Tungsten

[sumisu]

Gee, I haven't looked at tungsten since 2006/2007. I'm into rare earths, uranium, silver and oil now.

Good luck with USTU!

sumi

[Hedge Starz]

Are you in $USTU - Tungsten Trade http://investorshub.advfn.com/US-Tungsten-Corp-USTU-14585/
75MIL OS

[Hedge Starz]

What are your thoughts on the $USTU Trade highlighted here - http://www.circadian-group.com/tungsten.html

[sumisu]

The Economics and Politics of Tungsten Mining Investing in North America

By Jack Lifton

14 Dec 2007 at 12:35 PM GMT-05:00

http://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp?relid=38777

[Tackler]

I missed the fly on PLY...

Playfair ups inferred resource at Grey River by 59.3%

2007-06-18 03:22 MT - News Release

Mr. Neil Briggs reports

PLAYFAIR RELEASES INDEPENDENT NI 43-101 COMPLIANT RESOURCE ESTIMATE FOR GREY RIVER TUNGSTEN DEPOSIT, NEWFOUNDLAND, CANADA

Playfair Mining Ltd. has completed a National Instrument 43-101-compliant mineral resource estimate for the company's 100-per-cent-owned Grey River, Nfld., tungsten deposit.

The National Instrument 43-101-compliant mineral resource estimate completed by Wardop Engineering Inc. reports 16.1 million pounds of inferred resource (852,000 tonnes at an average grade of 0.858 per cent WO3 at a 0.2-per-cent-WO3 cut-off), an increase of 59.3 per cent over the previously released relevant historic estimate(i) of 10.1 million pounds (473,000 tonnes at an average grade of 0.97 per cent WO3) prepared by the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO) in 1970.

Playfair chairman Don Moore states: "A validation of the relevant historical resource(i) delineated by Asarco at Grey River would have been an excellent event for Playfair Mining. Rather than simply validating the Asarco estimate, this National Instrument 43-101-compliant resource estimate completed by Wardrop represents an increase of almost 60 per cent in contained tungsten at Grey River. This has greatly exceeded our expectations and we are extremely pleased for all of the Playfair shareholders who have followed the progress at Grey River since we acquired this high-grade tungsten project. With a National Instrument 43-101-compliant resource estimate describing a 59.3-per-cent increase in contained tungsten at Grey River over the historical Asarco estimate, we have made a great stride towards our production goal. We are equally enthused with the fact that this deposit is still open at depth and on strike, providing substantial upside exploration potential. Today is a true milestone for Playfair and we are energized to capitalize on these great results as we move forward."

The National Instrument 43-101-compliant resource estimate completed by Wardrop is based only on data from the No. 10 vein on Playfair's Grey River tungsten deposit. In addition to exploring the No. 10 vein further (which has not been drilled below the existing adit), Playfair is also developing aggressive exploration plans to test and quantify the numerous other veins that have been found on the property to date.

Wardrop calculated the resource according to CIM resource categories in compliance with National Instrument 43-101 guidelines. Data from various sample types were used to create a three-dimensional block model resource for the No. 10 vein at Grey River. The data included historic surface sampling, underground sampling and diamond drilling by Asarco together with recent surface sampling and diamond drilling by Playfair.

The resource estimate was generated using an inverse-distance-squared interpolation method with grades capped at 8.5 per cent WO3 (a total of six values higher than 8.5 per cent WO3 were set back to 8.5 per cent WO3). Individual block size was 10 metres by 10 metres by two metres. A Pass 1 search ellipse of 75 metres parallel to the strike of the vein, 35 metres down the dip of the vein and five metres across the width of the vein was used for grade interpolation. A specific gravity of 2.8 grams per cubic centimetre was used.

A cut-off grade of 0.2 per cent WO3 was chosen based on the cut-off grades for North American Tungsten's Cantung mine in Western Canada. The table, "Resource estimate," shows the resource tabulation at higher cut-off grades.

 
  
                           RESOURCE ESTIMATE 
  
 Inferred      Grade cut-off                  WO3%              WO3 
 resources        (%)             Tonnes     grade           pounds 
  
 Vein 10       Greater than or   216,000      1.75        8,333,473 
               equal to 1.0 
               Greater than or   470,000      1.24       12,848,541 
               equal to 0.6 
               Greater than or   852,000      0.86       16,153,711 
               equal to 0.2 
 

The resource estimate reported here was prepared by Christopher Moreton, PhD, PGeo, with peer review by Pierre Desautels, PGeo, both of Wardrop Engineering Inc., and both qualified persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

Playfair's Canadian tungsten deposits

In addition to the Grey River tungsten deposit, Playfair owns three additional high-grade tungsten deposits, all in Canada and all with significant historical resource estimates(i) that predate National Instrument 43-101 but that have been delineated by well-established mining companies.

 
  
            NATIONAL INSTRUMENT 43-101-COMPLIANT RESOURCE ESTIMATE 
  
                       Cut-off 
             Classifi-   grade            Grade                Pounds     MTU 
 Property    cation       %WO3    Tonnes   WO3%        WO3            company 
  
 Grey River  Inferred      0.2   852,000   0.86  16,153,700   732,700 Wardrop 
 No. 10 vein resource                                                 2007 
  
 Historic resource estimates(i) 
  
 Risby       Historic      0.4 2,700,000   0.81  48,214,600 2,187,000 HBED 
             resource(i)                                              1982 
 Lened       Historic      0.4   737,000   1.14  18,523,050   840,200 Union 
             resource(i)                                              Carbide 
 Clea        Historic      0.5   257,000   0.93   5,269,000   239,000 Placer 
             resource(i)                                              Dome 
                                                                      1980 
 

(i) Estimates of historic tungsten resources predate and are non-compliant
with National Instrument 43-101. Playfair is not treating the historical
estimates as current mineral resources or reserves. Playfair has not
undertaken any independent investigation of the resource estimates nor has
it independently analyzed the results of the previous exploration work in
order to verify the resources, and therefore, the historical estimates
should not be relied upon. However, Playfair believes that these historical
estimates provide a conceptual indication of the potential of the
occurrences and are relevant to continuing exploration.

Wardrop Engineering is a multidisciplinary consulting engineering firm and has completed projects in more than 40 countries throughout North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Wardrop was founded in 1955 and is in the business of providing engineering, environmental, information technology and business solutions around the world. Some of the notable high-profile projects that the company has worked on include the Canadian space station team in the development of the Canadian mobile base system (MBS), the partial decommissioning of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in Ukraine, the rebuilding of New York's subway line under the former World Trade Centre and Winnipeg's Provencher Bridge. The company currently has projects under way in Canada, the United States, Chile, Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana, Russia and Uzbekistan. Wardrop has international offices in most of the locations where it has projects and is involved in infrastructure, manufacturing, supply chain, mining, mineral processing, nuclear, oil, gas, power, and pulp and paper. The company's North American operations have achieved ISO 9001:2000 certification and the company's mining division has experience in all facets of the mining-life cycle from exploration through to development, production, closure and reclamation.

About tungsten

Tungsten is an extremely hard, heavy, steel-grey to white metal that is remarkable for its robust physical properties and vast uses and cannot be substituted in many industrial applications. Tungsten has the highest melting point of all metallic elements. Tungsten is a strategic metal and emerging economies such as India and China are consuming increasing amounts of tungsten. The current price of tungsten is approximately $12 (U.S.) per pound.

Until 2005, China was the world's largest exporter of tungsten concentrate but rapid industrialization within China, structural economic changes, and changes in economic policies toward industry have resulted in the restriction of tungsten exports from China. China is now the world's largest consumer of tungsten. Escalating Chinese consumption, in conjunction with the continuing demand in the world's principal economies along with the supply issues noted above, has resulted in increases in the price of tungsten. Tungsten prices are quoted per metric ton unit of contained tungsten trioxide (WO3). One MTU contains 10 kilograms of WO3 and is the standard weight measure of the tungsten trade. Ammonium paratungstate (APT) is an intermediate product in the production of tungsten metal for which prices are available. A price of $260 (U.S.) per MTU equates to $26 (U.S.) per kilogram or $12 (U.S.) per pound.

Due to these Chinese export restrictions and the strong global demand for tungsten, the management of Playfair feels that the company is very well positioned with four high-grade deposits, all located within Canada.

Michael Moore, PGeo, is the qualified person, who has reviewed the technical information contained in this news release on behalf of Playfair. As required by National Instrument 43-101 regulations, the resource estimate report will be filed in its entirety on SEDAR within 45 days.

[oasdihf]

The CFL mercury nightmare
Steven Milloy, Financial Post
Published: Saturday, April 28, 2007

How much money does it take to screw in a compact fluorescent light bulb? About US$4.28 for the bulb and labour -- unless you break the bulb. Then you, like Brandy Bridges of Ellsworth, Maine, could be looking at a cost of about US$2,004.28, which doesn't include the costs of frayed nerves and risks to health.

Sound crazy? Perhaps no more than the stampede to ban the incandescent light bulb in favour of compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).

According to an April 12 article in The Ellsworth American, Bridges had the misfortune of breaking a CFL during installation in her daughter's bedroom: It dropped and shattered on the carpeted floor.

Aware that CFLs contain potentially hazardous substances, Bridges called her local Home Depot for advice. The store told her that the CFL contained mercury and that she should call the Poison Control hotline, which in turn directed her to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

The DEP sent a specialist to Bridges' house to test for mercury contamination. The specialist found mercury levels in the bedroom in excess of six times the state's "safe" level for mercury contamination of 300 billionths of a gram per cubic meter. The DEP specialist recommended that Bridges call an environmental cleanup firm, which reportedly gave her a "low-ball" estimate of US$2,000 to clean up the room. The room then was sealed off with plastic and Bridges began "gathering finances" to pay for the US$2,000 cleaning. Reportedly, her insurance company wouldn't cover the cleanup costs because mercury is a pollutant.

Given that the replacement of incandescent bulbs with CFLs in the average U.S. household is touted as saving as much as US$180 annually in energy costs -- and assuming that Bridges doesn't break any more CFLs -- it will take her more than 11 years to recoup the cleanup costs in the form of energy savings.

The potentially hazardous CFL is being pushed by companies such as Wal-Mart, which wants to sell 100 million CFLs at five times the cost of incandescent bulbs during 2007, and, surprisingly, environmentalists.

It's quite odd that environmentalists have embraced the CFL, which cannot now and will not in the foreseeable future be made without mercury. Given that there are about five billion light bulb sockets in North American households, we're looking at the possibility of creating billions of hazardous waste sites such as the Bridges' bedroom.

Usually, environmentalists want hazardous materials out of, not in, our homes. These are the same people who go berserk at the thought of mercury being emitted from power plants and the presence of mercury in seafood. Environmentalists have whipped up so much fear of mercury among the public that many local governments have even launched mercury thermometer exchange programs.

As the activist group Environmental Defense urges us to buy CFLs, it defines mercury on a separate part of its Web site as a "highly toxic heavy metal that can cause brain damage and learning disabilities in fetuses and children" and as "one of the most poisonous forms of pollution."

Greenpeace also recommends CFLs while simultaneously bemoaning contamination caused by a mercury-thermometer factory in India. But where are mercury-containing CFLs made? Not in the United States, under strict environmental regulation. CFLs are made in India and China, where environmental standards are virtually non-existent.

And let's not forget about the regulatory nightmare in the U.S. known as the Superfund law, the EPA regulatory program best known for requiring expensive but often needless cleanup of toxic waste sites, along with endless litigation over such cleanups.

We'll eventually be disposing billions and billions of CFL mercury bombs. Much of the mercury from discarded and/or broken CFLs is bound to make its way into the environment and give rise to Superfund liability, which in the past has needlessly disrupted many lives, cost tens of billions of dollars and sent many businesses into bankruptcy.

As each CFL contains five milligrams of mercury, at the Maine "safety" standard of 300 nanograms per cubic meter, it would take 16,667 cubic meters of soil to "safely" contain all the mercury in a single CFL. While CFL vendors and environmentalists tout the energy cost savings of CFLs, they conveniently omit the personal and societal costs of CFL disposal.

Not only are CFLs much more expensive than incandescent bulbs and emit light that many regard as inferior to incandescent bulbs, they pose a nightmare if they break and require special disposal procedures. Yet governments (egged on by environmentalists and the Wal-Marts of the world) are imposing on us such higher costs, denial of lighting choice, disposal hassles and breakage risks in the name of saving a few dollars every year on the electric bill? - Steven Milloy publishes JunkScience.com and CSRWatch.com. He is a junk-science expert and advocate of free enterprise, and an adjunct scholar at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

[cdma01]

Yes, they want to force people to use bulbs that contain mercury instead.

Where is the logic? If they were so good, why FORCE the popluation to buy the very expensive ones.

By the way, if you break one these new lightbulbs, who will shoulder the health risks and the decontamination costs.

YOU!!!

[Jardine]

LANGU GOLD AND MAE LAMA TUNGSTEN PROPERTY UPDATES

Amanta Resources Ltd.
(AMH - TSX Venture), ("Amanta") is presently active at two of its exploration
properties in Thailand; the Langu Gold property, where a 5,000 metre drilling
programme is in progress and the Mae Lama Tungsten property, where a limited
initial drilling programme has just begun.

Langu Gold Property
Amanta holds four contiguous Special Exploration Licences (SPLs) at its Langu
Gold Property, in Satun Province, southern Thailand, covering approximately 57
sq. km. Two of the SPLs were granted in 2004, the other two followed in 2006.

The geology of the area is dominated by Devonian continental and deep sea
marine sediments with dominant fault directions NW and EW and north-south
folding axes. The presence of gold in the area was first discovered in 1999 at
an abandoned stibnite (antimony) quarry, the Discovery Quarry, in the north of
the company's present licence area. Channel samples along outcropping
mineralized rocks returned an average grade of 20 g/t gold, over a length of
approx. 20 metres, in an outcrop in the quarry wall. Grab samples from the area
of the previous stibnite operation yielded assays up to 160 g/t.

In late-2005, Amanta conducted a limited shallow reconnaissance drilling
programme (up to 90 m deep) in the vicinity of the Discovery Quarry. While the
outcropping high grades were not intersected at depth, several holes
intersected lower grade mineralization, with the best intercept being in drill
hole LNG 02, a 75 metre deep drill hole located between the Discovery Quarry
and the Discovery South target, which intersected a gold mineralized interval
of 2.9 g/t Au, over 3.4 metres, at a depth of approx. 30 metres. This hole also
had two other mineralized intervals, each of 1.5 metres and grading 0.2 g/t Au.

Amanta has since completed extensive mapping, rock and soil sampling and
geophysical programs over approximately half of the present project area (the
area of the two original SPLs), resulting in the identification of a 6,000
metre anomalous gold trend and the delineation of a number of priority drill
targets. High grade outcrops were discovered 2000 metres south of the Discovery
quarry, where grab samples of up to 160 g/t Au were collected at surface, and
in several locations along the trend where trenches encountered significant
gold grades at shallow depth. One trench at the May target included 40 metres
at a grade of 1.4g/t Au, including 8 metres at 3 g/t Au, while a trench at the
Discovery South target yielded 4 metres at a grade of 15g/t Au.

Gold mineralization occurs mainly as stratiform sediment hosted replacement
style closely associated with decalcification and partial replacement of
calcareous shale by silica. The type of gold mineralization may be described as
"Carlin-style" and is similar to such deposits in China.

Amanta is presently completing a 5,000-metre drilling program, comprising an
estimated 30 HQ cored holes, designed to test several identified targets over
the present Langu gold trend. Drilling commenced in the northwest area of this
trend (the May target) and is proceeding from north to south. To date, a total
of nine drill holes have been completed, with depths ranging from approximately
180 to 300 metres. Assays are now available for these, comprising the initial
programme in this target area.

These nine widely spaced holes, totaling 1616 metres, have been completed over
an area of approximately one sq km which is structurally offset to the west of
the main Langu anomalous gold zone. The first five holes were aimed at
systematically intersecting IP chargeability anomalies, at sections 200 metres
apart, in order to examine the validity and the meaning of these anomalies.

Each of these holes intersected wide intervals of sulphide mineralized material
in which the sulphides generally accounted for up to 5%, and sometimes 10%, of
the rock volume. Drill hole LNG 13, encountered an 11 metre intercept anomalous
in gold with an average grade of just below 0.1 g/t Au. This occurrence will be
further explored at a later date.

Drill holes LNG 15 and LNG 17, drilled along the same strike and with the same
azimuth, were aimed at intercepting at depth the shallow mineralization
encountered in trenching. Each hole intersected a two to three metre thick
steeply dipping mineralized zone with values of 3 meters @ 1g/t Au at a depth
of 70 metres in drill hole LNG 15, and of 2 meters @ 0.25 g/t Au at a depth of
41 metres in drill hole LNG 17. In addition, drill hole LNG 15 returned an
intercept of 5 metres @ 0.35 g/t Au from 108 to 113 metres, including 2 metres
@ 0.7 g/t Au from 111 to 113 meters.

The mineralized material is a pyrite rich brecciated silicified mudstone and
could be the upper part of a 'feeder' zone. The Company is very encouraged by
these initial results at the May target area and will further evaluate the
mineralized system, at greater depths, in the ongoing exploration programme.

Following the completion of the initial programme in the May area, drilling has
now commenced in the target area known as Discovery South, located approx 2 km
south of the Discovery Quarry. Major gold indications in this area include a
four metre trench intercept @ 15 g/t Au and the occurrence of visible gold in
another small stibnite pit. In this same pit, two high grade grab samples
returned 160 g/t Au.

Upon completion of its recently announced financing, Amanta plans to contract
an additional 5,000 metres of core drilling at Langu. Additional funds will be
also be allocated to evaluate the area of the two recently-granted SPLs,
including geochemical and geophysical programmes and subsequent drilling of
identified targets.

Mae Lama Tungsten Property
Amanta holds the exploration and development rights to the Mae Lama tungsten
property, in Mae Hong Son province, northern Thailand, under an agreement with
the present Mining Licence holders. A limited drilling programme has now
commenced at the property.

Mae Lama was the scene of one of Thailand's more prolific tungsten producers
until declining tungsten prices led to its closure in the mid-1980s. Production
was from wolframite contained in a quartz vein (the Mae Lama vein) with a
reported mining head grade in excess of 2% WO3.

Amanta proposes to test this vein below the extent of the previous open-pit
operations, as well as examine the potential of a number of quartz veins which
run approximately parallel to it. These 'parallel' veins have never been mined
but historic test pitting results obtained from the Geological Survey
Department indicate a 1000 x 300 meters wide surface zone, having assay values
above 0.1% WO3 in eluvial material. Amanta is presently conducting a
confirmation programme of these surface results.

Upon completion of these initial programmes, pending the company's review of
all available Mae Lama data and records, and the extension to the existing
Mining Licence, the company proposes to move the drill rig to the Langu Gold
property to accelerate the drilling programme at that project.

Pieter Bakker (Director, COO - Amanta Resources Ltd.) has verified geological
Information contained within this report. Mr. Bakker satisfies the requirements
of a Qualified Person as defined in the National Instrument 43-101 (Standards
of Disclosure for Mineral Projects).

Amanta Resources Ltd. is focused on mineral exploration, development and
production in Thailand and the Southeast Asian region. The Company concentrates
on the systematic evaluation of known mineral occurrences, rather than
"greenfields" exploration, creating early opportunities to finance and develop
mines.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF
AMANTA RESOURCES LTD.

"Patrick Cauley"

Patrick Cauley, VP, Chief Financial Officer

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility
for the adequacy or accuracy of this News Release.


For more information, please contact Patrick Cauley
Tel. [phone], email: [e-mail]


AMANTA RESOURCES LTD.
TSX Venture Exchange: AMH
1080 - 789 West Pender St.,
Vancouver, BC V6C 1H2




Source: The Richmond Club www.richmondclub.com / Amanta Resources Ltd.
www.amantaresources.com
Maximum News Dissemination by Filing Services Canada Inc.
Ph: [phone] Fx: [phone] www.usetdas.com

[oasdihf]

Tungsten mining companies confident despite Ontario ban on incandescent bulbs
Published: Thursday, April 19, 2007 | 6:09 PM ET
Canadian Press: LAURA BOBAK

TORONTO (CP) - Canada's biggest tungsten miner says it's not worried about an Ontario government ban on incandescent light bulbs, to take effect by 2012.

Stephen Leahy, CEO of Vancouver-based North American Tungsten Corp., said the light bulb ban doesn't faze him. "I do think people have to understand this is not a significant portion of the market," said Leahy, adding light bulbs represent less than three per cent of the global demand.

"It's way more than balanced by the fact that there are all these pending bans on lead which is going to have to be replaced by something."

Ontario's ban on the bulbs, which use filaments made from the metal tungsten, is aimed at reducing energy consumption.

The restriction, the first of its kind in Canada, was announced Wednesday by Energy Minister Dwight Duncan and Environment Minister Laurel Broten.

The Ontario government is trying to reduce the province's projected peak electricity demand by five per cent, and its own electricity use by 10 per cent, by the end of 2007.

Nova Scotia is considering a similar ban. Meanwhile, Europe has announced a ban that takes effect in 2009; Australia's ban starts in 2010; and California is considering shutting off the bulbs by 2012.

Compact fluorescent bulbs use around 75 per cent less electricity than standard incandescent bulbs.

Tungsten is an extremely heavy metal which is inert and has a melting point of 3200 C.

The metal is too brittle to be used in manufacturing on its own, but when combined with plastics it can be bent without breaking, resulting in many new industrial and consumer applications, said Leahy.

North American Tungsten operates its CanTung mine in the Northwest Territories, which is the Western world's largest tungsten supplier with four per cent of the global market. China produces about 80 per cent. North American Tungsten also has a large, high-grade MacTung tungsten deposit located nearby in the Yukon.

North American Tungsten (TSXV:NTC) shares closed down five cents or 3.5 per cent to $1.37 on the Toronto stock market Thursday, after rebounding from an intraday low of about $1.30, a drop of 8.4 per cent from the previous day's close.

Shares in the company's Canadian rival, Vancouver-based Primary Metals Inc. (TSXV:PMI), which operates a 3,000 tonne per day Panasqueira tungsten mine in Portugal and produces 1.5 per cent of the global tungsten supply, closed down 17 cents or 6.6 per cent to $2.40.

Tungsten exploration companies also saw a decline; Largo Resources Ltd. (TSXV:LGO) closed down two cents or three per cent to 63 cents, and Oriental Minerals Inc. (TSXV:OTL) closed down 10 cents or 3.3 per cent to $2.89.

However, tungsten companies weren't the only metals and mining companies taking a hit on the Toronto market Thursday.

The sector was down two per cent, largely over worries the Chinese government could boost interest rates to deal with sizzling economic growth and high than-acceptable inflation.

The current price of tungsten, which is not traded on an exchange, is US$262 per MTU (metric tonne unit), or 10 kg.

The government announcement should not have much of an impact on the tungsten market, said Bill Vance, an institutional salesman with Haywood Securities, which has provided financing for North American Tungsten Corp.

Vance said tungsten is second in durability only to diamonds.

"My wedding band is made of tungsten," Vance said.

The heavy metal is also being used as an environmentally safer alternative to lead in products such as fishing weights, which pollute water.

Vance said a baseball-sized chunk of tungsten weighs nearly 20 kilograms.

Online source:
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/070419/b0419102A.html

[oasdihf]

Pinetree Capital Ltd. Acquires Common Shares of Noront Resources Ltd.
Thursday December 21, 1:16 pm ET

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(CCNMatthews - Dec. 21, 2006) - Pinetree Capital Ltd. (TSX:PNP - News), a Canadian investment company, announces that on December 20, 2006, it acquired ownership of 1,500,000 common shares ("Common Shares") of Noront Resources Ltd. ("Noront") and 1,250,000 share purchase warrants (each, a "Warrant") (each Warrant entitling the holder thereof to acquire one additional common share at an exercise price of $0.75 until December 20, 2008). In the event that the Warrants are fully exercised, these holdings represent approximately 3.1% of the total issued and outstanding common shares of Noront as of December 20, 2006, calculated on a partially diluted basis assuming the exercise of Warrants only. As a result of this transaction, Pinetree and its joint actors held, as at December 20, 2006, an aggregate of 6,300,000 common shares of Noront and rights to acquire an aggregate of 3,497,000 common shares of Noront upon exercise of convertible securities, including the Warrants (collectively, the "Convertible Securities"). Of these totals, Pinetree holds 4,700,000 common shares and the 2,375,000 warrants including the Warrants directly. If Pinetree and its joint actors were to exercise all of these Convertible Securities, their combined ownership would represent a total of 9,797,000 common shares of Noront, or approximately 10.8% of such shares outstanding as of December 20, 2006, calculated on a partially diluted basis assuming the exercise of the Convertible Securities only. In the event that only the 2,375,000 warrants are fully exercised, the direct holdings of Pinetree represent approximately 7.9% of all issued and outstanding common shares of Noront as of December 20, 2006, calculated on a partially diluted basis assuming the exercise of the warrants only.

These transactions were made for investment purposes and Pinetree and each of its joint actors could increase or decrease their respective investments in Noront depending on market conditions or any other relevant factor.

About Pinetree

Pinetree Capital Ltd. ("Pinetree" or the "Company") was incorporated under the laws of the Province of Ontario and is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") under the symbol "PNP". Pinetree develops and manages a portfolio of equity securities of private and public issuers engaged in growth businesses in the following three sectors: (i) Uranium, Mining and Oil & Gas; (ii) Biotechnology; and (iii) Technology and Other. Pinetree's investment focus among these three sectors changes over time, depending on changing investment opportunities. As well, Pinetree takes advantage of special situations and merchant banking opportunities.

For more details about Pinetree and its investments, please visit our website at www.pinetreecapital.com.

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbour" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause Pinetree's results to differ materially from expectations. These include risks relating to market fluctuations, investee performance and other risks. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. Pinetree disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

[oasdihf]

Roca Expands Surface Tungsten Zone at MAX Project

20:50 EST Tuesday, December 12, 2006

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(CCNMatthews - Dec. 12, 2006) - Roca Mines Inc. (TSX VENTURE:ROK) ("Roca" or the "Company") announces that new tungsten mineralization has been discovered during exploration and sampling at the Company's MAX Molybdenum Project in the Revelstoke Mining Division of British Columbia, Canada.

Roca is focused on the fast-tracked development of the known molybdenum resource at MAX but has also reviewed previous exploration work by others on the MAX claim group. That review highlighted the property's potential for tungsten mineralization based on past work by others, including an historic high-grade mining operation, which has seen little follow-up exploration.

Working at higher elevations on the project claims in September 2006, the Company's prospectors discovered scheelite mineralization (a tungsten mineral, WO3) southeast of the "Ridge Zone" and hosted in low-sulphide, garnet-rich skarn boulders and outcrop. The new area, named the "Upper Ridge Zone" begins approximately 200 metres on-strike from the Ridge Zone and appears to extend for at least a further 200 metres along the east flank of the ridge. Higher grades of WO3 appear to be associated with brecciated and faulted zones of skarn with significant pinkish-brown garnet development, similar to the mineralization observed at the Ridge Zone. The Ridge Zone was originally discovered by Newmont Exploration of Canada Ltd. in 1977. Assays for tungsten from samples of the newly discovered Upper Ridge Zone are reported in the table below:

 
 Upper Ridge Zone (Roca 2006) 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 Sample     Description  From - To   Interval      Assay 
 No.                       (metres)   (metres)     % WO3 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 277601     Float                                   0.63 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 277604     Float                                   0.77 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 277605     Float                                   1.50 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 277606     Float                                   1.15 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 277607     Float                                   0.88 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 277609     Float                                   0.88 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 277610     Float                                   0.54 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 277611     Chip(A)        0.0-1.0        1.0       0.43 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 277612     Chip(A)        1.0-2.0        1.0       0.14 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 277620     Chip(B)        1.0-2.0        1.0       0.83 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 277621     Chip(B)        2.0-3.0        1.0       1.07 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 277622     Chip(C)        0.0-1.0        1.0       0.68 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 277623     Chip(C)        1.0-2.0        1.0       0.52 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 277624     Chip(C)        2.0-2.8        0.8       1.00 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 277625     Chip(D)        0.0-1.0        1.0       0.23 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 277626     Chip(D)        1.0-2.0        1.0       0.20 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 277627     Chip(D)        2.0-2.9        0.9       0.15 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 277628     Chip(E)        0.0-2.0        2.0       0.16 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 277629     Chip(E)        2.0-3.0        1.0       0.08 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 277630     Chip(E)        6.5-8.0        1.5       0.15 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 277631     Chip(F)        0.0-2.0        2.0       1.35 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 277632     Grab                                    1.19 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 277633     Grab                                    0.74 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 277634     Float                                   2.06 
 ------------------------------------------------------- 
 

All assays reported above were carried out by ACME Analytical Laboratories of Vancouver, BC. Mr. Scott Broughton, P.Eng. is the 43-101 qualified person who supervised the sampling program in 2006.

Tungsten Exploration by Newmont

In 1979 Newmont conducted systematic chip sampling of their discovery trench at the Ridge Zone and obtained assays of 0.32% WO3 across 110 feet. Subsequent to that work three diamond drill holes were then drilled in 1979 proximal to the trench on approximately 200 ft centres and along trend, with selected results shown in the table below:

 
 Ridge Zone (Newmont 1979) 
 --------------------------------------------- 
 Drill       From       To  Interval     Assay 
 Hole       (feet)   (feet)    (feet)    % WO3 
 --------------------------------------------- 
 79-12         16       45        29      0.11 
 --------------------------------------------- 
 79-12        430      492        62      0.26 
 --------------------------------------------- 
 79-13         38       94        56      0.40 
 --------------------------------------------- 
 79-14         61       76        15      0.29 
 --------------------------------------------- 
 79-14        398      449        51      0.18 
 --------------------------------------------- 
 

Mr. Terry Macauley, P.Eng. is the 43-101 qualified person who supervised the trenching and diamond drilling program in 1979.

Tungsten Exploration by Others

Previous exploration for tungsten to the northwest of the Ridge Zone took place between 1942 and 1958 and results were reported in British Columbia's Ministry of Mines' Annual Reports, including samples obtained from skarn showings exposed intermittently over a length of 900 feet and a vertical range of 600 feet. The sampled skarn reportedly occur at the contact of dolomite and a quartzitic rock. These samples are reported by the BC Department of Mines Bulletin No. 45 by Fyles and Easwood, 1962, with results shown in the table below:



Copper Chief Zone (1962)
------------------------------------------
Sample Interval Assay
No. Description (feet) % WO3
------------------------------------------
1 Chip 8.0 0.20
------------------------------------------
2 Chip 4.0 1.06
------------------------------------------
3 Chip 6.0 0.50
------------------------------------------
4 Chip 4.0 0.11
------------------------------------------
5 Chip 8.0 0.04
------------------------------------------
6 Chip 4.0 1.62
------------------------------------------
7 Chip 4.5 1.02
------------------------------------------


Also, reported in British Columbia's Ministry of Mines' Annual Reports in 1953 were results of work by B.W. MacDougal as follows:


Copper Chief Zone (1953)
------------------------------------------
Sample Interval Assay
No. Description (feet) % WO3
------------------------------------------
2 Chip 11.0 0.42
------------------------------------------
2a Chip 8.0 0.92
------------------------------------------
3 Chip 11.0 0.48
------------------------------------------
3a Chip 8.0 0.12
------------------------------------------
3b Chip 18.0 0.12
------------------------------------------
3c Chip 10.0 0.33
------------------------------------------
3d Chip 10.0 0.61
------------------------------------------


The Company wishes to caution the reader that the historical results reported above, having been taken from what are considered to be reliable sources, are not in compliance with National Instrument 43-101 and should not be relied upon.

With the addition of the newly discovered Upper Ridge Zone the strike length of tungsten mineralization as indicated by all of the outcrop sampled to date and encompassing all three zones now totals 1450 metres in length and extends over a vertical range of 600 metres. Roca plans to aggressively explore the potential for tungsten mineralization in 2007. Since only three diamond drill holes have tested one of the zones to date, new exploration work will focus on delineating immediate drill targets.

Tungsten is an essential metal, noted for its hardness and high-melting point. It is used primarily in cemented carbide and high speed steel tools for the construction and mining industries and for general wear protection of steel alloys. Unalloyed tungsten in the form of wire is used as filaments in lamps and as heating elements for furnaces and heaters.

ROCA MINES INC.

Scott E. Broughton, P.Eng. - President & CEO

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Roca Mines Inc.
Doug Fosbrooke
Investor Relations
[phone]
[phone] (FAX)
Email: [e-mail]
Website: www.rocamines.com
The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

[johnlw]

Largo drills 134.51 m of 0.13% MoS2 at Northern Dancer

2006-12-06 08:14 ET - News Release

Mr. Mark Brennan reports

LARGO CONTINUES TO INTERCEPT HIGHER-GRADE TUNGSTEN-MOLYBDENUM MINERALIZATION AT ITS NORTHERN DANCER PROJECT, YUKON

Largo Resources Ltd. has provided the results from the remaining nine holes of a 4,000-metre diamond drill program on the company's Northern Dancer tungsten-molybdenum property located in the Yukon. Results for the first eight holes were summarized in Stockwatch on Sept. 7, 2006. All 17 holes intersected broad zones of mineralization. Significant results from the current holes are tabulated in the "Drilling results, Northern Dancer" table. Highlights are as follows.

Significant molybdenum-rich (MoS2) holes include:

* 134.51 metres grading 0.13 per cent MoS2 and 0.04 per cent WO3 in hole LT06-70; and
* 52.00 metres of grading 0.14 per cent MoS2 and 0.07 per cent WO3 in hole LT-06-63.

Significant tungsten-rich (WO3) holes include:

* 114.95 metres grading 0.16 per cent WO3 and 0.08 per cent MoS2 including 12.22 metres grading 0.54 per cent WO3 and 0.19 per cent MoS2 in hole LT-06-66; and
* 83.89 metres grading 0.20 per cent WO3 and 0.04 per cent MoS2 in hole LT-06-68.

Mark Brennan, president and chief executive officer of Largo, stated: "Currently our technical staff is incorporating the new drill results into the updated resource model with a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate expected to be completed in January, 2007. This resource will form the basis for a scoping study to be completed in spring 2007 with fieldwork including an expanded drilling program to start soon after that."

Largo's vice-president of exploration, Andy Campbell, PGeo, commented: "The results continue to enhance the previous work with better-than-expected molybdenum grades over all, and a significantly higher grade tungsten zone has been confirmed. This higher grade tungsten zone will be an important focus for the next drill program in 2007. Further drilling will also be undertaken to better define the full extent of the widespread higher grade molybdenum mineralization."

The Northern Dancer property straddles the Yukon-British Colombia border 290 kilometres east of Whitehorse and is 115 kilometres east of Adnac Moly Corp.'s Ruby Creek molybdenum deposit. The Northern Dancer property hosts widespread molybdenum-tungsten porphyry-style mineralization and was originally delineated by 51 diamond drill holes and 496 metres of underground workings completed by AMAX Minerals between 1977 and 1980.

This mineralization, which is open laterally, along strike to the south and to depth, has a published resource of 162 million tonnes grading 0.13 per cent WO3 and 0.052 per cent MoS2 (MoS2 equivalent of 0.108 per cent) (Economic Geology, 1984, volume 79, page 849). This resource is a historic estimate that does not conform to standards prescribed in National Instrument 43-101 and investors are cautioned not to rely on this estimate. The present program has confirmed previous results and provided sufficient new geological and assay data to prepare a mineral resource estimate compliant with NI 43-101 standards.

Higher grade tungsten mineralization occurs within an extensive sheeted quartz vein system that crosscuts lower grade stockwork style mineralization in the deposit. As shown in a geological plan map of the property, this zone extends for at least 500 metres along strike, to a depth of at least 500 metres and varies from at least 20 metres to possibly more than 100 metres in width. The zone trends northeast-southwest, dips near vertical and is open in all directions. Previous historical drilling did not adequately test this zone because the holes were all steeply inclined to vertical.

The molybdenite is associated with stockwork porphyry-styled mineralization. The higher grade MoS2 values are spatially related to a quartz feldspar porphyry stock. The porphyry system covers an area 500 metres by 500 metres and has been tested to a vertical depth of 500 metres. The system remains open at depth and along strike.

The drill program was managed by Archer, Cathro & Associates (1981) Ltd., a well-known consulting firm that has over 35 years of experience in mineral exploration in the Yukon.

Assaying was carried out by Acme Analytical Laboratories Ltd. in Vancouver, B.C. The samples are crushed to 70 per cent passing 10 mesh, split to 250 grams and pulverized to 95 per cent passing 150 mesh. A five-gram split is analyzed for Mo and W using a phosphoric acid leach followed by ICP-emission spectrometry. Then a second five-gram split is analyzed for 36 elements by ICP-mass spectrometry using a hot (95 C) aqua regia leach. Routine check assays are performed at SGS Minerals in Lakefield, Ont., on sample rejects. W.A. Wengzynowski, PEng, of Archer, Cathro, is the qualified person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 for the program.....................................................

http://www.stockwatch.com/swnet/newsit/newsit_newsit.aspx?bid=B-629520-C:LGO&symbol=LGO&news....

[oasdihf]

Noront Resources halted at 8:05 a.m. PT
2006-11-29 11:06 ET - Halt Trading



Lots going on with this company.

Following gold at Windfall Project:


1997 - 1.02oz Au/t uncut over 9.5 (31.16ft) in hole #5
2003 - 0.30oz Au/t over 22.85 (74.97ft) in hole Fury #3
2004 – 0.249 oz Au/ton over 43.95 feet hole NOT –04-27
2005 – 0.33 oz Au/ton over 22.3 feet in hole NOT-05-79

http://www.norontresources.com/projects/windfall.htm

Uranium project with Azimut at Hunters Point:

http://www.norontresources.com/projects/hunters.htm

Mexican Zinc property optioned recently:
NORONT OPTIONS A SECOND MEXICAN PROJECT
“EL VERDE”

The management of Noront Resources Ltd. (the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an Option Agreement with a Mexican National (Optionor) for the acquisition of a 100% interest in the “El Verde” zinc, copper, silver property located approximately 26 km north-northwest of the town of Choix in Sinaloa State, Mexico. The El Verde property consists of 305.28 hectares (696 acres).

The agreement calls for, (subject to all regulatory approvals) a series of cash payments totalling $645,000, the issuance of common shares of Company totalling 650,000 and exploration expenses totalling $600,000 as follows:

(a) To pay the sum of $35,000 US and issue 250,000 common shares of Company upon execution of the option agreement and thereafter at the Company’s option issue a further 200,000 common shares within 6 months from the date of the agreement and issue a final 200,000 share within 12 months from the date of the option agreement.

(b) To pay at the Company’s option a further sum of $35,000 US within 12 months from the date of the option agreement; $75,000 within 24 months, $100,000 within 36 months and a final $400,000 payable in cash or three-quarters of which at the Company’s option in shares of the Company within 48 months.

(c) To make optional exploration expenses over the project; as follows: $50,000 US within 12 months from the date of the agreement; $100,000US within 24 months; $200,000 US within 36 months and $250,000 US within 48 months.

The Optionor it was agreed shall retain a 1.5% Net Smelter Return (NSR) over the project with the Company retaining the right at any time in whole or in part to purchase two-thirds of the NSR for $1.5 million. The Company also retains the right of first refusal for the purchase of the Optionors remaining 0.5% NSR.

HISTORY

Historical records reviewed established that the project lies approximately 40 km west of the “Glamis Gold Corp’s” El Sauzal Disseminated Gold Deposit and 19 km S.SE of the Pan American’s “Alamo Dorado” Deposit and peripheral to the large Santos Thomas Copper Porphyry Deposit 6 km to the east. These historical records indicate that in the early 1970’s the Mexican government (CRM) completed two short diamond drill holes, one of these holes it is reported intersects 26 meters (81ft) of an average 9.6% zinc (Zn). These records report that this diamond drill hole went to a depth of 70 meters. The top of the unit drilled appears to be in an oxidized skarn, well leached, abundant hematite, copper oxide, some zinc, oxides calcite and phlogopite. Results at the bottom of this hole returned values over 1.2 meters of 17.10% zinc 2.95% copper (Cu) and just under 2 oz of silver (Ag). The Company has been advised that the drill core splits are apparently still warehoused with the CRM in Durango City. The Company will have a representative attempt to verify and log this core at the Governments facility in Durango Mexico.

The Company firstly intends to verify the high-grade hole by drilling and then step out from this first diamond drill hole and drill a second hole approximately 150m and 70m higher in elevation. The second hole will target the high-grade zone but will be drilled through a thick copper oxide cap thought to overlie the extension of the zinc rich sulfide zone. Completion of this initial program will determine the Company’s further exploration and/or joint venture plans.

Donald Cross P.Eng. (Ontario) is the qualified person responsible for the review of the technical data contained in the historical reports and in this release.

The Company has agreed (subject to all regulatory approvals) to pay a finders fee of 150,000 common shares of the Company to an arms length third party for the introduction to the property and subsequent option agreement.

Noront is a tier 2 junior resource company on the TSX Venture Exchange, trading symbol NOT, with 54,567,692 shares issued to date.

For further information, please contact Richard Nemis at 416-864-1456, or visit the Company’s web site www.norontresources.com


ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
“R. Nemis”
President and Chief Executive Officer

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

[oasdihf]

Galway drills 15 feet of 0.87% WO3 at Indian Springs

2006-11-28 13:39 ET - News Release

Mr. Robert Hinchcliffe reports

GALWAY ANNOUNCES MORE ENCOURAGING DRILL RESULTS FROM INDIAN SPRINGS

Galway Resources Ltd. is releasing encouraging drilling results from the Indian Springs tungsten project. The company recently completed its 20-hole 6,000-foot reverse-circulation program, and just more recently finished a five-hole 2,000-foot core program. Results for the first 10 holes were reported in Stockwatch news Aug. 29, 2006, and on Sept. 26, 2006. Receipt of the results for the last five reverse-circulation holes and four core rig holes is still pending.

"These intercepts indicate good potential for expanding the Indian Springs resource at depth. Combining the results of the two recently completed drilling campaigns with the historical drill data will allow Galway to move forward with the National Instrument 43-101-compliant resource estimate to be completed by SRK Consulting in January. That will keep us on track to produce a scoping study in March, 2007," cites Marshall Himes, the chief operating officer of Galway Resources.

Highlights of the current drill results

Analytical results have been received for an additional five holes from the Indian Springs project and are shown in the table below. Of particular interest are:


new areas of mineralization -- holes ISR06-112 and ISR06-113 that intersected 280 feet and 100 feet of mineralization in deeper portions of the deposit that have received little previous drilling. Results are pending for a core hole that has since been drilled near ISR06-113; and
high-grade intercepts -- hole 112 also encountered some very high-grade ore-grade intercepts in excess of 0.80 per cent tungsten oxide (WO3).

Current tungsten pricing

After trading between $45 to $75 per short ton unit (as reported by Metal Bulletin and the United States Geological Service) during the 1980s and 1990s, the significant decrease in exports from China served as the impetus for prices to rise sharply at the end of 2004. Since October of 2005, tungsten prices have remained above $250 per short ton unit, with current pricing above $260 per short ton unit. Note, one short ton unit is equal to 20 pounds of WO3, which puts current tungsten prices at $13.00 per pound.

 
          
 Hole ID                      From       To    Interval         WO3% 
                                                  (feet)  fusion/XRF 
      
 ISR06-111                      65        80        15          0.20 
 460 feet TD                   175       205        30          0.19 
 Twins J-2 (open rotary) 
 Twins IS-8 (core)             295       435       140          0.16 
 including                     370       375         5          1.38 
 ISR06-112                     115       140        25          0.25 
 620 feet TD                   150       175        25          0.16 
 Tests deeper open 
 portion of deposit            315       595       280          0.23 
 including                     315       330        15          0.87 
 and                           385       395        10          0.85 
 ISR06-113                     280       380       100          0.17 
 380 feet TD 
 Tests deeper open 
 portion of deposit 
 ISC06-115 (core)               30        45        15          0.30 
 363 feet TD                   101       145        44          0.25 
 Twins ISRC-1 (RC) 
 Twins UCW-83 
 (open percussion)             260       290        30          0.18 
 ISR06-116                     140       210        70          0.19 
 260 feet TD 
 Expands south end 
  
 

The near-surface mineralization at Indian Springs tends to dip shallowly to the east. The holes reported here cut the shallow mineralized zones nearly perpendicularly and represent approximately true thickness intercepts. The geometry of the deeper zones is not understood as well, but the holes were not drilled down dip or parallel to the trend of mineralization and the intercepts are thought to represent substantial zones of disseminated mineralization.

The Indian Springs tungsten property, located in northeastern Nevada (25 miles north of Montello), is an advanced-stage exploration property that has been inactive since the early 1980s due to low tungsten prices. The open-pittable project represents an opportunity for Galway Resources to bring a historical advanced tungsten property to the scoping-study (expected March, 2007) level in less than one year of acquisition by spending less than $1-million (U.S.).

The project had undergone extensive exploration drilling and metallurgical testing during the period of 1968 through 1986, including the activities of three major mining companies -- Placer Amex, Union Carbide and Utah International -- for a total estimated expenditure of from $3-million (U.S.) to $5-million (U.S.). A historical tungsten resource was defined based upon 336 drill holes, representing over 82,000 feet of drilling and thousands of feet of trenching, geologic mapping and sampling, along with metallurgical testing. The drill-defined tungsten mineralization has exploration potential along strike to the northeast and southwest.

The most current reserve, carried out by Utah International in 1984 (internal company documentation), stated a reserve of 8.85 million tons at 0.257 per cent WO3 at a 0.17-per-cent cut-off and a strip ratio of 4.8. Additionally, using a lower cut-off grade on the same orebody, Utah International also reported a reserve of 21.94 million tons at 0.179 per cent WO3, at a 0.10-per-cent cut-off grade and a strip ratio of 1.3. These historical reserve numbers should not be relied upon as they have not been classified according to Canadian Institute of Mining resource/reserve categories. There is insufficient documentation to categorize the historical reserves and therefore to reconcile them with current National Instrument 43-101 resource/reserve categories. While current NI 43-101-compliant resources and/or reserves are not established for Indian Springs, Galway considers the project data to be substantial and relevant. Indications are that resource estimation is achievable using the large amount of existing historical drill data. Plans are in place for SRK Consulting U.S. to produce an NI 43-101 resource estimate around January, 2007.

Quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC)

The company has implemented a program of quality assurance and quality control to ensure collection and analysis of all drill samples are conducted in accordance with the best possible practices. Samples are stored in a secured area in Montello prior to transfer to lab personnel for shipping to the Chemex sample preparation facility in Elko, Nev. Other QA/QC procedures include the insertion of blanks and control samples every 100 feet, and reassaying duplicate pulps of 5 per cent of all samples and 10 per cent of samples assaying greater than 0.1 per cent WO3. All duplicate samples are reassayed at both Chemex and at a certified independent laboratory (SGS). WO3 is assayed at the Chemex Vancouver laboratory by two methods: (1) lithium borate fusion with an XRF finish; and (2) pressed pellet XRF.

The results of the company's current drilling program have been reviewed, verified (including sampling, analytical and test data) and compiled by the company's geological staff (which includes a qualified person, Bob Morrell, CPG, the company's vice-president of project development, for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101 standards of disclosure for mineral projects, of the Canadian Securities Administrators).

Mr. Morrell is Galway's qualified person responsible for the activities at Indians Springs and has reviewed the technical content of this news release. Galway is following best practices guidelines in documenting, reporting and conducting exploration activities at Indian Springs.

[oasdihf]

Noront Resources Ltd.: New Option Agreement Burnt Hill Tungsten Project New Brunswick
Monday November 13, 9:20 am ET

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(CCNMatthews - Nov. 13, 2006) - Noront Resources Ltd. (Noront) (TSX VENTURE:NOT - News) has advised Limerick Mines Limited that Limerick is in default of its option agreement dated October 19th, 2005 granting Limerick the right to earn up to 65% of Noront's 100% owned Burnt Hill tungsten deposit. The option agreement called for Limerick to issue to Noront 8 million common shares and complete $1.5 million on exploration by October 19th, 2006 to earn a 50% interest in the project, neither of which has been completed. Noront considers this option agreement to be terminated and in this regard is pleased to announce that it has entered into a new option agreement with a private Ontario company (optionee) as at October 31st, 2006.

This new option agreement to earn the first 51% interest calls for exploration expenditures of $1.5 million over 3 years, $500,000 within 12 months from the date of the agreement and $500,000 in each of the next 2 years. Noront is further to receive 2.5 million shares of the Optionee and/or its assignee and cash payments of $150,000 payable as follows: $50,000 upon execution of the agreement and $50,000 within 12 months and a final payment of $50,000 within 24 months from the date of the agreement.

Noront granted a further option to the Optionee to earn a further 14% in the project by payment to Noront of $500,000 in cash or in shares equivalent of the Optionee and/or is assignee

The Optionee has covenanted and agreed to apply to have its shares listed on a recognized stock exchange or alternately transfer its rights under the option agreement, with Noront's consent, to a publicly trading vehicle listed on a recognized exchange within 6 months from the date of the option agreement.

An NI 43-101 compliant technical report on the Burnt Hill project, authored by Mr. Eugene Puritch P.Eng and Dr. Wayne Ewert P.Geo of P & E Consultants Inc., both qualified persons as defined by NI 43-101 has been completed, please see the company's web site for details of report at www.norontresources.com.

The Company has been advised that the Optionee's intention is to resume the exploration and redevelopment of the Burnt Hill Project. The Optionee intends to pursue the project to production and in order to facilitate this Mr. Norman Brewster the former manager of the Burnt Hill Project through his position as a partner of A.C.A. Howe International during the late 1970's has agreed to advise the Optionee from time to time.

The last underground development work provided approximately 13,600 tons (12,341 tonnes) of feed for a pilot plant set up at the site to provide testing of the "photometric ore sorter". Although the test results were considered positive a production decision was postponed due to a decrease in tungsten prices after completion of a pre feasibility study. Tungsten at the time of the pre feasibility study was trading at approximately $7.50US per lb and thereafter plunged to approximately $3.00US per lb, recent quotes for tungsten as at November 9th, 2006 were $16-$17 per lb. See www.metalprices.com. It also should be noted that earlier metallurgical testing confirmed that molydbenum and tin contained in the deposit may also be recoverable.

Stock Option Grant

The Company reports that at the latest annual meeting of the Company Mr David Graham B.Sc.was appointed to the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors has approved and granted to Mr. Graham 150,000 stock options at an exercise price of $0.15 expiring on October 27th, 2011.

Noront is a tier 2 junior resource company on the TSX Venture Exchange, trading symbol NOT, with 54,567,692 shares issued to date.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

"R. Nemis", President and Chief Executive Officer

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

[johnlw]

Northern Dancer update:

http://events.onlinebroadcasting.com/largo/102606/index.php

About the 6 minute mark
"43-101 report expected mid-November"

[amarksp]

Tungsten Price Update (in US$ and Euro)

[amarksp]

tungsten price update

http://amarks.homestead.com/files/tungstenprice.jpg

[oasdihf]

Playfair Releases Grey River Drill Results
Thursday August 31, 1:59 pm ET

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(CCNMatthews - Aug. 31, 2006) - Playfair Mining Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:PLY - News) is pleased to report that all analytical data has now been received for the recently completed drill program at Playfair's 100% owned Grey River Tungsten property. A total of 2,836.4 metres were drilled in 15 large diameter HQ drillholes from April 6th to July 10th, 2006. Playfair's drill program consisted of 8 confirmatory drillholes within ASARCO's historic resource(i), 3 exploratory drillholes immediately adjacent to the historic resource(i) and 4 exploratory drillholes on Vein # 6 where no historic resource had been calculated.
Playfair's confirmatory drilling generally confirms ASARCO's data on Vein # 10 and gives indications of possible extensions. The vein pinches and swells somewhat but is remarkably consistent overall. Widths vary from less than 0.5m to more than 4.0m. Wolframite occurs as isolated clusters and locally disseminated crystals causing a "nugget effect" and making the mineralization difficult to sample with diamond drilling. Significant intercepts are given below.


Playfair drillholes within ASARCO's Vein # 10 historic resource(i)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Drillhole Vein # From (m) To (m) Interval (m) %WO3
--------------------------------------------------------------------
GR-06-100(ii) 98.0 98.5 0.5 0.34
10 145.5 146.0 0.5 0.73
--------------------------------------------------------------------
GR-06-102(ii) 10 107.9 109.1 1.2 0.71
116.3 116.7 0.7 0.39
--------------------------------------------------------------------
GR-06-103(ii) 10 153.2 156.0 2.8 1.16
comprising 10 153.2 154.5 1.3 0.54
and 10 154.5 156.0 1.5 1.70
--------------------------------------------------------------------
GR-06-104(ii) 10 84.1 85.2 1.1 0.82
comprising 10 84.1 84.6 0.5 1.56
and 10 84.6 85.2 0.9 0.21
106.3 107.0 0.7 0.62
--------------------------------------------------------------------
GR-06-105(ii) 58.3 59.2 0.9 0.49
134.0 135.0 1.0 0.35
10 172.0 173.9 1.9 0.90
10 172.0 173.0 1.0 1.36
10 173.0 173.9 0.9 0.39
--------------------------------------------------------------------
GR-06-106 2.8 3.4 0.9 1.32
10 110.3 111.2 0.9 0.09
--------------------------------------------------------------------
GR-06-107 2.7 3.1 0.4 1.34
14.0 15.1 1.1 0.40
188.4 189.2 0.8 0.40
10 190.2 195.0 4.8 0.39
comprising 10 190.2 190.7 0.5 1.68
and 10 190.7 192.2 1.5 0.04
and 10 192.2 195.0 2.8 0.34
--------------------------------------------------------------------
GR-06-114 81.5 82.6 1.1 0.33
10 124.2 126.3 1.1 0.63
--------------------------------------------------------------------
(ii) Portions of these drillholes have been previously reported.
Playfair's 8 confirmatory drillholes all intersected Vein # 10 over widths along the core varied from 0.5 to 4.8m and WO3 assays varied from a high of 1.70% WO3/1.5m to a low of 0.09% WO3/0.9m. Other tungsten-bearing veins were also intersected during the drill program and are being considered for follow-up work. Vein # 10 continues to the north and south of the drilled area. To the south the vein has been sampled in trenches and ASARCO drillhole GR-14 is reported to have intersected 0.65% WO3 over 0.91m.

This data, together with Playfair's surface sampling and ASARCO's historical surface, drilling and underground sampling data is being compiled into a GIS-based digital database in preparation for a NI 43-101 compliant resource calculation for the Grey River deposit. Prior work by ASARCO on the Grey River property from the period of the initial tungsten discovery in 1954 until 1970 included extensive surface sampling and assaying followed by surface diamond drilling and the establishment of 1920 metres of underground workings. ASARCO sampled 25 underground raises and estimated a historic resource(i) of 520,000 tons (473,000 tonnes), above adit level, grading 0.97% WO3.

A brief inspection of the 1.6 kilometre long underground adit was carried out during the drill program. The workings were observed to be dry and in sound shape with only minor falls of loose material from the back.

Playfair's 3 exploratory drillholes immediately adjacent to the historic resource(i) all encountered Vein # 10 and other tungsten-bearing veins. Thin quartz veinlets carrying fluorite and scheelite are common in the hanging wall of Vein # 10, especially at the south end of the drilling. There may be sufficient veinlets locally to provide a large tonnage low-grade tungsten resource. Significant intercepts are given below.


Playfair drillholes adjacent to ASARCO's Vein # 10
historic resource(i)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Drillhole Vein # From (m) To (m) Interval (m) %WO3
--------------------------------------------------------------------
GR-06-101(ii) 106.7 107.4 0.7 0.44
191.0 192.5 1.5 1.02
197.9 198.4 0.5 0.64
10 205.0 206.0 1.0 0.79
--------------------------------------------------------------------
GR-06-112 38.3 38.6 0.5 1.10
10 153.3 154.1 0.8 0.25
10 162.5 162.9 0.4 0.25
--------------------------------------------------------------------
GR-06-113 29.1 29.8 0.7 0.28
10 187.3 187.8 0.5 0.19
--------------------------------------------------------------------
(ii) Portions of this drillhole have been previously reported.
Playfair also drilled 4 holes on Vein # 6 located to the northeast of Vein # 10. All 4 drillholes encountered tungsten-bearing veins. Vein # 6 drilling has been somewhat inconclusive. Additional drilling is being considered. Significant intercepts are given below.


Playfair drillholes on Vein # 6
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Drillhole Vein # From (m) To (m) Interval (m) %WO3
--------------------------------------------------------------------
GR-06-108 6 101.0 102.3 1.3 0.19
6 105.0 105.9 0.9 0.55
--------------------------------------------------------------------
GR-06-109 6 154.9 155.3 0.4 0.40
--------------------------------------------------------------------
GR-06-110 6 158.0 159.8 1.8 Trace
--------------------------------------------------------------------
GR-06-111 73.2 74.2 1.0 0.19
6 166.8 167.1 0.3 0.02
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Playfair owns 4 tungsten deposits, Grey River (Newfoundland), Risby (Yukon), Lened (Yukon) and Clea, (Northwest Territories). Playfair's exploration has so far been focused on the Grey River deposit where consistently favourable results have advanced the project towards underground exploration.

Mr. James Harris, P.Geo is the qualified person who has reviewed the technical information contained in this news release on behalf of Playfair.

(i) Estimates of tungsten resources are historical in nature, predate and are noncompliant with NI 43-101. Playfair is not treating the historical estimates as current mineral resources or reserves. Playfair has not undertaken any independent investigation of the resource estimates nor has it independently analyzed the results of the previous exploration work in order to verify the resources, and therefore the historical estimates should not be relied upon. However, Playfair believes that these historical estimates provide a conceptual indication of the potential of the occurrences and are relevant to ongoing exploration.

Core samples were collected under the supervision of Mr. James Harris, P.Geo. HQ diameter core was descriptively logged on site, aligned, marked for sampling and then split in half, longitudinally, using a diamond saw blade. One-half of the core is preserved on site in core boxes for verification and future reference. The samples comprising the other half of the core were bagged, sealed and delivered to Eastern Analytical Ltd. in Springdale Newfoundland where they were dried, crushed and pulped. Samples were crushed to approximately -10 mesh and split using a riffle splitter to approximately 300 grams. The sample split was pulverized using a ringmill to approximately 98% minus 150 mesh. The resulting pulp was then shipped to Acme Analytical Laboratories Ltd. of Vancouver BC, an ISO 9001:2000 accredited laboratory where a 0.5 gm split was subjected to a phosphoric acid leach followed by tungsten analysis of the leachate by ICP-ES. All coarse rejects are currently stored at Eastern Analytical Ltd. facilities and sample pulps are currently stored at the Acme Analytical Laboratories Ltd. facilities.

No Stock Exchange has Approved or Disapproved the Information Contained Herein. The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

[Tackler]

LGO Largo Resources, from August 16th SMD release...

Assay results should be available soon from the Northern Dancer property, where a large drill program financed by Largo Resources Ltd. has just been completed. The Northern Dancer property is located about 12 kilometres by road off the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. It covers the Logtung deposit, which contains a published resource of 162 million tonnes grading 0.13 per cent tungsten oxide (WO3) and 0.052 per cent molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) (Economic Geology, 1984, Volume 79, page 849). This resource is a historical estimate that does not conform to standards prescribed in NI 43-101 and investors are cautioned not to rely on this estimate.

[oasdihf]

Primary Metals Reports Another Profitable Quarter with Earnings of CDN$0.10 per Share
Tuesday August 29, 3:10 pm ET

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(CCNMatthews - Aug. 29, 2006) - Primary Metals Inc. ("Primary" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:PMI - News) has announced consolidated financial results, reported in Euros, for the first quarter ended June 30, 2006. The Company reported net earnings after non-cash income taxes for the quarter of EUR 898,000 (CDN$1.27 million) or EUR 0.07 (CDN$0.10) per share as a result of the continued strength in operations at the Company's Panasqueira tungsten mine in Portugal. Earnings before non-cash income taxes were EUR 1.19 million (CDN$1.67 million) or EUR 0.10 (CDN$0.14) per share.

Highlights for the first quarter of fiscal 2007 include:

- Net earnings per share, before non-cash income taxes, of EUR 0.10 or CDN$0.14 (EUR 0.08 or CDN$0.12 diluted)

- Net earnings per share, after non-cash income taxes, of EUR 0.07 or CDN$0.10 (EUR 0.06 or CDN$0.09 diluted)

- Net earnings, after non-cash income taxes, of EUR 897,587 or CDN$1,265,777 (EUR 1,186,267 or CDN$1,672,874 before non-cash income taxes)

- Tungsten sales of EUR 4,761,827 or CDN$6,715,128

- Completion of a positive NI 43-101 independent technical report on ore reserves and tungsten resources at Panasqueira (see News Release dated June 23, 2006)

- Continuation of planned surface and underground improvements

- Continuing strength in tungsten price

"We continue to commit the Company to the long-term operation of our profitable Panasqueira tungsten mine following the delivery of a very favourable independent technical report and assessment of ore reserves," said Lewis Black, Chairman of the Company. "Earnings continue to be affected by the weakness in the US dollar. The expenditures on new equipment and refurbishment that have been made and those planned for the near future, together with the mine development work underway, are expected to result in improvements in operations and continuation of tungsten production from the mine for the long term."

The focus on mine development is starting to show some positive impact on mill feed grade at the mine. The average grade of mill feed for the first quarter was 0.21% WO3, a slight improvement over the average of 0.20% WO3 for the previous quarter. Additional low profile mine equipment has been ordered for delivery late this year and is expected to result in further improvements in mine efficiencies.

An extensive refurbishment program has been underway at the mine in preparation for recommencement of operations following the annual three-week August holiday. Work has included replacement of mine hoist cables, extensive repair and maintenance work, and installation and tune-up of new equipment.

The Panasqueira mine has a long history of production of high quality wolframite concentrates and is the dominant producer of high-grade tungsten concentrates outside China. Results from the first quarter together with the Management Discussion and Analysis of Results and other information are available at www.sedar.com and at the Company's website at www.primarymetals.ca.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

James Robertson, P. Eng., Director

James Robertson, P. Eng., is a Qualified Person for Primary and has reviewed and approved the information contained in this News Release.

This News Release contains forward-looking statements respecting the company's expectations as to the results of planned work programs, potential mineralization, resources, reserves, mine production levels and future tungsten prices. Such statements are based on certain assumptions, including continued demand for tungsten, availability of capital, equipment and personnel to carry out and complete the planned work programs and accuracy within a reasonable range of reported exploration and development results, and involve various risks and uncertainties, including global economic factors, future commodity prices, lack of availability of equipment or personnel, and results of exploration and development. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the Company's documents filed from time-to-time with regulatory authorities and on www.sedar.com.

The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of this release.

[FamilyGuy]

prospectorresources.com

we won't have it linked for a month or two, once the deal is signed and announced we'll link it then, otherwise just premature. Thanks very much - great graph.

[Tackler]

Hey that was SGN's rig!

[oasdihf]

Playfair Drilling Risby Tungsten Deposit
Wednesday August 23, 10:37 am ET


VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(CCNMatthews - Aug. 23, 2006) - Playfair Mining Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:PLY - News) is pleased to announce that BC based Westcore Drilling Ltd. have been awarded a contract to drill a minimum of 2,500 metres on Playfair's 100% owned Risby tungsten deposit located approximately 55 kilometres west of Ross River, Yukon. The drill is currently being mobilized to the property with drilling anticipated this week.

The drill program is based on a recent report completed for Playfair by Mr. Peter Dadson, P. Geo and is designed to provide confirmation of some of the earlier drill results and, importantly, to drill untested areas which may increase the known deposit size (historic estimate(i) calculated by Hudson Bay Exploration and Development Co. Ltd. in 1982 using a 0.4% WO3 cutoff grade is 2.7 million tonnes of 0.81% WO3).

Mr. Dadson's compilation report summarizes the geology, mineralization and previous work on the property as follows:

"The property is underlain by a lower Paleozoic sedimentary sequence of argillite, limestone and calcareous siltstone and their metamorphic equivalents which have been intruded by a Cretaceous biotite quartz monzonite.

There are two tungsten bearing zones on the property with Scheelite mineralization developed in two sub-parallel stratiform skarns which occur at or in close proximity and paralleling the quartz monzonite contact. Both pyrite and pyrrhotite are present in the zones in concentrations of several percent while chalcopyrite and molybdenite have been noted as accessory sulphides.

Exploration began on the property in 1968 and proceeded into 1982. During this time frame 8,057 m of diamond drilling in 46 holes was completed in addition to geological mapping, rock trenching, stream sediment geochemistry and magnetometer and EM surveys."


Playfair owns 100% of four high-grade tungsten deposits(i) in Canada.------------------------------------------------------------------
Property Tonnes % WO3 MTU's Company
------------------------------------------------------------------
Grey River 473,000 0.97 458,500 ASARCO 1970
------------------------------------------------------------------
Risby 2,700,000 0.81 2,187,000 HBED 1982
------------------------------------------------------------------
Lened 737,000 1.14 840,200 Union Carbide 1986
------------------------------------------------------------------
Clea 257,000 0.93 239,000 Placer Dome 1980
------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 4,167,000 0.89 3,724,700
------------------------------------------------------------------(i) Estimates of tungsten resources are historical in nature, predate
and are noncompliant with NI 43-101. Playfair is not treating the
historical estimates as current mineral resources or reserves. Playfair
has not undertaken any independent investigation of the resource
estimates nor has it independently analyzed the results of the previous
exploration work in order to verify the resources, and therefore the
historical estimates should not be relied upon. However, Playfair
believes that these historical estimates provide a conceptual
indication of the potential of the occurrences and are relevant to
ongoing exploration.
Playfair is well financed and intends to aggressively advance these deposits towards production to take advantage of the buoyant tungsten market.

Mr. Michael Moore, P.Geo is the qualified person who has reviewed the technical information contained in this news release on behalf of Playfair.

Visit our website at www.playfairmining.com for more information.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

D. Neil Briggs, President and Director

No Stock Exchange Has Approved or Disapproved The Information Contained Herein.

[amarksp]

yes, no problem.

what is your website address?

[FamilyGuy]

amarksp,

May I link your Tungsten chart page on my company website?

[oasdihf]

First Narrows options Falls Creek property

2006-08-17 10:19 ET - News Release

Mr. Peter Gummer reports

FIRST NARROWS OPTIONS TUNGSTEN-MOLYBDENUM PROPERTY IN NEW BRUNSWICK GRAB SAMPLES ASSAYED UP TO 5.83% TUNGSTEN AND 0.62% MOLYBDENUM

First Narrows Resources Corp. has entered into an option agreement to acquire 124 claims (the Falls Creek property) situated 40 kilometres south of the company's Chester property and 27 kilometres north of the village of Boiestown, in the little explored regions of New Brunswick's central highlands. The property consists of seven claim blocks (1,984 hectares or 4,960 acres) on which numerous tungsten-molybdenum mineralized boulders have been discovered within coincident soil geochemical and IP anomalies, all of which remain undrilled.

The Falls Creek property has been acquired under option from Anthony Johnston and Delbert Johnston, effective Aug. 14, 2006. Subject to regulatory approval, the company has the right to earn a 100-per-cent interest in the claims by issuing 90,000 common shares as an initial option payment, and up to 240,000 additional common shares to the Johnstons over the ensuing six years. The Johnstons retain a 1.5-per-cent net smelter royalty, 50 per cent of which the company may purchase at a cost of $500,000.

The company will immediately proceed with a technical report, prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, on the property to document the historical work and recommend an exploration program. Earnest Brooks, PGeo, is the company's qualified person for the Falls Creek property. Mr. Brooks was formerly mine and exploration geologist for Brunswick Mining and Smelting.

Background on the Falls Creek property

Tungsten (W) and molybdenum (Mo) mineralization was discovered in widespread boulders in 1982 by Delbert Johnston on what is now the Falls Creek property. Consequently, claims were staked and optioned to various exploration companies. Records indicate that historical work consisted of prospecting and limited soil geochemical and IP geophysical surveys. Scheelite, molybdoscheelite, wolframite and molybdenite (the main economic minerals of W and Mo) mineralization is reported in boulders of altered granite, pegmatite and quartz veins along a strike length of up to 4.5 kilometres and across widths of 200 metres or more on the east contact of the Dungarvon granite and in the intruded country rocks of sediments, and mafic and felsic volcanic rocks.

Although the historical soil geochemical survey delineated W-Mo anomalies, and although the historical IP survey delineated an IP anomaly associated with both the soil anomalies and the mineralized boulders, the targets remain undrilled today.

Grab samples taken during the historical surveys returned as much as 5.35 per cent W. Confirmation assays on grab samples from boulders with coarse molybdenite mineralization collected by Mr. Brooks, the company's qualified person, during an initial property visit, returned values up to 0.62 per cent Mo. During a second property visit wolframite and molybdenite were also observed by Mr. Brooks as small, less-than-five-millimetre crystals in altered granite. Additional analyses are pending on samples collected during the second property visit. Earlier records report wolframite crystals up to 10 centimetres in length in boulders of quartz. The Falls Creek property is part of a classic W-Mo-tin-uranium (Sn-U) metallogenic belt that occurs in New Brunswick's central highlands. Although significant W-Mo mineralization has been observed in many boulders on the property, there has been little sustained exploration activity over the years. The property is considered by management to be significantly under-explored and has potential to host economic W-Mo-(Sn-U) mineralization.

[oasdihf]

Rumors over Chinese exports lift US tungsten prices

New York (Platts)--10Aug2006
Rumors that export licences have mostly been used up by Chinese exporters
helped lift prices in the US for ammonium paratungstate.
A consumer said he had been offered material at in excess of $250/st and
turned it down, but other consumers and a producer put the market at
$235-245/st, which was where the Platts assessment was Thursday for US
imported material, up from $230-235/st the previous week. However, there was
no business reported, although one consumer said that other end users that had
not booked fourth-quarter material may struggle to secure supplies and will be
forced to look elsewhere.
He said that the export license expiration issue did not normally emerge
until the second-half of October. However, this year had been an exception and
was due to larger volumes exported from China, due to robust consumption in
Europe and North America. He predicted prices could go to $270/st by the end
of this year.
Another consumer said that he had also heard that Chinese licenses were
running out quickly, but doubted whether consumers who had not booked for Q4
delivery would necessarily be in trouble. "People may buy Q4 material and take
enough for delivery in the first few weeks of 2007 to tide them over until the
new liceses are issued. The timing of the new licenses all depends on when
Chinese New Year is." The first consumer said that a late Chinese lunar New
Year would make things worse.
Next year, Chinese New Year falls on February 18 and fresh import
licenses are unlikely to be issued before then, the consumer said. This year
it fell in late January.
But a producer said that while prices were going up and licenses were
likely to be fully used at an earlier point this year compared with last, he
did not think that everything was about to dry up suddenly. "Prices are
certainly moving up, but we haven't done anything specific," he said.
Meanwhile, there were also rumors that the major ore miners are getting
close to their maximum production quotas this year, which has also supported
prices of APT.
An APT consumer said that he had heard rumors that the main producer
Jiangxi Tungsten Group only had licenses to produce another 3,000 mt of
concentrate for the remainder of this year. "That would barely cover a major
ferrotungsten campaign," he said.
--Anthony Poole; [e-mail]

Online Source:
http://platts.com/Metals/News/9205081.xml?sub=Metals&p=Metals/News&

[amarksp]

Have been buying PMI at these lower prices. No one has posted yet on the 7,595 MTU in fiscal 4Q whereby production exceeded sales. Likely some or most of this will turn around in fiscal 1Q and my calcs show 1Q should be most profitable in PMI history, we shall see. I am hopefully, conservatively estimating 3,200 MTU will turn around this quarter (i.e. sales will exceed production in 1Q). Am also assuming PMI will meet its regular 30,000 MTU production goal this quarter, this is more problematic, but certainly achievable, IMO.
http://amarks.homestead.com/files/pmi1.jpg

As for the Almonty/Black deal on Tungsten APT sales revenue, this has been averaging 11.55% of revenue these past 2 quarters. This is a good deal for Almonty, no doubt about it, but is somewhat/partially offset by lower G&A salaries/stock option compensation since Almonty getting paid via this "royalty" and not by salaries/options. I would prefer more transparency as well, but Almonty only getting 11.55% of APT Tungsten revenue at current Tungsten $260 price.

http://amarks.homestead.com/files/pmi2.jpg

Tungsten price is moving up a bit these past few weeks.
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=12565477

Believe PMI is a good speculation at these lower prices, given that fiscal 1Q should be PMI's best quarter ever from mining operations (i.e. before one time adjustments such as last quarters Income Tax Adjustment). We shall see.

[Ed Monton]

Thanks !

[amarksp]

weekly tugsten price

I update it every few weeks, usually after a move in price...
http://www.amarks.homestead.com/files/tungstenprice.jpg

[Bobwins]

I was disappointed in the last qtr from PMI and sold out.

I have been buying Dynacor,DYN.v. They are reopening the Pasto Bueno tungsten mine in Peru. In addition, they have a small gold mining operation where they buy gold ore from locals and mill it.

http://www.stockhouse.com/bullboards/viewmessage.asp?no=12663599&t=0&all=0

Bobwins

[Ed Monton]

Where do you get a chart of the tungsten price ?

[Ed Monton]

PMI

[Bobwins]

dyn.v is a Canadian junior who is restarting a tungsten mine in Peru. They also have a small gold mine in peru.

www.dynacor.com/pdf/DD_Research_Jan19-2006.pdf

Closed at C$.405 today. Once production starts this month, the cashflow should payback the startup costs very quickly.

Stock price should move up once revs start showing up in the financials. Bobwins

[amarksp]

Tungsten - China

China aims to build up strategic reserves of minerals such as
uranium, copper, and aluminum to help meet rising demand and provide a buffer against supply disruptions, the Ministry of Land and Resources said.

The nation aims to have "sufficient reserves" of uranium, and will start to build stockpiles of copper, aluminum, manganese, tungsten, and other minerals in the next few years, the ministry said in a statement on its Web site, citing a five-year government plan. The term "sufficient reserves" was not defined, and there were no specific targets for the eventual size of the mineral holdings.

[Ed Monton]

PMI

[amarksp]

PMI article

http://www.primarymetalsinc.ca/i/pdf/2006-03-22_MP.pdf

[Ed Monton]

PLY

[Ed Monton]

Playfair Awards Grey River Drill Contract

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(CCNMatthews - March 24, 2006) - Playfair Mining Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:PLY) is pleased to announce that it has awarded a drill contract to Petro Drilling Company Limited of Springdale, Newfoundland. The contract covers a minimum of 2,000 metres for the initial phase of Playfair's Grey River drill program, a component of the continuing program to establish NI-43-101 compliant resources at Grey River. Drilling will begin within the next two weeks to test portions of the Number 10 and Number 6 veins with 14 large diameter HQ diamond drillholes under the supervision of consulting geologist James Harris P.Geo, a Qualified Person under NI 43-101 guidelines.

The Grey River property was explored by American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO) from 1957 to 1970. ASARCO's work included a 1,920 metre long adit into and along the "Main Vein" (Number 10) and extensive underground drifting, raising, channel and bulk sampling.

Grey River is one of four tungsten properties owned 100% by Playfair that has calculated historical resources(i). Playfair intends within the next 12 months to advance, principally by drilling, at least two of these tungsten deposits to 43-101 compliant resources.

Additionally Playfair plans significant exploration on its underexplored Granite Lake project in Newfoundland where over 20 bedrock tungsten showings are known in association with an extremely large geochemical anomaly covering over 50 square kilometers. One of these showings is very high grade with 4.4% tungsten trioxide (WO3) over a 5.0 metre width reported from previous work.



--------------------------------------------------------------Property Tonnes % WO3 MTUs Company--------------------------------------------------------------Grey River 473,000 0.97 458,500 ASARCO, 1970Risby 2,700,000 0.81 2,187,000 HBED, 1982Lened 737,000 1.14 840,200 Union Carbide, 1986Clea 257,000 0.93 239,000 Placer Dome, 1980--------------------------------------------------------------Total 4,167,000 0.89 3,724,700--------------------------------------------------------------




(i) Estimates of tungsten resources are historical in nature, predate and are noncompliant with NI 43-101. Playfair is not treating the historical estimates as current mineral resources or reserves. Playfair has not undertaken any independent investigation of the resource estimates nor has it independently analyzed the results of the previous exploration work in order to verify the resources, and therefore the historical estimates should not be relied upon. However, Playfair believes that these historical estimates provide a conceptual indication of the potential of the occurrences and are relevant to ongoing exploration.

Mr. Michael Moore, P.Geo is the qualified person who has reviewed the technical information contained in this news release on behalf of Playfair.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

D. Neil Briggs, President and Director

No stock exchange has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

[Tackler]

Playfair banks on tungsten boom

2006-02-15 14:28 ET - Street Wire

by Will Purcell

Neil Briggs and Don Moore's old pet, Playfair Mining Ltd. chewed through its 15-cent leash last month when investors showed sudden interest in its tungsten plays. The company recently picked up three projects in Yukon and the westernmost part of the Northwest Territories, but Playfair's Grey River property in Newfoundland remains the top play. The tungsten market is now hot, with several decades of artificially low prices apparently over. The buoyant tungsten price is attracting attention from explorers and Playfair has rosy estimates for the economics of its advanced plays. Still, the company will have to provide more answers to sustain the current enthusiasm.

Grey River

Playfair's shares were an eight-cent market snore in the fall of 2004, when the company picked up the Grey River project from South Coast Ventures Inc. The 1,850-hectare property lies about 40 kilometres east of Burgeo, on the southern shore of Newfoundland, or about 150 kilometres southeast of Stephenville.

The little property has a lengthy past, although it slept through much of it. Tungsten first turned up in the area in 1956, prodding Asarco LLC into a 24-year exploration effort. The company drilled, trenched and eventually drove a 1.9-kilometre exploration tunnel into the deposit, collecting a 250-tonne bulk sample from a few raises.

Asarco identified about 470,000 tonnes of wolframite rock with a tungsten oxide content of 0.97 per cent. The old reserve is not up to current 43-101 snuff, but Mr. Moore said they "really were quite confident in what they got." The company plans to prepare a formal resource calculation and there could be room for expansion. Projecting the two main veins to a depth of 250 metres could add another 600,000 tonnes to the tally, but that will likely mean more drilling.

The grade of nearly 1.0 per cent tungsten oxide suggests a gross rock value of about $280 (U.S.) per tonne, although price is one of the uncertainties that Playfair faces. There is no formal metals market for tungsten, and many details remain guarded secrets.

Prices are quoted in metric tonne units, the equivalent of 10 kilograms of an intermediate product in the recovery process, ammonium paratungstate (APT). Based on that, one tonne of rock with a tungsten oxide content of 1.0 per cent would theoretically contain a one metric tonne unit of tungsten.

A potential producer would sell concentrate, not pure tungsten or even APT, and that complicates matters further. Mr. Moore said that a producer might typically expect prices to run about $20 (U.S.) lower per metric tonne unit for concentrate. Playfair arrived at that conclusion by reverse engineering the financial data from producers of tungsten concentrate.

The calculation left a significant margin for error, making the guess a crude one at best, although it is the best answer available for investors. Further, it is unclear if the rough historical approximation is applicable to the current market conditions. "I reserve the right to change my mind," added Mr. Moore.

Speculators also reserve that right. Playfair's shares spent nearly all of 2005 trading between seven cents and 15 cents, but the stock took off on heavy volumes to start 2006. The sudden enthusiasm carried Playfair to a $1.29 early this month, before a change of heart sent the stock back to 82 cents less than a week later. Over 30 million shares traded so far in 2006, worth over $20.6-million. That compares with 18.7 million shares, worth $2.36-million, for all of 2005.

The speculative interest lags a big rally in the tungsten market. The price started 2005 at $60 (U.S.) per metric tonne unit, but surged to a peak of $300 (U.S.). The price cooled off for a time, retreating to $180 (U.S.) per metric tonne unit, before mounting a new charge.

The big variations appear the result of a rapid transformation toward a freer market for tungsten. About 85 per cent of the metal came from China for many years, and the country was content to dump its product at cheap prices. The swelling demand triggered by the rapidly expanding Chinese economy is prompting some big changes. China is imposing greater controls and applying duties to its foreign sales, allowing the price to surge.

Many Canadian explorers are now hopping aboard the tungsten bandwagon, expecting further appreciation in demand for the specialty metal. Current trends suggest the supply imbalance will worsen next year, adding to speculation about further price bumps.

That is encouraging for Playfair, but the lack of a transparent market and the need for continued Chinese controls leaves much uncertainty in price predictions. Tungsten managed a good run back in the 1970s, jumping from $10 (U.S.) per metric tonne in 1963 to a peak of $175 (U.S.) in 1977. A sudden drop in exports from China in 1963 provided the first push in that run, and increased sales by China starting in the late 1970s sparked a steady decline.

The artificially low price undoubtedly was a factor prompting Asarco to abandon the Grey River play in 1970. The property had several owners after that, but few managed any new work, because of the poor economics offered by the depressed market. Price fluctuations remain a worry, but another big downturn is less likely today because of the increased domestic demand in China.

The plan

Mr. Moore said Playfair would probably have to spend about $20-milion to get a mine running, with about 40 per cent of the sum coming from equity sales and the rest from loans.

That would get Playfair a mine capable of handling about 300 to 400 tonnes per day, which would put some pressure on the company to expand its tonnages. Such a mine might go through 125,000 tonnes of material in a year, which would give the mine a lifespan of about four years, based on the historical calculations.

Mr. Moore said the company expected its mining costs would be around $125 per tonne, and if the company's concentrate will fetch double that value, Playfair would have a reasonable cash flow. The company's operating costs would top $15-million, with revenues coming in at over $30-million. Such crude calculations are invariably rosy.

Getting there will be the company's focus this year. Mr. Moore said Playfair planned to spend up to $700,000 on quick drilling and bulk sampling programs that would allow it to produce a resource calculation to 43-101 standards. The company has no firm plans beyond that, but Mr. Moore promised "more, later," after Playfair reviews its new data.

New plays

Playfair will also start work on two intriguing Yukon projects that offer promise of both grade and tonnage, although the projects undoubtedly carry significantly higher costs. The Lened property is about 40 kilometres northwest of Cantung in the Mackenzie Mountains, just east of the Yukon border, while the Risby project is in south-central Yukon, about 50 kilometres west of Ross River.

Playfair has a rough notion of what to expect from both plays, although its numbers are not up to 43-101 standards. In the early 1980s, Hudson Bay Exploration and Development Co. Ltd. drilled up a deposit it thought contained about 2.7 million tonnes of wolframite, with a tungsten oxide content of 0.81 per cent. That works out to a theoretical gross rock value of about $225 (U.S.) per tonne.

The Lened deposit contains 737,000 tonnes of scheelite, at an average grade of 1.14 per cent tungsten oxide, spread across three separate deposits dubbed, Emma, Stephens and Western. There are several other showings on the property, and one produced 1.75 per cent tungsten oxide over 5.4 metres. That makes the two new properties likely drill candidates for this year, along with the third property, Clea, which is just northwest of Lened.

Mr. Moore also waxes optimistically about Playfair's gold projects, as well as its Granite Lake anomaly that he touts as offering hope for a variety of metals. Those plays could also get a closer look this year, if the company can find the cash.

At the end of November, Playfair's coffers were getting bare, with just $125,000 in working capital left. The company arranged to place 3.7 million shares at 21.5 cents, which would bring in another $800,000. Playfair earmarked the money for Grey River and working capital, so it seems likely that it will take advantage of its heady share price to get more cash for its northern projects.

Playfair lost three cents Tuesday, closing at 88 cents on 420,000 shares.

[Tackler]

Geodex options New Brunswick claims from Union Gold


2006-01-27 17:16 ET - News Release

Mr. Jack Maris reports

GEODEX ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF OPTION AGREEMENT FOR STRATEGIC LAND POSITION, NEW BRUNSWICK.

Geodex Minerals Ltd. has signed an option agreement with Union Gold Inc., covering three blocks of claims in the Mount Pleasant area of New Brunswick. The total number of claims is 88. This land position lies on the west and south sides of the former Mount Pleasant mine.

The company can earn a 60-per-cent interest in the claims by paying the optionor a total of 500,000 shares over three years and committing to expenditures of $300,000 in that period. The company can increase its ownership to 80 per cent in the following two years by payment of a further 500,000 shares. Union Gold will retain a 1.5-per-cent net smelter return, half subject to buyback, and will gain another 1-per-cent NSR in exchange for its 20-per-cent equity if it elects not to proceed to joint venture.

This acquisition complements several land positions, such as Kedron and Beech Hill, which the company already owns in the region and is exploring for tin, tungsten, molybdenum and indium. The thrust of the exploration is to integrate modern surveys with many older prospects, geochemical anomalies and float discoveries in the belt. The target is mineralization related to high-level granitic cupolas of late Devonian age, which may not outcrop under the thin but extensive cover of glacial till.

This news release has been approved by J. Marr, PGeo, as a qualified person.

Geodex Minerals also announces that it has granted options to purchase a total of 100,000 common shares in the capital stock of the company at a price of 18 cents each for a period of five years to a director and consultant.

[Tackler]

N.A. Tungsten chugging along at Cantung

2006-02-08 20:46 ET - News Release

Mr. Stephen Leahy reports

NORTH AMERICAN TUNGSTEN CORPORATION HITTING FULL STRIDE AT CANTUNG

North American Tungsten Corp. Ltd. (NTC) has given a review of recent progress achieved in mining and milling operations at its wholly owned Cantung mine. The company completed its ramp-up phase from its September, 2005, start-up through January, 2006, focusing on enhancing operating efficiencies. During February, 2006, mill throughput of 1,000 tons per day with grades averaging over 1 per cent WO3 has been achieved and is expected to be maintained during the current mining program. Monthly production is currently forecast at 30,000 metric tonne units.

Underground mining operations have been improved through the introduction of long-hole mining (a bulk mining method for pillar recovery) that results in both higher ore tonnage availability and lowering of the impact of the cyclical nature of cut and fill mining. Current underground mine development, through the use of a mine development contractor and corporation crews, is proceeding as planned, and access to seven long-hole pillars should be completed by March, 2006. Routine cut and fill underground mine development will continue throughout the year. Recent equipment additions of a rebuilt two boom electric hydraulic jumbo and a scissor lift unit have also contributed to improved overall operating efficiencies.

Automating a number of components of the milling process has resulted in significant gains in operating efficiencies. New PLC (programmable logic controller) controlled pumps and flow lines have enabled the mill to respond more effectively to variances in ore hardness. This has led to enhanced tungsten recoveries by optimizing tonnage flow rates. A program to replace the Sala screens with Derrick screens commenced in December and is scheduled for completion this summer; this will improve screen efficiency and reduce maintenance costs. Automation has also resulted in a more effective deployment of the corporation's labour force.

NTC has modified its milling circuit to produce a single concentrate with an average grade of 65 per cent WO3, replacing the historical production of two concentrates; gravity and flotation. The elimination of the flotation concentrate production leads to lower shipping costs due to the fact flotation concentrates contains a lower WO3 content. In addition, the resulting production of a single concentrate product has broadened NTC's potential client base.

The 3.3-megawatt Caterpillar 3612 generator was commissioned this month. This unit will reduce servicing costs and fuel consumption, and increase the mine's overall power availability in excess of seven megawatts.

Collectively, these gains in operating efficiencies will expedite the achievement of forecast tungsten concentrate production volumes at Cantung for the 2006 calendar year.

Going forward, further exploration programs are being developed for both Cantung and the corporation's wholly owned Mactung property, located approximately 100 miles north of the Cantung mine. NTC presently intends to initiate feasibility studies on Mactung by the second half of this year.

The overall tungsten market remains extremely buoyant with ammonium paratungstate price currently quoted at $275 (U.S.) to $285 (U.S.) per metric tonne unit.

[johnlw]

$9 sounds good to me for 90% of what I own.

[Tackler]

So the moral of the story is when your chart is going vertical don't mention figures.
$9 sounds good to me though.

[johnlw]

That guy is dry-no future in radio that is for sure.
"...We feverently believe the current value of $3 is still undevalued of what this company is producing..."

At $4?

[Tackler]

PMI executive broadcast...

http://www.investormarketplace.com/profile.asp?source=IMP&ticker=V.PMI&ed=20060201

[Tackler]

More PLY news more PLY gains...

Playfair buys two high-grade tungsten properties

2006-02-02 10:06 ET - News Release

Mr. Neil Briggs reports

PLAYFAIR ACQUIRES TWO HIGH-GRADE TUNGSTEN PROPERTIES

Playfair Mining Ltd. has advanced significantly in its goal to becoming one of the world's principal developers of new high-grade tungsten resources, through signing an agreement to acquire a suite of tungsten properties from Yukon prospector Ron Berdahl. Mr. Berdahl's commitment to tungsten property acquisition dates back more than a decade and its is Playfair's acknowledged good fortune to enter into an agreement to acquire these carefully accumulated properties with historic tungsten resources. Playfair has entered into an agreement to purchase a 100-per-cent interest in the Risby, Lened and Clea tungsten properties. With the completion of this purchase, Playfair will increase the historic resources of tungsten under its control seven times from 500,000 to 3.5 million metric tonne units.

Historic resources at Grey River are 473,000 tonnes of 0.97 per cent WO3 (458,500 metric tonne units). At Risby, the historic resources are 2.7 million tonnes at a grade of 0.81 per cent WO3 (2,187,000 metric tonne units). At Lened, historic resources are reported at 737,000 tonnes at a grade of 1.14 per cent WO3 (840,200 metric tonne units).

The properties are to be purchased from Whitehorse-based prospector Mr. Berdahl who retains a 3-per-cent net smelter return royalty, one-sixth of which may be purchased by Playfair for $500,000. The purchase is subject to completion of satisfactory due diligence by Playfair and to exchange approval. A finder's fee is payable in connection with the transaction.

A metric tonne unit is equal to 10 kilograms per metric tonne and is the standard weight measure of the tungsten trade. Tungsten prices are generally quoted as United States dollars per metric tonne unit of ammonium paratungstate (APT), an intermediate product in the production of tungsten metal for which price quotes are generally available. Tungsten prices have surged in the past two years from $60 (U.S.) to the current level of $260 (U.S.) per metric tonne unit of APT.

The Risby tungsten deposit is a scheelite-bearing skarn occurrence in the Ross River area, Yukon, accessible by a 25-kilometre tractor road from an all-weather highway. In 1982, Hudson Bay Exploration and Development Company Ltd. (HBED), based on 40 diamond-drill holes, calculated an ore reserve of 2.7 million tonnes (2.98 million tons) of 0.81 per cent WO3 using a 0.4-per-cent WO3 cut-off grade and a minimum three-metre thickness. HBED note that, "The drilled intersections have been critically reviewed in terms of geologic continuity, realistic cut-offs and practical mining," and, "The ore reserves were calculated using polygonal ore blocks for each intersection."

The Lened deposits are scheelite-bearing skarn occurrences located between the world-class Cantung and Mactung tungsten deposits along the Yukon/Northwest Territories border. A winter road from the town of Tungsten to the Howard's Pass lead-zinc deposit passes within 13 kilometres of the Lened property which is about 40 kilometres north-northwest of Cantung. Extensive work by Union Carbide Corp. included 168 drill holes totalling 23,019 metres (75,522 feet). In 1982, Union Carbide calculated total mining reserves of 737,000 tonnes (812,400 tons) having an average grade of 1.14 per cent WO3. These reserves occur in three separate but closely related bodies called Western, Stephens and Emma, and were calculated by five separate methods. There are a total of 18 known tungsten showings on the property and two of these appear to have significant potential. For example, an intersection of 1.75 per cent WO3 over 5.4 metres is reported in one of these locations.

Both HBED and Placer Dome have drilled a siliceous skarn containing tungsten on the Clea property in the Selwyn tungsten belt, one of the world's largest tungsten districts. No historical resource calculations are presently available to Playfair for the Clea property.

Playfair president Neil Briggs commented: "Yukon and the adjacent Northwest Territories have an extraordinary tungsten endowment. According to the Yukon Geological Survey, the region contains an estimated 20 per cent of known global tungsten. Playfair is delighted to have obtained such significant properties in a world-class tungsten area."

Playfair now controls three advanced-stage tungsten projects, Risby, Lened and Grey River, with historical resources totalling close to 3.5 million of contained tungsten metric tonne units and considerable potential to add more with further exploration. In addition, Playfair now controls two early stage projects, Granite Lake and Clea, with excellent targets already identified.

Playfair is advancing rapidly toward its goal of becoming become one of the world's principal developers of new high-grade tungsten resources.

Michael Moore, PGeo, is the qualified person who has reviewed the technical information contained in this news release on behalf of the company. Estimates of tungsten resources are historical in nature, predate and are non-compliant with National Instrument 43-101. Playfair is not treating the historical estimates as current mineral resources or reserves. Playfair has not undertaken any independent investigation of the resource estimates nor has it independently analyzed the results of the previous exploration work in order to verify the resources, and therefore the historical estimates should not be relied upon. However, Playfair believes that these historical estimates provide a conceptual indication of the potential of the occurrences and are relevant to continuing exploration.

[Tackler]

WOW market liked the PLY news!

[Tackler]

PMI 5-day...