China's Hunan Nonferrous to boost metals reserves

SHANGHAI, April 14 (Reuters) - China's top zinc producer, Hunan Nonferrous Metals Corp Ltd (2626.HK), plans to spend 1.2 billion yuan ($176 million) to build up metal reserves as prices slump, the official regional paper Hunan Daily reported.

Chinese government agencies and smelters are building up metals stockpiles to support the loss-making industry. The purchases reduce supply in domestic markets and help buoy prices.

Hunan Nonferrous plans to ask banks for a loan to buy lead, zinc, tungsten, antimony and indium from its smelters, and will sell down the stockpiles when their prices recover, the newspaper said in a report carried on the website of the official Xinhua news agency.

The report did not give the breakdown of the size of the metal purchases. Company officials were not available to comment.

The money to be spent on metals is equivalent to more than 90,000 tonnes of zinc and lead, or 600 tonnes of indium, according to Reuters cauculation based on the spot prices in Shanghai on Tuesday.

Hunan province's treasury will offer interest subsidies to help the company buy the metal, the newspaper quoted Mei Kebao, vice secretary of Hunan's party committee, as saying.

Hunan Nonferrous Metals Corp controls China's largest zinc producer, Zhuzhou Smelter Group Ltd (600961.SS). ($1=6.829 Yuan) (Reporting by Alfred Cang and Jacqueline Wong; Editing by Nick Macfie). Read more...

NORTH AMERICAN TUNGSTEN CORPORATION LTD. FILES THE FEASIBILITY STUDY TECHNICAL REPORT ON THE MACTUNG PROPERTY-YUKON, CANADA ON SEDAR

North American Tungsten Corp. Ltd.'s National Instrument 43-101 compliant technical report on the Mactung property, Yukon, Canada, prepared for the company by Wardrop, a Tetra Tech company, dated April 3, 2009, has been filed for public access on SEDAR (see news in Stockwatch dated Feb 23, 2009).

Highlights:

- Mactung economics are positive with a 23.5-per-cent iInternal rate of return and a pretax net present value discounted at 8 per cent of $277-million; - The technical report is based on an initial 2,000 tonnes per day underground mine with an 11-year life of mine (LOM); - There is potential to expand the initial LOM with exploitation of the open pit resource; - Mactung is forecast to produce an average of 749,000 metric tonne units (MTUs) of WO3 over the first five years of operation; - The average operating cost for the first five years of operation is estimated to be CDN$104/MTU; - The estimated capital cost is $356.5 million plus a CDN$45.6 million contingency; - Capital payback is expected to be in 2.9 years.

The Mactung Project is forecast to run at 2,000 tonnes per day from an underground operation using conventional long hole plus cut and fill mining methods. An underground primary crusher and conveyor will supply ore to the surface facility where the ore will be processed into both a premium gravity concentrate (67% WO3) and a flotation concentrate (55% WO3). Recovery of WO3 is expected to average 81.7% and the mine will average 749,000 MTU's of WO3 in concentrates during the first five years of operation.

Key parameters that form the basis of the economic evaluation of the Mactung Project are as follows:

Underground Life of Mine Production: 8.1 million tonnes of 1.09% WO3

Annual Throughput: 730,000 tpa

Recovery first 5 years: 81.7%

Average annual production first 5 years: 749,000 MTU's

Operating cash cost first 5 years: CDN$104/MTU

Capex including contingency: CDN$ 402.1 million

APT pricing: US$300/MTU of WO3

Exchange Rate $US/$CDN: 0.88 The pre-tax net present value of the project based on an 11.0 year mine life and the base case parameters as previously indicated are as follows:

Discount Rate Pre-Tax Net Present Value

8% CDN$276.8 million

6% CDN$346.4 million

The pre-tax internal rate of return for the project is 23.5%. Payback of invested capital is anticipated to occur in 2.9 years after commencement of production. Read more...

Stephen Leahy, Chairman & CEO of North American Tungsten talks to Proactiveinvestors

So Steve, thank you very much for joining us for this interview.

You're very welcome Harry.

With China producing 85% of the world's tungsten, why should investors be interested in North American Tungsten?

Well I think there are several reasons, but the main one is actually in your question, and that is the fact that China does produce 85% of the world's tungsten and tungsten is a strategic resource. Tungsten is unique amongst metals; it has attributes such as the highest melting point in any metal by far, it is certainly the hardest metal and in fact in hardness it is second only to diamond. The third of course is its density factor and being non-toxic. Its density factor is almost twice that of lead.

And so for those three strategic attributes, tungsten is a very important metal for the industrialized world. When you have one country, ie China, controlling 85% of a market and then you look at, "why North American Tungsten?" Well, we produce 4% of the world's tungsten, and that's just from our current mine. More importantly we have the Mactung deposit, which arguably is approximately 10% of the world's resource including China. So you've got a strategic resource, you have only one producer in North America and only one out of four outside of China in the world and we happen to own a considerable amount of the world's resource and are currently in production. Read more...

New Uses of Tungsten

Compact, Integrated X-Ray Source

The compact and cost-effective source’s internal x-ray tube is powered at up to 100 kV at 100 W and features power factor-corrected universal input and an analog or RS-232 interface. The sealed unit can be mounted in any physical orientation. It has a stationary, tungsten anode x-ray tube and provides a fan-shaped x-ray beam geometry. Read more...

Sumig Robotic Welding Torches. Made in Brazil and developed especially for our tough local conditions.

WELDING Automation says it will demonstrate safe tungsten electrode grinding at its National Manufacturing Week 2009 stand, using Neutrix and Ultima-TIG tungsten grinders.
Welding Automation will also have working displays of its solutions using a Motoman 6S robot, equipped with tough Sumig robotic welding torches and shock sensor mount. Read more...




Idea Tech a4OS

Add Idea Tech a4OS hybrids (3-5) for a bona fide max-game-improvement design. The magnesium crown (77 percent lighter than stainless steel) pushes more weight to the sole. The club�s low CG (4 percent lower than Tech OS) should improve launch. A geometric "Boxer" shape plus two tungsten sole weights (totaling 16 grams) fortify head stability (MOI is 15 percent higher than Tech OS). The draw-bias head has a maraging steel face to augment ball speed on off-center hits. Read more...

USGS Announces 2009 Mineral Research Grants

Released: 4/8/2009 9:00:00 AM

Grant Projects Help Ensure a Sustainable Supply of Minerals for the Nation

Researchers will study a range of minerals essential to our economy and national security through grants awarded by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Grant recipients will study uranium, rare earth elements, copper, tungsten and lithium. Funding was provided through the USGS Mineral Resources External Research Program. The principal investigators and a brief description of each 2009 grant recipient are provided below.

[...]

Tungsten and Lithium in the Environment

Michael McKibben of the University of California, Riverside will study how tungsten and lithium are released into the environment when ore minerals are dissolved by water. This type of information for many potentially toxic elements is lacking in the scientific literature, making the development of predictive models for geoenvironmental studies (studies of the interaction of natural occurring chemical elements with the environment) very difficult. This research is expected to provide critical data needed to construct models used in geoenvironmental assessments of a number of mineral deposit types that contain tungsten- and lithium-bearing minerals.

The USGS Mineral Resources External Research Program invited research proposals that will help ensure a sustainable supply of minerals for the Nation's future; understand the relationship between minerals, the environment, and public health; provide information to make informed land use decisions; and deliver mineral information critical to national security. Proposals were accepted from academia, state agencies, industry, or other private sector organizations and scientists. Read more...

Adex hits $2.5B worth of resources

Metals Firm taking 'wait-and-see approach' due to low metal prices, tight markets

A Toronto junior miner believes it has $2.5 billion worth of resources in its two zones in southern New Brunswick.

Kabir Ahmed, president and chief executive of Adex Mining Inc., holds a a tin-indium-zinc rich rock sample collected from the Mount Pleasant property.

Adex Mining Inc. (TSX.V:ADE) has released the results of a mineral resource estimate of the north zone of Mount Pleasant, 80 kilometres south of Fredericton. The report showed 10.88 million tonnes of tin-indium-zinc based on sample analysis and geologic projections and another 7.6 million tonnes of the resources from projections alone.

Based on "back of envelope calculations," the company said the partially sample-based resources estimates could be worth about $900 million and the projected resources could be worth $600 million.

"The results from our drill program, a 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate, has not only significantly increased the size of the resource but it also has upgraded the quality of the resource," Adex president and chief executive Kabir Ahmed said. A 1997 report had estimated 3.65 million tonnes of resources in the north zone.

"Because of the dramatic increase in the size of the resource we have most likely increased the economic viability of this project," Ahmed said.

But Adex is holding back on development given the current low metal prices and tight credit markets.

"We are sort of taking a wait-and-see approach," Ahmed said. "The moment we see a revival of metal prices and a relaxing of the capital markets we would then proceed to feasibility, because feasibility would cost anywhere between three and five million dollars."

He said a 20 to 30 per cent increase on the current prices would be enough incentive to move ahead.

Tin is currently trading just under $11 per kilogram on the London Metal Exchange but last spring was at a high of $26 per kilogram. Indium is currently trading at around $300 per kilogram but was at about $700 per kilogram last spring.

When Adex came up with the $1.5 billion estimation it was based on a $12 per kilogram tin price and a $500 per kilogram indium price, which the company believed to be conservative given the prices were $17 and $675, respectively, at the time.

Though current prices are below Adex's estimates University of New Brunswick economic geology professor David Lentz said the company had the right approach considering "metal prices are still fluctuating much more than they ever have before." Read more...

Boeing is Using Tungsten for the new Hypersonic Vehicle: X-51A Programme

[...]

The intense heat generated by hypersonic speeds creates thermal management requirements even outside the engine structure.

The X-51A is wrapped in special, spray-on treatments derived from the Space Shuttle called Boeing lightweight ablative coatings, which can withstand surface heat up to 1,260°C.

The coatings allowed the programme to use conventional alloys, rather than special composite materials, in the structure. For example, a nearly 31kg aluminium frame forms the majority of the engine structure, despite a material melting point of only about 150°C. The nose is formed from a 68kg tungsten block, rather than more exotic and risky composite materials. [...] Read more...

Deposit of tungsten ore found in Anhui

2009-03-30 15:17 　 　

A large deposit of tungsten ore with a proved reserve of 96,200 tonnes has been verified in east China's Anhui Province, local geologists said Thursday. The finding in Qimen County is an important one for the country as only 144,000 tonnes of tungsten ore have been found between 2001 and 2007, said Hao Changrong, head of No. 332 Geology Team that prospects ore in the south of Anhui Province.

China's tungsten reserve are mainly in the provinces of Hunan, Jiangxi and Henan, which jointly account for 61.37 percent of the total national reserve.

The deposit in Qimen indicates that more ore could be found in the southern parts of Anhui, Jiangxi's neighbour, Hao said.

China, along with Russia, Canada and the United States, is a major tungsten producer in the world. It holds 40.5 percent of the world's proved reserves.

Anhui News

Tungsten: A Replacing for Toxic Lead

Home-made lead sinkers pose health risk

Home-made lead sinkers pose health risk

BIA Victoria has added its voice to a new campaign by the Victorian Department of Human Services to warn anglers of the dangers of lead poisoning from home-made lead sinkers.

Two Melbourne families were treated recently for lead poisoning after making lead sinkers at home, and DHS senior medical adviser Dr Marion Carey said she was alarmed at the number of lead poisoning cases related to manufacturing sinkers.

"People are obviously unaware of the dangers of bringing lead into their homes," she said.

"Lead poisoning can have serious effects – brain damage, infertility, high blood pressure, memory loss and learning difficulties in children. Symptoms include headaches, muscle and abdominal pain, weakness and concentration problems."

BIA general Manager Robert Coco said the best way to reduce the risk was to stop using lead altogether.

"These days there are many sinkers made of less toxic compounds including tin, bismuth and tungsten, so using lead sinkers is putting you and your family at unnecessary risk," he said.

For people still using lead, essential precautions include:

• Never work with lead inside the home, and always shower and change clothes and shoes before going inside after working with lead.

• Never work with lead near children or pregnant women.

• Never use a grinder or sander on lead materials as the lead dust can float into your home on your clothes.

• Always wear a respirator when working with lead, and thoroughly clean your work area after you have finished.

A Thank You Note from the Talking Tungsten Organizing Committee

The Organizing Committee would like to thank you for attending the Talking Tungsten Forum during the PDAC 2009. Your support and attendance made it a success.

Talking Tungsten attracted over 100 attendees, including representatives from investment houses, other tungsten companies, and private investors as well as attracted media attention. We wish to thank the industry experts, Chris Thompson (Haywood Securities) for presenting his detailed industry report on the supply/demand fundamentals of Tungsten, and David Coffin (Hard Rock Analyst Editor) for his knowledgeable market overview and positive forecast for a bullish tungsten market. And last but not least thank you to Nicole Adshead-Bell, VP Investment Banking, Haywood Securities Vancouver, for moderating the event.

The Organizing Commitee would like to thank our sponsors and media partners. We would also like to thank the following companies for helping consolidate the Tungsten Space: North American Tungsten, Geodex Minerals, Playfair Mining, Adex Mining, Golden Predator, Prospector Consolidated Resources, Sultan Minerals and Heemskirk Consolidated; without your support the event would not have been able to go ahead.

To view the entire presentation as well as the video recording of the Talking Tungsten Forum, please visit www.TalkingTungsten.com.

The Organizing Commitee hopes to be able to host a follow up Talking Tungsten Forum in conjunction with the International Tungsten Industry Association Annual general Meeting that is scheduled to be held in Vancouver this September. Please check the website regularly www.TalkingTungsten.com for updated information.

We invite the attendees to share with us their experience and thoughts on the conference. Kindly email your comments to info@talkingtungsten.com.

Yours Sincerely,

The Talking Tungsten Organising Committee

Liana Shahinian

Toni Davies (nee Williamson)

Christopher Anderson

Large deposit of tungsten ore found in east China

www.chinaview.cn

HEFEI, March 26 (Xinhua) -- A large deposit of tungsten ore with a proved reserve of 96,200 tonnes has been verified in east China's Anhui Province, local geologists said Thursday.

The finding in Qimen County is an important one for the country as only 144,000 tonnes of tungsten ore have been found between 2001 and 2007, said Hao Changrong, head of No. 332 Geology Team that prospects ore in the south of Anhui Province.

China's tungsten reserve are mainly in the provinces of Hunan, Jiangxi and Henan, which jointly account for 61.37 percent of the total national reserve.

The deposit in Qimen indicates that more ore could be found in the southern parts of Anhui, Jiangxi's neighbour, Hao said.

China, along with Russia, Canada and the United States, is a major tungsten producer in the world. It holds 40.5 percent of the world's proved reserves.

Editor: Fang Yang

MacTung Shows Strength For North American Tungsten

MacTung Shows Strength For NA Tungsten

VANCOUVER — It will cost almost $400 million to build an underground mine at one of the largest undeveloped tungsten deposits in the world — North American Tungsten's (NTC-V, NATUF-O) Mac-Tung — but a strong tungsten price means the mine would pay back that investment in less than three years.

MacTung is in the east-central Yukon, almost on the border with the Northwest Territories and some 160 km northwest of North American Tungsten's CanTung mine. The property hosts indicated resources of 33 million tonnes grading 0.88% WO₃, as well as 11.8 million inferred tonnes averaging 078% WO₃.

A new feasibility study says that resources could support an underground mine for 11.2 years. An operation processing 730,000 tonnes of ore annually would produce 752,000 metric tonne units (MTU) of tungsten trioxide each year (1 MTU contains 7.93 kg tungsten). Operating costs are expected to average $104 per MTU for the first five years.

To build the remote project is expected to cost $356.5 million, which rises to more than $400 million with the $45.6-million contingency fund. While that number is not small, especially in the context of today's tight markets, the project carries two silver linings. First, it is expected to deliver a pretax internal rate of return of 23.5%, allowing capital payback in just 2.9 years.

It is interesting to note that Mac-Tung also has the potential to support 17 years of open-pit mining if, after the underground resources are depleted, exploitation switches to the near-surface, lower-grade resources. The feasibility study did not consider the benefits of this additional potential mine life.

The second factor supporting development at MacTung is the mineral in question: tungsten. Most of the world's supply of tungsten — more than 80% — comes from China. But China recently imposed higher export tariffs and strict production quotas for tungsten in an effort to keep more for its own uses.

Annual world tungsten supply is currently just under 9 million MTUs and demand is almost equal. But demand is expected to climb roughly 5% each year, while new supply is limited. The price of tungsten was depressed for some 10 years until starting a significant climb three years ago, which meant there was little incentive to explore for the specialty metal.

North American Tungsten hopes to start construction in the second quarter of 2010 and expects development to take some 27 months. But to build MacTung, the junior needs to find a lender or partner able to carry the significant capital cost.

In fiscal 2008, which concluded at the end of September, North American Tungsten lost $11.7 million. CanTung produced 272,480 MTUs by recovering 73.5% of the tungsten from ore averaging 1.03% WO₃, but it was not enough to offset both operating costs at the mine and the costs of completing a feasibility study for MacTung.

The company now carries short-term loan facilities totalling $8.6 million and has just $700,000 in the bank.

On the bright side, in September the company tabled a new resource and reserve estimate for CanTung. The mine still has 655,710 tons of probable reserves grading 1.1% WO₃. Before the new estimate, Can-Tung was only expected to operate for another year; it may now have an extended mine life.

On news of the feasibility study, North American Tungsten's share price gained 3¢ to close at 17.5¢. The company has a 52-week trading range of 10¢-$1.39 and has 127 million shares outstanding.

200EX show car is finished in darkest tungsten

08/03/2009

It won't matter what Rolls-Royce calls its 200EX concept when it reaches production; the press has already boiled it down to an inelegant if appropriate label.

When Rolls-Royce's 200EX was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show on Tuesday, it had already been labelled the "baby roller" for some years.

It all came out of the UK car magazines as a handy way to describe the new, smaller model.

The 5.4 metre-long 200EX is a design study set to compete with its former sister brand Bentley's Continental model, which is less than half the price of the Roll-Royce Phantom and selling in thousands rather than hundreds. Using what Rolls-Royce calls its new RR4 platform, the car is due for production in 2010. Read more...

Effective reactor materials such as nano-structured diamond and tungsten, with unique properties

Posted: March 18, 2009

(Nanowerk News) Increasingly, we live in a time that is obsessively motivated towards alternative energies, as global warming and its effects begin to dominate the world's collective consciousness. Favour is irreversibly shifting away from 'traditional' fossil fuels as it becomes clear that the future of energy production must tick all the boxes; abundant, financially viable and, above all, green. As our understanding and priorities have shifted, scientists at the London Centre for Nanotechnology and across the world have been working to establish one extremely high profile alternative energy source as a major potential player: fusion. Read more...

Substitute for lead: tungsten

The American Sportfishing Association, an Alexandria-based trade group, isn't happy with an arbitrary decision by the National Park Service that would ban the use of lead components in fishing tackle in all national parks by 2010. The ban also would include lead component ammunition used by hunters.

An official with the trade group said it was surprised and dismayed by the announcement.

[...]

The park service said nontoxic substitutes for lead, such as tungsten, copper and steel, are widely available. Read more...

Ganzhou to procure tungsten and rare earth products

Wednesday, 18 Mar 2009

Ganzhou to procure tungsten and rare earth products

It is reported that Ganzhou City of China's Jiangxi Province plans to spend around CNY 1.8 billion to procure tungsten and rare earth products to stabilize market prices.

As per report Ganzhou will buy 10,000 tonnes of scheelite and tungsten products, 10,000 tonnes of rare-earth ore and all kinds of separation products made from rare earth. The province began building reserves in January and will cease to do so in December 2009.

Last October, the price of tungsten, rare earth and other non-ferrous metal products in China sharply dropped. Related enterprises in Ganzhou suffered a big loss. Around 88 rare earth mining enterprises ceased production.

The local government hopes the new stabilization move will help those enterprises resume production and recover financially. Click here...

China's tungsten city starts 10,000 T reserve buy

SHANGHAI, March 16 - Ganzhou, a city in eastern China's Jiangxi Province and the world's largest tungsten making region, is building up its own tungsten and rare earth reserves to support domestic metals firms, the Xinhua news agency said.

The city has raised a special fund totalling about 1.8 billion yuan ($263 million) to purchase 10,000 tonnes of tungsten concentrates and products, and 10,000 tonnes of rare earth raw ores and products, the official news agency said on Sunday, citing a local industry official.

All the 88 rare earth mines and 90 percent of raw earth processors in Ganzhou had halted production as prices had been slumping since last October, Lai Zhaotian, secretary general of the city's rare earth industry association, was quoted as saying.

To help metal firms in a dire situation after commodities prices collapsed, China's State Reserves Bureau has been buying various metals, including copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel. Read more...

Why liberals should love the free market - See Tungsten analogy

By Vincent Patsy

On March 9th, 2009

I love to listen to liberals talk about the drug war, social issues and civil liberties. They often invoke the idea, for example, that a woman owns her uterus and her body, and she therefore owns the right to do what she wants with her body. The reasoning behind the above argument is very important, because by using the principle of self-ownership, liberals strike at what is essentially the core of classical liberalism or libertarianism. This core is the idea that individuals have natural rights and any violation of these rights is immoral.

All rights are essentially the application of self-ownership to different parts of one's body. I own my mind, lungs and mouth, and therefore have the right to free speech. The fact that the First Amendment to the Constitution protects this right is irrelevant — the natural right of self-ownership supersedes the Constitution.

But liberals' inability to extend natural rights to economics is where my love affair with them ends.

I own my body, my mind and my property. I can dispose of my property in any manner I conclude will bring me more happiness as long as I do not violate the rights of others. When I decide to exchange my property in a voluntary manner, I have a right to do so. By introducing coercion into the exchange of property, the government violates my rights just the same as if it was suppressing my right to free speech. And the system of economics which is compatible with natural rights is free market capitalism.

The resistance to free market economics often comes from a misunderstanding of what capitalists actually believe. As a capitalist, I do not want subsidies for big oil, I do not want us to use our military to conquer foreign lands, and I certainly do not want businesses to be regulated. All three of these actions represent coercion and an aberration of someone's natural rights. They are also tools by which larger businesses use government to oppress smaller businesses.

Our current situation is in no way free market capitalism, but rather revolves around business leaders and government coercing the citizens for the benefit of business over that of the people. Established businesses want to be regulated because they will be better able to pay for, and have a better understanding of, the licenses needed to run a business — like tax code, for instance. They essentially use government to eliminate their weaker competitors.

Another misrepresentation of the free market was brought up recently in Adam Gaglio's viewpoint (The perils of environmentalism, 03/01/2009). Gaglio mentioned environmentalists' notion that resources are scarce so we need to preserve them for future generations. But all resources are scarce — that is why you have to pay for food and clothing. There is a limited amount of all resources other than air. If resources were not scarce, we would be living in the Garden of Eden with all of our desires met instantly. Unfortunately, we were kicked out for various indiscretions, and now we have scarcity of all goods. This means that we need to utilize them.

Only the free market can deal with the proper utilization of resources. Suppose I owned a tungsten mine with a value of $10 million. If I dig out $1 million worth of tungsten this year, I will have $9 million left in capital value. Now suppose that the world is running out of tungsten. This change would be reflected in a higher capital value for my mine, maybe up to $100 million. This prompts me to dig out less tungsten, and since the price rises, the marginal users of tungsten may switch to other metals. If the government owns the mine, then there is no capital value. There is no possible way for them to know how much tungsten to produce now and how much to leave in the ground.

Author Isabel Paterson, one of the founders of the libertarian movement, once wrote: "Most of the harm in the world is done by good people, and not by accident, lapse, or omission. It is the result of their deliberate actions, long preserved in, which they hold to be motivated by high ideals toward virtuous ends." Liberals, I do not doubt your devotion to higher goals, I merely object to the means by which you attempt to achieve them. To my liberal friends, please, make yourself logically consistent and join me on the other side.

Vincent Patsy can be reached at souljaboy@umich.edu.

Michigan Daily

North American Tungsten sees strong future for metal as new composite technology widens range of applications

ANDY HOFFMAN

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

March 5, 2009 at 12:25 AM EST

TORONTO — Stephen Leahy doesn't want to take guns away – he just wants to make their bullets greener.

The chairman and chief executive officer of North American Tungsten Corp. Ltd. hopes demand for the metal his company produces will increase as tungsten's use as an environmentally friendly alternative to lead gains in popularity.

Tungsten can now be used as a non-toxic substitute for lead in fishing lures, wheel weights and protective X-ray vests.

But Mr. Leahy is most excited about the potential to use tungsten in bullets and buckshot.

"A ballistics company told me they think that lead will be banned in all shooting applications except the military in Europe in the next few years. They have to scramble to find an alternative and tungsten is the best alternative," Mr. Leahy said in an interview at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference this week.

While no longer used in paint or gasoline, lead is still used to make bullets and fishing lures because it is so heavy. The toxic lead from bullets and fishing lures can leach into water and soil.

Lead is poisonous and can, among other things, cause developmental defects in children.

Mr. Leahy is betting that the environmental damage lead can cause may prompt hunters and anglers to pay a little more for lead-free products.

"Some of these [issues] are starting to gain a lot of momentum, like lead shotgun shot, because of what it does to waterfowl. It kills them even if you don't shoot them."

Mr. Leahy's company produces about 4 per cent of the world's annual supply of tungsten at its Cantung mine in the western Northwest Territories, close to the Yukon border. The extremely dense metal has traditionally been used in steel hardening, in electronic applications and in light bulb filaments.

Until recently, tungsten wasn't seen as a viable alternative to lead because its lack of malleability made it so difficult to work with.

Scientists and researchers, including a company backed by North American Tungsten, have now developed tungsten composites that can be shaped for use in a myriad of applications.

Through a joint venture formed in 2006, North American Tungsten owns 43 per cent of Tundra Diversified Industries. The privately held Minnesota company has developed a process to coat tungsten particles in plastic and bind them together. The weighty composite can then replace lead in fishing weights, buckshot and protective X-ray blankets.

Mr. Leahy believes that new applications for tungsten will have a major impact on demand for the metal. Annual worldwide production is a relatively small 80,000 tonnes.

North American Tungsten is also developing the Mactung deposit, which is located about 160 kilometres north of Cantung. The new mine will be much larger than Cantung and is expected to cost more than $350-million to build. With North American Tungsten's current market value of just $17-million, that won't be easy and Mr. Leahy is hoping the metal's new role as a more environmentally friendly product will drive investor interest in the company.

From a peak of about $260 (U.S.) a tonne, tungsten prices have remained relatively strong at about $225 a tonne.

Mr. Leahy expects about 10 per cent of the firm's production this year will go to composite applications. He's hoping to increase that to two-thirds of production within five years.

To make his point, Mr. Leahy takes off his Swiss-made tungsten watch and slides it across the table. "I've seen more new products in tungsten in the past few years than I have seen in the last 16 years combined," he said.

Icon decission to develop its Mount Carbine tungsten project, spurr's Share Purchase Plan

By: Esmarie Swanepoel

6th March 2009

ASX-listed exploration company Icon Resources has invited shareholders to take part in a share purchase plan, in an effort to raise $916 000 through the issue of about 18,3-million shares.

Icon shareholders would be entitled to purchase up to $10 000 worth of shares, at a price of $0,05 a share. If fully subscribed to the maximum allowable 30% of its issued capital, Icon would raise its target to $916 000.

The share purchase plan came after Icon decided to develop its Mount Carbine tungsten project, in Queensland. The company had been investigating opportunities to acquire a processing plant to fast-track the project, and the search resulted in an agreement with diversified group Metals X, to acquire its north Queensland Collingwood tin project.

The Collingwood assets included a processing plant suitable for Mount Carbine.

Icon would purchase the Collingwood project for $3,75-million, on a three-year, future-date convertible note, with a floor price of $0,05. After these terms were agreed to, Icon decided to extend its share purchase plan to its shareholders.

The funds obtained from the share raising would be used to pay the cash component of the Collingwood purchase, which was estimated at $250 000, and to trail test batches of both Mount Carbine and Collingwood tailings, as well as to supply general working capital.

Icon stated this week that the Collingwood project had a number of attractions, not least of which were the widely held positive long-term prospects for tin, and the significant known and potential tin mineralisation at the project.

The initial bench tests have suggested that the Collingwood tailings could also be profitably treated, and that the plant might be able to produce an immediate cash flow from the treatment of these tailings, while site preparations were being carried out at Mount Carbine.

The company further stated that it was currently in discussions with parties interested in retreating the Mount Carbine tailings in partnership with Icon, and added that the recent acquisition of Collingwood had been received as a significant positive addition to the project.

"The company is also in discussions with a number of tungsten producers which have expressed an interest in more involvement in the Mount Carbine, than just a simple offtake agreement. These entities are mostly interested in the larger project, that is the tailings plus the subsequent hard-rock mining."

Mining Weekly

Global Tungsten & Powders reaches supply agreement with Malaga

Monday, Malaga Inc. (MLG.TO: News ) said it signed supply agreement with Global Tungsten & Powders Corp. for the sale of its tungsten ore concentrates produced by the company's subsidiary at Pasto Bueno mine, Huaura plant in Peru.

The supply agreement provides for a monthly minimum quantity of tungsten ore to be acquired by Global Tungsten from Malaga until February 2014. Further, the agreement provides that Global Tungsten shall pay Malaga in advance a sum of US$1.2 million within thirty days of the execution of the supply agreement, to be applied against Malaga's invoices over the last concentrates delivered by February 2014.

As part of the deal, Global Tungsten has undertaken to finance Malaga for an amount of US$3.8 million, through the issuance by Malaga to Global Tungsten of 5-year convertible secured promissory notes

Geodex Annou Completion of an Updated Preliminary Economic Assessmen Report on Its Sisson Brook TungstenYBDENUM DEPOSIT, NEW BRUNSWICK

The last document on the economic status of Geodex Minerals Ltd.'s Sisson Brook tungsten-molybdenum deposit north of Fredericton, N.B., was a preliminary economic assessment carried out by Wardrop Engineering in November, 2007. A robust NPV and IRR led to the recommendation that work proceed to the next development stage. Infill drilling, geotechnical work and environmental/community studies took place in 2008 and have continued since that time.

The present study remains at the scoping study (Preliminary Economic Assessment) level but is based largely on new data, particularly an expanded block model which has recently undergone preliminary floating cone pit shells with grade scheduling and a program of metallurgical work at SGS in Vancouver. Preliminary ore-sorting testing and the subsequent preliminary process design indicate that a pre-concentration circuit would profoundly benefit operating and capital costs. These further indicate that the ore-sorting process following three-stage crushing could concentrate 96.0% of the tungsten and 83.8% of the molybdenum in slightly more than half of the feed material, which increases grade to the mill and reduces capital and operating costs. A plant layout and process equipment list was developed and costed by an independent engineering group to reflect this revised concept.

The report spreadsheet uses a mining and crushing rate of 20,000 tonnes/day over a mine life of 20 years. Overall recoveries (sorter and mill) are 74% for tungsten and 70% for molybdenum. Tungsten is priced at an APT price of $US 220/mtu of WO3 in concentrate, with a blended $US 50/tonne reduction (gravity/flotation) for offsite costs. Molybdenum uses a long term price of $US 15/lb with an 8% assessment for offsite costs and roasting. Mine Operating Costs remain at $Can 1.30/tonne ($US 1.11), beneficiation costs are re-assessed at $Can 4.66/tonne ($US 3.96) with G &A costs at $Can 0.66/tonne ($US 0.56).

The re-calculated pre-production Capital Costs from the new process concept are slightly reduced at $US 339 million which includes a 30% contingency. Owner's costs include $US 1.0 million for environmental costs during construction. Sustaining (and sinking fund provision for reclamation) costs are assessed at 2.5% of original capital per production year.

Spreadsheet analysis indicates that the project has an Unleveraged IRR from Year -2 of 23%. The pre-tax NPV at an 8% discount rate is $US 372 million, $US 277 million at 10%. Payback period is in Year 4. Cumulative cash flow is $US 1.18 billion.

It has long been recognized that New Brunswick offers a mining-friendly environment, good access and excellent infrastructure. The economics of open pit development linked to the large size of the deposit suggest that much flexibility will exist in mine planning to react to changes in metal prices by extending mine life or increasing daily volume.

The recommendation within this report is that the company moves to completion of a Pre-Feasibility study by Q4 2009. The present report is a 'baseline' study or directional concept produced in a worldwide trough of mining finance. It requires refinement and upgrading in several areas to bring it to the stage of a commercial concept.

Tungsten Market is subject to supply cutbacks

China, who holds a monopoly on the supply of tungsten, churned out 84,470 tonnes of tungsten concentrates last year. This figure was up by 5.01 per cent YoY; however the figure shows a 10.71 per cent contraction MoMo, December 2008 vs. December 2007. In 2008, yield of tungsten concentrates in Hunan Province dropped 10.86 per cent YoY to 27,590 tonnes accounting for 32.7 per cent of the total output while it in Jiangxi Province has notched up by 5.52 per cent YoY to 39,306 tonnes which takes up 46.5 per cent of the total. The whole tonnages in Hunan and Jiangxi contributed as high as 79.2 per cent to the state annual production of tungsten concentrates.

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)
Visit www.Mysteel.net for real time access to China steel news!

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)