Tasmanian poly-metallic deposit company Venture Minerals (ASX: VMS) has released an independent Scoping Study on the Mt Lindsay deposit with positive project results.
The study indicated a starting mine life of 7 years and generating $700 million in net cash from developing the Tin/Tungsten/Magnetite deposit.
One of the economic advantages of Mt Lindsay is that mining and processing costs can be amortised over the three commodities - delivering a higher profit margin per tonne mined.
Main parameters of the Scoping Study included:
- Annual Production - 4.4Mt - Greater than 7 years of mine life - Net Cash LOM ("Life Of Mine") - $702 million - Average Annual Operating Revenue - $241 million (at full production) - Average Annual Operating Cost - $132 million (at full production) - Average Annual Net Revenue - $109 million (at full production) - Estimated Capital Expenditure - $255 million - Internal Rate of Return - 30% (assuming 75% Equity 25% Debt)
However, the caveats to the Study are as important and provide potential for greater upside:
Less than 10% of exploration targets have been drill tested at Mt Lindsay. There is scope for a 10 - 15 year mine life for the Mt Lindsay Deposit. Importantly, the Stanley River DSO Project is not included in the scoping study.
Both the Mt Lindsay and Stanley River projects have exceptional access to existing infrastructure - Power, Road, Rail and Port - and the envy of many emerging producers. With three commodities, there is some partial protection versus one commodity price volatility.
Perhaps forgotten, with focus on three commodities is that Venture owns the third largest JORC compliant tin resource in Australia.
Venture will now complete a major drilling campaign over the coming months focussed on expanding the Mt Lindsay resource base and extending the potential mine life of the project. A full feasibility study will commence as soon as additional resource tonnes are defined.
North American Tungsten Corporation Ltd. (the "Company") announces that it will temporarily suspend production at its CanTung tungsten mine in the Northwest Territories, effective October 15, 2009 due to increased product inventory and declining tungsten prices. The mine will be placed on a care and maintenance program that will enable a timely and cost effective return to production when market conditions improve.
The Company will continue to sell product from inventory and will have sufficient material to satisfy all contractual sales obligations. The Company further plans to continue spot sales of product through early 2010. The Company intends to meet all its financial obligations while conserving cash for future growth. In addition, the Company is developing strategies for both short and long term funding.
"This has been a difficult decision as we have seen our tungsten team evolve to be among the best in the world. I am very proud of our team." said Stephen Leahy, Chairman and CEO. He further added "I expect that a tungsten supply shortfall will develop as the world economy improves. We fully intend to pursue plans to return the mine to full operations after markets have significantly firmed."
The Company will continue with its planned summer exploration drilling program at both the CanTung Mine and the MacTung Deposit to expand known resources. The majority of funds will be spent on the MacTung Deposit.
Permitting and development work will continue on the MacTung project.
TPWD Plans To Make Central Texas Dove Research More Organized
AUSTIN - The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will be returning to Central Texas to continue its study looking at lead in dove, but this time the department promises to be a better neighbor.
The agency created a ruckus last August when it started a research dove hunt in Brown County two days before other hunters flocked into the area for the Sept. 1 season opener.
The project was held with no advance notice, including to TPWD hierarchy, and after hearing complaints, was halted for a day. It resumed on the normal opening day of the season.
TPWD officials said Monday they are returning to Brown, Coleman and McCullough counties late this summer, but unlike last year will be making a better effort to notify the public and surrounding landowners about the research project by doing it themselves instead of depending on a contract outfitter. Plans include a public meeting in Early on June 30. There will also only be one day of preseason shooting, and that will be restricted - only enough to train department employees working with the project.
RESEARCH HUNT: Dove hunters in Central Texas will again be joined by shooters for a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department research project looking at the impact of lead shot.
As a third peace offering, the department is seeking volunteer shooters from Central Texas to participate in the research project.
"We clearly acknowledge we could have done this better," said Carter Smith, TPWD's executive director, said last week during briefing on the research.
The research is in response to concerns that dove ingesting spent lead pellets could be impacting population numbers. In recent years biologists believe that dove are declining at a rate of about 1 percent a year nationwide, however, there are reasons to dispute those findings. Still, several states are looking at the lead issue and some have already banned the use of lead shot for upland birds on sites primarily around wetlands. There are other states and groups that are calling for a general ban on lead shot for hunting.
"This issue is coming from other states," said Corey Mason, the department's dove program leader. "It is something on the horizon, but there are some states that would be willing to go to nontoxic shot now."
Hunters nationwide take about 22 million dove each fall, down from 41 million in 1989.
However, dove hunting isn't as big anywhere as it is in Texas where between 4 and 5 million, or about 28 percent of the nationwide harvest, are shot each year. A 2005 study showed dove hunting had an annual economic impact of $316 million, including $177 million in retail sales that supported 3,145 jobs. However, while Texas dove hunter numbers have dipped from a high of 440,000 there are still between 275,000 and 340,000, depending on the year.
This will be the third year of the lethality portion of the project that looks at ammunition efficiency. In this portion of the project, shooters don't know whether they are shooting lead or nontoxic shot, and if it is one of the nontoxic shells what type it is. All of the shooters are using 12-gauge shotguns.
A spotter is assigned to each shooter who makes notes on whether a shot was a hit, miss or wound.
Dove shot during the study are x-rayed and undergo a necropsy to determine the number of pellets in the bird and how deep they traveled, as well as the number that passed through the bird.
In part, the department wants to know if steel shot can be as effective on dove as lead, or if a switch would lead to a higher wound-loss rate. This portion of the study is similar to research done on waterfowl in the 1980s.
Nontoxic shot is a term used to describe shot pellets not toxic to birds if ingested as grit or with their food. In controlled studies, scientists identified a mortality rate of 24 percent from a single pellet of lead.
However, there has not been enough field research to see how much lead shot dove are ingesting in the wild. That will be looked at in the final stage of the project.
Along with the research into lead vs. nontoxic shot, the department has also contracted a dove hunter opinion survey. A report on the findings should be available later this summer. A quick summary seems to be that most hunters don't know there is a nationwide discussion on the impact of spent lead shot on dove. Another conclusion appears to be that hunters say they are willing to do what is necessary, including switching to non-lead shot.
There are currently seven types of nontoxic shot approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - steel, steel shot with coatings, bismuth-tin, tungsten-iron, tungsten-polymer, tungsten-matrix and tungsten-nickel-iron. Some ammunition manufacturers currently make 2 3/4-inch, 20- and 12-gauge shells with No. 7 nontoxic load for hunting teal. These loads could be used on dove, but production would have to be ramped upward. Currently those shells sell for $9 to $11 per box.
The final portion of the study will look at the prevalence of lead shot found in fields across Texas. That research is expected to begin in 2010.
There has been some research indicating lead shot ingestion rates have ranged from less than one-half of 1 percent to almost 4 percent.
Unlike previous studies that concentrated on heavily hunted areas, the TPWD prevalence research will look at a cross-section of dove hunting habitat.
While it would seem this is the most important part of the study and should have been conducted first, Mason said the race to ban lead by some states dictated the need for the lethality component first to counter the other state's arguments.
The cost of this project has been as elusive as the dove themselves. The number now is an estimated $2.2 million. The department pays just under half the cost and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service picks up the remainder of the tab. The state's portion is being paid with revenue from the state's migratory game bird stamp.
Conclusion of the project is scheduled for 2013.
Contact Outdoor Editor Steve Knight at 903-596-6277 or by e-mail at outdoor@tylerpaper.com.
A Vancouver company wants to find out if Knight Inlet is a good location for a tungsten and silver mine.
Dentonia Resources Ltd., a Vancouver-based company which is also involved in diamond mining projects in the Northwest Territories, announced this week it had discovered an "encouraging" amount of tungsten in samples from its mining claims in Knight Inlet. The company took 11 chip samples over 22 metres, which show an average of 1.72 kilograms tungsten per ton of mined material and an average of 3.7 grams of silver per ton.
"In light of the encouraging chip sample results, the company has staked an additional 21,940 hectares, bringing the total area to 29,256 hectares," says the company's announcement.
Tungsten is a hard, corrosion-resistant element with the highest melting point of all non-alloy metals. Tungsten and its alloys are used in high-temperature structural materials and many electronic applications.
As well, the company pointed out, WO3 concentrate (tungsten oxide powder) is valuable, currently worth US$25 per kilogram.
Adolf Petancic, president of Dentonia Resources, said the company wants to get some more information about the potential of the tungsten deposit in its Knight Inlet claim.
"The next step would be to do some prospecting, geological sampling," he said.
If it proves to be worth the effort, the company would start more intensive exploration. But that would be much later, he said, adding the company would consult with First Nations in the region before going that far with the project.
Knight Inlet is located on the mainland, roughly 80 kilometres from Campbell River, accessible by boat or air. It is a popular destination for wildlife tours, and is also home to the Knight Inlet Lodge.
A few of the claims have road access.
"Some of the claims are accessible by existing logging roads from the Loughborough Inlet and Phillips Inlet, which are both located to the south of Knight Inlet," says the company announcement.
The European Union and the U.S. complained at the World Trade Organization about Chinese export restrictions on raw materials such as magnesium, their third joint complaint against the Asian nation.
The EU and the U.S. said they filed a request for consultations at the WTO in Geneva today, setting off a period of discussions with China aimed at resolving the dispute. If talks fail, WTO judges can be asked to rule on the issue.
"We are most troubled that it appears this is a conscious policy to subsidize Chinese industry," U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk told journalists in Washington. "China is a leading global producer and exporter of the raw materials in question, and access to these materials is critical for U.S. industrial manufacturers."
The complaint accuses China of using special taxes intended to discourage the export of 20 metals or chemicals as a way to provide domestic manufacturers with inexpensive access to those raw materials. The materials include antimony, bauxite, indium, yellow phosphorous, magnesium, molybdenum, tungsten and rare earths. Trade tensions between China and the two Western governments have grown as the economic crisis crimps exports and sparks job cuts.
"China has made a specific commitment not to apply export restrictions on certain products and it is applying those restrictions, so it'll lose," said Daniel Crosby, a trade attorney at Budin & Partners in Geneva, who has represented clients on WTO compliance issues.
Unlevel Playing Field
Export restrictions, which have multiplied in recent years because of surging prices for raw materials, discourage companies from being more productive and competitive, according to the European Commission, the EU's trade authority. Such curbs drive up prices and choke off supplies of raw materials, which affects a broad range of finished products including airplanes, semiconductors, detergent and steel, the commission says.
In September, then EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said China was failing to honor pledges it made on export constraints when it joined the WTO in 2001. He said he raised the issue "repeatedly" with the Chinese government. In December, the EU imposed five-year duties on steel pipes and tubes from China to help European producers including ArcelorMittal and Vallourec SA fend off cheaper imports.
Trade Ties
The EU is China's largest trading partner and China is the 27-nation bloc's second-biggest. Trade volume between the two governments grew to more than 326 billion euros ($455 billion) last year, according to the commission.
"The Chinese restrictions on raw materials distort competition and increase global prices, making things even more difficult for our companies in this economic downturn," EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton said in a statement from Brussels. "I hope we can find an amicable solution to this issue through the consultation process."
China applied duties on EU imports worth 4.5 billion euros last year, the commission said. It also imposes quantitative restrictions on exports of bauxite, coke, fluorspar, silicon carbide and zinc. The industries in the EU that are potentially affected by the restrictions represent about 4 percent of the bloc's industrial activity and a half-million jobs.
Yesterday, China said it would reduce or scrap export taxes on a number of products including yellow phosphorous, molybdenum and tungsten starting on July 1. These items are included in the joint EU-U.S. complaint because the taxes are still in place, said a spokesman for the commission.
'Critical Step'
The Bush administration also tried to push China to cut quotas on the export of coke, silicon, tungsten and other products used to make steel, arguing that these caps give Chinese producers an unfair advantage. U.S. goods and services trade with China amounted to $410 billion in 2007, according to the latest data from the U.S. Trade Representative's office.
"For American industrial manufacturers, this is a critical step toward market equality," the USTR said today in a statement. "China's export restrictions on a broad range of raw materials have given unfair competitive advantages to their own manufacturers while raising the costs of doing business for U.S. companies, and we believe they violate bedrock WTO rules."
Chinese restrictions on raw materials and minerals are "just another way in which China favors its domestic manufacturing industries at the expense of the rest of the world," said five U.S. steel industry organizations including the American Iron and Steel Institute and the United Steelworkers.
No one from China's mission to the WTO in Geneva was available to comment.
Appeal Fails
The EU and the U.S. have also complained at the WTO about Chinese duties on imported auto parts and restrictions on foreign financial news providers.
China lost its appeal of the WTO's July 18 ruling that it was violating trade rules by requiring automakers operating there to buy most components from local suppliers or face higher duties. It was the first time China lost a case since it joined the WTO.
The case on media curbs was resolved in November, when the three governments reached what the EU called a "landmark agreement" that established a regulatory framework to ensure a level playing field for all operators in the Chinese market.
More WTO complaints against China are likely as the Asian nation tries to shield its industries from the effects of the global financial slump, Crosby said.
"China is reacting in the context of the financial crisis in a protectionist manner, and this exacerbates ongoing concerns on long-established violations and introduces new ones," he said. "In both cases, it presents a difficulty that I don't see getting any better."
Earlier the United States and European Union tried to persuade China to reduce its export tariffs and raise quotas on materials including zinc, tin, tungsten and yellow phosphorous, says Reuters.
According to the report as the first step in the WTO action the US and EU would formally requestnegotiations with Beijing. In case these consultation fails the next step would be to apply to the WTO panel to hear the complaint. The latter can take years.
It has been for a long time that the critics cry out about China's artificially benefiting Chinese manufacturers by restricting exports of raw materials used in steel, semiconductors and other products.
Sultan Minerals Inc. (TSX VENTURE:SUL)(FRANKFURT:RZN) ("Sultan") is pleased to announce that diamond drilling has resumed on its Jersey-Emerald Property in the Salmo area of British Columbia. Drilling is underway with a surface drill to investigate the potential of several new tungsten, zinc and molybdenum targets discovered in 2008 (to see the map associated with this press release, please click on the following link: http://www.sultanminerals.com/i/pdf/2009-06-23_NR-map.pdf).
Drill site preparation is currently underway and diamond drilling is scheduled to begin immediately. The program will initially involve drill testing three large new tungsten and zinc targets discovered by geochemical, geophysical and trenching programs completed in 2009 (see news release of February 17, 2009). Drilling is also planned for the recently acquired Victory Tungsten deposit and for targets discussed in the NI 43-101 Tungsten Resource Estimate released on January 21, 2009.
The Jersey-Emerald property is host to the historic Jersey Lead-Zinc Mine, British Columbia's second largest lead-zinc producer and the former Emerald Tungsten Mine, Canada's second largest tungsten mine. Year-round gravel roads and power lines cross the property and water is plentiful. Underground workings of the historic Jersey and Dodger deposits are in excellent condition allowing for future underground access with little rehabilitation.
The January 21, 2009, Tungsten Resource Estimate indicated remnant tungsten resource of 2,719,000 tons averaging 0.358% WO3, and an additional inferred resource of 2,320,000 tons averaging 0.341% WO3 at a 0.15% WO3 cutoff. Exploration completed in 2009 shows there is potential to significantly expand the tungsten resource with exploration in both the historically mined areas and the surrounding terrain.
A geological review of historic data from the Jersey Zinc mine is also underway. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the potential for remnant zinc mineralization within the historic mine and to identify potential drill targets adjacent to the former zinc workings. Drilling completed by Sultan in 2007 intersected widespread zinc mineralization marginal to the historic workings suggesting that important zinc mineralization may extend to the east, west and south of the former mine.
Perry Grunenberg, P.Geo., of PBG Geoscience from Kamloops, BC, is managing the exploration drill program and is Sultan's project supervisor and "Qualified Person" for the purpose of NI 43-101, "Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects". Mr. Ed Lawrence, P.Eng., former Manager of the Jersey and Emerald Tungsten Mines is supervising the geological review of the Jersey Zinc Mine.
Sultan has recently completed a financing through Northern Securities and is well financed to undertake the work programs planned for its projects.
A memorial fund has been established to honor Todd Secules of Towanda, who died in a car accident on June 1, according to his co-workers at Global Tungsten & Powders Corp. in Towanda.
The fund, which is called the Secules Children Memorial Fund "has been established to benefit the five children Todd has left behind," said Diane M. Turner, a tungsten/molybdenum market specialist at GTP.
"With the youngest child being 10 years old, the money collected will be used to benefit Todd's children's education," she said.
Secules, 44, had worked at GTP for more than 21 years, she said. He held various production positions at the company, and was promoted in October 2008 to millwright.
Secules had been very active in Towanda Little League, where he both coached and officiated, Turner said.
Secules was a dedicated father and very active in his children's activities, she said.
One of Todd Secules' sons, Michael Secules, has completed his first year at Bloomsburg University, she said.
Another son, Jeremy Secules, graduated this month from Towanda High School and in joining his brother at Bloomsburg University.
A daughter, Sarah Secules, has just completed her sophomore year at Towanda High. She is a member of National Honor Society and the Towanda High School Track & Field team.
A third son, Nicholas Secules, enjoys sports, participating in football, baseball and wrestling.
And the youngest son, Nathan Secules, age 10, enjoys playing baseball.
Checks can be made out to the Secules Children Memorial Fund and sent directly to: C&N Bank, 428 Main St., Towanda, PA 18848.
The phone number of The Daily Review's newsroom is (570) 265-1632; the newsroom's e-mail address is reviewnews@thedailyreview.com
Published on 19th June 2009 Updated 17th June 2009
Residents and landowners are fiercely opposing the development of a tungsten mine in the Verlorenvlei valley, which is said to be one of the Western Cape's largest natural wetlands along South Africa's West Coast. The Verlorenvlei valley is a Ramsar site in terms of the international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. The opposition to the development of an opencast mine has resulted in the formation of the Verlorenvleivallei Coalition, which says that opposition to the proposed mine stems from the people of the valley relying on underground water for irrigation. They fear that mining could spoil that source.
VLADIVOSTOK, June 17 (Itar-Tass) - The issue of the return of the ore extraction license to the Lermontov tungsten deposit in the Primorsky Territory will be considered in the coming days. This will make it possible to resume production at the Mining and Processing Combine in the Svetlogorye settlement, Russian president's plenipotentiary representative in the Far Eastern federal district Viktor Ishayev said on Wednesday after a meeting he held in the settlement with representatives of the owner of the enterprise, Primorsky Territory administration and trade union.
"On Friday, after our appeal to the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Federal Subsoil Use Agency (Rosnedra) will consider the issue of the return of the license to the owner," he promised. "The owner has assumed obligations and is preparing a project so that the enterprise could resume operation, but with the secondary resources, because the cost of product in this case will be lower. Consequently, it will be possible to lower the price and at the same time get profit and enter the market with this product," the RF president's plenipotentiary representative noted.
According to an agreement signed on Wednesday on the results of the meeting in Svetlogorye, from July 17 the property of the Russky Volfram (Russian Wolfram) company is transferred on lease to the territorial enterprise Primteploenergo for a term of 5 years. The sides assume the obligations to conclude before June 19 a contractor's agreement on the works linked with the exploitation of the Lermontov tungsten deposit, and from July 1 this year the former workers of the Russky Volfram branch are to begin their work in the new structure. Before July 1, 2009 the sides are to work out a plan of measures for the preparation of documentation for the resumption of extraction and processing of ore. The signed agreement also envisages a number of measures aimed at ensuring employment of the Svetlogorye population. Three wood processing enterprises and a branch of the Primavtodor company will soon start work in the settlement.
Ishayev stressed that "it is impossible to settle everything in one day." "The territorial administration has assume the obligation to immediately settle emerging social issues, and the office of the president' s plenipotentiary representative will control the fulfilment of these obligations," said the official adding that Russky Volfram is not the most complicated enterprise of the Primorsky Territory and the Far Eastern federal district.
He also noted that the "administration of the Primorsky Territory assumed the obligation to create additional jobs in the shortest possible time. The work is already being carried out. Several dozen additional jobs will be created at local enterprises of the forestry industry. It is planned to develop wood processing in Svetlogorye," the presidential plenipotentiary representative noted.
"The resumption of production at Russky Volfram, employment of those who lost jobs at the enterprise will finally make it possible to ease the social tension in the settlement," the official said. "We will provide support to the territorial administration in the settlement of social problems of Svetlogorye," Ishayev emphasised.
The owner of the Primorsky Territory's branch of the Russky Volfram enterprise has leased it for a term of five years to the Primteploenergo regional utility company.
Itar-Tass was told at the press centre of the administration of the Primorsky Territory on Tuesday that according to the document, the owner of the plant – the Russky Volfram tungsten company leases to Primteploenergo for 5 years the enterprise's key assets ensuring the production process.
The administration said that the rent will be "symbolical," but did not disclose the sum of the deal. "A special commission in the Svetlogorye settlement is currently engaged in stock taking of the enterprise's property," said the press centre.
According to the head of the trade union committee of the Svetlogorye enterprise, Leonid Otnyakin, the workers of the enterprise have "approved the decision on the transfer of the enterprise to a state-run structure for management." "The people who are tired of the lack of money, criminal omission and inefficient work of the owners of the enterprise, now have got confidence in the future," he said.
An environmental-impact assessment (EIA) is currently under way to deter- mine the viability of mining a deposit of tungsten and molybdenum near Piketberg, in the Western Cape.
Withers Environmental Consulting is undertaking the EIA on behalf of black economically empowered junior miner Bongani Minerals, which successfully lodged a mining rights application for the tungsten deposit in April.
The project, dubbed the Riviera Tungsten Project, has an estimated reserve of 10,86- million tons with an average grade of between 0,28% and 0,31% of tungsten oxide, and is believed to be the sixth-largest tungsten deposit in the world.
In an interview with Mining Weekly, Aubrey Withers of Withers Environmental Consultants states that Bongani Minerals has appointed a number of reputable specialist consultants to assist with the EIA.
SRK Consulting has been appointed to undertake the hydrogeology study; Aurecon (formerly Ninham Shand Consulting Services) has been appointed to undertake the hydrology and water quality assessment of the proposed development; Dr Liz Day has been appointed to undertake the freshwater ecology studies; and Dr Charlie Boucher has been appointed to undertake the botanical studies.Read more...
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - June 11, 2009) - Happy Creek Minerals Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:HPY) (the "Company") is pleased to announce additional results from its 100% owned Fox tungsten-molybdenum property, located approximately 30 kilometres east of the past producing Boss Mountain molybdenum mine in south central British Columbia, Canada. The favorable location, geology, large scale and grades obtained to date are thought to reflect positively on its resource potential. (i)Recent prices for W03 (tungsten trioxide) and molybdenum are around US$9.00/lb, respectively.
In 2007 at the Nightcrawler-Discovery zone, the first drilling ever performed on the property returned positive results including 5.0 metres of 0.33% W03, 2.0 metres of 0.74% W03, 2.0 metres of 0.48% W03, 0.50 metres of 1.8% W03 and 1.7 metres of 0.51% molybdenum. Tabular shaped blocks of subcrop have returned values up to 12.778% molybdenum and 5.46% W03 and mineralization comes to surface. To date, thirteen widely spaced drill holes have returned anomalous to potentially economic values of tungsten or molybdenum in an area approximately 1.5 kilometres by 500 metres in dimension that remain undefined and open in extent. Geologically, this area is underlain by metasediment and calc silicate rocks that contain tungsten-molybdenum skarn and an important intrusive rock that is similar in age and associated mineralization as at the Boss Mountain mine to the west.
Results
The Ridley Creek area is approximately four kilometres north of the Nightcrawler-Discovery zone, and exploration in 2008 included soil geochemical surveys that filled-in and expanded upon the positive 2007 results. Here, three new showings over a distance of three kilometres, returned values up to 0.20 metres of 6.47% W03, 3.5 metres of 2.56% W03 and 1.0 metre of 3.70% W03, respectively (see press release dated November 28th, 2008 for additional results).
Soil geochemical samples were taken at 50 metre intervals along lines 100 to 200 metres apart. Positive tungsten values in soil are greater than 95th percentile, or 11 to greater than 100 ppm (parts per million) tungsten (W) (ii). One well defined northerly trending tungsten anomaly is 350 metres in width and 1.2 kilometres in length. It continues an additional 2.0 kilometres northward where it remains open in extent to the west and includes the known mineralized zones described above. Read more...
Primary goal is continuing resource upgrade at Sisson Brook Tungsten–Molybdenum Deposit in New Brunswick
Geodex Minerals Ltd. (the ‘Company’) is pleased to announce that the first of two drills has moved on-site at the Sisson Brook tungsten-molybdenum deposit, located north of Fredericton, New Brunswick. The first drill has begun drilling with the second drill scheduled to arrive on June 15. The drilling program will consist of approximately 5,000 metres in 26 holes, scheduled to be completed in August. Sisson Brook is a large deposit and a series of drill programs have successively advanced the project from exploration into the development phase.
The goal of the drill program is three fold. The main purpose is to upgrade a portion of the current ‘Inferred’ resource to the ‘Indicated and Measured’ category for inclusion in the prefeasibility study that is being planned. Secondly, better definition of the higher grade areas in the deposit will potentially allow the Company to reduce the capital cost payback period. Drilling is also planned for targets adjacent to the Zone III and Ellipse Zones, the two most economically important zones in the Sisson Brook deposit.
Drilling done by the Company between 2005 and 2008 at Sisson Brook has led to the definition of an important resource of tungsten and molybdenum which is amenable to low-cost open-pit mining methods. Results of the most recent independent 43-101 – compliant Mineral Resource Estimate for the deposit was the subject of a News Release of January 27, 2009. The table below is a summary of the resource estimates for Zone III and the Ellipse Zone. Calculations are based on a cut-off grade of 0.125% WO3 equivalent.
Zone III and Ellipse Resources at 0.125% WO3 Equivalent Cutoff Effective Date January 27th, 2008
About Sisson Brook Sisson Brook is Geodex’s flagship property and is located in an area with excellent logistics and infrastructure for mine development. A skilled labour force combined with ready access to power, roads, railway, a deep water port and a good geographic location in a secure jurisdiction all position the project well to continue to advance in a timely fashion. A preliminary economic assessment report (Geodex News Release of March 2, 2009) outlines the potential for developing a mine which could become one of the Western world’s largest tungsten producers, as well as a significant producer of molybdenum. Both metals are fundamentally important for steel production and infrastructure development. Jack Marr, MSc, PGeo, is the in-house qualified person for this project and Michael Cullen, MSc, PGeo, of Mercator Geological Services Ltd., is responsible for the resource estimate presented in this press release. Read more...
Colt Resources Inc. ("Colt" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on property work completed during the first 4 months of 2009 on their Penedono and Armamar Meda Concessions located in northern Portugal. The Penedono Concession consists of 51.231km2 which represents a reduction from the original concession area as an annual requirement under Portuguese mining law. Colt has subsequently been successful in negotiating an extension of the concession for an additional 3 years and has increased the size of the concession to 102.471 km2. The Penedono Concession is partially surrounded by the Armamar Meda Concession consisting of 436.81 km2 which in turn is partially surrounded by the Moimenta-Almendra concession consisting of 566.58 km2. The combination of these three (3) concessions makes Colt the second largest mining land owner in Portugal after Lundin Mining. The concessions which surround the town of Penedono are located approximately 100 air km east from the coastal city of Porto.
PENEDONO CONCESSION -------------------
On the Penedono Concession at the Santo Antonio vein system, a number of new discoveries have been reported covering vein clusters and sheeted vein systems near the previously reported and partially explored NE / SW trending veins 1-13. The new N/S to NNE/SSW veins are typically narrow (0.5 - 20 cm thick) and steeply dipping. Their intensity and continuity is being investigated for the potential of hosting several small open pits. One area lying between Veins 3 and 4 and located near the NE end of Vein 3 returned the following chip samples from the poorly exposed veins. This cluster of samples was taken over an area of approximately 100 m x 200 m and extensions to this vein swarm are being investigated. Read more...
CHROME plating has long been used to show off everything from Harley-Davidson motorcycles to kitchen taps. This is not just because it can be buffed into a shine that you can see your face in. Chrome plating has been cheap to do, it ends up harder than steel and it is extremely durable because it resists corrosion. But working with the stuff can be an environmental nightmare.[...]
To predict which metals would form the nanocrystalline structures that they were searching for, Dr Schuh and his colleagues used computer models that put atoms from different metals together. Because this was done at such a small scale, the way the atoms interact can produce new and different properties according to the rules of quantum physics. They found that when tungsten was added to the nickel it produced a suitable structure. The bonus was that the mixture was capable of being plated and in a way that was more environmentally friendly.
Initial tests showed that when materials were coated in the nickel-tungsten alloy, using a modified electroplating technique that keeps its crystals particularly small, the plating remained stable indefinitely at room temperature. Nor did it easily degrade when exposed to great heat. The nickel-tungsten alloy can be extremely bright and shiny, and even made to become harder than chrome. All in all, its characteristics and absence of environmental hazards make it the most appealing replacement yet found for chrome. The researchers intend to report as much to a forthcoming conference of the National Association for Surface Finishing in Louisville, Kentucky.
Proof, though, will come with use. Testing is already under way, with the nanocrystalline nickel-tungsten alloy being tried out as a plating on the bumpers of a fleet of trucks. It could soon find its way onto kitchen taps and other shiny fixtures. And if it can get to ride on a Harley, then its future will be assured. Read more...
New York Tungsten prices in the United States have surprisingly held steady over the past month and mostly avoided the sharp ups and down that have rocked other materials like vanadium and molybdenum, according to market sources.
Most traders said that ammonium paratungstate (APT) is still hovering around $160 per short ton unit (stu), unchanged from last month, although one trader said his company was getting a higher price but declined to give an exact figure.
"Fortunately we're busy," the trader said, "and tungsten prices amazingly are holding. Demand might not be what it was, but it's better than it has been."
Another trader, who put APT at around $160 per stu, said demand for tungsten was turning around as oil prices edged upward and approached $70 a barrel. Tungsten is used in drill bits, the trader noted, and more drills likely will be sold as oil companies increase exploration and production on the back of higher prices.
Tungsten also is used to make cutting tools for the automotive industry, the trader added, and once those companies receive bail-out money from the government "they'll want to start back up and get going again."
A third trader said he'd seen tungsten prices firm up over the past two to three months, although current prices are well below the $190 to $210 per stu reported in late March. "Tungsten has held up better than a lot of other metals," he said. "The price last year was less inflated than prices for vanadium and moly. The price for tungsten didn't bubble as much and so the adjustment wasn't as severe."
The trader was confident that tungsten demand would improve over the summer, although he acknowledged that a real recovery might not take hold until the fall.
Much like what happened among molybdenum miners, Chinese tungsten producers have closed many of their least-efficient mines and turned to importing concentrate to meet internal demand, which has provided a bit of a boost to tungsten sellers outside Asia, a trader said.
The trader couldn't say if rising demand from China was sustainable or just a momentary blip, "but hope springs eternal."
According to figures from the China Mining Association, Chinese exports of tungsten totaled 3,397 tons valued at more than $84.8 million in the first three months of this year. The volume dropped 14.6 percent from the same period last year, while the value was 25.7 percent lower. China produced almost 3.93 million tons of ferroalloys in the first quarter, a 7.1-percent decline from a year earlier.
At least six people were killed as a result of illegal mining at an abandoned tungsten shaft Tuesday, work safety authorities in east China's Jiangxi Province said Thursday.
Police and work safety supervision officers found the bodies of six miners in the mine in Anfu County Tuesday night.
An initial investigation showed six miners, under two organizers, were digging underground and triggered the collapse at about 10 p.m. Tuesday, a statement from the provincial work safety supervision administration said.
The two organizers allegedly secretly moved the bodies to two nearby funeral homes and fled without reporting the accident to the authorities.
The victims were migrant workers from central Hunan Province.
June 2, 2009 New approach offers more pleasant light of traditional bulbs without the energy guilt
Thanks to a bit of ingenuity, Chunlei Guo, associate professor of optics at the University of Rochester, and his assistant Anatoliy Vorobyev have been able to squeeze out fluorescent-like energy performance from an incandescent light bulb. The breakthrough boils down to a laser treatment of the bulb's tungsten filament, a processing step which could one day become a standard in the light bulb industry.
Traditionally, incandescent light bulbs provide more pleasant light, however they lack the efficiency of fluorescent designs. The new bulb offers the brightness and color of a 100 watt incandescent bulb while using less than 60 watts.
The key is to blast the tungsten filament with an ultra-fast, ultra-powerful laser, which creates beneficial nanostructures on the metal's surface. Describes Professor Guo, "We've been experimenting with the way ultra-fast lasers change metals, and we wondered what would happen if we trained the laser on a filament. We fired the laser beam right through the glass of the bulb and altered a small area on the filament. Read more...
Hardide Coatings (AIM:HDD) has been selected to present a paper at the world's largest corrosion conference CORROSION 2010 Conference and Expo, March 14-18, 2010 in San Antonio, Texas, USA. Dr Yuri Zhuk, Hardide's Technical Director will present 'Nano-structured CVD coating HARDIDE protects against wear and corrosion' in the 'Advances in Metallic Coatings and Hardsurfacings for Oilfield Applications Symposium'.
Commenting on his paper's acceptance, Dr Zhuk commented: "It is an honour to be selected to present a paper at such a prestigious event. Hardide is a family of CVD (chemical vapour deposition) tungsten carbide coatings proven to increase tool life and reduce downtime and drilling operation costs particularly in new frontier, severe drilling environments. As a cutting edge coating with an unrivalled combination of protective properties, it is highly relevant to this symposium." Read more...
Ever since the 1940s, chrome has been used to add a protective coating and shiny luster to a wide range of metal products, from bathroom fixtures to car bumpers. Chrome adds beauty and durability, but those features come at a heavy cost. Though it's cheap to produce and harmless to consumers, the industrial process to create it is dangerous for workers and pollutes the environment.
Mr Christopher Schuh MIT associate professor of materials science and engineering said that "People have been trying to replace it for a very long time. The problem is that it's the only plated metal coating that has all of these properties, hardness, long lasting shine and corrosion protection."
Mr Schuh's team has shown that nickel tungsten alloys remain stable indefinitely at room temperature and are highly resistant to decomposition when heated. They can also be made harder and longer lasting than chrome. In addition, the electroplating process is more efficient than that for chrome, because multiple layers can be applied in one step, which could save money for manufacturers.
Mr Schuh and his colleagues have described the new process in several journal articles published over the past few years, and Schuh recently gave an overview of the technology in the spring 2009 Wulff Lecture, sponsored by MIT's Department of Materials Science & Engineering. Read more...
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TALKING TUNGSTEN September, 2009 In Conjunction with the International Tungsten Industry Association (ITIA) Annual general Meeting Vancouver, BC www.TalkingTungsten.com
Tungsten (W), also called Wolfram is a silver-grey metallic element with the highest melting point of any metal (3410° C). Tungsten has a high density, high strength at elevated temperatures and extreme hardness. It is able to withstand tremendous force at elevated temperatures, is highly resistant to corrosion and offers good thermal and electrical conductivity. Tungsten metal is the hardest of the refractory metals, while tungsten carbide is one of the hardest known substances.
Tungsten Uses
Hardness: Critical component of cutting tools used to drill or cut other metals, concrete or rock.
Temperature Resistance: Critical component of temperature sensitive and wear resistant machinery, in electronics electronics and as a contact point in electrical circuits.
High Density: Suitable as a weight or counterbalance in specific machinery applications.
Examples Metal fabrication tools, snow tyre studs, engine valves, LCD panels, TV tubes, laser printers, window heating wire, electrical switch gear, airplane flaps, mobile phone vibration systems, golf clubs and as an environmentally acceptable substitute for lead shot in cartridges.
Tungsten Production 45-55% Hardmetals 15-20% Steel Alloys 10-20% Mill Products 15-20% Chemical Industry
Pricing US$20,075/t (WO3 ore, as of September 29, 2008) Sources of Tungsten Prices: Metal Bulletin (UK) Platts Metals Week (USA)
Note Unlike the precious and base metals, there is no terminal market for tungsten. Trade is conducted , partially on undisclosed supply contracts between the primary producers, secondary processors and tertiary manufacturers, and partially via traders working both as agents and as principals.
