas, aerospace, fluid handling and chemicals. He will also manage the commercial aspect of the company's strategy to develop further applications in both new and current markets.

Graham Hine, chief executive officer of Hardide plc said: "Nick is a strong addition to the management team at Hardide. His extensive knowledge and contacts within the UK and European surface treatment market together with his proven business development skills will add important value to our business. I am delighted that we were able to secure such an experienced and talented individual for this senior position."

Hardide Coatings provides a unique low temperature tungsten carbide-based precision coating which provides excellent wear resistance against abrasion, erosion and chemical resistance on components made from ferrous and nickel-based alloys. It can coat internal surfaces and complex shapes to dramatically extend the life of parts and seals. It offers significant technical and environmental advantages over technologies such as hard chrome and HVOF. Independent ASTM G65 testing has shown that Hardide wears out 40 times slower than abrasion resistant AR-500, 12 times slower than hard chrome and four times slower than thermal spray tungsten carbide.

The coating is in use by customers around the world in high-wear industries including oil and gas downhole and drilling, aerospace, valve, power, chemical and food manufacturing.

Posted feb 12

2008 tungsten concentrates output grows 5.01%YoY

According to China Non-ferrous Metals Industry Association, China has churned out 84470 tonnes of tungsten concentrates last year up by 5.01%YoY but production of 65%WO3 tungsten concentrates contracted 10.71% MoM to 7668 tonnes last December.

In 2008, yield of tungsten concentrates in Hunan Province dropped 10.86% YoY to 27,590 tonnes accounting for 32.7% of the total output while it in Jiangxi Province has notched up by 5.52%YoY to 39,306 tonnes which takes up 46.5% of the total. The whole tonnages in Hunan and Jiangxi contributed as high as 79.2% to the state annual production of tungsten concentrates.

Production in Henan Province and Guangxi Province also spurted in recent years thanks to retrievement of scheelite in Henan and new mines in Guangxi.

(Sourced from MySteel.net)
Visit www.Mysteel.net for real time access to China steel news!

Chinese ferrotungsten export prices firming up on short supply

It is reported that Chinese ferrotungsten export price moves up USD 1 per kilogram to USD 30 per kilogram because of short supply after the Spring Festival.

As per report, market participant notes mines in Ganzhou, Jiangxi, the key tungsten base in China have been shut down since last November and major ferrotungsten producers in Jiangxi are in the same situation.

The report added that they do not plan to resume mining and production in short term.

A local ferrotungsten producer said that "We expect a further rise before our restart. The restart time may be February end or March when the weather is fine for mining."

At present, mainstream price for tungsten concentrate has rose up to CNY 65000 per tonne compared with CNY 61000 per tonne to CNY 62000 per tonne before the Spring Festival.

(Sourced from MySteel.net)
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19.9 million tonnes of tungsten acquired by Asian Source

Asian Source to acquire Wolfram and iron ore resource It is reported that Asian Source plans to buy wolfram and iron ore resources in Mongolia with preliminary offer of HKD 560 million.

The company notes the payment will be provided in multi-ways. The deposit of 70m HKD will be paid by raising funds; 170m HKD by issuing bonds and HKD 250 million by issuing acceptance bill; the last HKD 70 million will be collected by issuing acceptance bill too after the down payment.

As per the initial feasibility report, the objects include about 19.9 million tonnes of tungsten and 32 million tonnes of pig iron.

(Source: China Securities News)