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Commerce Resources Corp. Drills 1.72% TREO over 215.30 metres in First Hole at the Eldor Property in Quebec
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Commerce-Resources-Corp-cnw-4040614198.html?x=0&.v=1
Press Release Source: Commerce Resources Corp. On Thursday August 19, 2010, 5:03 pm EDT
VANCOUVER, Aug. 19 /CNW/ - Commerce Resources Corp. (TSXv: CCE) (FSE: D7H) (the "Company") is pleased to report that the results from the first hole of the 2010 drilling program at the Eldor Project, located in northeastern Quebec, confirm the potential for a significant new REE discovery at the Ashram Rare Earth Zone.
The program's first hole, EC10-027 was collared in mineralization and had results as follows:
- 1.72% Total Rare Earth Oxides ("TREO") over 215.30 metres (3.74 to 219.04 m) Including 2.07% TREO over 29.48 m (105.59 to 135.07 m)
- Followed by 0.94% TREO over 21.81 m (219.04 to 240.85 m); in a lithologically distinct zone
- In increasing order, the four most abundant REE's reported are Praseodymium, Neodymium, Lanthanum and Cerium.
The hole was drilled at an azimuth of 230 degrees and dip of -50 degrees with BTW sized core. It tested surface mineralization to depth on the Ashram Peninsula, along the western flank of a magnetic low that defines the target area, which measures approximately 1 kilometre by 0.8 kilometres in size.
Complete analytical results along with a drill hole plan map will be posted on the Company's website at: http://www.commerceresources.com/s/Eldor.asp
All samples were analyzed by Activation Laboratories of Ancaster, Ontario using their method 8 - major oxide, rare earths and trace element package by Fusion ICP and ICP/MS.
Drilling to date does not yet allow for an accurate estimation of the dimensions of the Ashram REE-bearing zone at Eldor. For this reason, no estimation of true thickness from the drill holes has been made.
Starting directly at surface, three contiguous mineralized horizons with gradational contacts were encountered, termed the A-Zone, B-Zone, and the BD-Zone respectively. The units appear to be moderate to steeply dipping, with a north-northwest strike, and are in general, lithologically distinct.
The A-Zone is a very fine-grained, light to dark olive grey ferro-carbonatite with abundant and pervasive purple fluorite and associated red-brown mineralization, with minor disseminated sulphides.
The B-Zone is a fine-grained, pale to light-greenish-yellow magnesio-carbonatite with common, patchy purple fluorite and pervasive, very-fine-grained yellow-beige mineralization with minor sulphides.
The BD-Zone is the most distinct unit. It is a coarser-grained, cream to light-grey magnesio-carbonatite, strongly brecciated, with common reddish orange parasite-bastnaesite mineralization. This zone is unique and has not been described on the property prior.
Two additional drill holes, EC10-028 and EC10-029, have been completed at the Ashram Zone as 50 metre and 70 metre step-outs, at -45 degrees dip, to the NW and SW respectively of EC10-027. Both collared in mineralization and intersected significant intervals of all three zones (A, B, and BD). Analytical results are pending.
The Ashram Rare Earth Zone remains open to the east, south, north, at depth and is not fully constrained to the west. Drilling is ongoing with a further 10 holes (2,500 metres) planned over the Ashram, Southeast and Star Trench Zones. To date, the 2010 drill program has successfully identified a REE deposit at surface in the Ashram Zone which extends to significant depths.
The distribution of particular REEs for each zone has only briefly been evaluated; however, a variable distribution of elements is evident. Higher neodymium oxide-lanthanum oxide ratios (Nd(2)O(3)-La(2)O(3)), specifically Nd(2)O(3) averaging 1.2 times greater than La(2)O(3) within the BD zone, suggest an independent distribution from the main ore body. Neodymium oxide constitutes nearly 22% of all rare earth oxides present in this zone and is one of the more sought after of the rare earths for use in super magnets and related applications.
The Eldor Property covers a carbonatite complex located within the central Labrador Trough located in northern Quebec; approximately 130 km south of the town of Kuujjuaq. The property is 100%-owned by Commerce and encompasses 404 claims totaling approximately 19,006 hectares.
Geologically, the Eldor Project represents one of the largest carbonatite complexes known worldwide. Carbonatite related deposits are a major host for rare metals, such as niobium and tantalum, and rare earth elements. The world's largest niobium mine, Araxa in Brazil, and several of the world's largest rare earth element deposits, including Lynas Corporation's Mt. Weld deposit in Australia, and Molycorp's Mountain Pass deposit in the United States, are all hosted by carbonatites. Geologically similar exploration projects include Hudson Resources Inc.'s Sarfartoq Carbonatite Project in Greenland and Rare Element Resources Ltd.'s Bear Lodge Carbonatite Project in Wyoming.
Sufficient working capital is available to complete all of the Company's development and exploration plans. As at April 30th, 2010, the Company had $19.8 million in cash and investments.
NI 43-101 Disclosure
Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this news release.
About Commerce Resources Corp.
Commerce Resources Corp. is an exploration and development company with a particular focus on tantalum, niobium and rare metal deposits with a potential for economic grades and large tonnages. The Company is specifically focused on the development of its Upper Fir Tantalum and Niobium Deposit in British Columbia and is also exploring its Eldor Project in northern Quebec and the Carbo Project in northern British Columbia.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors COMMERCE RESOURCES CORP. David Hodge President and Director Tel: 604 484 2700 TF: 866.484.2700 Email: info(at)commerceresources.com Web: http://www.commerceresources.com
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Statements in this document which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Forward looking statements in this news release include that there is potential for a significant new REE discovery at the Ashram Rare Earth Zone; that analytical results are pending from two additional drill holes completed at the Ashram Zone; and that drilling is ongoing with a further 10 holes (2500 metres) planned over the Ashram, Southeast and Star Trench Zones.
It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include economic, competitive, governmental, environmental and technological factors that may affect the Company's operations, markets, products and prices. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially may include misinterpretation of data; that we may not be able to get equipment or labour as we need it; that we may not be able to raise sufficient funds to complete our intended exploration and development; that our applications to drill may be denied; that weather, logistical problems or hazards may prevent us from exploration; that equipment may not work as well as expected; that analysis of data may not be possible accurately and at depth; that results which we or others have found in any particular location are not necessarily indicative of larger areas of our properties; that we may not complete environmental programs in a timely manner or at all; that market prices for tantalum & niobium may not justify commercial production costs; and that despite encouraging data there may be no commercially exploitable mineralization on our properties.
Readers should refer to the risk disclosures outlined in the Company's Management Discussion & Analysis of its audited financial statements filed with the British Columbia Securities Commission.
For further information
please visit the corporate website at http://www.commerceresources.com or contact Investor Relations at 1.866.484.2700 or info@commerceresources.com
Commerce Resources Corp. Reports Updated Resource Estimate for Upper Fir Tantalum and Niobium Deposit, Blue River BC
Press Release
Source: Commerce Resources Corp.
On 8:30 am EST, Tuesday November 24, 2009
VANCOUVER, Nov. 24 /CNW/ - Commerce Resources Corp. (TSXv: CCE) (FSE: D7H) (the "Company") is pleased to report the results of an updated independent resource estimate for its Upper Fir deposit at the Blue River Project, British Columbia.
Caracle Creek International Consulting Inc. ("CCIC") of Toronto, Ontario used all data available from exploration drilling programs carried out on the Upper Fir from 2005 through the end of 2008 to complete three dimensional ("3D") geological modeling and provide a resource estimation. Data was drawn from a total of 153 drill holes totaling 30,648 metres ("m"), which cut the Upper Fir carbonatite.
A summary of the Upper Fir resource estimate based on data to the end of 2008 follows:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Commerce-Resources-Corp-cnw-235852679.html?x=0&.v=1
David Hodge, President of Commerce Resources Corp. Featured on BNN
Thursday, October 29, 2009 8:33 PM
http://watch.bnn.ca/#clip228666
Tantalum industry in dire need of new resources
Wed Oct 21, 2009 3:30pm EDT
By Chris Kelly
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idAFN2154079620091021?rpc=44
WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - A severe supply crunch has hit the tantalum industry, and stockpiles of the metal used primarily in consumer electronic products could run dry in as little as three years, an industry analyst said on Tuesday.
"The industry at the moment is living on stocks. Late last year it was estimated that there was enough tantalum in the supply chain to last for two years. That was last year ... that will run out by 2012," said Patrick Stratton BA, senior analyst with Roskill Information Services Ltd. during a panel discussion titled, The 'Alternative Energy' Metals at the Managing Supply Chain Risks for Critical & Strategic Metals conference in Washington, D.C.
Stratton said the industry's problems were largely brought on by an unprecedented spike in the spot market price in 2000 after similar supply fears caused many nervous dealers to lock themselves into long-term contracts at very high market prices.
"They (tantalum capacitor manufacturers) paid for it dearly with inventory write-downs and future inventory write-downs," Stratton said. After a period of relative stability in the market, he said, everything "fell off of a cliff" in 2008, as the economic downturn put the brakes on consumer demand.
Many companies suspended production, including Australia's Talison Minerals, which provided about a third of the world's tantalum supply. Others included Noventa's Mozambique mine and Canada's Tanco mine.
Talison plans to reactivate its Wodgina mine in mid-2010. [ID:nSYD479828]
"We have a situation now where primary production of tantalum is limited to material coming out of Brazil, some production coming out of Africa, some Chinese material, and that is about it," Stratton said.
He saw only two real possibilities for new acceptable and ethical sources of tantalum, and they were both in Canada.
One was the Blue River Project in British Columbia, owned by Commerce Resources Corp (CCE.V), which was expected to be up and running in 2011.
Since 1990, tantalum's demand growth rate is about 5 percent per year. The price of tantalite, used to make tantalum metal, has been trading south of $40 a lb in the third quarter of 2009.
"A good question to ask is, 'what is the downstream industry more afraid of ... the price of tantalum or not being able to get hold of any tantalum?" Stratton asked.
"The second part of that is a very real possibility if something does not happen very soon." (Editing by David Gregorio)
Commerce Resources Corp. Updates Rare Earth Exploration at Eldor Project
Press Release
Source: Commerce Resources Corp.
On 10:20 am EDT, Thursday October 8, 2009
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Commerce-Resources-Corp-cnw-2141549277.html?x=0&.v=2
VANCOUVER, Oct. 8 /CNW/ - Commerce Resources Corp. (TSXv: CCE) (FSE: D7H) (the "Company" or "Commerce") is pleased to announce that it has completed the follow-up exploration program at the Eldor Property in Quebec targeting rare earth element mineralization at the newly discovered Ashram Zone.
A total of 70 rock samples (53 boulder, 17 outcrop) and 2 soil samples were collected during early to mid September. The samples have been sent to ACME Analytical Laboratories Ltd. in Vancouver, British Columbia for immediate analysis. Results will be released when received.
Exploration focused on further defining the Ashram Rare Earth Zone as well as testing peripheral rare earth targets. The majority of the samples (68) were collected on or adjacent to the Ashram Zone. Additionally, a secondary area of carbonatite outcrop, distinct from the main complex, was identified approximately three kilometers ("km") to the east of the Ashram Zone. The area was targeted for prospecting due to highly anomalous rare earth soil samples collected previously. Cursory prospecting was completed and two samples were collected from the area.
A map showing sampling locations is available for download at: http://www.commerceresources.com/s/Eldor.asp
The Eldor Property is situated in northern Quebec approximately 130 km south of the town of Kuujjuaq. The property is 100% owned by the Company and is composed of 366 claims comprising approximately 17,100 hectares. It includes the Ashram Rare Earth Zone as well as the Northwest, Southeast, and Star Trench Zones where previous drilling discovered significant concentrations of tantalum and niobium.
Carbonatites are very rare and unique rock types, with approximately 500 complexes known worldwide. Often containing a variety of exotic minerals, carbonatites have been known to produce economic concentrations of rare earth elements, niobium, copper, iron, apatite, vermiculite and fluorite; with significant associated commodities which may include barite, zircon, tantalum, gold, silver, uranium, nickel and platinum group elements. Several of the world's largest rare earth deposits and mines, including Bayan Obo in China and Mountain Pass in the United States are carbonatite hosted.
Darren Smith, P.Geol., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this news release.
Closing of Private Placement
The Company is also pleased to announce that it has raised gross proceeds of $7,205,700 in two private placement financings. These proceeds will be used to advance exploration and development at the Blue River Tantalum and Niobium Project, to conduct further exploration at the Eldor Property, and for general working capital.
The first private placement consisted of the issuance of a total of 16,676,750 units at a price of $0.40 per unit. Each unit consisted of one common share and one half of one share purchase warrant. Each whole share purchase warrant is exercisable into an additional common share of the Company at a price of $0.50 per share until September 15, 2010 and at a price of $0.54 from September 16, 2010 to September 15, 2011. All securities issued bear a four month hold period, expiring on January 15, 2010.
Of the units sold, 9,655,250 units were sold on a non-brokered basis. Pope & Company, an independent brokerage firm ("Pope"), brokered the remaining portion of the private placement and sold 7,021,500 units. For their assistance in the placement, Pope received $224,688 and 561,720 broker warrants, exercisable until September 15, 2011, at a price of $0.40 per broker warrant, into one common share and one half of one share purchase warrant. Each whole share purchase warrant issued upon exercise of the broker warrants will entitle the holder to purchase one additional common share of the Company, at a price of $0.50 per share until September 15, 2010 and at a price of $0.54 from September 16, 2010 to September 15, 2011. The Company paid additional finder's fees totaling $144,600 and 18,875 common shares.
The second private placement consisted of the issuance of a total of 1,337,500 units at a price of $0.40 per unit. Each unit consisted of one common share and one half of one share purchase warrant. Each whole share purchase warrant is exercisable into an additional common share of the Company at a price of $0.50 per share until October 2, 2010 and at a price of $0.54 from October 3, 2010 to October 2, 2011. All securities issued bear a four month hold period, expiring on February 2, 2010.
The Company paid finder's fees totaling $38,000 and issued 60,000 broker warrants to Allied Capital Corp. Each broker warrant is exercisable until October 2, 2011, at a price of $0.40 per broker warrant, into one common share and one half of one share purchase warrant. Each whole share purchase warrant issued upon exercise of the broker warrants will entitle the holder to purchase one additional common share of the Company, at a price of $0.50 per share until October 2, 2010 and at a price of $0.54 from October 3, 2010 to October 2, 2011.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
COMMERCE RESOURCES CORP.
"David Hodge"
---------------
David Hodge
President and Director
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as
that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Statements in this document which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Forward looking statements in this news release include that the results from sampling will be released when received.
It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include economic, competitive, governmental, environmental and technological factors may affect the Company's operations, markets, products and prices. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially may include misinterpretation of data; that we may not be able to get equipment or labour as we need it; that we may not be able to raise sufficient funds to complete our intended exploration and development; that our applications to drill may be denied; that weather, logistical problems or hazards may prevent us from exploration; that equipment may not work as well as expected; that analysis of data may not be possible accurately and at depth; that results which we or others have found in any particular location are not necessarily indicative of larger areas of our property; that we may not complete environmental programs in a timely manner or at all; market prices for tantalum & niobium may not justify commercial production costs; and that despite encouraging data there may be no commercially exploitable mineralization on our properties. Readers should refer to the risk disclosures outlined in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis of its audited financial statements filed with the British Columbia Securities Commission.
For further information
David Hodge, President and Director, Tel: (604) 484-2700
For more information, contact Investor Relations: Tel: (604) 484-2700, TF: (866) 484-2700, Email: info@commerceresources.com, Web: http://www.commerceresources.com
Rare Earth Element Cos Could See Next Bull Market Run
Maandag 25 Mei 2009 21:15
By Brian Truscott
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
http://www.beurs.nl/nieuws/artikel.php?id=293005&taal=US
VANCOUVER -(Dow Jones)- Two TSX Venture-listed rare earth companies are enjoying strong gains Monday - an otherwise quiet day on the Toronto Stock Exchange as U.S. markets are closed for Memorial Day.
Commerce Resources Corp. (CCE.V) and Rare Element Resources Ltd. (RES.V) are up 32% and 37% respectively, in part because two well-regarded market watchers are talking up a niche resource sector that's largely unknown to the everyday investor.
Investment-letter writers James Dines, who writes the Dines Letter, and John Kaiser, who writes the Bottom-Fish Online report, say rare earth elements are increasingly important to global markets.
Dines, who has declared himself a big-time 'investor bug' of various nascent markets in the past, said last Friday that rare earth elements could be the next major surprise bull market.
Why? Rare earth elements, which go by names such as thulium and lanthanum, are used in numerous electronic applications as well as superconductors, super-magnets, refining catalysts and hybrid-car components.
The two other rare metals one needs to know about are tantalum and niobium. Tantalum is widely used in the electronics industry. Niobium is used in steels and superalloys.
The actual amount of these elements that go into producing, say, hybrid cars is small but necessary. Supply is therefore vital to producers that need these rare elements in their products.
Kaiser agrees, saying the value of rare earth element miners will be increasingly strategic as demand for product outstrips global supply.
Enter Commerce Resources, a late-stage tantalum and niobium explorer, and Rare Element Resources, which has a key rare earth project in Wyoming.
As Kaiser says, the strategic worth of what they're sitting on in the ground is becoming as valuable as the elements themselves.
He used a recent example: state-owned China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group (CNMC) took a majority stake in Lynas Corp. (LYC.AU) this month, giving the Australian rare earth miner US$366 million in funding. While Lynas has offtake agreements to Japanese, European and U.S. clients lasting for the next five years, its rare earth supply could last some 30 years. CNMC has now secured and therefore controls the future supply from one of the richest rare earth deposits in the world, Kaiser said.
That includes tantalum and niobium.
This is all the more important because the U.S. Defence Logistics Agency stopped selling into the tantalum market in 2008. Australia's Talisman, the world's leading supplier of tantalum, has ceased production indefinitely, citing the adverse effect of the black market supply as well as intense pricing pressure.
Black-market production in war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo is, by some estimates, supplying the world with some 30% of its required supply.
As both Commerce Resources and Rare Element Resources move toward production, their leverage on global producers increases, observers say.
'Commerce Resources is in a fascinating global position; the window for tantalum has opened wide,' said David Hodge, president of Commerce Resources. 'We are becoming part of the supply solution on a global basis; no matter what the studies say in terms of the price of extraction, the industry will say yes.'
Commerce Resources is hoping to start open-pit production in 2010.
In Toronto, Commerce Resources is up 10 Canadian cents to 40 Canadian cents on 621,000 shares. Rare Element Resources is up 35 Canadian cents to C$1.30 on 633,000 shares.
Web Sites: http://www.commerceresources.com; http://www.rareelementresources.com
-Brian Truscott, Dow Jones Newswires; 604-669-1595; brian.truscott@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 25, 2009 15:15 ET (19:15 GMT)
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Tantalum: A Modern Metal, Actually
Written by Tom Vulcan
Tuesday, 13 January 2009 10:36
http://www.hardassetsinvestor.com/features-and-interviews/1/1376-tantalum-a-modern-metal-actually.html
Commerce Resources Corp. Options Carbo Rare Earth Property to Canadian International Minerals Inc.
Tuesday February 10, 11:58 am ET
http://biz.yahoo.com/cnw/090210/commerce_resourc_corp.html?.v=1
VANCOUVER, Feb. 10 /CNW/ - Commerce Resources Corp. (TSXv: CCE) (FSE: D7H) (the "Company") announces that it has entered into a Mineral Property Option Agreement with Canadian International Minerals Inc. (CNSX: CIN) ("CIN"). Under the terms of the agreement, CIN will acquire a 75% interest in and to the Carbo Claims, subject to regulatory approval.
The Carbo Claims consist of five mineral claims, located approximately 80 km northeast of Prince George, British Columbia. The Carbo Claims cover a series of niobium and rare earth element bearing, dike- or sill-like carbonatites and syenites. The carbonatite plugs, dykes and sills occupy a northwest striking zone at least 8 km in length. The carbonatites vary in composition from sovites, pyroxene rich carbonatites, and ferro-carbonatites.
Historic Exploration
--------------------
Based upon historic exploration by Teck Corporation, in 2006, the Company conducted an exploration program including rock and soil samples, a geophysical survey and limited geologic mapping. A follow-up exploration program in 2007 included the collection of an additional 16 rock samples. Five samples of alkaline intrusives contained high REE and niobium concentrations.
The companies are both encouraged that the scale of the intrusive system coupled with the diverse styles of mineralization observed to date provide good potential for significant rare-metal and/or precious metal mineralization.
In 2009, CIN expects to complete an exploration program consisting of geological mapping, soil and rock geochemical sampling, and trenching.
In consideration for the interest in the Carbo Claims, CIN will pay to the Company a total of $30,000 cash: $10,000 on signing of the agreement (paid), $10,000 on the first year anniversary and $10,000 on the second year anniversary. CIN will also issue the Company a total of 1,500,000 common shares: 500,000 common shares with five days of the filing of the property acquisition with the CNSX, 500,000 common shares on the first year anniversary and 500,000 common shares on the second year anniversary. CIN is also required to incur a total of $198,000 in exploration expenditures on the Carbo Claims: $66,000 in the first year of the agreement, $66,000 in the second year and $66,000 in the third year. The Company will also retain a 2% NSR Royalty on the Carbo Claims.
Jody Dahrouge, P.Geol., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this news release.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
COMMERCE RESOURCES CORP.
"David Hodge"
-------------
David Hodge
President and Director
Tel: 604.484.2700
The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the
information contained herein
Statements in this document which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Forward-looking statements in this release include the planning of the 2009 summer exploration program and the completion of the option agreement with Commerce Resources Corp.
It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental, environmental and technological factors that may affect the Company's operations, markets, products and prices. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially may include misinterpretation of data; that we may not be able to get equipment or labour as we need it; that we may not be able to raise sufficient funds to complete our intended exploration and development; that our applications to drill may be denied; that weather, logistical problems or hazards may prevent us from exploration; that equipment may not work as well as expected; that analysis of data may not be possible accurately and at depth; that results which we or others have found in any particular location are not necessarily indicative of larger areas of our property; that we may not complete environmental programs in a timely manner or at all; market prices for tantalum & niobium may not justify commercial production costs; and that despite encouraging data there may be no commercially exploitable mineralization on our properties. Readers should refer to the risk disclosures outlined in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis of its audited financial statements filed with the British Columbia Securities Commission.
For further information
David Hodge, President and Director, Tel: (604) 484-2700
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Commerce Resources Corp.
“Blood Tantalum” Profiteers in Congo Set to Capitalize on Dramatic 2009 Price Spike for Australian Tantalum
By Marc Davis, President, Davis & Associates Capital Corp.
05 Dec 2008 at 11:38 AM GMT-05:00
http://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp?relid=48509
The bloody civil war that is creating another humanitarian crisis in the central African nation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is set to get far worse because of events a world away in Australia.
VANCOUVER (ResourceInvestor.com) -- That promises to be the case if the world’s leading tantalum supplier in Australia acts on a threat to almost double the metal’s price, beginning in January, 2009. Apparently, Perth-based Talison Minerals means business.
To underscore its resolve, Talison will cease mining tantalum altogether in early December – at least for the foreseeable future. This leaves only its existing stockpiles, which surely won’t compensate for the fact that the company’s two major mines accounted for no less than 50% of the world’s annual supply.
What’s the connection between the endless bloodshed in the DRC and the closing of a mine thousands of miles away due to the global recession? The tantalum in the DRC is far more inexpensively produced compared to mining operations in the Western world. And some of it can be extracted dirt cheap because of the brutal enslavement of civilian workforces -- including young children -- by armed factions.
Located in war-torn eastern Congo, these primitive open pit quarries are controlled by various militias, rebel groups and renegade elements of the Congolese army. These lawless thugs have profited for the past few years from the tantalum, which is known as “coltan” in Africa, by terrorizing rural communities and forcing locals to dig for this rare mineral by hand.
By the way, if you own a mobile phone or a laptop or any other portable electronic device, then there is a good likelihood that one or more of your devices contains “blood tantalum.” And the odds are about to increase that more of this illicit tantalum will find its way into your hands. That is if the price of tantalum jumps as much as the 80-85% increase recently demanded by Talison. This, in turn, will make cheaply produced black market Congolese tantalum all the more attractive to some unscrupulous processors of the metal -- even ones that are so desperate for ore that they are willing to turn a blind eye.
With the stakes so high, much of this blood-tainted mineral is already smuggled overseas by warlords or corrupt senior army officers for lucrative cash rewards. Or it is mixed with ore from legitimate Congolese mines, which are run by foreign and domestic companies in trouble-free parts of the country.
Human rights organizations claim that some processors are willing to buy tainted tantalum on the black market at bargain prices in China and Russia. Significantly, an estimated $750 million worth of profits from this illicit activity financed the war chests of the DRC’s feuding forces between 2000 and 2004, according to the United Nations.
About 4-5 million, mostly civilian Congolese, have died--primarily from disease and starvation--as a result of the civil war and the related collapse of the nation’s economy. Currently, an estimated 1,000 people are dying every day. Millions more have been displaced from their homes.
Talison Minerals claims they are being forced to dramatically raise prices for the type of high purity tantalum that is used in electronics because it represents only a small and largely unprofitable segment of their business. And one that is slackening due to the slowdown in the miniature electronics consumer market.
Furthermore, mining companies are now demanding long-term contracts with buyers to ensure steady supplies, according to Dan Lane, marketing director of AVX Corp., a major capacitor manufacturer.
Western politicians and tantalum industry experts, alike, argue that the ultimate solution to the DRC’s escalating humanitarian crisis is two-fold: outlaw blood tantalum and stabilize the world’s legitimate tantalum supplies.
There is considerable encouragement on one front: the future introduction of an internationally-sanctioned certification of origin protocol for tantalum may eventually choke off much of the black market for blood tantalum. Yet, the need to find new tantalum supplies in conflict-free, politically stable nations is proving to be a more problematic challenge. Especially since most of the world’s remaining tantalum supplies are located in other sometimes turbulent African nations.
Very few new sources of tantalum have emerged in recent years, even though the mining industry has spent billions of dollars on mineral exploration. There have been some reports of potential new deposits in South America, Egypt and the Middle East, however, there is far more interest in the discovery of new tantalum supplies in Western nations with low political and currency risk.
The suspension of tantalum operations at both of Talison’s Australian Wodgina and Greenbushes mines due to escalating production costs and the global recession will make it all the more difficult for end-users to source out conflict-free tantalum.
The economic and political repercussions of this scenario are not lost on Talison’s CEO, Peter Robinson, whose words have chilling implications for the DRC’s already traumatized population.
“Our goal is to bring Wodgina back into production as soon as the global situation improves and demand and prices are stronger…Without Talison’s supply, the majority of the world’s tantalum will come from irregular and unreliable suppliers from politically unstable regions, with much of it coming from the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” he says.
The advent of a sudden tantalum supply/demand imbalance could precipitate yet another dramatic price spike, like so many others that have plagued the tantalum market over the past several decades. All of which have been caused by a combination of strong demand and fears about supply shortages.
Any new supply problems could be exacerbated by the fact that there are new, 21st century markets for this high-tech metal -- not the least of which is the exponential growth in the use of tantalum capacitors in automobiles.
This looming supply quandary is being viewed as a call to action for a small Canadian tantalum exploration and development company called Commerce Resources. It is proving up a tantalum deposit in southeastern British Columbia, one that could more than easily replace Congo’s supplies of blood tantalum, the company says.
Additionally, Commerce believes it has enough tantalum supplies to enter into long-term contracts with reputable, ore-hungry processors.
Without a doubt, Commerce’s plans to commercialize its Upper Fir tantalum deposit by 2010 or early 2011 won’t come a moment too soon in terms of helping to satisfy burgeoning worldwide demand.
So the race is on to develop strong reserves of reliable and legitimate tantalum ore. Otherwise the temptation to profit from “blood tantalum” may too great and will continue to heap misery on the people of the DRC.
The Age Of The Technology Metals
By Jack Lifton
16 Sep 2008 at 03:18 AM GMT-04:00
Everyone is talking about minor metals but no one seems to know exactly which ones they are.
http://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp?relid=46193
Merkel Lacks `Consistent' Energy, Commodities Policy, IW Says
By Rainer Buergin
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=aGCNRAkOUluY&refer=germany
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government has no clear energy policy, the IW economic institute said, singling out for criticism plans to abandon nuclear power and insufficient action to secure foreign commodity sources.
``What we're missing in the area of government is a consistent energy policy, a consistent energy concept, and, as regards commodities, a clear prioritization of interests,'' IW economist Hubertus Bardt told reporters in Berlin today.
Merkel should raise pressure on governments such as China's that levy taxes on or even ban commodity exports, the institute said. Europe should speak with one voice on energy and commodity issues and push for a removal of trade barriers in bodies such as the World Trade Organization, it said.
The IW report highlights risks faced by the German economy, the world's third-largest and the biggest exporter of goods. It raises pressure on Merkel and the European Union to do more to safeguard the supply of substances needed for the production of stainless steel, jet turbines and fuel cells.
Chromium, molybdenum, niobium, platinum, tantalum and zircon top the list of commodities in ``critical'' supply because they're either controlled by a few companies or countries, will be exhausted in less than 30 years or are difficult to substitute, the Cologne-based IW said.
Fifty-four percent of German companies see the increasing scarcity of commodities as a risk, while 19 percent see it as an opportunity, the IW said, citing a survey it held this year. Nineteen percent said it poses neither risks nor opportunities.
``The problem with commodities isn't so much the physical availability, but rather the access,'' IW institute head Michael Huether said. ``A lack of competition, distorted competition as a result of government action and aggressive strategies by some countries on international commodity markets are serious problems.''
While natural gas exports from the Soviet Union were stable even in the Cold War era, Russia may use its gas reserves ``as a political instrument'' and threaten to limit deliveries, Huether said. In view of growing commodity supply risks, Germany should abandon the planned phase-out of nuclear energy by around 2023, he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Rainer Buergin in Berlin at rbuergin1@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: August 25, 2008 08:08 EDT
Commerce Resources Corp. Receives Updated Resource Estimate for Upper Fir Tantalum and Niobium Project
Friday August 8, 9:40 am ET
VANCOUVER, Aug. 8 /CNW/ - Commerce Resources Corp. (TSXv: CCE) (FSE: D7H) ("the Company") is in receipt of an updated resource estimate for the Upper Fir Carbonatite, located in east-central British Columbia.
The updated resource estimate is based upon 20 HQ diameter diamond drill holes completed during 2005-2006, and an additional 18 HQ diameter diamond drill holes completed during 2007. The holes outlined a series of sill-like bodies with up to 100 m total thickness, that extends for more than 1,100 m in a north-south direction and up to 600 m in an east-west direction. The carbonatite remains open both to the east and to the south.
Based on the exploration from 2005-2007, the Upper Fir Carbonatite is estimated to contain an indicated resource of 14.68 Mt with average grades of 190 g/t Ta(2)O5 (Tantalum) and 1,300 g/t Nb(2)O5 (Niobium), within a 38 m confidence limit. In addition, the mineralized body is estimated to contain an inferred resource of 19.8 Mt with average grades of 188 g/t Ta(2)O5 and 1,612 g/t Nb(2)O5, within a 100 m confidence limit. When using higher grade cut-offs of 200 g/t Ta(2)O5, the average tantalum grades increase to 231 g/t for the indicated portion and 225 g/t for the inferred portion. Other details are as follow:
[details in following link]
http://biz.yahoo.com/cnw/080808/commerce_resources.html?.v=1
Hot on the Tin-Tantalum Trail
By Andrew Burger
28 Jul 2008 at 04:34 PM GMT-04:00
http://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp?relid=44799
Focused on tin-tantalum-niobium exploration, Gippsland Ltd. and Shamika Resources are among a small group of juniors that stand to gain from changing supply-demand conditions in the global markets.
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Tin, tantalum and niobium exploration and resource development is heating up as increasing consumption and tightening supply drives up raw-material and refined-product prices.
Tin his been on a “massive bull run” since end 2005, when prices were hovering around $6,000 per tonne. It’s since shot up to $25,000 per tonne, increasing 53% this year, notes Sandeep Joon, a research analyst with SMC Comtrade Ltd. Demand rose nearly 19% in 2006 and is forecast to increase another 3% or more over 2007 levels this year. Meanwhile supply has been decreasing with the closing of tin mines in Indonesia, which along with China, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil account for over 90% of worldwide production. “The key reason behind the bull run is the uneven production from Indonesia and erratic exports from China,” Joon wrote.
The situation is much the same for tantalum. The world’s leading tantalum miner, Perth’s Talison Minerals, has reportedly notified its biggest customers- capacitor manufacturers in Japan, the U.S., and Europe- that contract prices may need to rise as much as 80% in order for it to continue extracting tantalum oxide from its Wodgina mine profitably.
Several exploration companies on the tin-tantalum trail stand to benefit from the changing market landscape. Among them are Gippsland Ltd. (GIP), which recently completed a drilling and resource expansion and upgrade program at its Abu Dabbab project in Egypt. As is true for a range of metals, the Democratic Republic of Congo is a country frequently mentioned as a potentially large producer. Having secured exploration permits for 720 mining blocks from the new government of President Joseph Kabile and with another 300 applications in progress, Shamika Resources is planning an IPO on the Toronto TSX Venture Exchange this fall.
Gippsland Upgrades Tantalum Resourcep
Gippsland on July 14 announced that tantalum and tin assays of samples from its recently completed in-fill diamond-drill sections at its site in Abu Dabbab site in Egypt have led to an 11% overall resource increase, from 40-44.5 million tonnes, and a resource upgrade: 32.5 million tonnes are now in the Measured and Indicated categories according to JORC standards. Overall tantalum pentoxide grade has rose from 243-250 grams/tonne (g/t).
The resource expansion and upgrade help pave Gippsland’s way forward. Company mining engineers are using the resulting new resource model to complete pit optimization studies while the ore reserve increase will strengthen the project and company’s financial model, offering project finance banks a heightened level of confidence and hence potentially easier and lower cost access to capital for Gippsland.
"The drilling programme has been an outstanding success despite delays caused by the industry-wide problem of assay laboratory backlogs,” commented Gippsland executive chairman Jack Telford in a media release. “It has produced an 11% resource increase with 73% of the resource now categorized as Measured and Indicated while the global tantalum pentoxide grade has increased from 243g/t to 250g/t. These results further underpin the robustness of the Abu Dabbab project whilst reinforcing Gippsland's position in becoming a major supplier to the global tantalum industry."
Revised Valuation & Target Price
“Tin is looking attractive for long term for investors due to its strong fundamentals .The demand is strong, while the supply is decreasing,” writes SMC Comtrade’s Joon. “Supplies from Indonesia have been declining since the government cracked down on illegal miners in Bangka Belitung, while China has curbed exports by imposing export taxes on the metal, and Congo, Africa's largest Tin producer, has banned the export of the metal from a big producing area of the country that is controlled by rebels.”
Taking stock of recent developments, Fox Davies Capital mining research analysts Andy Rose and Andy Davidson have reiterated their ‘Buy’ recommendation and revised their valuation and share price targets for Gippsland.
Rose and Davidson have set a 27-pence (~$0.54) per share target for Gippsland’s shares. The stock’s been trading between 4.5 and 5.0 p (~$0.09 and $0.10) recently. “We have assumed that the additional tonnage will result in a small extension to mine life. Additionally, we have increased the grades of ore treated to reflect the higher grades in the revised ore resources and have marginally improved recoveries,” they wrote in a July flash research note.
A New Producer Taking Shape in the DRC?
From its two main offices in Montreal and Goma in northern DRC, Shamika Resources has amassed a large and promising portfolio of permits for 720 mining blocks in the DRC’s resource-rich Kibara mineral belt with another 300 applications pending.
Potentially rich in cassiterite, tantalite and columbite, management is focusing on exploration and development of tin, tantalum, niobium and tungsten.
Shamika’s geologist-in-charge of its nascent Kalimbi Hill prospect within the Nyabibwe property in South Kivu estimates that one, 700 x 3,000 x 200-meter vein there contains 1 million tonnes of tin ore.
Certified sample assays conducted by SGS Lakefield Research Ltd. Showed tin oxide percentages in three ore samples showed 66.6%, 77.6% and 72.6%, respectively, which translates to tin percentages, respectively, of 52.5%, 61.1%, and 57.2%.
Management plans to develop the Kalimbi project and “has conducted its own due diligence in order to confirm that the deposits are there, that they are big, that they can be expanded and that the company has the capability of developing them.”
Located in western North Kivu Province, Walikale is in another current focus for Shamika management. Located in an area of important crossroads in the eastern DRC and the core of the Kibara mineral belt, cassiterite deposits there are well-known, have high iron content and hence have been dubbed ‘Main Rouge.’ Tin oxide content is approximately 60% -- with 45-55% pure tin –- and the area is also known to host high-quality deposits of columbo-tantalite, typically in more remote, rainforest areas, according to Shamika’s website.
Shamika is now looking to raise capital. Besides working towards an IPO on the TSX Venture Exchange, management is negotiating a $C3-million private placement.
‘Peak metal’ problems loom, warns scientist
Raymond Beauchemin, Deputy Foreign Editor
Last Updated: August 07. 2008 11:32PM
#msg-31305795
Tantalum: A Hard Rock Road Ahead?
Dennis Zogbi June 30, 2008
http://www.ttiinc.com/object/me_zogbi_20080630.html
The top global supplier of tantalum ore is Talison Minerals (Perth, Australia), which controls an estimated 52% of the world’s hard rock supply of tantalum. Talison Minerals suggests that an 80% increase in contract price may be necessary to continue to extract tantalum from the Wodgina mine in Wodgina, Australia at profitable levels. This is according to capacitor manufacturers in Japan, the United States and Europe who have been contacted by Talison. The new price for tantalum ore will take effect in January 2009 after the majority of their current ore supply contracts expire. The price change will create a ripple effect in the supply chain that will lead to higher prices for capacitor anode powder and tantalum lead wire. Capacitor manufacturers, who already have limited margins, will probably raise prices to maintain a healthy supply of this important capacitor product line.
Capacitor Manufacturers and Customers React
Tantalum capacitor manufacturers reacted to the news of an impending hike in tantalum ore prices with shock and disbelief. According to one primary tantalum capacitor manufacturer, such a price increase for the primary feedstock material used to manufacturer tantalum capacitor anodes and lead-attach wire will lead to higher tantalum capacitor prices across the board at a time when many can least afford it. Unfortunately the timing is bad, not only from the perspective of anemic economies, but also because manufacturers of alternative technologies, primarily the high capacitance ceramic multilayered chip capacitors, now have excess capacity to produce parts due to massive investments in increased economies of scale in CY 2007. But regardless, many customers in the wireless handset, computer, portable MP3 player, automotive and other end use market segments will have no choice but to pay more for their tantalum capacitors. This is because of the unique combination of high capacitance and small case size availability of the tantalum, especially in the specific area of 100 to 1,000 microfarads, where competitive alternatives are limited.
Rising Mining Costs Create New Economies
Tantalum ore prices “under contract” have not increased in price at the same rate as other non-noble metals over the past 24 months. And while an increase in tantalum ore prices from Australia can be ascertained by global trade statistics between 2006 and 2007, costs to extract the ore have risen substantially, especially for fuel and energy, (to mine and transport the ore and to process the ore through separation technology). Fuel costs alone account for up to 40% of tantalum mining, according to one primary source. And this, coupled with the devaluation of the Australian dollar, has made current contractual prices for tantalum ore uneconomical. Therefore, Talison is faced with having to almost double prices to extract the ore at a profit or face continued losses. The alternative is to stop mining tantalum and use the existing resources at Wodgina to mine Spodumene, (which is used in the production of Lithium). Ultimately, what this means is that tantalum metal powder suppliers to the capacitor industry are faced with rising costs at a time when their “profit before taxes” has dropped to zero (Cabot Corporation, the world’s largest tantalum powder producer in the world reported first quarter CY 2008 profits for their Supermetals business segment at $0.00). Therefore, any upward movement in ore price from Australia would have to be passed on to the capacitor manufacturers, who in turn will have to pass that cost onto the consumer. Thus, tantalum capacitor prices are sure to go up.
China Looks to Africa to Solve the Problem
In 2007, according to United Nations data, Chinese tantalum metal powder and wire producers increased their imports from Africa at the expense of their Australian resources. China noted a substantial increase in shipments of tantalum ore from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on a year-over-year basis. American and German manufacturers of capacitor grade metal powder and wire do not have the luxury of sourcing ore from such countries since 2001/2002 when the United Nations determined that proceeds from tantalum ore were going to fund civil war. The ethical policies of the major American and German tantalum powder and wire producers, “do not allow for such ventures” anymore, according to one of the major vendors.
The Limited Tantalum Supply Chain
Tantalum capacitor manufacturers have a limited supply chain. The number of reliable mines producing tantalum on a consistent basis has been seriously limited since 2001, due to a moratorium on mining in the Congo (due to the scathing United Nations report that showed tantalum receipts were being used to fund civil war between the Mai Mai rebels and the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda). Remaining mines in Canada, Brazil, and China are small, and cannot be scaled up in time to meet increased demand that would be created by the shuddering of Talison’s Wodgina mine. Additionally, the United States Defense Logistics Agency, which had historically supplied hundreds of thousands of pounds of surplus tantalum ores and concentrates to the commercial market, exhausted its captive supply in 2007. This has created a vacuum in the market at a time when costs to extract are rising at a rate that exceeds profitability.
Tantalum Wire and Mid-Level CV/g Power Supply Threatened
The two areas of the supply chain that will be most impacted by high ore prices will be tantalum wire and mid-level Capacitance Value Per Gram (CV/g) tantalum metal powders. Tantalum wire, which is used in tantalum capacitor production as the lead attach to the powder anode, will be impacted first. Primary capacitor manufacturer’s note that the world’s largest supplier of tantalum wire has noted to its customers that it is seriously planning on stopping wire production altogether by 2009. The mid-level tantalum powders from 30,000 to 52,000 CV/g will also be impacted, because these powders are already losing money, and any increase in ore prices will make these powders even more uneconomical to produce. Higher CV/g tantalum powders above 70,000 CV/g are less likely to be impacted because they already sell for a premium (above $500 per pound in Japan). These higher CV/g powders are used in ultra-small case size tantalum capacitors (P and J case) and in many of the conductive polymer capacitor anodes.
Reduced Supply, High Prices Probable
The majority of capacitor manufacturers interviewed for this article noted that the likelihood of them paying 80% more for tantalum powder and wire due to increased ore costs is not realistic. Since the economics for Talison most probably will not change between June and December of 2008, it becomes more likely that the amount of ore coming from Australia will be limited as Talison adjusts to a lower volume, higher value mining model. A greater reliance on stockpiles of ore that are already above ground will be the probable scenario. According to one primary source, these inventories will last for two years until identified resources can be turned into producing mines, (but this estimate may be over confident, as it is apparent from trade statistics that ore contained in stockpiles in the United States, Germany, and Belgium have already been drawn down substantially in 2007).
Many of these tantalum ore supplies from inventories will trade at the “spot price” for tantalum, which will undoubtedly move higher as “spot prices” tend to re-adjust in accordance with the suggested contractual price (Historically this has been the case).
The ultimate result of this materials trend will probably be higher prices for tantalum capacitors and (perhaps) some tantalum capacitor shortages in CY 2009, as was the case when similar events impacted the market in 2000 and 2001.
Alternative Technologies Cannot Cover the Spread
Capacitor manufacturers interviewed for this article also noted that alternative technologies to tantalum, such as high capacitance MLCC, niobium oxide and SMD aluminum electrolytic capacitors, only meet customer needs for a portion of the tantalum capacitor product portfolio.
For example, ceramic chip capacitor manufacturers have mass production capabilities up to 100 microfarads, while tantalum chips are sold up to 1,000 microfarads. SMD aluminum capacitors meet the capacitance/voltage requirements of tantalum, but are not as volumetrically efficient. Niobium oxide capacitors are a logical alternative, but the number of vendors is limited, and the product offering in terms of voltage and capacitance is also limited. Also, in certain circuits, only tantalum can be used (such as in certain wireless handset audio and video circuits where the piezo-electric effect of the ceramic makes tantalum the better choice).
Certainly high capacitance ceramics, SMD aluminum and niobium-oxide capacitor technologies will benefit from a higher cost structure in tantalum, but in many instances, the customer will have no choice, but to pay the expected higher prices for tantalum capacitors.
A Time for Management, not Panic
As one of the top manufacturer’s of tantalum capacitors noted for this story, now is not the time to panic, but to manage the transition effectively. The tantalum capacitor industry will undergo changes as a result of higher raw material costs being passed on to the consumer; however, this may be a change for the better. The segment may emerge as a smaller volume business, but one that is consistently profitable for the players.
As for higher tantalum ore costs, the results of this will invariably be more identified resources for tantalum ore, and the rapid conversion of those resources into producing mines. New tantalum resources in Egypt, Canada, Mozambique, Chile, China and Greenland hold great promise to fill in any gaps in the supply chain created by the current turn of events. But it takes substantial capital investment and a significant amount of time to convert resources into commercial mines that could fill in the vacuum created by a slowdown or shuddering of the Australian mines.
In conclusion, the short term future of tantalum appears to be headed for a higher price model. There are technical alternatives for manufacturers of electronic goods, but these alternatives do not fully cover all uses of tantalum, and in fact, any company that could have converted their slots to ceramic, aluminum or niobium alternatives would have done so already after the 2001 tantalum shortage. So, many of the current tantalum consumers will have no choice to pay higher prices for the tantalum capacitors they require for their decoupling and filtering solutions. Tantalum unit shipments may decline by a small percentage as alternative technology manufacturers identify this as an incentive to expand their existing portfolios to exploit the new vulnerability of tantalum. There is also the possibility that there will be spot shortages for certain types of tantalum capacitors due to the lack of available tantalum wire or powder, or a more rapid take down rate for ore inventories in the supply chain. How this unfolds over the coming months will depend upon the ability for key players to manage an uncertain supply chain, and through the application of experienced leadership for those who experienced similar changes in the tantalum market back in 2001.
Drilling Begins at Niobium, Tantalum, Phosphate and Uranium Property in Quebec
Thursday June 5, 9:55 am ET
http://biz.yahoo.com/cnw/080605/commerce_res_drillng.html?.v=1
VANCOUVER, June 5 /CNW/ - Commerce Resources Corp. (TSXv: CCE) (FSE: D7H) ("the Company") is pleased to announce the initiation of its 2008 diamond drilling and field work program on its Eldor niobium and tantalum property in Quebec. The Eldor Property is situated about 115 km south of the community of Kuujjuaq, which is located 5 km from Ungava Bay.
The 2008 exploration program is designed to build upon the strong results obtained during the 2007 exploration program, which substantiated historic concentrations of niobium (Nb(2)O(5)) and tantalum (Ta(2)O(5)). In addition, significant concentrations of phosphate (P(2)O(5)) and uranium (U(3)O(8)) were identified. Pertinent highlights, as reported on December 19, 2007, include:
- The airborne geophysical survey outlined a magnetic anomaly about 9 km long by 3 km wide which is partly coincident with a radiometric anomaly that exceeds 13 km by 5 km.
- The soil geochemical survey outlined a niobium anomaly over an area measuring approximately 6 m long by 1.5 km wide. Of the 60 rock samples collected, 18 exceeded 0.1 percent Nb(2)O(5). One rock sample exceeded the maximum detection limit for niobium oxide, which is 7.15 percent. The samples averaged 0.49 percent Nb(2)O(5). (10.78 lb/ton)
- Twenty-eight rock samples collected from the area exceeded 5 percent P(2)O(5) (phosphate occurring as apatite) to a maximum of 28.24 percent P(2)O(5). The 60 rock samples averaged 5.42 percent P(2)O(5).
The initial planned 7,500 m of BTW drilling began on June 2, 2008. Initial locations for drilling include areas within highly anomalous concentrations of niobium and tantalum in both soil and rock samples where they overlap with coincident anomalous magnetic and radiometric geophysical responses. It is anticipated that between 30 and 40 drill holes will be completed during this phase of the exploration.
Building on the work from the 2007 exploration program, continued soil and rock sampling, trenching and ground-based geophysics is planned to begin in mid-June, 2008. This will include infill of the widely spaced reconnaissance sampling program of 2007 to provide additional drilling targets. As well, reconnaissance soil and rock geochemistry is planned on claims to the south of the main Eldor block which the Company recently acquired.
Maps of the property may be viewed at http://www.commerceresources.com.
Drilling operations will be performed by Superior Diamond Drilling Inc., under the supervision of consulting geologists Alex Knox, P.Geol. and Michael Guo, P.Geol. of Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd., both of whom are qualified persons.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
COMMERCE RESOURCES CORP.
"David Hodge"
-------------
David Hodge
President and Director
The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the
information contained herein
Statements in this document which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding the completion of 30-40 new drill holes in the initial phase of exploration, soil and rock sampling, trenching and ground-based geophysics beginning in mid-June, 2008 as well as beginning reconnaissance soil and rock geochemistry on newly acquired claims to the south of the main Eldor block. It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental, environmental and technological factors that may affect the Company's operations, markets, products and prices. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially may include misinterpretation of data; that we may not be able to get equipment or labour as we need it; that we may not be able to raise sufficient funds to complete our intended exploration and development; that our applications to drill may be denied; that weather, logistical problems or hazards may prevent us from exploration; that equipment may not work as well as expected; that analysis of data may not be possible accurately and at depth; that results which we or others have found in any particular location are not necessarily indicative of larger areas of our property; that we may not complete environmental programs in a timely manner or at all; market prices for tantalum & niobium may not justify commercial production costs; and that despite encouraging data there may be no commercially exploitable mineralization on our properties. Readers should refer to the risk disclosures outlined in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis of its audited financial statements filed with the British Columbia Securities Commission.
For further information
on Commerce Resources Corp. and the Blue River Tantalum-Niobium Property, visit the corporate website at www.commerceresources.com, or contact Investor Relations at (604) 484-2700 or toll free at (866) 484-2700
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Commerce Resources Corp.
Tantalum and Niobium Expert Becomes Chairman of Commerce Resources Corp.
Tuesday April 22, 2:51 pm ET
http://biz.yahoo.com/cnw/080422/hoppe_commerce_chair.html?.v=1
VANCOUVER, April 22 /CNW/ - Commerce Resources Corp. (TSXv: CCE) (FSE: D7H) ("the Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Axel Hoppe, of Salzgitter, Germany, as Chairman of the Board of Directors.
For 29 years, Dr. Hoppe has held numerous positions with H.C. Starck GmbH ("HCST"): an international group of companies with more than 3,400 employees at 13 production sites in Europe, North America and the Far East. Dr. Hoppe's last position at HCST was Head of Technical Services and Engineering Group and in addition he was a Member of the Executive Board. He was responsible for all sites worldwide.
Under Dr. Hoppe's previous leadership as Head of the Electronics and Optics Business Group, HCST has grown into the leading producer of tantalum and niobium products, and remains one of the world's largest consumers of tantalum raw materials.
During his time in senior management, Dr. Hoppe also worked in the fields of other refractory metals, such as tungsten, molybdenum, and rhenium.
From 1997 until 2007, Dr. Hoppe served as member of the Executive Committee of the Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center ("TIC"): an international association which promotes tantalum and niobium metals, and includes representatives from all segments of the tantalum and niobium industries. In addition, Dr. Hoppe was the President of the TIC in 2002 and 2007.
Dr. Hoppe: "When I first heard about Commerce Resources, I was impressed with the potential of their tantalum and niobium deposits and the positive impact it might have in stabilizing the supply chain for the tantalum industry. Now I was offered the chance to contribute to the company in developing the deposits into a producing mine. I'm glad to become a member of the management team in order to help Commerce Resources to become a world class producer of concentrate."
Company president David Hodge stated, "We are extremely happy to have Dr. Hoppe join our team. His many years of experience in the industry will move us into the next phase of our development. With his chairmanship, our Upper Fir deposit, and our solid financial foundation, Commerce is in a strong position to move forward into the next phase of our development."
About Commerce Resources Corp.
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Commerce Resources Corp.'s stated goal is to become the world's next source of tantalum and niobium. Commerce is an active tantalum and niobium explorer in North America, with a focus on developing the Upper Fir Deposit in British Columbia and the Eldor Deposit in Quebec.
Exploration to date at the Upper Fir deposit has outlined an indicated resource of 8.6Mt with 208.2 g/t Ta(2)O(5) and 1,372.6 g/t Nb(2)O(5) and an inferred resource of 5.5Mt with 208.2 g/t Ta(2)O(5) and 1,349.9 g/t Nb(2)O(5) (Gorham, 2007). Exploration to date at the Fir Deposit has outlined an indicated resource of 5.65Mt with 203.1g/t Ta(2)O(5) and 1,047g/t Nb(2)O(5) (Verzosa, 2003). The Fir is also host to an inferred resource of 6.7Mt with 203.1 g/t Ta(2)O(5), and 1,047 g/t Nb(2)O(5) (Verzosa, 2003). The Verity Deposit, 10 km north of the Fir deposit, is estimated to host an inferred resource of 3.06Mt with 196g/t Ta(2)O(5), 646g/t Nb(2)O(5) and 3.20% P(2)O(5) (McCrea, 2001). Detailed information on the deposits may be viewed in the Company's public disclosure on SEDAR.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
COMMERCE RESOURCES CORP.
"David Hodge"
-------------
David Hodge
President and Director
The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the
information contained herein
Statements in this document which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding the potential of the Company's tantalum and niobium deposits and their impact on the supply chain for the tantalum industry, the Company becoming a world class producer of tantalum concentrate, the Company being in a strong position to move forward into the next phase of development, plans to become the world's next source of tantalum and niobium as well as developing the Upper Fir and Eldor deposits. These statements are made based on our findings on the property to date.
It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental, environmental and technological factors that may affect the Company's operations, markets, products and prices. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially may include: misinterpretation of data; that we may not be able to get equipment or labour as we need it; that we may not be able to raise sufficient funds to complete our intended exploration and development; that our applications to drill may be denied; that weather, logistical problems or hazards may prevent us from exploration; that equipment may not work as well as expected; that analysis of data may not be possible accurately and at depth; that results which we or others have found in any particular location are not necessarily indicative of larger areas of our property; that we may not complete environmental programs in a timely manner or at all; market prices for tantalum & niobium may not justify commercial production costs; and that despite encouraging data there may be no commercially exploitable mineralization on our properties. Readers should refer to the risk disclosures outlined in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis of its audited financial statements filed with the British Columbia Securities Commission.
For further information
on Commerce Resources Corp. and the Blue River Tantalum-Niobium Property, visit the corporate website at www.commerceresources.com, or contact Investor Relations at (604) 484-2700 or toll free at (866) 484-2700
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Commerce Resources Corp.
Tantalum Revealed: What We Should Know
By Sam Kiri, CFA ACMA
Mar 20 2008 4:46PM
http://www.kitco.com/ind/Kiri/mar202008.html
{MY COMMENT - This was presented before, but modified by Kiri for his Kitco article.]
While precious metal and base metal stocks continue to be the focus of investors, speciality metals such as tantalum offer equally attractive investment opportunities. Though they may be less glamorous, savvy mining investors have always remained loyal to companies with exposure to them. Despite the important role they play in the high-tech world and in our everyday life, tantalum seems to have remained under the radar of many investors.
Tantalum is a rare metal used in the production of electronics capacitors which find their way into cell phones, DVD players, personal computers, digital cameras, gaming platforms, LCD monitors and wireless devices. In other words, tantalum keeps us entertained, productive and connected. Tantalum is also used to make super alloys for jet engines, turbines, space vehicles, nuclear reactors, power plants and cutting tools. Its high strength, high ductility, high reliability, high corrosion resistance and high thermal conductivity support the diversity of applications.
Consequently, the demand for tantalum raw material has been on the rise but the inventories in the supply chain currently are low. The US Geological Survey (USGS) and the Tantalum-Niobium International Study Centre (TIC) predict the annual demand growth for tantalum to be 7% over the next 20 years. In other words from an estimated 6 million lb. world consumption in 2007, tantalum is expected to record a four-fold consumption increase in 20 years! To meet the future demand, the market will require additional production from new projects as well as expansions from existing operations.
The Tantalum Market
Tantalum supply comes from primary sources such as mining operations, as well as secondary sources such as recycled material, processor inventories, tin slags from old dumps containing low percentage material and the United States’ Defence Logistics Agency (USDLA) stockpile.
Much of the tantalum from primary sources reportedly comes from Australia with Africa, Brazil, Asia and Canada accounting for the remainder. Primary and secondary sources account for 70% and 30% of the tantalum supply respectively. A large majority of the primary raw materials derives from one source; Talison Minerals’ Wodgina mine in Western Australia. Several other smaller mines are found in Central Africa, Brazil, China and Canada.
Source: Talison Minerals, 2007
There are two notable developments in the supply chain for tantalum raw materials. The USDLA stockpile, whose contribution to the supply side of the market over the past five years should not be understated, has heavily depleted its stockpiled inventory. The removal of this stockpile from the supply equation leaves a large gap in the tantalum raw materials market. Consequently, this gap has been filled by raw materials processors and manufacturers drawing down their inventories. These two developments should lead to strengthened tantalum prices as new material is required for future demands.
Tantalum Price
Unlike other metals, tantalum does not trade as a commodity in recognised metal markets. Consequently, tantalum trades in negotiated markets. This leaves considerable power with suppliers particularly during an up market.
While volatile politics have constrained the development of tantalum mines in Central Africa, obscure regulatory environments have restricted new mines in other African and Middle Eastern countries. The development of new tantalum projects are also facing difficulties due to strict regulations implemented by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) over the transport of the raw materials. Some potential new projects may be stalled before even graduating to a mine!
Opportunity Developing
Against this backdrop, the investment case of companies with exposure to tantalum continues to increase. None of the mining giants such as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have a foot in the tantalum market. With Talison Minerals and their Australian mines being the dominant supplier to the world, there is certainly room for new players. The tantalum industry is experiencing a transitional period on a number of fronts and there exists only a handful of emerging companies poised to take advantage.
Rising demand for tantalum will provide existing companies with defined resources a distinct advantage. Interestingly, there are very few pure tantalum players. Troubles with the once-dominant Australian listed Sons of Gwalia have created an opportunity for emerging tantalum companies like these. The next two years will be exciting times as the emerging fresh faces vie for a place amongst the established suppliers.
Sources & Acknowledgements:
US Geological Survey (USGS), Tantalum-Niobium International Study Centre (TIC), US Defence National Stockpile Centre (DNSC), Comprehensive Strategic Analysis of the Tantalum Industry by Joel Jeangrand
Sam Kiri
Tantalum Revealed: What We Should Know
By Sam Kiri
20 Mar 2008 at 12:30 PM GMT-04:00
http://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp?relid=41343
While precious metal and base metal stocks continue to be the focus of investors, speciality metals such as tantalum offer equally attractive investment opportunities. Though they may be less glamorous, savvy mining investors have always remained loyal to companies with exposure to them. Despite the important role they play in the high-tech world and in our everyday life, tantalum seems to have remained under the radar of many investors.
Tantalum is a rare metal used in the production of electronics capacitors which find their way into cell phones, DVD players, personal computers, digital cameras, gaming platforms, LCD monitors and wireless devices. In other words, tantalum keeps us entertained, productive and connected. Tantalum is also used to make super alloys for jet engines, turbines, space vehicles, nuclear reactors, power plants and cutting tools. Its high strength, high ductility, high reliability, high corrosion resistance and high thermal conductivity support the diversity of applications.
Consequently, the demand for tantalum raw material has been on the rise but the inventories in the supply chain currently are low. The US Geological Survey (USGS) and the Tantalum-Niobium International Study Centre (TIC) predict the annual demand growth for tantalum to be 7% over the next 20 years. In other words from an estimated 6 million lb. world consumption in 2007, tantalum is expected to record a four-fold consumption increase in 20 years! To meet the future demand, the market will require additional production from new projects as well as expansions from existing operations.
The Tantalum Market
Tantalum supply comes from primary sources such as mining operations, as well as secondary sources such as recycled material, processor inventories, tin slags from old dumps containing low percentage material and the United States’ Defence Logistics Agency (USDLA) stockpile.
Much of the tantalum from primary sources reportedly comes from Australia with Africa, Brazil, Asia and Canada accounting for the remainder. Primary and secondary sources account for 70% and 30% of the tantalum supply respectively. A large majority of the primary raw materials derives from one source; Talison Minerals’ Wodgina mine in Western Australia. Several other smaller mines are found in Central Africa, Brazil, China and Canada.
There are two notable developments in the supply chain for tantalum raw materials. The USDLA stockpile, whose contribution to the supply side of the market over the past five years should not be understated, has heavily depleted its stockpiled inventory. The removal of this stockpile from the supply equation leaves a large gap in the tantalum raw materials market. Consequently, this gap has been filled by raw materials processors and manufacturers drawing down their inventories. These two developments should lead to strengthened tantalum prices as new material is required for future demands.
Tantalum Price
Unlike other metals, tantalum does not trade as a commodity in recognised metal markets. Consequently, tantalum trades in negotiated markets. This leaves considerable power with suppliers particularly during an up market.
While volatile politics have constrained the development of tantalum mines in Central Africa, obscure regulatory environments have restricted new mines in other African and Middle Eastern countries. The development of new tantalum projects are also facing difficulties due to strict regulations implemented by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) over the transport of the raw materials. Some potential new projects may be stalled before even graduating to a mine!
Opportunity Developing
Against this backdrop, the investment case of companies with exposure to tantalum continues to increase. None of the mining giants such as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have a foot in the tantalum market. With Talison Minerals and their Australian mines being the dominant supplier to the world, there is certainly room for new players. The tantalum industry is experiencing a transitional period on a number of fronts and there exists only a handful of emerging companies poised to take advantage.
Three newcomers to the industry with the potential to become leaders are Toronto listed Commerce Resources Corp. (CCE), London listed Tertiary Minerals PLC (TYM) and Australian listed Gippsland Limited (GIP). All three public companies have exploration and development stage projects and have been involved in this niche market for several years.
Commerce Resources has its assets in British Columbia, Canada and is the most active tantalum explorer. As the company is very well financed, a significant exploration and development program is currently underway at the Upper Fir deposit of its Blue River Tantalum/Niobium Project. The company has approximately 29 million tonnes of indicated and 24 million tonnes inferred resources (NI 43-101 compliant). Their flagship Upper Fir project has approximately 23 million tonnes of indicated and 13 million tonnes inferred resources. The company’s competitive advantage lies in the fact that its projects are located in Canada, an area with low political and currency risk as compared to other world supplies.
Tertiary Minerals has its Ghurayyah tantalum (-niobium and rare-earths) project in Saudi Arabia in conjunction with its Saudi joint venture partners. Following the resolution of ownership issues and raising financing, the company intends to set up a processing facility at the deposit.
Gippsland Limited has two assets in Egypt namely, the 40 million tonne Abu Dabbab and the 98 million tonne Nuweibi tantalum-tin projects located in the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt. Having completed an Environmental Impact Assessment report, the company is presently negotiating project financing to advance the Abu Dabbab project.
Rising demand for tantalum will provide existing companies with defined resources a distinct advantage. Interestingly, there are very few pure tantalum players. Troubles with the once-dominant Australian listed Sons of Gwalia have created an opportunity for emerging tantalum companies like these. The next two years will be exciting times as the emerging fresh faces vie for a place amongst the established suppliers.
Sources & Acknowledgements:
US Geological Survey (USGS), Tantalum-Niobium International Study Centre (TIC), US Defence National Stockpile Centre (DNSC), Comprehensive Strategic Analysis of the Tantalum Industry by Joel Jeangrand
Editor’s Note:
Sam Kiri is a CFA Charter Holder and a qualified Management Accountant (ACMA) with over 10 years of capital markets and asset management experience in North America, England and the Pacific Rim, with primary focus on Resources and Oil & Gas sectors. Sam is a director of Proactive Investors North America Inc., a financial media forum focused on small to mid cap companies. He is also involved in listing North American companies on the London Alternative Investments Market (AIM). Sam can be reached at sam@proactiveinvestors.com. For more information visit www.proactiveinvestors.com
Interview of David Hodge of Commerce Resources on Mining Industry TV
03 11 08
http://www.miningindustrytv.com/videos/view/343/
BNN's PowerBreakfast recently featured tantalum and Commerce Resources in an interview with David Hodge
02 27 08
http://broadband.bnn.ca/bnn/?noad=1&vid=37317
Commerce Resources Corp. Expands Tantalum and Niobium Mineralization at the Upper Fir Deposit
Wed Feb 27, 2008
http://tinyurl.com/yr7lfx
February 27, 2008 -- Commerce Resources Corp. (TSXv: CCE) (FSE: D7H) ("the Company") is pleased to announce that results of its 2007 diamond drilling program have expanded the known tantalum and niobium mineralization at the Upper Fir deposit. The deposit is located in south-central British Columbia and is wholly-owned by the Company.
During 2007, 18 HQ sized drill holes totaling 4,710 meters were completed at the Upper Fir deposit. All 18 holes intersected mineralized carbonatite, thereby extending the known mineralization by an additional 250 meters to the south and 200 meters to the east of the area identified in 2006. When combined with the apparently contiguous Bone Creek occurrence (drilled in Oct. 2005), the Upper Fir Carbonatite Complex now extends approximately 800 meters east-west, by 1,400 meters north-south. The Upper Fir Carbonatite remains open to both the east and to the south.
Highlights from the 2007 program include:
The weighted average of Ta2O5 (tantalum oxide) without application of a cutoff grade is 176g/t; with an average apparent thickness of 55.2 meters. The weighted average grade of Nb2O5 (niobium oxide) is 1,549g/t and of P2O5 (phosphate) is 3.11% over the same interval.
Using a 150g/t cutoff, the overall weighted average grade for Ta2O5 is 212g/t with an average true thickness of 29.7 meters. Weighted average grades of Nb2O5 and P2O5 (phosphate) for the respective intervals are 1,468g/t and 3.55% P2O5.
Using a 1,500g/t cutoff for Nb2O5, the overall weighted average grade for Nb2O5 is 2,587g/t with an average true thickness of 16.7 meters. Weighted average grades of Ta2O5 and P2O5 for these respective intervals are 195g/t and 3.00%.
Significant variability in grade was demonstrated by the 2007 drilling, indicating the potential for higher grade zones within the overall Upper Fir Carbonatite. For example, maximum values of 693g/t Ta2O5 and 9,142g/t Nb2O5 were recorded over one meter, and several significant zones of enrichment were noted, such as within Hole 28, the southernmost hole drilled to date, which contained:
11.00 meters between 128 and 139 meters, averaging 329g/t Ta2O5, 4,990g/t Nb2O5, and 2.83% P2O5;
17.04 meters between 92.96 and 110 meters, averaging 4,943g/t Nb2O5, 153 g/t Ta2O5, and 2.21% P2O5.
Additional examples of higher grade mineralization which are correlative between drill holes, follows:
17 meters from 48 to 65 meters, averaging 232g/t Ta2O5, 1,789g/t Nb2O5, and 3.25% P2O5 (Hole #F07-18);
9 meters from 73 to 82 meters, averaging 284g/t Ta2O5, 2,309g/t Nb2O5, and 3.20% P2O5 (Hole #F07-19);
12 meters from 62 to 74 meters, averaging 245g/t Ta2O5, 1,581g/t Nb2O5, and 2.91% P2O5 (Hole #F07-20).
A summary of the 2007 results follows:
Hole Carbonatite Total Ta2O5 Nb2O5 P2O5
From (m) To (m) Thick (m) Carbonatite (m) (g/t) (g/t) (%)
F07-18* 37.00 221.46 184.46 60.13 189 1,333 3.36
F07-19* 34.84 235.00 200.16 80.06 175 1,481 3.11
F07-20* 48.00 155.00 107.00 42.33 224 1,852 2.77
F07-21* 43.00 228.03 185.03 33.26 185 1,403 3.28
F07-22 12.50 247.38 234.88 54.18 185 1,837 2.72
F07-23* 46.00 251.79 205.79 24.46 196 1,133 3.26
F07-24* 47.00 114.14 67.14 24.84 192 2,327 2.93
F07-25* 90.00 145.37 55.37 29.32 193 1,256 3.1
F07-26 44.00 121.42 77.42 21.45 174 1,501 2.43
F07-27 109.30 225.78 116.48 35.80 135 1,735 2.36
F07-28 92.96 150.40 57.44 57.44 212 3,288 2.51
F07-29 13.71 137.85 124.14 7.00 87 1,370 0.89
F07-30 75.13 149.46 74.33 74.33 204 911 3.43
F07-31 81.00 173.18 92.18 90.64 175 675 3.26
F07-32 67.00 169.60 102.60 87.10 160 1,111 3.40
F07-33 32.00 219.16 187.16 60.50 200 1,350 3.70
F07-34 125.00 304.88 179.88 66.75 161 1,085 3.46
F07-35 166.78 198.70 31.92 18.34 207 1,882 3.45
* results reported in Company news release of October 1, 2007
President of Commerce Resources David Hodge comments, "We are very excited by these results because they not only show an increase in the size of the Upper Fir Carbonatite, but also the discovery of zones of enriched grades of tantalum and niobium. These results point to an extension of the potential life span of this project. Our primary direction is the focus on the development of this near surface deposit, although we will continue our exploration of the other Blue River carbonatites under claim."
John Gorham, P. Geol., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this news release.
About Commerce Resources Corp.
Commerce Resources Corp.'s stated goal is to become the world's next source of tantalum and niobium. Commerce is an active tantalum and niobium explorer in North America, with a focus on developing the Upper Fir Deposit in British Columbia and the Eldor Deposit in Quebec.
Exploration to date at the Upper Fir deposit has outlined an indicated resource of 8.6Mt with 208.2 g/t Ta2O5 and 1,372.6 g/t Nb2O5 and an inferred resource of 5.5Mt with 208.2 g/t Ta2O5 and 1,349.9 g/t Nb2O5 (Gorham, 2007). Exploration to date at the Fir Deposit has outlined an indicated resource of 5.65Mt with 203.1g/t Ta2O5 and 1,047g/t Nb2O5 (Verzosa, 2003). The Fir is also host to an inferred resource of 6.7Mt with 203.1 g/t Ta2O5, and 1,047 g/t Nb2O5 (Verzosa, 2003). The Verity Deposit, 10 km north of the Fir deposit, is estimated to host an inferred resource of 3.06Mt with 196g/t Ta2O5, 646g/t Nb2O5 and 3.20% P2O5 (McCrea, 2001). Detailed information on the deposits may be viewed in the Company's public disclosure on SEDAR.
For further details on Commerce Resources Corp. and the Blue River Tantalum-Niobium Property, visit the corporate website at www.commerceresources.com, or contact Investor Relations at (604) 484 2700 or toll free at (866) 484 2700.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
COMMERCE RESOURCES CORP.
David Hodge
President and Director
Tel: 604 484 2700
Statements in this document which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future.
Forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding the increased opportunity for institutional investment; our commitment to continued growth as an exploration and development-stage company; and our .goal to become the world's next source of tantalum and niobium It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental, environmental and technological factors that may affect the Company's operations, markets, products and prices. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially may include misinterpretation of data; that we may not be able to get equipment or labour as we need it; that we may not be able to raise sufficient funds to complete our intended exploration and development; that our applications to drill may be denied; that weather, logistical problems or hazards may prevent us from exploration or development; that equipment may not work as well as expected; that analysis of data may not be possible accurately and at depth; that results which we or others have found in any particular location are not necessarily indicative of larger areas of our property; that we may not complete environmental programs in a timely manner or at all; market prices may not justify commercial production costs; and that despite encouraging data there may be no commercially exploitable mineralization on our properties. Readers should refer to the risk disclosures outlined in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis filed with the British Columbia Securities Commission.
Commerce Resources Corp. Announces Graduation to TSX Venture Tier 1
Thursday February 14, 6:49 pm ET
http://biz.yahoo.com/cnw/080214/commerce_res_tsx_t1.html?.v=1
VANCOUVER, Feb. 14 /CNW/ - Commerce Resources Corp. (TSXv: CCE) (FSE: D7H) ("the Company") is pleased to announce that it has received Tier 1 status on the TSX Venture Exchange. This reclassification recognizes the financial strength, management expertise, and significant geological merit of the Blue River Project.
Tier 1 is the TSX Venture Exchange's premier tier and is reserved for the Exchange's most advanced issuers with the most significant financial resources. Tier 1 Issuers have eased filing requirements and improved service standards. In addition, it also increases the opportunity for additional institutional participation in the Company.
"This advancement to Tier 1 will allow Commerce to take advantage of a more favorable regulatory environment," said Shaun Ledding, Director of Commerce Resources Corp. "Our graduation demonstrates our commitment to continued growth as an exploration and development-stage company."
About Commerce Resources Corp.
------------------------------
Commerce Resources Corp.'s stated goal is to become the world's next source of tantalum and niobium. Commerce is an active tantalum and niobium explorer in North America, with a focus on developing the Upper Fir Deposit in British Columbia and the Eldor Deposit in Quebec.
Detailed information on both deposits may be viewed in the Company's public disclosure on SEDAR.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
COMMERCE RESOURCES CORP.
"David Hodge"
-------------
David Hodge
President and Director
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Statements in this document which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future.
Forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding the increased opportunity for institutional investment; our commitment to continued growth as an exploration and development-stage company; and our goal to become the world's next source of tantalum and niobium. It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental, environmental and technological factors that may affect the Company's operations, markets, products and prices. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially may include misinterpretation of data; that we may not be able to get equipment or labour as we need it; that we may not be able to raise sufficient funds to complete our intended exploration and development; that our applications to drill may be denied; that weather, logistical problems or hazards may prevent us from exploration or development; that equipment may not work as well as expected; that analysis of data may not be possible accurately and at depth; that results which we or others have found in any particular location are not necessarily indicative of larger areas of our property; that we may not complete environmental programs in a timely manner or at all; market prices may not justify commercial production costs; and that despite encouraging data there may be no commercially exploitable mineralization on our properties. Readers should refer to the risk disclosures outlined in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis filed with the British Columbia Securities Commission.
For further information
on Commerce Resources Corp. and the Blue River Tantalum-Niobium Property, visit the corporate website at www.commerceresources.com, or contact Investor Relations at (604) 484-2700 or toll free at (866) 484-2700
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Commerce Resources Corp.
Element Tantalum – Ta on the Periodic Table of Elements
http://environmentalchemistry.com/yogi/periodic/Ta.html
Good description of tantalum. The link above will be included in the iBox under the section titled: INFORMATION LINKS FOR TANTALUM AND NIOBIUM.
sumisu
The Alchemist's Nightmare
By Jack Lifton
25 Oct 2007 at 05:55 PM GMT-04:00
DETROIT (ResourceInvestor.com) -- Gold may indeed be considered to be a store of value, as the chart below of the price of gold in U.S. dollars over the last 7 years shows, when you compare gold’s price rise with the dollar’s fall against currencies such as the Canadian dollar.
The Canadian dollar, however, has its underlying value supported by the fact that Canada is a producer and net exporter of energy producing natural resources, such as oil, natural renewable resources, such as timber, primary natural resources such as the ores and refined metals and fabricated forms of exchange traded metals, such as iron, zinc, lead, nickel, cobalt and palladium as well as the ores, refined metals, and fabricated forms of non-exchange traded metals such as tungsten, cobalt, tantalum and uranium.
None of these materials are today exported as surplus by the U.S. and their production in the U.S. is actually diminishing as a percentage of known reserves.
This is due to the influence of organized environmentalism on the political arms of the U.S. government and the inability of and the disinterest within the American financial community in a rational debate on the future of the American economy as that economy trends towards total dependence on foreign natural resources.
The U.S. today does produce 2,500 tonnes of gold per year, which is about 10% of the world’s total new production annually. Below is a chart of the gold price from 2000 to today, showing a 160% gain.
[continued in following link]
http://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp?relid=37150&phrase=tantalum
Commerce Resources Corp. Announces Significant Niobium-Tantalum-Uranium-Gold Mineralization at Eldor Carbonatite
Wednesday December 19, 12:20 pm ET
http://biz.yahoo.com/cnw/071219/commerce_eldor_carbon.html?.v=1
VANCOUVER, Dec. 19 /CNW/ - Commerce Resources Corp. (TSXv: CCE) (FSE: D7H) ("the Company") is pleased to announce the results from its 2007 exploration program at its Eldor Carbonatite Project, located in the Labrador Trough area of Quebec, Canada. The results substantiate anomalous concentrations of niobium (Nb(2)O(5)) and tantalum (Ta(2)O(5)) identified historically as well as anomalous concentrations of gold, uranium and apatite over an area exceeding 6 km long by 1.5 km wide.
The 2007 exploration program, designed to confirm the historic mineralization, consisted of an 862 line-km magnetic/radiometric airborne geophysical survey, and rock and soil sampling. In total, 895 soil samples and 60 rock (grab) samples were collected. The soil sampling (50 meter sample intervals) was considered reconnaissance in nature and consisted of lines spaced approximately 1 km apart across the property.
Highlights are as follow:
- the airborne geophysical survey outlined a magnetic anomaly about 9 km long by 3 km wide which is partly coincident with a radiometric anomaly that exceeds 13 km length by 5 km width.
- the soil geochemical survey outlined a niobium anomaly that exceed 300 ppm Nb(2)O(5) (maximum of 1.18% Nb(2)O(5)), over an are measuring approximately 6 km long by 1.5 km wide, which is coincident with one of the most intense parts of the radiometric geophysical anomaly. Of the 60 rock samples collected, 18 exceeded 0.1% Nb(2)O(5). One rock sample exceeded the maximum detection limit for niobium oxide, which is 7.15%. The samples averaged 0.49% Nb(2)O5.
- twenty-three (23) of the soil samples exceeded 250 g/t Ta(2)O(5), with a peak value of 988 g/t Ta(2)O(5). Of the 60 rock samples collected, 26 exceeded 100 g/t Ta(2)O(5) to a maximum of 1,550 g/t Ta(2)O(5).
- four (4) of the soil samples exceeded 100 ppb gold (Au), with a peak value of 456 ppb Au. Of the 60 rock samples collected from the area, 19 exceeded 100 ppb Au to a maximum of 803 ppb Au (0.803 g/t Au). The 60 rock samples averaged 104 ppb Au. The five (5) greates samples contained 803, 710, 539, 538, and 533 ppb Au, respectively.
- twenty-five (25) rock samples collected from the area exceeded 100 ppm uranium (U(3)O(8)) to a maximum of 1,668 ppm U (0.16% U(3)O(8)). The 60 rock samples averaged 231 ppm U(3)O(8) (0.51 lbs/tonne).
- twenty-eight (28) rock samples collected from the area exceeded 5% P(2)O(5) (phosphate occurring as apatite) to a maximum of 28.24% P(2)O(5). The 60 rock samples averaged 5.42 % P(2)O(5).
In addition, the soil geochemical survey outlined a nickel anomaly that exceeds 100 ppm nickel to a maximum of 595 ppm nickel. The anomaly measures 7 km long by up to 2 km wide, and is partly coincident, and to the east of the magnetic geophysical anomaly. This represents a separate exploration target from the carbonatite.
The Company is encouraged by the results of the 2007 exploration. Based on the local geology and the sampling results obtained in the field, the Company believes that the Eldor Carbonatite Project has potential for the discovery of a variety of high-value commodities within a very large carbonatite complex.
The diverse array of mineralization evidenced in the Eldor Carbonatite, are not uncommon to these types of systems. Carbonatites are very rare and unique rock types, with only approximately 500 complexes known worldwide. Often containing a variety of exotic minerals, carbonatites have been known to produce economic concentrations of rare earth elements, niobium, copper, iron, apatite, vermiculite and fluorite; with significant byproducts which may include barite, zircon, tantalum, gold, silver, uranium, nickel and platinum group elements.
The Eldor Carbonatite appears larger than the present and past producing Canadian carbonatite complexes Oka, and St. Honore, both located in Quebec. It is also comparable in size to the Araxa Carbonatite Complex in Brazil, which is about 4 1/2 km in diameter.
Historic exploration of the Eldor Carbonatite outlined an elliptical shape body with dimensions of approximately 7.75 km by 2.5 km, and with localized, high concentrations of niobium and tantalum. Several of the historic grab and channel samples from the carbonatite ranged from (greater than)1% to 11.4% Nb(2)O(5), and from (greater than)0.01% to 0.21% Ta(2)O(5).
The primary mineral from which niobium is obtained is known as pyrochlore, found occurring in carbonatites globally. The world's largest deposit located at Araxa, Brazil, is operated by CBMM, and averages between 2.5% and 3.0% Nb(2)0(5). Two other currently operating pyrochlore mines are Anglo American's Brasil Mineracao (Brazil), grading 1.34% niobium oxide and Iamgold's Niobec (Quebec) at their St. Honore deposit, grading 0.67% niobium oxide and mined underground.
Michael Guo, P.Geol., of Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd., the qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, is responsible for the 2007 exploration of the Eldor Project. Jody Dahrouge, P.Geo., director and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this release.
Except as noted above, all samples were analyzed at Acme Analytical Laboratories in Vancouver, B.C., using ICP-MS (Group 4A and 4B methods).
About Commerce Resources Corp.
------------------------------
Commerce Resources Corp.'s stated goal is to become the world's next source of tantalum and niobium. Commerce is an active tantalum and niobium explorer in North America, with a focus on developing the Upper Fir Deposit in British Columbia and the Eldor Deposit in Quebec.
Detailed information on both deposits may be viewed in the Company's public disclosure on SEDAR.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
COMMERCE RESOURCES CORP.
"David Hodge"
-------------
David Hodge
President and Director
Statements in this document which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding the Eldor Property having the potential for the discovery of a variety of high-value commodities within a very large carbonatite complex and that the Eldor Carbonatite appears larger than the present and past producing Canadian carbonatite complexes Oka, and St. Honore, both located in Quebec. It is also comparable in size to the Araxa Carbonatite Complex in Brazil. Forward-looking statements also include our plans to become the world's next source of tantalum and niobium. It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental, environmental and technological factors that may affect the Company's operations, markets, products and prices. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially may include misinterpretation of data; that we may not be able to get equipment or labour as we need it; that we may not be able to raise sufficient funds to complete our intended exploration and development; that our applications to drill may be denied; that weather, logistical problems or hazards may prevent us from exploration; that equipment may not work as well as expected; that analysis of data may not be possible accurately and at depth; that results which we or others have found in any particular location are not necessarily indicative of larger areas of our property; that we may not complete environmental programs in a timely manner or at all; market prices may not justify commercial production costs; and that despite encouraging data there may be no commercially exploitable mineralization on our properties. Readers should refer to the risk disclosures outlined in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis of its audited financial statements filed with the British Columbia Securities Commission.
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
For further information
on Commerce Resources Corp. call (604) 484-2700
JPMorgan fund sees winners in minor metals
Thu Dec 13, 2007 7:36am
By Tamora Vidaillet
http://tinyurl.com/3bw8ym
PARIS (Reuters) - Investors would do well to bet on firms with exposure to minor metals such as chrome and molybdenum as they are relatively cheap and demand is robust, a senior fund manager said on Wednesday.
Ian Henderson, manager of the UK-registered JPMorgan Global Natural Resources Fund, which invests in companies, also singled out ferro manganese as potentially offering value alongside higher profile commodities such as iron ore, coal and uranium.
"For us, small commodities such as chrome, molybdenum and ferro manganese are interesting," he told a briefing. "Many such commodities have not witnessed such a large run-up in prices."
There may also be a "pretty strong market" for cobalt, tantalum and vanadium, whose prices were generally being underpinned by the industrialisation of emerging market economies such as China, he said.
While the prices of certain base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange could remain relatively weak next year, commodities in general were likely to benefit from a shift by investors away from property plays.
Against such a backdrop, fuelled in part by uncertainties stemming from the U.S. economy, the price of gold could poke above $1,000 a troy ounce while that of oil potentially breached the $100 mark, he said.
Partly in reaction to global credit fears, the 2.2 billion euro fund had trimmed its exposure to its "base metals and diversified" sector towards 30 percent from 35 percent in recent weeks and raised its cash holdings, he said.
The fund has handed investors 57.1 percent in returns, in euro terms, in the year ending October 31.
One other area which suggested great promise was the agricultural sector and soft commodities.
The fund currently held little over one percent of its portfolio in this sector, mostly parked in palm oil or other plantations related to biofuels, a proportion Henderson would like to increase to three percent.
But he stressed the need to be opportunistic given the difficult nature of identifying investment targets.
"If I could find suitable investments I would. You can't really find many companies, if any, that are investing in corn or the soft commodities because they are basically owned by farmers," he said.
Tantalum Looks Primed to Deliver
By Andrew K. Burger
09 Dec 2007 at 03:47 PM GMT-05:00
http://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp?relid=38587
LONDON (ResourceInvestor.com) -- Prospects for the rare earth mineral tantalum are considerably brighter than the origins of its name suggest. One of many progeny sired by Zeus, the Greek lord of the skies and king of the gods, Tantalus was condemned to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree for cannibalism and conducting human sacrifices. According to the myth, when he reached for a fruit, the branches would retreat up out of reach. When he bent over to take a drink of water, it would recede.
The outlook for tantalum, the rare earth metal, is decidedly more upbeat. It has the highest capacitance—the ability to store and release an electrical charge—per gram of any metal, hence it is an essential component in a multiplicity of modern electronic products, from flat screen TVs to cell phones and portable computers.
Australia’s Gippsland Ltd. [ASX:GIP; <a href="AIM:GIP" target="_blank"AIM:GIP</a] and Vancouver’s Commerce Resources Corp. [TSX.V:CCE] are among a group of junior mining companies looking to mine tantalum as part of multiple mineral resource projects.
The Market
The ongoing quest for smaller, more powerful electronic components is driving research and development in the use of tantalum across a range of industries.
No central exchange exists for trading tantalum. Prices for refined tantalum products, which include tantalum oxide powders, capacitor grade metal powder, vacuum-grade metal ingots and carbide powder, are typically negotiated privately between buyer and seller, making it difficult to determine representative market prices. Combined with cobalt, nickel and iron, it is also used to manufacture super alloys with properties such as high melting points and high corrosion resistance.
Demand for the metal has increased more than 20% per year on average since the mid-1990s, however, with approximately 80% of demand coming from the computer and electronics industries, according to Commerce Resources.
Tantalum, Carbonatites and Commerce Resources
Commerce Resources is developing two tantalum/niobium properties in British Columbia—Fir and Verity—together referred to as the Blue River Tantalum/Niobium Project. The Fir deposit hosts an indicated resource of 5.65 million tones (Mt) grading 203.1 grams/tonne (g/t) Ta205 and 1047 g/t Nb205 and an inferred resource of 6.7 Mt grading 203.1 g/t Ta205 and 1047 g/t Nb205. Verity is estimated to hold an inferred resource of 3.06 Mt grading 196 g/t Ta205, 646 g/t Nb205 and 3.20% P205.
Located 300 kilometers north of Kamloops in central British Columbia, Commerce’s tantalum prospects are hosted in large-scale carbonatite deposits, a rare form of ultramafic igneous intrusive or extrusive that forms at relatively low temperatures.
Carbonatites by definition contain more than 20% carbonate minerals, hence they are difficult to distinguish from marble. Examples of intrusive carbonatites have been found in Oka and St. Honore, Quebec. They are found in various parts of the US, including Arkansas, California and Colorado, as well as in Australia, Phalaborwa, South Africa. Australia is home to the Mount Weld carbonatite and Norway the Fen Complex. They have also been found in Chile and carbonatite dykes have also been reported in South America’s Guyana Shield. Africa’s Great Rift Valley is home to the only active carbonatite volcano, the Ol Doinyo Lengai, though other older, dormant ones, such as Homa Mountain, are found in the region.
Blue River’s Upper Fir & Howard Creek Deposits
In order to secure mineral and property rights to areas of potential mineralization and prospective infrastructure Commerce on Nov. 6 announced that it had doubled the size of its Blue River Property by staking 95 more claims covering some 104,700 acres to the south of the Bone Creek watershed, bringing the Blue River’s total area to more than 1,000 square kilometers.
Exploration completed earlier this year led to the discovery of “an extensive ultramafic body that outcrops about 12 km to the southeast of the Upper Fir Carbonatite” made up of massive to layered pyroxenites and hornblendites that dips steeply and can be traced over 6 kilometers, according to Commerce Resources’ management.
Indicated resources at the Upper Fir deposit to date total 8.6 million tonnes grading 208.2 g/t Ta2O5 and 1372 g/t Nb205. Inferred resources tally 5.5 million tonnes grading 208.2 g/t Ta205 and 1349.9 g/t Nb205.
The company’s efforts to further define the Howard Creek Carbonatite in the northeastern part of the Blue River Property are also shaping up. The deposit has been mapped and 43 grab samples taken with assays results that range up to 7% TiO2, 8.61% P205, 4843 grams/tonne V2O5, and 3055 grams/tonne ZrO2.
Gippsland’s Abu Dabbab Project
Working in southern Egypt, Australia’s Gippsland Ltd. is making significant headway with regard to developing its 40 million tonne Abu Dabbab projec. Tantalum Egypt JSC, in which Gippsland has an indirect 50% interest, on Nov. 23 announced a 10-year off-take agreement with Germany’s H.C. Starck, for the purchase of 600,000 of a total estimated 650,000 pounds of titanium pentoxide to be produced at Abu Dabbab each year.
H.C. Starck, recently acquired by Advent International and The Carlyle Group for approximately US$ 1.56 billion, specializes in manufacturing high capacitance tantalum powders that are essential to produce the latest generation of modern electronic devices and appliances. Management views the agreement as an affirmation of its long-term commitment to the tantalum processing industry, as well as being integral to expanding its ability to produce capacitors used in a wide array of electronic products, from cell phones, portable PCs and flat screen TVs and monitors.
“The contract is a solid cornerstone of our raw material strategy and enables H.C. Starck to continue to be a reliable partner at all times for our customers on the basis of a sound supply source,” Dr. Heinz Heumüller, chairman of H.C. Starck’s executive board commented in a media release.
Gippsland is turning to European capital markets, and German investors in particular, as it looks to secure project finance to bring Abu Dabbab into production. Gippsland on Dec. 6 announced that its shares had been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, code “GIP”.
Executive Chairman Jack Telford said he expected that German investor interest in the company and the Abu Dabbab tantalum project would continue to increase as the project moves towards production. "Germany is a powerhouse of world trade and a leader in many aspects of industry and technology, particularly in regard to tantalum," he said in a media release. “We firmly believe that Gippsland's future as a leading supplier to the global tantalum industry will be best served by aligning the Company with the financial and technical strength of Germany.”
A mine named Betty French
rare metals: She found them half a century ago
Paul Luke, The Province
Sunday, December 02, 2007
On a spring day in the 1950s, Betty French was checking a beaver trap near the village of Blue River when she spotted a volcanic rock that looked out of place.
The young prospector decided to try to trace the rock back to the outcrop from where it had likely rolled down to the banks of the North Thompson.
She climbed a steep patch, eyes swivelling over the ground, and spotted the rock's home. It was a carbonatite -- a rare volcanic body that can host a slew of valuable metals, including tantalum and niobium.
A Taseko Mines drill crew explores for niobium at the company's Aley property, 140 kilometres north of Mackenzie in northern B.C.
She walked more than 11 kilometres back to the log cabin at her parents' homestead and told her prospector father, Orrin, about her find. She then staked the property.
Half a century and several owners later, Vancouver-based Commerce Resources has been busting a gut to turn French's old claim -- now known as the Upper Fir -- into B.C.'s first niobium-tantalum mine.
Commerce has several big steps yet to take, including a feasibility study and eco-permitting, but hopes to have an open-pit mine producing the rare metals by 2010.
The company wants to call it the Betty French mine.
The potential mine's namesake, now 84 and living in a Merritt seniors' complex, reacts with terse wit to news of these plans.
"Nice of them," she says with a dry chuckle. "Go down in history."
Mining companies are scouring B.C. in a bid to find niobium, a rare and highly prized metal used to make specialized steels.
If the metal's strong prices hold up, B.C. may turn out to be one of the few places in the world to have commercial quantities of niobium.
Vancouver-based Taseko Mines announced last month that it has bought the Aley niobium project 140 kilometres north of Mackenzie from a private company for an undisclosed price.
Why would a company known for its Gibraltar copper-molybdenum mine take a flyer on a little-known industrial mineral?
Taseko CEO Russ Hallbauer says global demand is growing at five to eight per cent a year.
Hallbauer had looked at another niobium property in central Africa but decided buying one in his politically stable back yard made more sense.
World production is dominated by three producers -- two of which are Brazilian. The third is Iamgold's Niobec Mine in Quebec -- which, incidentally, Hallbauer's late father, Robert, built in the mid-1970s during his career at Teck Corp.
Taseko is putting together a drilling program for Aley for 2008.
"We're not going to go slow on this," Hallbauer says. "We think it's probably one of the best niobium properties in North America because of its apparent grade."
In September and October, Vancouver-based Rocher Deboule Minerals acquired two adjacent niobium properties six kilometres northeast of Manson Creek in north-central B.C.
Rocher Deboule president Larry Reaugh says the properties are a key part of his strategy of compiling a basket of commodities used in steel making -- niobium, manganese and fluorite.
Driving the interest in B.C. niobium is the mineral's lofty price -- and a shortage of late-stage projects around the world ready to fill growing demand.
Niobium currently fetches $26-$27 US a pound, up sharply from $8.75 at the start of 2007, Reaugh says.
"I expect niobium to stay quite strong until about 2015. By that time there should be enough new production that comes on to stabilize the price," Reaugh says. "After this production comes on, it could go down to about $15 US a pound."
Commerce Resources began drilling its Blue River tantalum-niobium property in 2001, bringing it further down the road to production than either of its hard-rock peers.
Bullish on Blue River's prospects, the company doubled the size of the property last month by staking another 95 claims.
It has, so far, identified 14 carbonatites on the entire property.
Commerce is focusing development efforts on the property's Upper Fir deposit. Next year, it has earmarked $5 million for field work at Blue River, which is blessed with a multi-pronged infrastructure of rail, power and road.
"This deposit is unique because it's comparable to a world-class niobium deposit, except that it has high-grade tantalum," Commerce spokesman Chris Grove says.
"We have always considered this project to be driven by the tantalum values, but with the rise of niobium's price, the value proposition has shifted."
Commerce's luck with the Upper Fir deposit has been better than Betty French's.
At first, she thought the niobium and tantalum on her claim would yield a mine, but those to whom she optioned her ground felt otherwise.
French, who was as handy with a rifle as she was with a beaver trap, never made much money from a lifetime of on-and-off prospecting.
The homesteading, trapping and mineral-hunting lifestyle was its own reward, she says.
"It was a hard life," she says. "You had to be tough to live in that country."
pluke@png.canwest.com
GREEK ROOTS
Niobium and tantalum have a bright future and the darkest of names.
Niobium, also known as columbium, is named for Niobe, an ancient Greek whose 14 children were killed by the gods to punish her arrogance.
Niobium is used to make high-strength steels needed for pipelines, cars and bridges. It's also used in jewelry, jet turbines, super-conductors and other high-tech applications.
Tantalus, a no-good spawn of Zeus, was said to be guilty of cannibalism and human sacrifice. He was condemned to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low-hanging branches. When Tantalus reached for a fruit, the branches retreated out of reach. When he bent to drink, the water likewise receded.
The spot price of tantalum concentrate has typically been in the $25- to $30-US-a-pound range. Recently, it has risen to as high as about $45 US a pound.
Analysts expect that growing demand for tantalum capacitors in cellphones, computers and in super alloys for jet engines will keep prices high in the short to medium term.
© The Vancouver Province 200
Commerce Resources on track to become largest North American tantalum supplier
By Anne Fletcher
Commerce Resources Corp. (TSXV: CCE; FSE: D7H), bolstered by its latest drill results, is on track to break ground on North America’s first stand alone tantalum/niobium mine within two years.
However, that’s not going to happen fast enough to help The Boeing Company meet a 2008 year-end delivery deadline for its new 787 Dreamliner commercial aircraft.
Chicago-based Boeing, in a move that points to a global shortage of tantalum, has recently pushed its Dreamliner schedule back by six months. The first 30 to 35 of the new passenger aircraft won’t be delivered until 2009, because of both software integration problems and a shortage of corrosion-resistant tantalum fasteners.
Commerce is still in the midst of a two-year-long provincial environmental assessment on its Upper Fir property, 300 kilometers north of Kamloops, in central British Columbia, which should be done by May or June 2008.
With that certificate in hand, the Vancouver-based company will then turn to the British Columbia Ministry of Mines for a permit to work its Blue River property in the interior of the province.
If all goes well, the permit will come through in time for a 2009 spring start.
Tantalum has the highest capacitance of any metal known, meaning the ability to hold and release electrical charge instantaneously. That makes it essential to most electronic devices as the material used for the capacitors found in most consumer goods such as mobile phones, computers and digital cameras as well as in automotive applications (anti-locking brakes, airbag-firing mechanisms) and medical technologies such as hearing aids and pacemakers.
The world’s largest tantalum producer, Sons of Gwalia Ltd., now known as Talison Minerals, has, historically, supplied up to 55% of the world market from its Greenbushes and Wodgina mines in Western Australia. In the West, that market percentage could run as high as 85%.
However, SOG disclosed in July, 2004 that it may have run out of its surface high grade (300 g/t with a 55% recovery rate), forcing capital spending on underground mining of lower grade deposits.
Shortly afterwards, the public company went into receivership, and was purchased and renamed by private American interests only this year.
Drill results since Commerce started staking its Blue River property in 2000 have established Upper Fir as a viable mine site with a 6-10-year life.
The prospective mine life may double or even triple with the results from 18 more holes drilled this past summer. Those results not only confirmed that the Upper Fir carbonatite is sub-horizontal, allowing for open-pit mining, but also enlarged the strike area to more than a kilometer north-south and more than half a kilometer east-west.
(Carbonatites are rare rock types containing equally rare minerals, including niobium and tantalum.)
As well, this past summer’s exploration turned up two new carbonatites - Lower Gum Creek and Lower Switch Creek - about two kilometers east of the Upper Fir deposit. Currently, the company is expecting the results back from the drilling of the Switch Creek site, spurred by one anomalous sample from the late 1980s containing 2,900 grams per tonne (g/t) tantalum. That compares to an average of 200 g/t in the Upper Fir deposit.
While work is now concentrated on the Upper Fir, Commerce had staked an area covering about 500 square kilometers, including the Fir and the Verity properties. Last month, the company doubled its property by staking another 95 claims covering more than 100,000 acres to the south of the Bone Creek watershed.
The new claims cover a large ultramafic area about 12 km southeast of the Upper Fir deposit, and give Commerce ownership of mineral tenures in areas where mine infrastructure may be built.
The Upper Fir property has an indicated resource of 8.6 million tonnes, grading 208.9 g/t Ta2O5 and 1,372 g/t Nb2O5, and an inferred resource of 5.5 million tonnes, grading 208.2 g/t Ta2O5 and 1,349g/t Nb2O5.
The Fir deposit has an indicated resource of 5.65 million tonnes grading 203.1 g/t Ta2O5 and 1,047 g/t Nb2O5, with an inferred resource of 6.74 million tonnes, grading 203.1 g/t Ta205 and 1,047 g/t Nb2O5.
The Verity property has an inferred resource of 3.06 million tonnes, grading 196 g/t Ta2O5 and 646 g/t Nb205.
The metal niobium has a wide range of properties - heat resistance, high thermal conductivity, elasticity, corrosion resistance, and the ability to form a stable and adhesive layer of oxide.
But it is most prized for its use in steel alloys used in pipelines, cars and structural steels. A 2% alloy of niobium can triple the tensile strength of steel from a PSI (pounds per square inch) of 40,000 to a PSI of 120,000, making it a reasonable alternative to vanadium.
Niobium’s price has also skyrocketed this year, from US$7 per pound in January to its current level of around US$28/lb. Encouraged by the healthy market, Commerce last spring staked 88 claims in Quebec’s Labrador Trough, surrounding eight claims held by Virginia Mines Inc. (TSX: VGQ).
Those eight claims cover most of the Eldor Carbonatite Complex, an elliptically-shaped area approximately 7.75 km by 2.5 km with known, localized high concentrations of niobium and tantalum. Grab and channel samples have ranged from 1.15% to 11.4% Nb205 and 0.046%-0.21% Ta205.
In May, for the price of 710,000 shares and 290,000 share purchase warrants, Commerce took over those claims from Virginia Mines and embarked on a summer of soil sampling and line cutting. The results of those assays should be available by November.
The Eldor Carbonatite compares in size to the Araxa Carbonatite Complex in Brazil, which measures about 4.5 km in diameter. It contains the world’s largest known deposit of pyrochlore, from which niobium is obtained, and is mined by the Brazilian company, Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineracao (CBMM).
CBMM, currently supplying up to 70% of the world market, says it has enough reserves to meet the global need for niobium for the next 500 years. But the private company may not be meeting the same disclosure standards as Canadian public companies. As well, buyers looking at the quality of CBMM’s product are known to be checking around for other suppliers.
While Commerce has had a standing invitation for partnership proposals, a recent private placement of $32.746 million, added to the $7.5 million already in hand, means the company can now manage on its own.
Another $45 million could be raised through the exercise of warrants bringing total financing to just over $80 million, enough to get Blue River into production.
With the Yellowhead Highway and the Canadian National Railway both crossing Commerce’s property, the company will have an easy choice of sending its tantalum concentrate, processed at the mine site, to either Vancouver or Edmonton.
The next step would be to turn the concentrate into tantalum oxide, but Commerce hasn’t yet considered whether it would build its own processing plant, partner with another company or hand off the product at that point.
This article is intended for information purposes only, and is not a recommendation to buy or sell the equities of any company mentioned herein. It is based on sources believed to be reliable, but no warranty as to accuracy is expressed or implied. The opinions expressed in the article are those of the author except where statements are attributed to individuals other than the author, in which case the opinions are those of the individual to whom they are attributed.
Boeing Scrubs New Jet's Takeoff
By Doug Bartholomew
November 7, 2007
http://www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1540,2213433,00.asp
Software integration and supply chain issues forces the aviation giant to delay delivery of the 787 Dreamliner until late 2008.
Boeing, which only a year ago was cruising smoothly through design, development and early manufacturing of its new 787 Dreamliner commercial aircraft, has hit some heavy turbulence. Just months before the first 787 was to roll out off the assembly line at Boeing's Everett, Wash., plant, the company said it would be delayed six months due to problems with software integration and supply chain issues.
The Chicago-based aerospace giant-struggling to gear up to fulfill more than 700 orders for the new passenger jet- disappointed investors and customers with the news that the first Dreamliner would be assembled near the end of 2008 instead of midyear. An estimated 30 to 35 Dreamliners originally promised for delivery next year were pushed back to 2009.
The company, which only last September had downplayed its manufacturing challenges, suddenly revealed that even the careful tracking of every aspect of the new aircraft from virtual design to delivery using Dassault Systemes' product lifecycle management (PLM) software wasn't enough to insulate it from real-world parts shortages, supplier missteps and software integration snafus.
In its latest statement to analysts and media, the company blamed the delay on "flight control software and systems integration activities" as well as "out-of-sequence manufacturing and parts shortages." As a result of materials shortages-specifically a lack of corrosion-resistant tantalum fasteners-Boeing and its suppliers were unable to complete some assemblies in the proper sequence, causing a production holdup.
In another sign of the Dreamliner program's slippage, Boeing saw fit to replace former 787 general manager and vice president Mike Bair with a vice president from the company's Missile Defense unit, Pat Shanahan.
Boeing competitor Airbus suffered a similar, if not more serious, trip-up with its manufacturing of a new airliner a year and a half ago. Repeated delays in the building of its double-decker A380 superjumbo ultimately cost the four-nation aerospace consortium two years and an estimated $6 billion. Cargo giant Federal Express cancelled an order for 10 Airbus A380s and replaced it with one valued at $3.5 billion for 15 Boeing 777 air freighters.
Although Boeing's manufacturing woes haven't escalated to that level, both analysts and customers have grown more suspect of the aerospace firm's commitment to an aggressive production schedule of 109 Dreamliners by year-end 2009.
"We're in a very intense period while we work on how to get through this situation," says company spokeswoman Laurie Gunter.
Kevin Fowler, 787 systems integration vice president, whom Baseline interviewed for a cover story earlier this year (see "Boeing's Dream; Airbus' Nightmare," February 2007), declined to be interviewed for this story.
"One problem Boeing has had is material shortages, particularly tantalum fasteners," says Mike Burkett, vice president for value chain strategies at AMR Research. "This is not really a PLM problem but more a supply chain risk management issue, because its supplier ran out of tantalum, so Boeing ran out of fasteners. With any new design, you should always look at sourcing, which should be well integrated into the design process."
Despite having supply chain software, manufacturers find it difficult to predict which parts or raw materials will be in limited supply when time comes for manufacturing. One way they can cushion the impact of a shortage is to line up a backup supplier in advance. In the case of tantalum, the material was involved in a shortage that affected the entire electronics industry in 2000-2001, with some device manufacturers placing orders for tantalum capacitors as much as 18 months in advance.
Boeing also is struggling with a software collaboration and integration challenge in the development and integration of the Dreamliner's avionics systems. Although manufacturers in automotive and aerospace "have made a lot of headway using PLM to do collaborative design on mechanical systems," Burkett says, "they've made less progress on collaborating and testing of electromechanical systems and software systems."
One project contributing to the six-month delay in the 787 production schedule is the flight control software development and integration, which is being done with Honeywell International.
Both Boeing and Airbus are using Dassault Systemes' PLM for the mechanical design of the aircraft, Burkett says, "but this system doesn't really address when you have suppliers collaborating on a software system. PLM is not as mature when it comes to software as it is with mechanical design."
Commerce Resources Doubles its Pleasure as it Doubles the Size of its Blue River Project
http://www.resourcexinvestor.com/news.php?id=3146
By Christina de Wit
October 30, 2007
Commerce Resources Corp. (TSX.V: CCE, FSE: D7H) has investors seeing double – in a good way. The company has just doubled the size of its Blue River property, located approximately 200km northeast of Kamloops, B.C., by staking an additional 95 claims for a total area of 104,700 acres to the south of the Bone Creek watershed. The total size of the property now exceeds 1,000 km2. This action was prompted by the discovery of a large ultramafic area of interest measuring about 6km long and 400m wide, approximately 12 km southeast of the Upper Fir Deposit. Samples taken from this ultramafic zone are being assayed, with a focus on nickel, PGEs (platinum group elements), and possible rare earth elements (REEs).
The company has also made major additions to its database for the Howard Creek Carbonatite within the northeast part of the property. According to the company’s website, “this deposit has now been mapped and sampled (with a total of 43 surface rock samples) with assays ranging from background concentrations up to 7.00 % titanium (Ti02), 8.61 % P205, 4843 g/t V205, and 3055 g/t Zircon (Zr02).” Sections of this extensive carbonatite complex contain significant titanium bearing minerals (ilmenite, magnetite, and titantite) and zircon. More work on the property is planned for the summer of 2008.
The Blue River Project is noted for its unusual carbonatite structure. Carbonatites are extremely rare, high carbonate, low silica igneous rocks. Carbonatite-associated deposits generally occur as intrusive bodies and are mined for a number of different minerals, including tantalum, niobium, rare earth elements, iron, copper, phosphate, nickel, uranium, gold, silver, platinum group elements (PGEs), zircon, vermiculite, and fluorite. So far, the project has proven significant grades for tantalum and niobium. The most recent (43-101-compliant) figures on the Upper Fir Deposit have outlined an indicated resource of 8.6Mt with 208.2 g/t Ta2O5 and 1,372.6 g/t Nb2O5, and an inferred resource of 5.5Mt with 208.2 g/t Ta2O5 and 1,349.9 g/t Nb2O5 (Gorham, 2007). The Fir Deposit has an indicated resource of 5.65Mt with 203.1g/t Ta2O5 and 1,047g/t Nb2O5 (Verzosa, 2003), and is also host to an inferred resource of 6.7Mt with 203.1 g/t Ta2O5, and 1,047 g/t Nb2O5 (Verzosa,2003). The Verity Deposit, 10 km north of the Fir deposit, is estimated to host an inferred resource of 3.06Mt with 196g/t Ta2O5, 646g/t Nb2O5 and 3.20% P2O5 (McCrea, 2001). Tantalum oxide is used in the manufacture of electronic devices called capacitors, due to its having the highest capacitance of any known metal. Niobium oxide has steel strengthening capabilities.
Specialty metals such as Ta and Nb are often found with REEs. The term “rare earths” (also referred to as the Lanthanide Series) is used to describe a group of 15 elements, plus the element yttrium. REEs have similar properties and tend to occur together in nature. The most common REEs (known as the ‘light’ REEs) are lanthanum, cerium, neodymium and yttrium. Previous results at Blue River have returned high values of 1905 ppm La and 2666 ppm Ce.
Cerium is used as a catalyst to produce pollution control devices for vehicles. It’s also a highly effective polishing agent for glass. Lanthanum gives glass a high refractive index, as well as a high degree of transparency and light transmission. Rechargeable La-Ni-H batteries are gradually phasing out Ni-Cd batteries as the non-toxic lanthanum replaces the toxic cadmium – reducing environmental problems in terms of disposal or recycling. Environmental considerations are leading to the increasing substitution of REEs in applications presently using elements such as cadmium and lead. REEs are preferred because of their relatively low toxicity.
Demand for rare earth elements has exploded in recent years – the estimated value of refined rare earths consumed in 2005 in the United States was more than $1 billion. Rare earth oxides, which are processed into powdered form, may range in price from US$3.00 per kg, for cerium oxide to US$15,000 per kg for scandium oxide. Cerium oxide and Lanthanum oxide are currently trading around $3.85/kg and $4.40/kg, respectively.
The U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet titled Rare Earth Elements—Critical Resources for High Technology, outlines many uses for REEs. “The diverse nuclear, metallurgical, chemical, catalytic, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties of the REE have led to an ever increasing variety of applications... [ranging] from mundane (lighter flints, glass polishing) to high-tech (phosphors, lasers, magnets, batteries, magnetic refrigeration) to futuristic (high-temperature superconductivity, safe storage and transport of hydrogen for a post-hydrocarbon economy).”
REEs aren’t typically found in economic concentrations – in fact, most of the world’s REEs come from only a few sources. The U.S. once was largely self-sufficient in REEs, but in the past decade has become dependent upon imports from China. Today, China produces approximately 97% of the world's supply, with most light REEs coming from just one mine.
To compound a tight situation, China recently announced new export restrictions on REEs from its mining operations. This policy will result in a dramatic decrease in the REE supply. If Blue River continues to return good results, Commerce could potentially step into the vacuum as a major supplier of specialty metals and REEs for the North American and European markets. The cutting edge of technological research and development can only stay sharp if these markets take steps to secure an adequate, stable supply of REEs.
What makes Commerce a great long-term buy-and-hold is that it’s essentially immune to the volatility experienced within gold and base metals markets. The market for REEs is quite illiquid and the combination of future REE demand, along with the dearth of economically viable REE deposits in the Western world puts Commerce in a position of fantastic leverage in terms of its growth potential. Results so far indicate some bright possibilities. “This is the first time in those soil samples that we’ve seen potentially economic rare earth [levels],” said Chris Grove, the company’s head of Investor Relations.
Investors can anticipate more encouraging news from this rare bird in the next few weeks as the company awaits assay results from the ultramafic zone.
This article is intended for information purposes only, and is not a recommendation to buy or sell the equities of any company mentioned herein. It is based on sources believed to be reliable, but no warranty as to accuracy is expressed or implied. The opinions expressed in the article are those of the author except where statements are attributed to individuals other than the author, in which case the opinions are those of the individual to whom they are attributed.
Commerce Resources Corp. Doubles Claims for Blue River Tantalum-Niobium Project and New Discovery
Tuesday November 6, 4:57 pm ET
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=24332947
Nobody interested in Tantalum anymore?
Commerce Resources still is, apparently:
Commerce Resources Rolls out the Red Carpet at its Blue River Tantalum-Niobium Project
by Christina de Wit
Despite the sight of a black bear on the September 7th-9th property tour of Commerce Resources' (TSX.V:CCE) Blue River Tantalum-Niobium Project, the mood was nothing but bullish for a group of fund managers, industrialists, major newsletter writers, metal traders and senior analysts. Like bears to honey, a total of 105 investors– including key players in the German finance and industrial worlds– were drawn to the property by the company's announcement of its discovery of two new carbonatite anomalies– the Lower Gum and the Lower Switch Creeks at the company's Upper Fir Deposit. The Lower Gum geochemical anomaly is a minimum of 1,000 meters long and between 200 to 400 meters wide with geochem sample concentrations of 3,211 g/t Nb2O5 and 75 g/t Ta2O5, and highly enriched with light rare earth elements lanthanum (La) at 1,905 ppm; and cerium (Ce) at 2,666 ppm. The Lower Switch is a minimum of 700 meters long and 50 meters wide, with soil assays which returned values from background concentrations to 2,354 g/t Nb2O5. The anomaly extends through the historical trench location, where carbonatite samples collected by Anschutz Mining (Canada) Ltd., ran 21 and 2,930 g/t Ta2O5, and averaged 514 g/t.
The Blue River Project is located near Blue River, British Columbia. Commerce owns 100% of the 500km2 claim group. Infrastructure in the area is excellent, with proximity to rail lines, roads, and power. The first carbonatite bodies were discovered in 1949, when the property was first examined for its vermiculite potential. Commerce acquired the property in 2000 and has conducted bulk sampling, ground geophysics, stream sampling and drilling to date. A 2007 report prepared by independent consultant Gorham has outlined an indicated resource of 8,600,000 tonnes with 208.2 g/t Ta2O5 and 1,372.6 g/t Nb2O5 and an inferred resource of 5,500,000 tonnes with 208.2 g/t Ta2O5 and 1,349.9 g/t Nb2O5. With further drilling, there is a very good likelihood of finding new reserves.
Carbonatites are rare, peculiar igneous rocks derived from deep within the Earth’s crust. They are the host rocks for tantalum and niobium- which are usually found in tandem, along with other Rare Earth Elements (R.E.E.s). Tantalum (named for Tantalus, a figure in Greek mythology) is essential in the manufacture of most electronic devices due to its having the highest known capacitance of any metal. According to the company’s website, “tantalum ores are found primarily in Australia, Brazil, Canada and central Africa, with some additional quantities originating in southeast Asia. The average yearly growth rate of about 8 to 12% in tantalum demand since about 1995 has caused a significant increase in exploration for this element”. Niobium (named for Tantalus’ daughter, Niobe) is an additive used in steel-making. Its presence as an alloy triples steel’s tensile strength. This is of critical importance for pipelines, aerospace, and the automotive industry.
Visitors to the project were treated to a presentation by Bill Serjak, the world’s leading tantalum and niobium market analyst. Mr. Serjak expects a double-digit increase in the demand for tantalum over the next two years.
Commerce's goal is to become the world's leading source of high-quality tantalum and niobium. The next phase of development involves permitting, and an environmental study conducted by Gartner Lee, a top environmental consulting firm.
The company has also researched processing methods as part of its pre-feasibility preparations. Metallurgical work carried out in 2004 confirmed recovery rates for Ta and Nb of 83 to 97% of contained metal values. These recovery rates give the company a comparative advantage over producers in other parts of the world. Australia's Sons of Gwalia, currently the world's largest tantalum miner, has published a much lower recovery rate of 55%.
On the spot market, tantalum usually trades at around $25-$35/lb. The spot market is supplied by small producers in African countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo – with its attendant instability. These sources are not sanctioned by the UN; the tantalum concentrate that comes from a UN sanctioned country like Australia or Canada is worth twice the price of that on the spot. On a long-term contract from HC Starck, the world's largest tantalum processor, tantalum oxide will sell for $140-$150/lb. Presently, the world’s largest producer of niobium (from pyrochlore) is the mine at Araxá in Brazil. Niobium is currently trading at around $29/lb– quadruple January’s price.
With solid backing from German financiers and the people of Blue River– many of who are shareholders– the company has support for the project from start to finish. The company’s most recent private placement– originally intended to widen distribution into the US, had the unintended (but happy) consequence of having its original German investors strengthen their positions. Because the world trade in niobium and tantalum is done primarily on long-term contracts, it is in the interest of major industrialists to take an interest in developing new, high-quality, reliable sources in politically stable countries.
The company is in an unparalleled position to meet this demand. Alexei Rukhlov, the geologist in charge of the project– considered one of the leading experts on carbonatites in the world– describes the polymetallic deposit as “the only one of its kind in the world.” Highly-economic carbonatite deposits of this size and quality are exceedingly rare. With growing demand and a market which trades almost exclusively on long-term contracts, it is critical that new, stable, low-cost sources of tantalum and niobium are discovered and developed.
Commerce has had the foresight to build its market from the ground up by appealing to a core of long-term institutional investors, in effect, the end buyers of the company's products. So far, the market has responded favourably to this methodical approach– the company is trading in the $1 range. Investors can anticipate healthy long-term gains, without the volatility issues that affect precious and base metal markets. Napoleon Hill, advisor to U.S. Steel founder Andrew Carnegie and author of Think and Grow Rich, said, “Persistence is to the character of man as carbon is to steel.” Or, in Commerce’s case– as carbonatite is to steel– and success.
This article is intended for information purposes only, and is not a recommendation to buy or sell the equities of any company mentioned herein. It is based on sources believed to be reliable, but no warranty as to accuracy is expressed or implied. The opinions expressed in the article are those of the author except where statements are attributed to individuals other than the author, in which case the opinions are those of the individual to whom they are attributed.
Still looking for Tantalum mines?
I found these notes I kept from some research I did a few months ago and thought you tantalum bugs might be interested.... ( Don't know if the URLs are still good....
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Avalon is exploring two targets in Ontario and one on the border in Manitoba. It has a deal with a private company in the tantalum industry giving that firm the right to earn a 50-per-cent interest in any of Avalon's tantalum targets by spending $5-million ( Canadian ) on exploration.Tantalum Mining has a joint venture with Gossan Resources Ltd. of Winnipeg to explore a property near Kenora.Other Canadian juniors looking for tantalum in Ontario include Houston Lake Mining Inc. of Val Caron, Ont., and Champion Bear Resources Ltd. of Calgary.One of the largest U.S. producers of tantalum capacitors, Kemet Corp. of South Carolina, has reached a deal to help an Australian company develop tantalum properties in that country.Mine expansions and some exploration success could result in tantalum prices falling dramatically as they did in 1979-80 when another supply squeeze came to an end.
http://www.globeandmail.ca/gam/ROB/20010105/RTANT.html
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Leader Acquires Second Tantalum Project
CALGARY, Alberta-- ( BUSINESS WIRE ) --March 20, 2001--Leader Mining International Inc. ( OTCBB: LDRMF - news; CDNX: LMN. - news ) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an option agreement with Champlain Resources ( a private company ) to acquire up to 70% working interest in the New Ross Tantalum Project; which consists of approximately 21,000 acres of mineral claims within a historic tin-tungsten mineral district.
The properties are located approximately 70 km west of Halifax, Nova Scotia and possess excellent infrastructure with paved roads and power supply to provide for year round exploration and easy development.
Grab samples, by Champlain Resources, yielded Ta2O5 values up to 390ppm, 395ppm, and 972ppm Ta2O5 from a flat lying pegmatite outcrop and boulders over a strike length of 2,000 feet. In 1970, the Nova Scotia Department of Mines drilled 600 feet northwest of the primary pegmatite, and intersected another 2 foot wide pegmatite zone which produced a Ta2O5 value of 265ppm. For comparison, 25% of the world tantalum production comes from two Australian mines which grade 230ppm and 414ppm Ta2O5.
In addition to the tantalum bearing pegmatites, the underlying granites also show enrichment in tantalum. These highly fractionated, topaz bearing leucogranites could host large scale porphyry-type tantalum deposits, amenable to large-scale, low-cost open pit mining. Ta2O5 values of up to 50ppm have been obtained from these granites.
Leader is expecting to start detailed geological mapping and geochemical sampling in May. Diamond drilling program will follow. Leader has budgeted $150,000 for this initial work program, and a total expenditure of $600,000 is anticipated over the next 18 months.
This more advanced tantalum project compliments Leader's early-stage Bright Lake Tantalum Project and represents Leader's belief in the short-term, as well as the long-term, strength of the price and demand for tantalum; Leader's guiding philosophy is to capitalize on strategic opportunities in geologically under-explored terrains among politically stable jurisdictions.
Financing: Leader Mining has signed a letter of intent with Mr. Ernst Baer of Weinfelden, Switzerland to arrange a private placement in the amount of $500,000 @ $0.50/share with a half a share purchase warrant attached at $0.75 over 12 months. A 10% finders fee is payable on this transaction. The funds will be used for the tantalum projects and for general working capital.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010320/0815.html
Have fun......
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Just went to another site that I think will help you out,for your reasearch and D.D. try http://www.prospector-news.com They post every day after 6P.M., and have some today on Tant.,then go to the (arch)ives. Happy digging.
I hope these help,v:avl,-v:lmn,-otcbb:sogay.Have others written down somewhere.Check v:wem or v:gwg,but these two might be rare earths instead.Good luck
Dear Lola
There have been a number of tantalum companies that have projects. I am most familiar with Canadain tantalum market. First Narrows (UNO) on the CDNX www.firstnarrows.com has 1 property in BC and 6 properties in NWT. the pricing for tantalum has risen from 20 dollars US a pound to 400 dollars a pounds. Of course it will not stay that high as i perdict it should level off around 100 to 150 a pound US.
Tantalum is also used in the NASA shuttles as heat resisters and it is also mixed with alloys to create heat and rust resistant components like surgury plates and for vehicles.
No one really knows the size of the tantalum market but there is a world wide shortage and they has not been a substuiute foujd that can mimic the properties of tantalum.
As to the stock price one company Linear Resources stock has almost doubles since they annouced there tantalum property without any Geophsical drilling
Archangel
I dont know about ABRG as they are more in petroleum exploration. I am more familar with the Canadian Tantalum marlet like First Narrows (UNO) www.firstnarrows.com/s/Home2.asp
So are there any good companies that have made recent tantalum discoveries? Any ideas on the where the pricing has been and is going to for tantalum?
What's tantalum good for anyway besides being used in manufacturing capacitors? Can you give us any ideas on the size of the tantalum market and the impact a discovery would have on a stock's share price.
Lola:)
Hi Skleung, I'll be your first poster. This company has mining interests in southcentral Vancouver Island. I'd appreciate it if you let me know if you find out ABRG is into this tantalum
http://www.ambraresources.com/
b/r Arch
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