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Features that make the iCON Concentrator ideal for small scale applications include:
• Low machine weight
• Ease of Installation
• Only one moving part
• Use of wear components readily available in developing areas
• Rigid structure conducive to running at high speeds
• Low acquisition and operating costs
• A proven, robust and simple mechanical / electrical platform
• Efficient clean out
• High concentration ratios
iCON SB 150 Concentrator Specifications:
Solids Capacity 2t / h artisanal-solution3
Max Slurry Capacity 100 L / min
Concentrating Surface Area 968 cm²
G-Force Range 60-150 G’s
Machine Weight 115 kg
Motor Power 1.5 kW
Power Requirements 220V / 1PH / 50-60Hz
Process Water Requirements 17 L / min
Water Pressure Requirements 1.0 Bar
Dimensions 610 X 610 X 1193 mm
iCON SB 150 Enhanced Gravity Concentrator (Part 2)
BAT and iCON centrifuge
http://www.iconcentrator.com/images/stories/pdf/centrifuges-modified-iCON-2-opt.pdf
Operational factors
Operational advantages:
? lower capital cost compared to most other gold centrifuges;
? moderate operating cost (spares, pumps and electrics);
? almost a complete gold recovery system, rather than just a centrifuge;
? fairly easy to transport (e.g. Drum Version is packed in a 45-gallon metal drum);
? black sand is kept fluidised at all times, ensuring gold can settle;
? very high % gold recovery, especially of fine gold;
? able to deal with significant amount of suspended clay; and
? low water consumption.
Operational disadvantages:
? capital cost is low but often out-of-reach of individual artisanal miners;
? feed is smaller than 2mm, requiring a coarse separator in front; or
? only using the device for processing fine sand and concentrates.
? the concentrate requires further upgrading to recover the gold;
? only batch discharge by stopping the unit for flushing out the concentrate;
? simpler than most centrifuges but still technically demanding for some users; and
? intensive training and supervision of operators is essential.
Environmental factors
? risk to topsoil resource: not a factor.
? risk to mineral resource:
? exceptionally high % gold recovery, even if the gold is very fine;
? still good % gold recovery if pay gravel is clayey and clay is not fully disaggregated;
? waste black sand may be saleable by-product; but
? risk of dust generation: not a factor; but risk of dumped black sand blowing in wind!
? risk of sheet runoff and effluent discharges:
? low water consumption, therefore less effluent to manage; and
? reduces or eliminates need for surfactants.
? risk to surface waters: low water consumption.
? risk to biodiversity: not a factor.
? risk of poor land reclamation: not a factor (and can be part of mobile mining system);
? risk of heavy metals in doré bars: no additional risk from this method.
Key factors for BAT determination:
? % gold recovery is exceptionally high, better than for many other gravitational devices;
? able to perform adequately even if some clay in the slurry;
? unable to process coarse gravel, therefore pre-treatment is required;
? more affordable than most other gold centrifuges;
? capable of out-competing mercury for fine gold recovery;
? amenable to incorporation in a fully mobile wash-plant;
? amenable to incorporation in a concentrate upgrading system; and
? care is needed in disposal of waste tailings due to possible risk from heavy metals.
BAT conclusion
iCON concentrators are:
? BAT for artisanal gold production and prospecting
? BAT for recreational gold miners
? BAT for industrial recovery of fine gold
CURRENT VERSION - iCON SB 150 Enhanced Gravity Concentrator
Gold recovery by iCON (made in Canada)
iCON SB 150 Enhanced Gravity Concentrator (Part 1)
http://www.iconcentrator.com/images/stories/pdf/centrifuges-modified-iCON-2-opt.pdf
Double-wall centrifuges - FalconTM iCON
History and general description
The iCON evolved from the Falcon SB to give artisanal gold miners an affordable robust device able to recover very fine gold without mercury. Guidance and encouragement was given to Falcon Inc by Professor Marcello Veiga adviser to the Global Mercury Project.
The result was the iCON concentrator in US patent application #12/446,812, publication #US 2010/0240513 A1 filed 23rd October 2007 by inventors Steve McAlister and Mark Vinchoff.
Falcon is now a brand owned by Sepro Mineral Systems Corp.
The innovative iCON differs from the Falcon SB in having a common shaft that links the drive motor to the concentrator bowl. The cost of bearing assemblies is reduced, and
the motor is now above the bowl and clear of the slurry,, so simplifying the design. The common shaft also serves as the conduit for introducing the fluidising fluid to the bowl.
Drum Version - in the patent application, the unit is encased in a 45-gallon metal Drum for transport, and the Drum supports the unit in operation. The Drum is raised on blocks
to give clearance for a Concentrate Collector. The Drum Version is discontinued.
Current Version - the Drum is dispensed with, and the unit is supported by 4 metal legs, giving room for the Concentrator Collector, and lowering the overall height of the unit. Due to its popularity, iCON is now a line of products and iCON Gold Recovery Corporation operates independently of its parent Sepro.
Operation
The maximum feed size is 2mm and the iCON line includes an optional 2mm screen.
Accordingly the unit requires a simple coarse recovery system put in front, or else is used for processing fine tailings, upgrading concentrate or processing fine sands.
The unit stands on legs above a collection vessel to accept about 1-kilo of concentrateper rinse cycle. The unit is hooked to a 220-volt single phase electricity source, and connected to a water supply of at least 17 litres per minute under 1 bar pressure. The watersupply is switched on, and next the centrifuge switched on in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. Only then can feeding commence via the Feed Pipe supplied via
a 2mm screen and feed hopper affixed above the top of the unit in a manner to allow gravity feed into the spinning centrifuge bowl. It is important to maintain feeding in as even a manner as possible. Water pressure is monitored to find the optimal pressure for best gold recovery.
In the Drum Version, the first tailings accumulated inside the 45-gallon Drum to enhance stability, the later tailings overflowing via the Tailings Discharge Pipe. In the
Current Version, all tailings report directly to the Discharge Pipe.
After the run cycle is finished, the feed is stopped while the centrifuge continues to pin under power. Once no feed material is entering the unit, the water pressure is turned
down low sufficient only to provide positive pressure to the collection riffles. Only then is the bowl allowed to either stop or slow down to the rinse speed. Now the concentrate can
be flushed out of the bowl's collection riffles by increasing the fluidisation water pressure.
The Rinse Hose is used to flush the bowl clean. The concentrate is flushed out of the
bottom of the unit via the Concentrate Pipe into a suitable Concentrate Collector under the unit. The 'Run time' is 30-60 minutes before gold recovery falls. Like the Falcon SB, the
iCON achieves a concentration ratio of 1,000 or more, but the concentrate requires further upgrading (‘cleaning’), for instance by a Blue Bowl or by a second pass through the unit.
Adoption by placer gold miners
Uses of iCON include: a) initial processing of hard rock ores, b) scavenging of hard rock tails, c) processing fine gold placers, and d) upgrading concentrates. This unit is also
proving popular for prospecting and drilling because it is easily cleaned between samples.
Several hundred units have been sold to artisanal miners in Africa and elsewhere. The unit has potential for recreational miners, and industrial models are now being marketed.
Gold recovery by iCON (made in Canada)
What has the company said or done about the Caveat Emptor and related issues?
Just the Facts
Caveat Emptor
SCOTTSDALE, AZ--(Marketwire - 12/14/10) - Sunergy, Inc (the "Company") (Pinksheets:SNEY - News) today announces that its Board of Directors has resolved to commence reporting on the Pink Sheets and has undertaken to complete and file its 10K for December 31, 2009 and the 10Qs for 2010 along with the 10K for December 31, 2010.
SCOTTSDALE, AZ--(Marketwire - 04/21/2011) - Sunergy, Inc (the "Company") (OTC.BB:SNEY - News) is pleased to announce that Mark Shelley, CPA, owner of Shelley International CPA, a PCAOB registered audit firm, has been appointed as the corporate Secretary, Treasurer, chairman of the audit committee and member of the board of directors.........
The Company wishes to share that there were no deadlines applicable to the Company's filings with the SEC at this time. We already have the Caveat Emptor status on our Company and it will only be removed once we are current in our filings. We anticipate these filings to start in the week following Easter. Once the "CE:" is removed, the Company will reapply to be listed on the OTC Bulletin Board.
Sunergy Will File Its Form 10-K Annual Report for the Year Ended December 31, 2009 Today, Form 10 Q's for the First Three Quarters
Date : 05/03/2011 @ 7:33AM
Sunergy Explains Delay in Filing Its Form 10-K Annual Report for the Year Ended December 31, 2009
Date : 05/04/2011 @ 8:39AM Sunergy, Inc. (the "Company") (Pink Sheets: SNEY) provides an explanation for the delay in filing its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009. The Report was ready for filing and had in fact already been edgarized for filing and all signatures and certifications had been received by Company's counsel yesterday morning. The delay for filing was caused by the fact that historical share prices
to inception were required to be adjusted to reflect the 10 for 1 forward split that occurred in 2010. Which Auditor was required to take responsibility for this adjustment became a question at the last minute and that responsibility needed to be spelled out in the Form 10-K being filed.
Annual Report (10-K)
Date : 05/04/2011 @ 2:41PM Source : Edgar (US Regulatory)
Stock : Sunergy (SNEY)
Current report filing (8-K)
Date : 05/26/2011 @ 11:13AM
ITEM 4.01 CHANGES IN REGISTRANT'S CERTIFYING ACCOUNTANT
On May 23, 2011 our board of directors approved and authorized the engagement of De Joya Griffith & Company, LLC, Certified Public Accountants & Consultants as our independent public accountants.
Where is your Faith in SNEY?
Do you not believe anything any company puts out in PRs, 8Ks, 10Ks...etc?
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
While the company has been consistently late in different areas, they actually are ahead of schedule on ordering the gravity/wash plant per the project timing from the Executive Briefing.
Sunergy Purchases Processing Plant Equipment For Optimum Free Gold Recovery and Upgrading The Rare Earth Black Sand Concentrates
Date : 06/02/2011 @ 7:27AM
What will be interested to see is whether SNEY will stay ahead of schedule as to achieving 600 Tons per day processing by August 2011.
From SUNERGY EXECUTIVE BRIEFING
(dated November 23, 2010))
PROJECT
TIMING
Land Mining Equipment For set-¬-up February 2011
Commence 300 Tons per day processing by March 2011
Achieve 600 Tons per day processing by August 2011
Cash Flow from bulk sampling within three months of landing equipment
Full Production mining can commence as early as March 2011 When production volume should reach approximately 300 Tons per hour for each operation. This Should produce an annual gross return (‘au’ @ $1,000 Per ounce) of $10,000,000 To $15,000,000 Per project. Production Should ramp up to 600 Tph in each case within the first 6 months.
Sunergy Has several former producing mines and numerous Artisan Pits along the Offin River Which will be worked for the 60+% Of the gold left behind by the Artisans. With The Sierra Leone Acquisition moving into production, the combined operation will begin in Quarter 1 Of 2011 At an initial rate of 2,000 – 3,000 Ounces per month stabilizing
@ 3,000/month Over quarter 3 And 4 For the first year. Once stabilized, the Company Will add 1 gravity/wash plant during Quarter 3 And 4 In each of the next two years increasing production by 36,000 Ounces per year for each operation. The Company Anticipates growing annual production to over 100,000 oz/year which results in projected earnings of $20,000,000 -¬- $30,000,000 Per year using $1,000/ oz. gold price..
When one deals with FACTS one will make a more informed DECISION.
Fact is there is a lot of interest in this company and if they deliver half of what the PR dated March 17, 2011 suggests:
Quote:
________________________________________
"What was found in the second body of test work verified the initial work as being credible, and was able to demonstrate additional values. The large increase in the estimated average value of metals per ton was due to both the expanded range of metals tested for, some more accurate test work that was conducted, and also directly relates to the considerable increase in rare earth metal values over the last year. Together, they account for the increase from $3395.00 per ton of black sand in the June 2010 tests to $8421.00 in the January 2011 test results."
________________________________________
The Company has delivered and hopefully will continue to do so:
1. Sierre Leone
Sunergy, Inc (the "Company") (Pinksheets:SNEY - News) reports that on September 1, 2010 we signed a Letter of Intent and Agreement in Principle with Allied Mining and Supply, LLC (Nevada) to acquire 100% of their Company. Allied is engaged in the licensed exploration and development of prime alluvial gold and diamond properties in Sierra Leone, West Africa. It has business and export licenses for Sierra Leone. It is exploring, dredging and bulk sampling in a number of areas within its concession territory of 140.1 square kilometers on the Pampana River, licensed in 2009.
Delivered
SCOTTSDALE, AZ--(Marketwire - 10/28/10) - Sunergy, Inc (the "Company") (Pinksheets:SNEY - News) (the "Company") reports that the planned acquisition of Allied Mining and Supply, LLC (Nevada) was closed today and Sunergy now owns 100% of Allied and its worldwide assets, which consists of the 140.1 sq. km. Pampana River concession in Sierra Leone, West Africa containing Rare Earth Elements (REEs) and gold which may be recovered by simple gravity methods.
2. The Dredges
SCOTTSDALE, AZ--(Marketwire - 11/10/10) - Sunergy, Inc (the "Company") (Pinksheets:SNEY - News) reports that it has today ordered the initial equipment required to commence recovery operations of rare earths (REEs), gold and diamonds from its 140.1 sq. km. Pampana River concession in Sierra Leone, West Africa. A detailed list of the equipment is attached to this Press release. Timing for expedited delivery to Sierra Leone is approximately 35 days from today.
Delivered
SCOTTSDALE, AZ--(Marketwire - 03/17/2011) - Sunergy, Inc (the "Company") (OTC.BB:SNEY - News) today announces that the container with the 3 dredges and operating equipment has arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone. This now sets the stage for operations to commence on the Company's 140 sq. km. Pampana River Project once the shipment clears customs and is moved to the site. Company operations personnel have been on the ground for several weeks preparing for deployment of the equipment. Dredge operations will begin once the dredges are assembled and located in their preselected locations on the Pampana River.
3. The Dredges Testing and Operations
SCOTTSDALE, AZ--(Marketwire - 11/15/10) - Sunergy, Inc (the "Company") (Pinksheets:SNEY - News) reports that Management has determined to commence dredging operations on both its concessions in Sierra Leone and Ghana that offer over 45 km. of workable gold, diamond and rare earth recovery potential. Of the three 8" Custom Gold Grabber Dredges ordered last week, all will go to Sierra Leone to start operations on the Pampana River concession. Allied's existing 6" exploration dredge will go to Ghana in order to start operations on the Offin River concession. Given the impending holiday season, operations are now slated to begin early in January 2011.
Delivered
SCOTTSDALE, AZ--(Marketwire - 04/21/2011) - Sunergy, Inc (the "Company") (OTC.BB:SNEY - News) is pleased to announce that Mark Shelley, CPA, owner of Shelley International CPA, a PCAOB registered audit firm, has been appointed as the corporate Secretary, Treasurer, chairman of the audit committee and member of the board of directors ......
Operations Update:
Bryan Miller, President comments:
"The dredges arrived in Sierra Leona, have cleared customs and have started operations on our 140.1 sq. km. Pampana River Concession. We are start one at a time and conducting further testing to identify optimum deployment sites. Once results are available we will publish operating results. So far, everything is working as planned and Management is pleased."
This initial filing sets the stage for the 10-Q's for the year 2010 which will be finalized by the filing of our Form 10-K for the period ending December 31, 2010. This filing will be followed by our first 10-Q for 2011, which, once filed, will bring our financial reporting requirements into full compliance with the SEC and the Caveat Emptor status should be removed. We expect these filings to be completed one at a time over the next few weeks. As soon as we are compliant in our financial filings, management is committed to reapply for relisting on the OTCBB and to remain current in its filing requirements insuring shareholders a higher level of transparency.
Let us measure our progress from the company's Game Plan
See Last Paragraph!!!
Is the SNEY ahead of Schedule with Ordering the gravity/wash plant?
From SUNERGY EXECUTIVE BRIEFING
(dated November 23, 2010))
Cash required to fund the initial bulk sampling, testing, initial mining and 43--101 Property Evaluation For each project:
$2,643,000
Funds Will be used to accomplish the following:
1. Expand Bulk sampling and mining for immediate cash flow
2. Secure Additional adjacent properties (holdings expansion)
3. Commission 43--101 (JORC) Compliant technical report on alluvial and hard rock reserves
4. Complete Bankable feasibility study
PROJECT
TIMING
Land Mining Equipment For set--up February 2011
Commence 300 Tons per day processing by March 2011
Achieve 600 Tons per day processing by August 2011
Cash Flow from bulk sampling within three months of landing equipment
Full Production mining can commence as early as March 2011 When production volume should reach approximately 300 Tons per hour for each operation. This Should produce an annual gross return (‘au’ @ $1,000 Per ounce) of $10,000,000 To $15,000,000 Per project. Production Should ramp up to 600 Tph in each case within the first 6 months.
Sunergy Has several former producing mines and numerous Artisan Pits along the Offin River Which will be worked for the 60+% Of the gold left behind by the Artisans. With The Sierra Leone Acquisition moving into production, the combined operation will begin in Quarter 1 Of 2011 At an initial rate of 2,000 – 3,000 Ounces per month stabilizing
@ 3,000/month Over quarter 3 And 4 For the first year. Once stabilized, the Company Will add 1 gravity/wash plant during Quarter 3 And 4 In each of the next two years increasing production by 36,000 Ounces per year for each operation. The Company Anticipates growing annual production to over 100,000 oz/year which results in projected earnings of $20,000,000 -- $30,000,000 Per year using $1,000/ oz. gold price..
SNEY says a lot of things and because something occurs they may change plans. It happened with the filings, they are not out yet, however they will come one day. How about SNEY newly hired independent public accountants,De Joya Griffith & Company, LLC.
Iris Recognition: Biometric Security in Mexico
March 22, 2011 by dbrendant at 9:51 am
http://eyetrackingupdate.com/2011/03/22/iris-recognition-biometric-security-mexico/
It looks like Mexico will lead the way with iris scanning biometric security, or at least that is what has been going around the Internet recently. A tech company called Global Rainmakers Inc.(GRI) has announced their plans to provide iris scanning technology for widespread implementation in the city of Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico. In cooperation with Portoss, a law enforcement information systems company based in Mexico, GRI plans to install iris tracking throughout the city in an attempt to create the safest city in the world.
Biometrics is very quickly becoming all the rage as law enforcement catches on to the blossoming field, and agencies around the globe are now considering biometric solutions to security issues.
The new project is said to provide “iris identity fusion” for law enforcement specifically, and iris technology has the smallest outlier group, meaning the smallest number of people who cannot use or participate in the system. Iris recognition is fast and can therefore be used to scan large groups of people efficiently, a characteristic that certainly helps when you’re dealing with populations in the millions.
Portoss’ vision is to create a secure city initiative that uses iris recognition to secure all aspects of life, and it’s well along the lines of what GRI is thinking, so says GRI CEO Hector Hoyos. He says the company plans to use the iris technology GRI has designed to aid in the identification of humans in motion as well as at a distance. Their requirements mesh with Portoss’ goals, as they provide the most secure system possible in identity management and access control systems.
Portoss and GRI plan to install many miles of fiber optic cable through Leon, creating a central iris database that will eventually include private sector corporations.
It’s certainly an interesting and potentially divisive plan to say the least, and there’s bound to be debate as to personal privacy and civil liberty for the city’s inhabitants. There are numerous issues that arise from the Big Brother nature of the plan.
In any case, keep an eye out for news on Mexico’s endeavor into creating “the world’s most secure city.”
Homeland Security to Start Testing Iris Recognition
October 12, 2010 by dbrendant at 8:51 am
http://eyetrackingupdate.com/2010/10/12/homeland-security-start-testing-iris-recognition/
Homeland Security to Start Testing Iris RecognitionIt seems biometric security technologies are a double edged sword– they will make the country safer, but at what cost to our civil liberties?
The United States Department of Homeland Security recently announced its intentions to test a variety of commercially available iris scanners over a two-week period this month. Arun Vemury, program manager for the Homeland Security Department’s Science and Technology branch, says that the tests will help in determining the potential viability of the technology for department use.
They plan to test a new version of cameras which can capture iris images from a distance of 6 feet at a border patrol station in McAllen, Texas. The new systems can scan from a greater distance and is even able to scan as people pass by. The plan is to test the technology on illegal immigrants, and while it’s a potentially explosive policy, this is nothing new for the government.
In 2007 the US Military began collecting iris scans from thousands of Iraqi citizens in order to keep track of suspected militants. The technology has been employed in US airports as well, identifying passengers in the “registered traveler program” between 2005 and 2008, the perk being passengers in the program could jump to the beginning of security lines.
Not surprisingly, the new technology has made for some interesting debate and has warranted objections by the American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations. Christopher Calabrese, a lawyer of the ACLU with concerns that the cameras might be used without the public’s knowledge. He brings up the point that all that would be needed to physically track a person is a camera and connection to the Internet. This would make it easy to identify anyone from a distance without them even knowing.
Financial companies are also in on the new testing with the industry-wide assumption that iris scanning is going to revolutionize banking fraud protection altogether. There is a delicate line between protection and privacy invasion that is leaving most people wary of what’s to come. On the other hand, there are those of us who are excited about the major advancements that are being made in the field of biometric technology.
biometric security- iris recognisation technology
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Paper presentation
http://azhar-paperpresentation.blogspot.com/2010/04/biometric-security-iris-recognisation.html
ABSTRACT: In the present scenario security has become a major aspect. From ATM to AIRPORTS security has become important. The number of system that have been comprised is ever increasing and authenticity plays a major role as a first line of defense against intruders. Identity verification has become a challenging task and an attractive goal when it has to be automated with high accuracy and no reputability .The three main types of authentification are something you know (such as password) ,something you are (BIOMETRIC). The first 2two methods are inadequate to meet heavy demands as are notorious and easily crack able, so it become very difficult to identify the actual owner. In this context automated biometrics can meet all the demand as they are difficult to replicate and steal. However this paper deals with Irises technology and requirements and developments for future security systems.
I. WHAT IS BIOMERTICS?
Biometrics is development of statistical and mathematical methods applicable.
The term "biometrics" is derived from the Greek words bio (life) and metric (to measure). For our use, biometrics refers to technologies for measuring and analyzing a person's physiological or behavioral characteristics, such as fingerprints, irises, voice patterns, facial patterns, and hand measurements, for identification and verification purposes.
II.WHY WE USE BIOMETRICS?
It makes it possible to guarantee in an absolute, infallible way and ultra confidential safety, the recognition and access control with the physical places or the information processing systems, revolutionizing in same time the securisation and the authentification of E-business and E-trade.
III. TYPES OF BIOMETRICS: There are two types of biometrics: behavioral and physical. Behavioral biometrics are generally used for verification while physical biometrics can be used for either identification or verification.
Examples of physical biometrics include:
• Bertillonage - measuring body lengths
• Fingerprint - analyzing fingertip patterns
• Facial Recognition - measuring facial characteristics
• Hand Geometry - measuring the shape of the hand
• Iris Scan - analyzing features of colored ring of the eye
• Retinal Scan - analyzing blood vessels in the eye
• Vascular Patterns - analyzing vein patterns
• DNA - analyzing genetic makeup
Examples of behavioral biometrics include:
• Speaker Recognition - analyzing vocal behavior
• Signature - analyzing signature dynamics
• Keystroke - measuring the time spacing of typed words
Major limitations of each BIOMETRICS: In the case of
• Bertillonage - body lengths no longer used.
• Fingerprint – we can change the hand or by gambling also.
• Facial Recognition - facial characteristics will change time to time.
• Hand Geometry - the shape of the hand also change the age and not accurate.
• Iris Scan – Not applicable for blind people.
• Retinal Scan – Eye will be effected more and more.
• Vascular Patterns - Vein scans usually use radioactive particles. DNA –DNA is same for twins.
• Speaker Recognition - vocal behavior can be change by imitations.
• Signature – forgery of signature dynamics
• Keystroke – not at all that much of accurate.
Out of all these biometric methods the accurate method is one and only one method which is referred to as Iris scanning method.
HISTORY: The idea of using iris patterns for personal identification was originally proposed in 1936 by ophthalmologist Frank Burch. By the 1980's the idea had appeared in James Bond films, but it still remained science fiction and conjecture. In 1987 two other ophthalmologists, Aran Safir and Leonard Flom, patented this idea, and in 1989 they asked John Daugman (then teaching at Harvard University) to try to create actual algorithms for iris recognition. These algorithms, which Daugman patented in 1994 and are owned by Iridian Technologies, are the basis for all current iris recognition systems and products.
Iris scanning can seem very futuristic, but at the heart of the system is a simple CCD digital camera.. It uses both visible and near-infrared light to take a clear, high-contrast picture of a person's iris. With near-infrared light, a person's pupil is very black, making it easy for the computer to isolate the pupil and iris.
When you look into an iris scanner, either the camera focuses automatically or you use a mirror or audible feedback from the system to make sure that you are positioned correctly. Usually, your eye is 3 to 10 inches from the camera. When the camera takes a picture, the computer locates:
• The center of the pupil
• The edge of the pupil
• The edge of the iris
• The eyelids and eyelashes
It then analyzes the patterns in the iris and translates them into a code.Iris scanners are becoming more common in high-security applications because people's eyes are so unique (the chance of mistaking one iris code for another is 1 in 10 to the 78th power. They also allow more than 200 points of reference for comparison, as opposed to 60 or 70 points in fingerprints.
The iris is a visible but protected structure, and it does not usually change over time, making it ideal for biometric identification. Most of the time, people's eyes also remain unchanged after eye surgery, and blind people can use iris scanners as long as their eyes have irises. Eyeglasses and contact lenses typically do not interfere or cause inaccurate readings.
V. IRIS SCAN: Iris scans analyze the features that exist in the colored tissue surrounding the pupil which has more than
200 points that can be used for comparison, including rings, furrows and freckles. The scans use a regular video camera style and can be done from further away than a retinal scan. It will work through glasses fine and in fact has the ability to create an accurate enough measurement that it can be used for identification purposes, and not just verification.
VI. HOW IT WORKS: The user places himself so that he can see his own eye's reflection in the device. The user may be able to do this from up to 2 feet may need to be as close as a couple of inches depending on the device. Verification time is generally less than 5 seconds, though the user will only need to look into the device for a couple moments.
To prevent a fake eye from being used to fool the system, these devices may vary the light shone into the eye and watch for pupil dilation.
Identification vs. Verification:
Iris recognition identifies people rather than verifying their identity.
Verification: asks; Is this person who they say they are? This is one-to-one matching which means a person must first suggest their identity through a password, card or name and the system then seeks to determine whether or not there is a match between the suggested and true identities.
Identification: asks; Who is this person? This is one-to-many matching meaning that the person is not required to carry anything or volunteer any information. The system simply captures the iris image, searches the entire database and either finds their identity or reports that they are unknown. This is obviously a much more powerful form of authentication as no information is required from the user.
It has several features those are
Stable: - the unique pattern in the human iris is formed by 10 months of age, and remains unchanged throughout one's lifetime.
Unique: - the probability of two rises producing the same code is nearly impossible.
Flexible: - iris recognition technology easily integrates into existing security systems or operates as a standalone.
Reliable: - a distinctive iris pattern is not susceptible to theft, loss or compromise Non-Invasive: - a distinctive iris pattern is not susceptible to theft, loss or compromise.
This proven biometric approach is fast and remarkably accurate, and lets you design systems that overcome the limitations of typical card or password strategies.
VII. The accuracy of Iris Recognition:
Iris readers use state-of-the art Iris Recognition technology to verify the identity of authorized persons positively and definitively - with virtually no chance of mis-identification in all applications.
The identification is based on the intricate patterns in the iris of the eye, the ring-shaped structure that gives the eye its color. No two individuals, not even identical twins, have the same exact iris pattern.
Panasonic Iris Recognition has a false acceptance ratio of 0.001% to 0.0001%, making it far more accurate than other biometric approaches.
• 100 to 1,000 times more accurate than spot fingerprinting
• 1,000 to 10,000 times more accurate than hand-print verification
• 3,000 times more accurate than voice prints.
A complete, ready-to-use solution: Iris Readers incorporate a specially-designed video camera for capturing iris images, along with on-board software for processing the iris images and communicating with other elements of your access control system.
Identify almost instantly:
Then, at each access point, a user simply 'looks into' the Reader mounted alongside the doorway. The Reader captures a video image of the iris, translates it to an IrisCode, and compares it to the authorized IrisCodes on file. If there's a proper match, the Reader signals your access system accordingly. It takes about 1.5 seconds. And works with contact lenses, glasses, even protective goggles and face shields.
Ultra-accurate, almost impossible to defeat:
Iris Readers use built-in countermeasures that make them virtually impossible to counterfeit or spoof.
In fact, it's estimated the chance of two irises being identical is 1 in 1078 : Of all the biometric technologies used for human authentication today, it is generally conceded that iris recognition is the most accurate. Iris recognition technology offers the highest accuracy in identifying individuals of any method available. This is because no two irises are alike - not between identical twins, or even between the left and right eye of the same person. Irises are also stable; unlike other identifying characteristics that can change with age; the pattern of one's iris is fully formed by ten months of age and remains the same for the duration of their lifetime. Iris recognition technology is also accurate because it uses more than 240 points of reference in an iris pattern as a basis for a match. By comparison, fingerprints use about 60.
Iris recognition technology works by combining computer vision, pattern recognition, and optics. First, a black-and-white video camera zooms in on the iris and records a sharp image of it. The iris is lit by a low-level light to aid the camera in focusing. A frame from this video is then digitized into a 512 byte file and stored on a computer database.
Iris recognition technology is capable of recording this image from as much as 16 inches (40.64 centimeters) away, so no physical contact is necessary. An individual's identity can then be confirmed by taking another picture of their iris and comparing it to the database. Iris recognition technology can confirm someone's identity within a few seconds.
Iris recognition technology is currently used at physical access points demanding high security, such as airports, government buildings, and research laboratories. However, some hotels have experimented with using iris recognition technology in place of a room key. The potential exists for iris recognition technology to replace most current forms of physical access-based identification. This would include anything requiring a password, personal identification number (PIN), or key; such as electronic transactions, building access, or automobile ignition. And unlike those physical methods of identification, an iris cannot be stolen. Iris recognition technology addresses the problems of both password management and fraud.
What about DNA?
The birth rate of identical twins is 1 in 121 births or 0.82%. As identical twins share the same DNA, the false acceptance rate for any DNA based system must be at least 0.82% due to the birth rate alone. DNA testing is an invasive technology with a cotton swab inserted into the mouth the most common method of obtaining a sample. Combine this with the negative stigma associated with DNA sampling and it becomes clear that iris recognition is the most accurate, safe, user-friendly and fastest identification system on the market.
VIII. APPLICATIONS:
Law enforcement agencies in the United States began using it in 1994 when the Lancaster County Prison in Pennsylvania became the first correctional facility to employ the technology for prisoner identification. The use of iris scans as part of the booking procedure along with fingerprints is just beginning to come into existence. Police stations around the country have been looking into the technology and some, including the Barnstable County jail in Massachusetts which put in a system in early 2002. The power of this biometric may make it rival fingerprints for booking situations where identification and verification are vital .In Berkshire County, the technology is used in the newly built Berkshire County Jail as a security check for employees. The Charlotte/Douglas International Airport in North Carolina and the Flughafen Frankfort Airport in Germany allow frequent passengers to register their iris scans in an effort to streamline boarding procedures. There is discussion that banks may someday make iris scans a routine part of ATM transactions and some have begun taking the first steps in testing out these systems.
In Criminal activities:
Financial fraud - This type of identity theft includes bank fraud, credit card fraud, computer and telecommunications fraud, social program fraud, tax refund fraud, mail fraud, and several more. In fact, a total of 25 types of financial identity fraud are investigated by the United States Secret Service. While financial identity theft is the most prevalent (of the approximate 10,000 financial crime arrests that Secret Service agents made in 1997, 94 percent involved identity theft), it certainly isn't the only type. Other types of identity theft, however, usually involve a financial element as well -- typically to fund some sort of criminal enterprise.
Criminal activities –
This type of identity fraud involves taking on someone else's identity in order to commit a crime, enter a country, get special permits, hide one's own identity, or commit acts of terrorism. These criminal activities can include:
? Computer and cyber crimes
? Organized crime
? Drug trafficking
? Alien smuggling
? Money laundering
In order to avoid all the crime activities and fraud activities we should use Iris technology.
COMPARISION WITH OTHER BIOMETRIC TECHNOLOGIES:
Cost-precision relation: When one calls upon one of these techniques, one first seeks precision, but one also interests in the cost. The graph below shows us the situation of certain techniques compared to these two criteria.
We can notice that, in spite of its 5th place in the market, the iris method of is the most precise, but also the most expensive. It is moreover this technique, particularly effective, that one finds in the film "Minority Report" of Steven Spielberg.
1. This content belongs to
LIMITATIONS:
1) It will affect the eye & not applicable to eye challenged people.
2) The properties can be changed if any eye damage occurred.
3) If retina has changed then it may not be applicable.
Evaluation: The uniqueness of eyes, even between the left and right eye of the same person, makes iris scanning very powerful for identification purposes. The likelihood of a false positive is extremely low and its relative speed and ease of use make it a great potential biometric. The only drawbacks are the potential difficulty in getting someone to hold their head in the right spot for the scan if they are not doing the scan willingly. It also takes up a bit more memory for the data to be stored, but with the advances in technology, this is unlikely to cause any major difficulty.
IX. ADVANTAGES of IRIS TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM:
1) The system involves no lasers, bright lights, or any hazardous technology at all. It's as safe to use as any video camera.
2) An award winning access control system.
3) Has no requirement or costs for cards or PIN's .
4) Is more accurate than DNA matching. No recorded instance of a false accept.
6) Has a very small record size (IrisCode 512 bytes).
6) Uses identification, (one to many) not verification (one to one) matching 7) Is non-contact. Works with glasses, protective clothing, safety shields and contact lenses.
8) Images the iris which is stable over life. One enrolment only.
9) Is non-invasive and non-contact. 10)Uses Video based technology .
11) Has extremely fast database matching (match rates in excess of 100,000 per second achieved on a standard PC).
CONCLUSION: In order to avoid all the crime activities and fraud activities and for Anti-terrorism, we should use Iris technology. The uniqueness of eyes, even between the left and right eye of the same person, makes iris scanning very powerful for identification purposes. The likelihood of a false positive is extremely low and its relative speed and ease of use make it a great potential biometric. Iris Readers use built-in countermeasures that make them virtually impossible to counterfeit or spoof. It is the absolutely genius and unique technology in order to avoid crime activities and to attain more and more security.
REFERENCES:
• Sturgeon, W. (2004). “Biometrics used to keep German Olympians safe...but what are they testing - moustache or mullet?” Security Strategy Sillicon.com
• “The Biometrics Market in Germany 2004-2009: Anti-terrorism Laws Drive Growth” (2004). Soreon Research.
• Tracy V.Wilson, (2004) from “How Biometrics works?”
• Dinah BLIRANDO, Student-Engineer Supinfo Caraïbes SUPINFO graduate year 2007
:
• Bertillonage - measuring body lengths
• Fingerprint - analyzing fingertip patterns
• Facial Recognition - measuring facial characteristics
• Hand Geometry - measuring the shape of the hand
• Iris Scan - analyzing features of colored ring of the eye
• Retinal Scan - analyzing blood vessels in the eye
• Vascular Patterns - analyzing vein patterns
• DNA - analyzing genetic makeup
Examples of behavioral biometrics include:
• Speaker Recognition - analyzing vocal behavior
• Signature - analyzing signature dynamics
• Keystroke - measuring the time spacing of typed words
Major limitations of each BIOMETRICS: In the case of
• Bertillonage - body lengths no longer used.
• Fingerprint – we can change the hand or by gambling also.
• Facial Recognition - facial characteristics will change time to time.
• Hand Geometry - the shape of the hand also change the age and not accurate.
• Iris Scan – Not applicable for blind people.
• Retinal Scan – Eye will be effected more and more.
• Vascular Patterns - Vein scans usually use radioactive particles. DNA –DNA is same for twins.
• Speaker Recognition - vocal behavior can be change by imitations.
• Signature – forgery of signature dynamics
• Keystroke – not at all that much of accurate.
Out of all these biometric methods the accurate method is one and only one method which is referred to as Iris scanning method.
HISTORY: The idea of using iris patterns for personal identification was originally proposed in 1936 by ophthalmologist Frank Burch. By the 1980's the idea had appeared in James Bond films, but it still remained science fiction and conjecture. In 1987 two other ophthalmologists, Aran Safir and Leonard Flom, patented this idea, and in 1989 they asked John Daugman (then teaching at Harvard University) to try to create actual algorithms for iris recognition. These algorithms, which Daugman patented in 1994 and are owned by Iridian Technologies, are the basis for all current iris recognition systems and products.
Iris scanning can seem very futuristic, but at the heart of the system is a simple CCD digital camera.. It uses both visible and near-infrared light to take a clear, high-contrast picture of a person's iris. With near-infrared light, a person's pupil is very black, making it easy for the computer to isolate the pupil and iris.
When you look into an iris scanner, either the camera focuses automatically or you use a mirror or audible feedback from the system to make sure that you are positioned correctly. Usually, your eye is 3 to 10 inches from the camera. When the camera takes a picture, the computer locates:
• The center of the pupil
• The edge of the pupil
• The edge of the iris
• The eyelids and eyelashes
It then analyzes the patterns in the iris and translates them into a code.Iris scanners are becoming more common in high-security applications because people's eyes are so unique (the chance of mistaking one iris code for another is 1 in 10 to the 78th power. They also allow more than 200 points of reference for comparison, as opposed to 60 or 70 points in fingerprints.
The iris is a visible but protected structure, and it does not usually change over time, making it ideal for biometric identification. Most of the time, people's eyes also remain unchanged after eye surgery, and blind people can use iris scanners as long as their eyes have irises. Eyeglasses and contact lenses typically do not interfere or cause inaccurate readings.
V. IRIS SCAN: Iris scans analyze the
features that exist in the colored tissue surrounding the pupil which has more than
200 points that can be used for comparison, including rings, furrows and freckles. The scans use a regular video
camera style and can be done from further away than a retinal scan. It will work through glasses fine and in fact has the ability to create an accurate enough measurement that it can be used for identification purposes, and not just verification.
VI. HOW IT WORKS: The user places himself so that he can see his own eye's reflection in the device. The user may be able to do this from up to 2 feet
may need to be as close as a couple of inches depending on the device. Verification time is generally less than 5 seconds, though the user will only need to look into the device for a couple moments.
To prevent a fake eye from being used to fool the system, these devices may vary the light shone into the eye and watch for pupil dilation.
Identification vs. Verification:
Iris recognition identifies people rather than verifying their identity.
Verification: asks; Is this person who they say they are? This is one-to-one matching which means a person must first suggest their identity through a password, card or name and the system then seeks to determine whether or not there is a match between the suggested and true identities.
Identification: asks; Who is this person? This is one-to-many matching meaning that the person is not required to carry anything or volunteer any information. The system simply captures the iris image, searches the entire database and either finds their identity or reports that they are unknown. This is obviously a much more powerful form of authentication as no information is required from the user.
It has several features .those are
Stable: - the unique pattern in the human iris is formed by 10 months of age, and remains unchanged throughout one's lifetime.
Unique: - the probability of two rises producing the same code is nearly impossible.
Flexible: - iris recognition technology easily integrates into existing security systems or operates as a standalone.
Reliable: - a distinctive iris pattern is not susceptible to theft, loss or compromise Non-Invasive: - a distinctive iris pattern is not susceptible to theft, loss or compromise.
This proven biometric approach is fast and remarkably accurate, and lets you design systems that overcome the limitations of typical card or password strategies.
VII. The accuracy of Iris Recognition:
Iris readers use state-of-the art Iris Recognition technology to verify the identity of authorized persons positively and definitively - with virtually no chance of mis-identification in all applications.
The identification is based on the intricate patterns in the iris of the eye, the ring-shaped structure that gives the eye its color. No two individuals, not even identical twins, have the same exact iris pattern.
Panasonic Iris Recognition has a false acceptance ratio of 0.001% to 0.0001%, making it far more accurate than other biometric approaches.
• 100 to 1,000 times more accurate than spot fingerprinting
• 1,000 to 10,000 times more accurate than hand-print verification
• 3,000 times more accurate than voice prints.
A complete, ready-to-use solution: Iris Readers incorporate a specially-designed video camera for capturing iris images, along with on-board software for processing the iris images and communicating with other elements of your access control system.
Identify almost instantly:
Then, at each access point, a user simply 'looks into' the Reader mounted alongside the doorway. The Reader captures a video image of the iris, translates it to an IrisCode, and compares it to the authorized IrisCodes on file. If there's a proper match, the Reader signals your access system accordingly. It takes about 1.5 seconds. And works with contact lenses, glasses, even protective goggles and face shields.
Ultra-accurate, almost impossible to defeat:
Iris Readers use built-in countermeasures that make them virtually impossible to counterfeit or spoof.
In fact, it's estimated the chance of two irises being identical is 1 in 1078 : Of all the biometric technologies used for human authentication today, it is generally conceded that iris recognition is the most accurate. Iris recognition technology offers the highest accuracy in identifying individuals of any method available. This is because no two irises are alike - not between identical twins, or even between the left and right eye of the same person. Irises are also stable; unlike other identifying characteristics that can change with age; the pattern of one's iris is fully formed by ten months of age and remains the same for the duration of their lifetime. Iris recognition technology is also accurate because it uses more than 240 points of reference in an iris pattern as a basis for a match. By comparison, fingerprints use about 60.
Iris recognition technology works by combining computer vision, pattern recognition, and optics. First, a black-and-white video camera zooms in on the iris and records a sharp image of it. The iris is lit by a low-level light to aid the camera in focusing. A frame from this video is then digitized into a 512 byte file and stored on a computer database.
Iris recognition technology is capable of recording this image from as much as 16 inches (40.64 centimeters) away, so no physical contact is necessary. An individual's identity can then be confirmed by taking another picture of their iris and comparing it to the database. Iris recognition technology can confirm someone's identity within a few seconds.
Iris recognition technology is currently used at physical access points demanding high security, such as airports, government buildings, and research laboratories. However, some hotels have experimented with using iris recognition technology in place of a room key. The potential exists for iris recognition technology to replace most current forms of physical access-based identification. This would include anything requiring a password, personal identification number (PIN), or key; such as electronic transactions, building access, or automobile ignition. And unlike those physical methods of identification, an iris cannot be stolen. Iris recognition technology addresses the problems of both password management and fraud.
What about DNA?
The birth rate of identical twins is 1 in 121 births or 0.82%. As identical twins share the same DNA, the false acceptance rate for any DNA based system must be at least 0.82% due to the birth rate alone. DNA testing is an invasive technology with a cotton swab inserted into the mouth the most common method of obtaining a sample. Combine this with the negative stigma associated with DNA sampling and it becomes clear that iris recognition is the most accurate, safe, user-friendly and fastest identification system on the market.
VIII. APPLICATIONS:
Law enforcement agencies in the United States began using it in 1994 when the Lancaster County Prison in Pennsylvania became the first correctional facility to employ the technology for prisoner identification. The use of iris scans as part of the booking procedure along with fingerprints is just beginning to come into existence. Police stations around the country have been looking into the technology and some, including the Barnstable County jail in Massachusetts which put in a system in early 2002. The power of this biometric may make it rival fingerprints for booking situations where identification and verification are vital .In Berkshire County, the technology is used in the newly built Berkshire County Jail as a security check for employees. The Charlotte/Douglas International Airport in North Carolina and the Flughafen Frankfort Airport in Germany allow frequent passengers to register their iris scans in an effort to streamline boarding procedures. There is discussion that banks may someday make iris scans a routine part of ATM transactions and some have begun taking the first steps in testing out these systems.
In Criminal activities:
Financial fraud - This type of identity theft includes bank fraud, credit card fraud, computer and telecommunications fraud, social program fraud, tax refund fraud, mail fraud, and several more. In fact, a total of 25 types of financial identity fraud are investigated by the United States Secret Service. While financial identity theft is the most prevalent (of the approximate 10,000 financial crime arrests that Secret Service agents made in 1997, 94 percent involved identity theft), it certainly isn't the only type. Other types of identity theft, however, usually involve a financial element as well -- typically to fund some sort of criminal enterprise.
Criminal activities –
This type of identity fraud involves taking on someone else's identity in order to commit a crime, enter a country, get special permits, hide one's own identity, or commit acts of terrorism. These criminal activities can include:
? Computer and cyber crimes
? Organized crime
? Drug trafficking
? Alien smuggling
? Money laundering
In order to avoid all the crime activities and fraud activities we should use Iris technology .
COMPARISION WITH OTHER BIOMETRIC TECHNOLOGIES:
Cost-precision relation: When one calls upon one of these techniques, one first seeks precision, but one also interests in the cost. The graph below shows us the situation of certain techniques compared to these two criteria.
We can notice that, in spite of its 5th place in the market, the iris method of is the most precise, but also the most expensive. It is moreover this technique, particularly effective, that one finds in the film "Minority Report" of Steven Spielberg.
1. This content belongs to
LIMITATIONS: 1) It will affect the eye & not applicable to eye challenged people.
2) The properties can be changed if any eye damage occurred.
3) If retina has changed then it may not be applicable.
Evaluation: The uniqueness of eyes, even between the left and right eye of the same person, makes iris scanning very powerful for identification purposes. The likelihood of a false positive is extremely low and its relative speed and ease of use make it a great potential biometric. The only drawbacks are the potential difficulty in getting someone to hold their head in the right spot for the scan if they are not doing the scan willingly. It also takes up a bit more memory for the data to be stored, but with the advances in technology, this is unlikely to cause any major difficulty.
IX. ADVANTAGES of IRIS TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM:
1) The system involves no lasers, bright lights, or any hazardous technology at all. It's as safe to use as any video camera.
2) An award winning access control system.
3) Has no requirement or costs for cards or PIN's .
4) Is more accurate than DNA matching. No recorded instance of a false accept.
6) Has a very small record size (IrisCode 512 bytes).
6) Uses identification, (one to many) not verification (one to one) matching 7) Is non-contact. Works with glasses, protective clothing, safety shields and contact lenses.
8) Images the iris which is stable over life. One enrolment only.
9) Is non-invasive and non-contact. 10)Uses Video based technology .
11) Has extremely fast database matching (match rates in excess of 100,000 per second achieved on a standard PC).
CONCLUSION: In order to avoid all the crime activities and fraud activities and for Anti-terrorism, we should use Iris technology. The uniqueness of eyes, even between the left and right eye of the same person, makes iris scanning very powerful for identification purposes. The likelihood of a false positive is extremely low and its relative speed and ease of use make it a great potential biometric. Iris Readers use built-in countermeasures that make them virtually impossible to counterfeit or spoof. It is the absolutely genius and unique technology in order to avoid crime activities and to attain more and more security.
REFERENCES:
• Sturgeon, W. (2004). “Biometrics used to keep German Olympians safe...but what are they testing - moustache or mullet?” Security Strategy Sillicon.com
• “The Biometrics Market in Germany 2004-2009: Anti-terrorism Laws Drive Growth” (2004). Soreon Research.
• Tracy V.Wilson, (2004) from “How Biometrics works?”
• Dinah BLIRANDO, Student-Engineer Supinfo Caraïbes SUPINFO graduate year 2007
Wait until get some "Hard Numbers" from the work going on in Sierra Leone. No one knows how much "Black Sand" they accumulated however we know they are accumulating.
What I'm doing is just putting "my twist" on what is going on.
The real hard work is going on in "SIERRA LEONE" or as our resident dregemaster would say "the BUSH"
I'm just trying to keep it real based on what the company is saying.
All have a right to their opinion.
No matter how some opinions are twisted, I would counter with the facts.
When I was in the military one of my commanders used to say "If is not written down it didn't happen".
Here is what SNEY happenings are so far aka "The Paper Trail"
The facts are (as released by the company):
Thursday, May 26, 2011
SUNERGY INC Files SEC form 8-K, Changes in Registrant's Certifying AccountantEDGAR Online (Thu, May 26)
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Sunergy Updates Dredging Operations on Its 141 Sq. Km. Pampana River Rare Earth / Gold Mining Concession in Sierra Leone, West AfricaMarketwire (Tue, May 24)Monday,
May 23, 2011
SUNERGY INC Files SEC form 8-K, Unregistered Sale of Equity Securities, Financial Statements and ExhibitsEDGAR Online (Mon, May 23)
Thursday, May 12, 2011
SUNERGY INC FinancialsEDGAR Online Financials (Thu, May 12)Sunergy Clarifies New $687,750 in Combined Equity and Debt Financing; Total Outstanding Warrants Offer Additional $2,637,796 Plus Incentive WarrantsMarketwire (Thu, May 12)
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Sunergy Closes $687,750 in Combined Equity and Debt Financing to Provide Funds for Mining Operations in Sierra Leone and Ghana, West Africa: Warrants Offer Additional $2,637,796++Marketwire (Wed, May 11)
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
SUNERGY INC Files SEC form 10-K, Annual ReportEDGAR Online (Wed, May 4)Sunergy Explains Delay in Filing Its Form 10-K Annual Report for the Year Ended December 31, 2009PR Newswire (Wed, May 4)
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Sunergy Will File Its Form 10-K Annual Report for the Year Ended December 31, 2009 Today, Form 10 Q's for the First Three Quarters of 2010 Can Now Follow to Be Finalized By Its Form 10K for the Year Ended December 31, 2010 Over the Next SevPR Newswire (Tue, May 3)SUNERGY INC Files SEC form 8-K, Change in Directors or Principal Officers, Regulation FD DisclosureEDGAR Online (Tue, May 3)
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Sunergy Board of Directors Appoints Mr. Mark Shelley, CPA of Mesa, AZ to the Position of Corporate Secretary, Treasurer and a Member of the Board of DirectorsPR Newswire (Thu, Apr 21)
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Sunergy Files Form NT With the SEC for Extension of 15 Calendar Days to File 2010 10K and Dredges and Operating Equipment Are Mobilized to the Site to Commence OperationsMarketwire (Thu, Mar 31)
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Sunergy Update: 3 Dredges and Equipment Have Arrived In Sierra Leone, January 2011; Test Results Reveal More Rare Earth Elements and An Increase in Value/Ton From $3395.00 per Ton of Black Sand in the June 2010 Tests to $8421.00Marketwire (Thu, Mar 17)
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Sunergy Update: ETA for 3 Dredge Arrival in Sierra Leone March 15, 2011; Draft Financials Are Under Review for Filing in the Next Few WeeksMarketwire (Wed, Mar 9)Friday, February 4, 2011
SUNERGY INC Files SEC form 8-K, Completion of Acquisition or Disposition of Assets, Unregistered Sale of Equity SecurEDGAR Online (Fri, Feb 4)
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
SUNERGY INC Files SEC form 8-K, Changes in Registrant's Certifying Accountant, Change in Directors or Principal OfficEDGAR Online (Tue, Jan 18)Thursday, December 16, 2010
Sunergy Clarifies the Reason for the Caveat Emptor Status and How It Is Being ResolvedMarketwire (Thu, Dec 16)
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Sunergy Board Resolves to Commence Reporting Status on Pink Sheets and to Complete SEC Filings to Regain OTCBB Listing by May, 2011Marketwire (Tue, Dec 14)
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Sunergy Large Scale Rare Earth Element (REEs) Concentrates Valued at Over $3,897/Ton After Free Gold Removal on Its 140 sq. km. Pampana River Licensed Concession in Sierra Leone, West AfricaMarketwire (Tue, Dec 7)
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Sunergy's Large Scale Rare Earth Element (REEs) Deposit Containing Gold and Diamonds in Sierra Leone, West Africa Also Contains an Average of 9.628%(192.6 lb./ton) Titanium in the Recovered ConcentratesMarketwire (Wed, Dec 1)
Monday, November 29, 2010
Alan Trees, Dredge Designer and Manufacturer, Joins Sunergy Advisory Board and Brings Worldwide Dredge Operations Expertise to Our CompanyMarketwire (Mon, Nov 29
)Friday, November 26, 2010
Alan Trees, Dredge Designer and Manufacturer, Joins Sunergy Advisory Board and Brings Worldwide Dredge Operations Expertise to CompanyMarketwire (Fri, Nov 26)
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Sunergy Retracts and Corrects Its November 8, 2010 Announcement Regarding Dr. Leslye Obiora, Former Minister of Mines and Steel for Nigeria, Joining Sunergy Advisory BoardMarketwire (Wed, Nov 24)
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Sunergy Arranges Asset Backed Financing for Initial Equipment to Commence Recovery Operations of Rare Earths (REEs), Gold and Diamonds on Its 140 Sq. Km. Pamapana River Concession in Sierra Leone, West AfricaMarketwire (Tue, Nov 23)
Monday, November 15, 2010
Sunergy Plans Dredging Operations to Commence for Gold, Diamonds and Rare Earths on Its 140 sq. km. Sierra Leone and Its 150.sq. km. Ghana Mining Concessions in January 2011Marketwire (Mon, Nov 15)
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Sunergy Orders Initial Equipment to Commence Recovery Operations of Rare Earths (REEs), Gold and Diamonds on Its 140 Sq. Km. Pampana River Concession in Sierra Leone, West AfricaMarketwire (Wed, Nov 10)
Monday, November 8, 2010
Dr. Leslye Obiora, JD, Former Minister of Mines and Steel for Nigeria, Joins Sunergy Advisory Board and Adds Key High Level Business and Political Contacts in West AfricaMarketwire (Mon, Nov 8)
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Sunergy's Board of Directors Expands by Appointing Bryan Miller President and Director and Welcomes Allied Mining's Management to Complement the Company's Rapid Development Strategy in West AfricaMarketwire (Tue, Nov 2)
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Sunergy Closes Acquisition of Allied Mining and Supply, LLC's Large Scale Rare Earth Element (REEs) Deposit Containing Gold and Diamonds in Sierra Leone, West AfricaMarketwire (Thu, Oct 28)
Monday, October 25, 2010
Sunergy to Acquire Large Scale Rare Earth Element (REEs) Deposit Containing Gold in Sierra Leone, West Africa in Face of Chinese Global Domination of These Strategic MetalsMarketwire (Mon, Oct 25)
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Sunergy, Inc.: Sierra Leone Acquisition Due Diligence Completed and Definitive Written Agreement Terms Agreed for 140.1 Sq. Km. Gold, Rare Earths and Diamond Concession, Enabling Rapid ClosingMarketwire (Thu, Oct 14)
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Sunergy Update: "1.45 Million ozs of Gold Have Been Produced From the Offin River Valley, Downstream From Our 150 sq. km. Nyinahin Concession, More Than From Any Other River System in Ghana" Robert Levich, CPG, EurGeol, DirectorMarketwire (Thu, Sep 16)
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Sunergy Update: 2010 Operations on Its 150 Sq. Km. Ghana Gold Mining Concession About to Commence With Focus on Near Term ProductionMarketwire (Thu, Sep 9)
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
UPDATE: Sunergy, Inc. Plans Expansion of Gold Operations to 140.1 Sq. Km. Pampana River Advanced Exploration/Development Concession in Sierra Leone, West AfricaMarketwire (Tue, Sep 7)
Sunergy, Inc. Plans Expansion of Gold Operations to 140.1 Sq. Km. Pampana River Advanced Exploration/Development Concession in Sierra Leone, West AfricaMarketwire (Tue, Sep 7)
Thursday, August 26, 2010
SUNERGY INC FinancialsEDGAR Online Financials (Thu, Aug 26)
SUNERGY INC Files SEC form 8-K, Amendments to Articles of Inc. or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year, Regulation FD DiscloEDGAR Online (Thu, Aug 26)
SUNERGY INC Files SEC form 8-K, Amendments to Articles of Inc. or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year, Regulation FD DiscloEDGAR Online (Thu, Aug 26)
Monday, August 23, 2010
Sunergy, Inc Receives Final SEC/FINRA Approval for 10 for 1 Forward Split to Be Effective 8/24/10Marketwire (Mon, Aug 23)
We have seen here this week a cat fight with stock price featuring the bulls versus the bears.
We also have witness some exchanges between board members that was based on each belief of what is going on within the company.
What do the facts say based on information released by the company?
It is my position that the company is moving along nicely.
Why you ask?
If one was to look at the company's "EXECUTIVE BRIEFING"
(dated November 23, 2010)and measure the desired results they would see that progress was made. Some definitive and some not so conclusive)
Cash required to fund the initial bulk sampling, testing, initial mining and 43--101 Property Evaluation For each project:
$2,643,000 (not the whole amount)
Funds Will be used to accomplish the following:
1. Expand Bulk sampling and mining for immediate cash flow (in progress)
2. Secure Additional adjacent properties (holdings expansion)(I don't know. Anyone have any further info?)
3. Commission 43--101 (JORC) Compliant technical report on alluvial and hard rock reserves (Done)
4. Complete Bankable feasibility study (I don't know. Anyone have any further info?)
PROJECT
TIMING
Land Mining Equipment For set--up February 2011 (late but OK)
Commence 300 Tons per day processing by March 2011 (late but OK)
Achieve 600 Tons per day processing by August 2011 (late but OK)
Cash Flow from bulk sampling within three months of landing equipment (No, Not Yet)
Full Production mining can commence as early as March 2011 When production volume should reach approximately 300 Tons per hour for each operation. This Should produce an annual gross return (‘au’ @ $1,000 Per ounce) of $10,000,000 To $15,000,000 Per project. Production Should ramp up to 600 Tph in each case within the first 6 months. (Don't Know If They Are at Full Production, however, We Do Know They are PRODUCING)
Sunergy Has several former producing mines and numerous Artisan Pits along the Offin River Which will be worked for the 60+% Of the gold left behind by the Artisans. With The Sierra Leone Acquisition moving into production, the combined operation will begin in Quarter 1 Of 2011 At an initial rate of 2,000 – 3,000 Ounces per month stabilizing
@ 3,000/month Over quarter 3 And 4 For the first year. Once stabilized, the Company Will add 1 gravity/wash plant during Quarter 3 And 4 In each of the next two years increasing production by 36,000 Ounces per year for each operation. The Company Anticipates growing annual production to over 100,000 oz/year which results in projected earnings of $20,000,000 -- $30,000,000 Per year using $1,000/ oz. gold price. (No "hard" Gold production numbers reported yet, however we know they are retrieving Gold)
SNEY is moving forward regardless of where the stock price is moving. The success of the company is not based on the share price but will be based on numerous activities by the Company including job site(s) progression, SEC requirements, financing, tranparency. I believe if the company takes care of business in these areas eventually the stock price will be reflective of that.
I leave you with an email I received about choices.
Two Choices
>
> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line, there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the same choice?
>
>
>
> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its
>
> Dedicated staff, he offered a question:
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> 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection.
>
> Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do.
>
> Where is the natural order of things in my son?'
>
>
>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
>
>
> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'
>
> Then he told the following story:
>
>
>
> Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
>
>
> I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning..'
>
>
>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt.. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.
>
> In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.
>
> In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.
>
> In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again.
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> Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.
>
>
>
> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?
>
> Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.
>
>
>
> However, as Shay stepped up to the
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> Plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.
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> The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.
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> The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
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> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.
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>
>
> The game would now be over.
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> The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman.
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> Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.
>
>
>
> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates.
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> Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first!
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> Run to first!'
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> Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base.
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> He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.
>
>
>
> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!'
>
> Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base.
>
> By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball . The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team.
>
> He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head.
>
> Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.
>
>
>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
>
>
> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
>
> Shay, run to third!'
>
>
>
> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!'
>
> Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team
>
>
>
> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.
>
>
>
> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
>
>
>
> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOT NOTE TO THIS STORY:
>
> We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate.
>
> The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
>
>
> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message Well, the person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference.
>
> We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural order of things.'
>
> So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice:
>
> Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?
>
>
>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
>
>
> You now have two choices:
>
> 1. Delete
>
> 2. Forward
> May your day, be a Shay Day.
>
>
>
>
>
>
--
Love generously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.
This is also where we will be setting up our recovery operation which will start up once the operating season is over.
This one line is NOT good news and speaks VOLUMES IMO.
PR Breakdown
SECURITY and SECRECY appears to be of extreme importance.
The PR "Sunergy Updates Dredging Operations on Its 141 Sq. Km. Pampana River Rare Earth / Gold Mining Concession in Sierra Leone, West Africa" dated 5/24/11 is full of useful informative(AIMHO). No $$$ numbers are attached as they have not started separating the valuables from the Black Sands to make this determination, however the PR addresses when this process will occur (see #7).
1. The discussion that follows is from an operations report prepared by Dale Bourassa, Operations Manager for Allied Mining in Sierra Leone.
2. Up to yesterday (the 17th of May) the dredge has been on the river for 1 month. We began by prospecting the best areas to work, and primarily, those were the areas of the least amount of overburden.The company relayed to the shareholders the status of on-going operations.
3. We discovered that the sluice was only capturing about 20% of the free gold and 80% (or more) was going directly into the sump. We have modified the dredges so that closer to 100% now goes into the sump and we pump directly from the sump to an area adjacent to the river bank. The concentrates are then moved to our secure compound awaiting future processing. We have left the free gold, which may be substantial, in the black sand concentrate to be extracted under more secure conditions. We are now concentrating on production volume with the black sand/gold concentrates.
4. Primary Dredge Location: #1
Once we got into the gravel at this location (location deleted for security purposes), we have received approximately 1.5 g of visible gold per ton of feed. We are still at this location. We have additional locations with the same info.
5. In the 30 days on the river, we have worked only 20 of them due to fuel shortages and Holidays. We work 6 days a week and 10 hours a day. On our day off we spend our time sourcing parts, fine tuning the dredge and picking up supplies. The first week, time was spent moving the dredge upstream to prospect different areas.
6. We are excited that there really is as much black sand being recovered, 100 pounds per ton of feed, as indicated in previous test results and we are constantly improving the dredge recovery profile to a point that the tandem operation allows for cleaner and more efficient recovery. The other exciting news is that the visible gold content remains strong. Now that we are getting the dredges dialed in, we look forward to increasing our production numbers."
7. Bryan Miller, President, comments:
"
It is great to be in operation on the Pampana and to have our testing from the past 2 years begin to bear fruit. We are putting a secure processing facility together near our operations. This is where we bring the recovered concentrates. This is also where we will be setting up our recovery operation which will start up once the operating season is over. In the meantime, we are dedicated to producing as much black sand concentrate as possible during the operating season. We are also working on a land based operating plan to keep operations going during the winter season."
Thanks Dredgemaster,
Your explanation was very clear.
Very good, honest and to the point post.
No fluff here
Just the facts
Thanks
People that are not blind and can see the GOLD and possibly people that are blind and can feel the GOLD.
We would clean the sluice (upper and lower at this point) and if the visible free gold was a respectable number, typically 1 to 2 grams of gold per ton of feed gravel, we would stay there.
We have left the free gold, which may be substantial, in the black sand concentrate to be extracted under more secure conditions.
Question for anyone?
What does "dredges dialed in" mean?
Thanks in Advance
PR Breakdown
SECURITY and SECRECY appears to be of extreme importance.
The PR "Sunergy Updates Dredging Operations on Its 141 Sq. Km. Pampana River Rare Earth / Gold Mining Concession in Sierra Leone, West Africa" dated 5/24/11 is full of useful informative(AIMHO). No $$$ numbers are attached as they have not started separating the valuables from the Black Sands to make this determination, however the PR addresses when this process will occur (see #7).
1. The discussion that follows is from an operations report prepared by Dale Bourassa, Operations Manager for Allied Mining in Sierra Leone.
2. Up to yesterday (the 17th of May) the dredge has been on the river for 1 month. We began by prospecting the best areas to work, and primarily, those were the areas of the least amount of overburden.The company relayed to the shareholders the status of on-going operations.
3. We discovered that the sluice was only capturing about 20% of the free gold and 80% (or more) was going directly into the sump. We have modified the dredges so that closer to 100% now goes into the sump and we pump directly from the sump to an area adjacent to the river bank. The concentrates are then moved to our secure compound awaiting future processing. We have left the free gold, which may be substantial, in the black sand concentrate to be extracted under more secure conditions. We are now concentrating on production volume with the black sand/gold concentrates.
4. Primary Dredge Location: #1
Once we got into the gravel at this location (location deleted for security purposes), we have received approximately 1.5 g of visible gold per ton of feed. We are still at this location. We have additional locations with the same info.
5. In the 30 days on the river, we have worked only 20 of them due to fuel shortages and Holidays. We work 6 days a week and 10 hours a day. On our day off we spend our time sourcing parts, fine tuning the dredge and picking up supplies. The first week, time was spent moving the dredge upstream to prospect different areas.
6. We are excited that there really is as much black sand being recovered, 100 pounds per ton of feed, as indicated in previous test results and we are constantly improving the dredge recovery profile to a point that the tandem operation allows for cleaner and more efficient recovery. The other exciting news is that the visible gold content remains strong. Now that we are getting the dredges dialed in, we look forward to increasing our production numbers."
7. Bryan Miller, President, comments:
"It is great to be in operation on the Pampana and to have our testing from the past 2 years begin to bear fruit. We are putting a secure processing facility together near our operations. This is where we bring the recovered concentrates. This is also where we will be setting up our recovery operation which will start up once the operating season is over. In the meantime, we are dedicated to producing as much black sand concentrate as possible during the operating season. We are also working on a land based operating plan to keep operations going during the winter season."
Yes,
Sunergy is executing their business plan. Certainly they have missed target dates, however the plan is unfolding within the scope of desired goals.
Stay Tuned
More to Come
Let us measure our progress from the company's Game Plan
From SUNERGY EXECUTIVE BRIEFING
(dated November 23, 2010))
Cash required to fund the initial bulk sampling, testing, initial mining and 43--101 Property Evaluation For each project:
$2,643,000
Funds Will be used to accomplish the following:
1. Expand Bulk sampling and mining for immediate cash flow
2. Secure Additional adjacent properties (holdings expansion)
3. Commission 43--101 (JORC) Compliant technical report on alluvial and hard rock reserves
4. Complete Bankable feasibility study
PROJECT
TIMING
Land Mining Equipment For set--up February 2011
Commence 300 Tons per day processing by March 2011
Achieve 600 Tons per day processing by August 2011
Cash Flow from bulk sampling within three months of landing equipment
Full Production mining can commence as early as March 2011 When production volume should reach approximately 300 Tons per hour for each operation. This Should produce an annual gross return (‘au’ @ $1,000 Per ounce) of $10,000,000 To $15,000,000 Per project. Production Should ramp up to 600 Tph in each case within the first 6 months.
Sunergy Has several former producing mines and numerous Artisan Pits along the Offin River Which will be worked for the 60+% Of the gold left behind by the Artisans. With The Sierra Leone Acquisition moving into production, the combined operation will begin in Quarter 1 Of 2011 At an initial rate of 2,000 – 3,000 Ounces per month stabilizing
@ 3,000/month Over quarter 3 And 4 For the first year. Once stabilized, the Company Will add 1 gravity/wash plant during Quarter 3 And 4 In each of the next two years increasing production by 36,000 Ounces per year for each operation. The Company Anticipates growing annual production to over 100,000 oz/year which results in projected earnings of $20,000,000 -- $30,000,000 Per year using $1,000/ oz. gold price..
REEs Processing possible in Sierra Leone
Sierra Rutile Mine
http://www.sierra-rutile.com/operations--markets/sierra-rutile-mine
The Sierra Rutile mine is located in the south west of Sierra Leone near the Imperri Hills, some 30 km from the Atlantic Ocean, on low lying coastal plains about 135 km southeast of the capital Freetown. SRL holds mining leases over a land area of 580 sq. km in which nineteen separate rutile deposits have been identified.
The mining concession is one of the largest natural rutile deposits known in the world. In February 2011, the Company produced a JORC-Compliant Mineral Resource for the Sierra Rutile mine of over 600 million tonnes. The mine also produces ilmenite and zircon concentrate.
The mine employs bucket ladder dredges and conventional mineral processing methods to produce rutile, ilmenite and zircon concentrate. In addition there is potential for rare earth mineral production which the Company is currently investigating.
The mine is self-sufficient. SRL generates its own power, operates its own port, maintains the road infrastructure, has its own hospital and generally provides and maintains its own infrastructure and ancillary services.
Still looking for 2010 Qs
Based on PR dated 5/4/11 all the filings should be completed by 5/24/11 (AIMHO).
We all know this will likely not happen. The company has been consistently late with filings. As before with 2009 10K, I trust the 2010 10Qs and 10k will eventual arrive. The thing is no one knows the day or hour. We can only hope it is soon.
This does not change the fundamentals of the company and they are forging ahead collecting Black Sands that hopefully will add decent value once they are processed for visible gold and extreme value from the leftovers sold for REEs and gold dust.
Why 5/24/11 date? That is a few weeks (business days) from the 5/4/11 date.
8 business days passed between appointing Mr. Mark Shelley and releasing the 2009 10k.
Sunergy Board of Directors Appoints Mr. Mark Shelley, CPA of Mesa, AZ to the Position of Corporate Secretary, Treasurer and a Me
Date : 04/21/2011 @ 7:33AM
- Annual Report (10-K)
Date : 05/04/2011 @ 2:41PM
Source : Edgar (US Regulatory)
Stock : Sunergy (SNEY)
10Qs & 10Ks BREAKDOWN
The report contains information current right up to today's filing date as required by U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. This initial filing sets the stage for the 10-Q's for the year 2010 which will be finalized by the filing of our Form 10-K for the period ending December 31, 2010. This filing will be followed by our first 10-Q for 2011, which once filed will bring our financial reporting requirements into full compliance with the SEC and the Caveat Emptor status should be removed. We expect these filings to be completed one at a time over the next few weeks. As soon as we are compliant in our financial filings, management is committed to reapply for relisting on the OTCBB and to remain current in its filing requirements insuring shareholders a higher level of transparency.
Can't tell you exactly how many tons of blk sands we have, as some are stored at the site, others at our house in the village of Masanga, and of course in our compound in Magbuaka. We will certainly have plenty of work in processing all stockpiled blk sands. AMS is the process of sourcing the appropriate separation equipment to process the material.
A decision to not stop the dredge for the cleaning of the sluice dramatically increased our production of the black sand and gold concentrate. We discovered that the sluice was only capturing about 20% of the free gold and 80% (or more) was going directly into the sump. We have modified the dredges so that closer to 100% now goes into the sump and we pump directly from the sump to an area adjacent to the river bank. The concentrates are then moved to our secure compound awaiting future processing. We have left the free gold, which may be substantial, in the black sand concentrate to be extracted under more secure conditions. We are now concentrating on production volume with the black sand/gold concentrates. One of the reports we received stated that there is twice as much concealed gold in the REEs so we wish to recover the most amount of gold under optimum conditions in one operation.
We are excited that there really is as much black sand being recovered, 100 pounds per ton of feed, as indicated in previous test results and we are constantly improving the dredge recovery profile to a point that the tandem operation allows for cleaner and more efficient recovery. The other exciting news is that the visible gold content remains strong. Now that we are getting the dredges dialed in, we look forward to increasing our production numbers."
Excellent Post
Link back
Explorers look to Africa as rare earths prices soar
http://www.miningweekly.com/article/explorers-look-to-africa-as-rare-earths-prices-soar-bubblelike-2011-03-18
By: Irma Venter
18th March 2011
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Samarium is used in the navigation system of the US M1A2 Abrams tank.
It is one of 15 rare-earth elements used in high-tech and renewable-energy devices, and its price increased by 1 256% over the 12 months to February 16.
Samarium is only one of a handful of rare earths that have showed tremendous gains over the past 12 to 24 months.
Australia’s Resource Capital Research resource analyst Trent Allen says that the average 12-month price gain (to February 16) for ten rare-earth oxides (REOs) reported on the Metal Pages website is an astounding 679%.
“This has been dominated by cerium (up 1 611%), lanthanum (up 1 227%) and samarium (up 1 256%).”
Allen says that these three are all light rare-earth elements, as opposed to the often more sought-after heavy rare earths.
They were also the three lowest-priced elements a year ago, and still among the cheapest.
The major escalation seen in prices is the result of a supply situation where one country, China, produces almost all the world’s rare earths, at around 97% in 2010, using the bulk locally, while also squeezing export quotas.
Last year, China cut export quotas by 40%, in a move that alarmed buyers and traders, and then proceeded to trim export quotas for the first half of 2011 by another 35% from the first half of last year.
Allen says it is this short-term supply squeeze – or, at least, the fear of one – that has driven up prices.
“There is some hype involved, especially around the price of lanthanum and cerium, which are really quite common. China has used this quasi-hype, especially in the second half of 2010, to gain some political leverage with Japan and the US. Looking ahead, the effect of higher prices and limited supply from China should bring on a series of global rare-earth-element projects, both historic and new.”
The surge in REO prices has indeed led to a situation where several junior exploration and mining companies are scouring the globe –Africa included – for deposits that can be brought to market, and brought to market quickly.
The jump in REO prices has, of course, also led to rapidly rising share prices among these companies –and talks of a price bubble.
Rare and minor metals companies’ share prices (304 global companies) have climbed 118% in the past 12 months.
SOUNDS FAMILIAR?
Is this not what happened a few years ago with the uranium market?
The rush to get in on the meteoric yellow-cake (or uranium oxide) market led to a spot price of $136/lb in 2007, well above the $7,10/lb recorded in 2000, with several companies jumping to find more of the mineral that was poised to fuel a boom in nuclear energy.
However, the market has since been hit by volatility and the global recession, with the spot price at around $70, recovering from the $40 level seen in the middle of last year.
FRONTIERMAN
Frontier Rare Earths CE James Kenny tells Mining Weekly that talk of a price bubble is “slightly overdone”, and that the parallels drawn with uranium are “not a very accurate comparison”.
Canadian listed company Frontier is developing the Zandkopsdrift rare-earth deposit in Namaqualand, in the Northern Cape.
Zandkopsdrift is set to be South Africa’s second rare earths mine, following Great Western Minerals Group’s Steenkamps-kraal mine, due to start production in 2013.
Kenny explains that uranium has a market where it trades both on a spot price and a futures basis, with “a lot of speculation coming from investors”.
However, he notes that the current rare earths market is supplied from only two mines in the world, with no spot price, and no futures market – which means there “isn’t a lot of investor money chasing it, creating that artificiality we see in the uranium market”.
Kenny links the current surge in prices more to concern over security of supply.
He says it became clear 12 months ago that there is a “great need for rare earths, especially from non-Chinese suppliers”. (However, demand issues are also set to come into play as China will, most likely, become an importer of rare earths by around 2015.)
Kenny also explains that some rare earths prices – and especially prices of light rare earths such as lanthanum – may have reached levels that are linked to China’s export system.
Should the Chinese export quota system, currently largely based on weight, be changed to one based on element, there may, however, be a correction, he notes.
“We may see some prices come back, some maintaining their levels, and some increasing.”
Frontier hopes to complete a prefeasibility study on the Zandkopsdrift project by the first quarter of 2012 and a bankable feasibility study by the end of 2012, with a 2015 production start possible.
“We have all 15 rare earths but what is more important is that we have an attractive distribution of the more valuable, scarcer rare earths, including praseodymium, neodymium, europium, terbium and dysprosium.
“It is also one of the highest-grade deposits in the world.”
Kenny expects the mine to be a low-tonnage openpit, producing around 20 000 t of separated rare earths a year.
He hopes Frontier will find more lucrative deposits in Namaqualand.
The current project complex covers only 120 ha of a 60 000 ha permit area, with an application for another permit of com- parable size pending.
“We are not looking anywhere else at the moment – only in South Africa.”
LOOKING EAST
In Africa, looking east refers to countries such as Tanzania and Kenya.
Canadian-listed Montero Mining & Exploration is focused on finding and developing rare earths, uranium and phosphate deposits in Tanzania, South Africa and Canada.
President and CEO Tony Harwood says that the four-year-old company is currently conducting a 2 500 m diamond drilling programme at Wigu Hill, in Tanzania, a project in which it has a 60% stake, with the aim of defining a resource on one of ten targets the company has developed through the mapping and sampling of the large carbonatite complex.
Harwood says Wigu Hill has had “tremendous interest from the investment community, given the high grade, large tonnage potential, and apparent simple mineralogy and metallurgy”.
“The deposit has been known since the 1950s, and has been studied by various geological surveys and companies since that time, says Harwood.
He adds that there are other rare-earth deposits in Tanzania, but that he believes Wigu Hill has some of the highest grades available.
“We have mainly the light rare earths, such as cerium, lanthanum, neodymium and praseodymium, but, because of our grade – up to 26,2% total rare earths – we have some of the heavy rare-earth elements present in economic quantities.”
Harwood is positive that Wigu Hill may start production “very quickly”, owing to the “high grade, simple mineralogy, potential openpit and close proximity to a major railway siding – 12 km – and the port at Dar es Salaam”.
He estimates the cost to develop the project at $200-million.
He adds that Montero has a strong management team –Harwood himself is a former VP at Placer Dome (now Barrick Gold) and has worked for many years in Africa.
Harwood notes that Montero is looking for high-grade rare-earth deposits in Southern Africa.
“We will go where the giant deposits are to be found.”
Yet another East African rare earths project, also still in its infancy, is Kangankunde, in Malawi.
The company behind it hopes to provide the first new source of rare earths outside China when the Australian Mount Weld mine comes into production in the third quarter of 2011.
By adding Kangankunde to its armoury, Australian miner Lynas will be able to expand its rare-earth resources portfolio.
Kangankunde has an inferred resource of 107 000 t REO at a average grade of 4,24% REO.
The pilot plant for a gravity concentration process has already been completed.
The next steps for this deposit, said Lynas executive chairperson Nicholas Curtis in a March presentation, are to initiate an environmental management plant and to undertake a drilling programme to provide drill core and test resource extension.
SINGING THE PRAISES OF LOFDAL
North of South Africa’s border, Namibia Rare Earths Incorporated (NRE) hopes to develop the Lofdal rare earths project, in the north-west of Namibia, as its principal asset.
NRE was incorporated as a private company in 2010 to advance the development of the Namibian assets formerly held by Etruscan Resources, NRE president Don Burton tells Mining Weekly.
The company is seeking a listing on a Canadian exchange and is targeting an initial public offering “very soon”.
“Lofdal is a brand-new, district-scale rare earths project in the early stages of exploration, with particular focus on the potential for the discovery of heavy rare-earth-enriched deposits,” says Burton.
The interesting thing is that it was never intended for Lofdal to be a rare-earth element (REE) project.
“Our interest in Namibia, and in Lofdal, in particular, arose from a conceptual search for iron-oxide/copper/gold ore (IOCG) deposits in central and northern Namibia in 2005,” explains Burton.
These deposit types are often associated with anomalous amounts of REEs, which can be considered as pathfinder elements in the search for IOCG deposits.
Lofdal was a known REE occurrence on government maps.
“We explored over 20 000 km2 in search of the IOCG deposits with no luck and, late in 2008, we turned our attention specifically to the REEs at Lofdal,” says Burton.
“The rare earths market was just starting to hot up at that time and it was a complicated commodity sector for investors and gold geologists to navigate. However, the more we researched the geology at Lofdal and the market sector, the more compelling it looked.
“On top of this, we quietly prospected and sampled over 80 km2, where over 3 400 rock samples taken at surface told us that the REE-bearing rocks at Lofdal occurred over a huge area. In short, we believed we had uncovered a new rare-earth mineral district.”
Burton notes that Lofdal is the most advanced and focused REE project in Namibia, and that it stands “a very good chance” of becoming Namibia’s first REE mine.
He says that the academic world has known about Lofdal for many years, because of its unique enrichment in heavy rare-earth elements (HREE), and the presence of the heavy rare earth mineral xenotime in the carbonatite rocks. (Xenotime is a brown-to-yellow mineral that is a phosphate of yttrium in crystalline form.)
HREE-rich projects are generally understood to have more than 10% HREEs in the total mix of REEs, while 20% to 40% HREE enrichment is considered exceptional.
“At Lofdal, we see many areas with indications of more than 50% HREEs, and some samples with over 90% HREEs,” says Burton.
“We have the complete mix of all 15 REEs (including yttrium), but of particular interest will be the more valuable heavies such as europium, terbium and dysprosium.”
Burton says that the plan is for NRE “to aggressively move forward” with its exploration plans to make the HREE-rich discovery official.
He is also full of praise for the promining attitude of the Namibian government.
Burton is hopeful that Lofdal can play a significant role in any future REE market.
“All commodities suffer price bubbles and, most recently, uranium would stick in everyone’s mind. Uranium is also particularly relevant to Namibia, as it is the world’s fourth-largest producer.
“Bubbles can burst as investors get ahead of themselves, and one of the problems in any rising commodity market is the hoards of companies all trying to jump on the train before it leaves the station. The challenge is to understand which companies have projects of real merit that will be there in the long term.”
Burton says that a select few projects will work towards filling the near-term supply gap, but the predictions are that certain REEs, especially the heavy REEs, will remain in supply deficits.
“You would need a crystal ball to predict exactly where REE prices will be by the time Lofdal enters commercial production but, if you believe that the global economies, and most importantly China and India, will be embracing electric cars, wind power, solar power and i-Pads, then you should have a certain level of confidence in the REE market in the long term.”
Other companies searching Africa for rare earths include Sunergy, active in Sierra Leone, and Forte Energy, in Guinea.
MARKET OUTLOOK
Kenny sees growth of 10% to 15% a year in REO demand, with current production at around 120 000 t, and the market roughly in equilibrium. However, demand is set to climb to roughly 200 000 t a year.
Equilibrium will only be possible if non-Chinese suppliers come on stream, notes Kenny.
“If they don’t, we have a real problem.”
The main uses of rare earths in 2010 were magnets (21%) and catalysts (20%), says Allen.
Neodymium and samarium are the main rare earths used for permanent magnets (found in televisions and wind turbines, for example), with terbium and dysprosium added for high-temperature stability.
These are among the elements most in demand, notes Allen.
The main rare earth used for catalysis and rechargeable batteries is lanthanum, but it is quite abundant and so relatively inexpensive, even now.
The most valuable rare earth is europium (around $650/kg, compared with $71/kg for cerium), owing to its scarcity.
Europium is unique in the fact that it can absorb more neutrons per atom than any other element. This means that europium and its isotopes are valuable in the control rods of nuclear reactors. Europium is also used to produce certain alloys, including striker and lighter flints. It has also been used in the creation of infrared absorbing automotive glass.
“Naturally, with prices increasing and, more importantly, China squeezing supply, substitutes are being sought for many applications. An example would be the growing competition between lithium- and rare-earths-based batteries for use in hybrid/electric vehicles,”explains Allen.
“This could have an impact on demand going forward, but one that’s hard to quantify – who knows what the next ‘miracle metal’ might be?”
Lynas’s Curtis says that rare earths supply at 115 000 t was somewhat outstripped by demand at 128 000 t in 2010.
Chinese production capacity was around 103 300 t, with non-Chinese supply sources at 11 500 t.
However, forecast supply is that the rest-of-the-world contribution will jump to reach 47 400 t in 2013, with 87 000 t coming from China.
Most of the names in the current rest-of-world production pipeline are not well known.
The nearest-term producers are also the more prominent, namely US miner Molycorp, with its Mountain Pass historic mine, as well as Lynas’s Mount Weld.
“These are both significant suppliers,” says Allen.
“After them come a slew of other hopefuls, mostly with recent projects in the advanced stages of feasibility, but still trying to iron out their process route, funding, permitting and so on.
“There are also historic projects that need capital and repermitting to restart, for example, projects in the former Soviet republics, such as Stans Energy’s Kutessay II, in Kyrgyzstan.”
Allen says that most rare earths projects take a long time to develop because “their chemistry is hard to crack, owing to difficult mineralogy and a comparative lack of relevant expertise outside China”.
While Africa’s most advanced project is Steenkampskraal, there is, however, at least a handful of others also that could add to the inventory of minerals the continent provides the world with – hopefully, before the price bubble, if it does indeed exist, bursts.
8k is out, however we are waiting patiently for 2010 Qs.
Rare-earth mineralisation identified in tailings
11th March 2011
http://www.miningweekly.com/article/rare-earths-mineralisation-identified-in-tailings-2011-03-11
As a result of its ongoing strategic review pro- cess, mining company Sierra Rutile (previously Titanium Resources Group) reports an initial Joint Ore Reserves Committee- (Jorc-) compliant mineral resource and the identification of potentially value-enhancing rare-earth mineralisation in the Sierra Rutile tailings, in Sierra Leone.
The mineral resource estimate of about 600-million tons confirms Sierra Rutile’s standing as one of the largest natural rutile deposits in the world.
Natural rutile is a premium form of titanium dioxide, which trades at a premium of about 20% to synthetic rutile and at a price five to seven times that of ilmenite.
Given the size and quality of the Sierra Rutile asset, the company is currently examining a number of options to significantly increase its production at the mine and intends to release an updated ore reserve statement and associated expansion plans on completion of these studies.
These expansion plans will be designed to take advantage of this asset and the significant positive market fundamentals for premium heavy minerals products, such as natural rutile.
Rare Earths
As part of management’s strategic review, and an added benefit to preparing the mineral resource, the company identified the presence of significant rare-earth mineralisation in the tailings of the minerals separation plant.
These tailings, which have been stockpiled over more than 30 years of operations, have the potential to add significant value to the company. Studies are ongoing to quantify the type, extent and commercial potential of the mineralisation.
“As part of the ongoing strategic review, Sierra Rutile confirms a substantial 600-million-ton mineral resource at Sierra Rutile, making it one of the largest natural rutile deposits in the world with an in situ value, at current market prices, of almost $8-billion. “The company will be working methodically over the coming months to evaluate a number of options available to expand production and derive maximum value from this substantial resource,” says CEO John Sisay.
Meanwhile, at a 0,8% rutile cutoff grade, the mineral resource is contained within two primary mining licence areas covering about 490 km2, with a further five satellite deposits over an area of 69 km2.
The orebody is up to 25 m thick and comprises sediments mineralised from the surface to the underlying bedrock.
Sisay says that the mineral resource estimation is derived from an extensive geological drill-hole database that has been verified by two separate and independent geological consultants, Mine Development Associates and ACA Howe International.
“Geological sampling has been undertaken using a combination of recognised heavy minerals drilling techniques, namely augering and air-core methods. “Drill spacing varies between 30 m by 30 m for measured resources to grid spacing of above 300 m by 300 m for inferred resources,” he concludes.
Based on PR dated 5/4/11 all the filings should be completed by 5/24/11 (AIMHO).
We all know this will likely not happen. The company has been consistently late with filings. As before with 2009 10K, I trust the 2010 10Qs and 10k will eventual arrive. The thing is no one knows the day or hour. We can only hope it is soon.
This does not change the fundamentals of the company and they appear to be forging ahead with collecting Black Sands that hopefully will add decent value once they are processed for visible gold and extreme value from the leftovers sold for REEs and gold dust.
Why 5/24/11 date? That is a few weeks (business days) from the 5/4/11 date.
8 business days passed between appointing Mr. Mark Shelley and releasing the 2009 10k.
Sunergy Board of Directors Appoints Mr. Mark Shelley, CPA of Mesa, AZ to the Position of Corporate Secretary, Treasurer and a Me
Date : 04/21/2011 @ 7:33AM
- Annual Report (10-K)
Date : 05/04/2011 @ 2:41PM
Source : Edgar (US Regulatory)
Stock : Sunergy (SNEY)
10Qs & 10Ks BREAKDOWN
The report contains information current right up to today's filing date as required by U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. This initial filing sets the stage for the 10-Q's for the year 2010 which will be finalized by the filing of our Form 10-K for the period ending December 31, 2010. This filing will be followed by our first 10-Q for 2011, which once filed will bring our financial reporting requirements into full compliance with the SEC and the Caveat Emptor status should be removed. We expect these filings to be completed one at a time over the next few weeks. As soon as we are compliant in our financial filings, management is committed to reapply for relisting on the OTCBB and to remain current in its filing requirements insuring shareholders a higher level of transparency.
The cat fight continues.
The bears are making noise.
Hopefully the the bulls will respond loudly as they have done in the past.
"Sorry dude you don't have a clue to what's comin."
Explorers look to Africa as rare earths prices soar
http://www.miningweekly.com/article/explorers-look-to-africa-as-rare-earths-prices-soar-bubblelike-2011-03-18
By: Irma Venter
18th March 2011
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JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Samarium is used in the navigation system of the US M1A2 Abrams tank.
It is one of 15 rare-earth elements used in high-tech and renewable-energy devices, and its price increased by 1 256% over the 12 months to February 16.
Samarium is only one of a handful of rare earths that have showed tremendous gains over the past 12 to 24 months.
Australia’s Resource Capital Research resource analyst Trent Allen says that the average 12-month price gain (to February 16) for ten rare-earth oxides (REOs) reported on the Metal Pages website is an astounding 679%.
“This has been dominated by cerium (up 1 611%), lanthanum (up 1 227%) and samarium (up 1 256%).”
Allen says that these three are all light rare-earth elements, as opposed to the often more sought-after heavy rare earths.
They were also the three lowest-priced elements a year ago, and still among the cheapest.
The major escalation seen in prices is the result of a supply situation where one country, China, produces almost all the world’s rare earths, at around 97% in 2010, using the bulk locally, while also squeezing export quotas.
Last year, China cut export quotas by 40%, in a move that alarmed buyers and traders, and then proceeded to trim export quotas for the first half of 2011 by another 35% from the first half of last year.
Allen says it is this short-term supply squeeze – or, at least, the fear of one – that has driven up prices.
“There is some hype involved, especially around the price of lanthanum and cerium, which are really quite common. China has used this quasi-hype, especially in the second half of 2010, to gain some political leverage with Japan and the US. Looking ahead, the effect of higher prices and limited supply from China should bring on a series of global rare-earth-element projects, both historic and new.”
The surge in REO prices has indeed led to a situation where several junior exploration and mining companies are scouring the globe –Africa included – for deposits that can be brought to market, and brought to market quickly.
The jump in REO prices has, of course, also led to rapidly rising share prices among these companies –and talks of a price bubble.
Rare and minor metals companies’ share prices (304 global companies) have climbed 118% in the past 12 months.
SOUNDS FAMILIAR?
Is this not what happened a few years ago with the uranium market?
The rush to get in on the meteoric yellow-cake (or uranium oxide) market led to a spot price of $136/lb in 2007, well above the $7,10/lb recorded in 2000, with several companies jumping to find more of the mineral that was poised to fuel a boom in nuclear energy.
However, the market has since been hit by volatility and the global recession, with the spot price at around $70, recovering from the $40 level seen in the middle of last year.
FRONTIERMAN
Frontier Rare Earths CE James Kenny tells Mining Weekly that talk of a price bubble is “slightly overdone”, and that the parallels drawn with uranium are “not a very accurate comparison”.
Canadian listed company Frontier is developing the Zandkopsdrift rare-earth deposit in Namaqualand, in the Northern Cape.
Zandkopsdrift is set to be South Africa’s second rare earths mine, following Great Western Minerals Group’s Steenkamps-kraal mine, due to start production in 2013.
Kenny explains that uranium has a market where it trades both on a spot price and a futures basis, with “a lot of speculation coming from investors”.
However, he notes that the current rare earths market is supplied from only two mines in the world, with no spot price, and no futures market – which means there “isn’t a lot of investor money chasing it, creating that artificiality we see in the uranium market”.
Kenny links the current surge in prices more to concern over security of supply.
He says it became clear 12 months ago that there is a “great need for rare earths, especially from non-Chinese suppliers”. (However, demand issues are also set to come into play as China will, most likely, become an importer of rare earths by around 2015.)
Kenny also explains that some rare earths prices – and especially prices of light rare earths such as lanthanum – may have reached levels that are linked to China’s export system.
Should the Chinese export quota system, currently largely based on weight, be changed to one based on element, there may, however, be a correction, he notes.
“We may see some prices come back, some maintaining their levels, and some increasing.”
Frontier hopes to complete a prefeasibility study on the Zandkopsdrift project by the first quarter of 2012 and a bankable feasibility study by the end of 2012, with a 2015 production start possible.
“We have all 15 rare earths but what is more important is that we have an attractive distribution of the more valuable, scarcer rare earths, including praseodymium, neodymium, europium, terbium and dysprosium.
“It is also one of the highest-grade deposits in the world.”
Kenny expects the mine to be a low-tonnage openpit, producing around 20 000 t of separated rare earths a year.
He hopes Frontier will find more lucrative deposits in Namaqualand.
The current project complex covers only 120 ha of a 60 000 ha permit area, with an application for another permit of com- parable size pending.
“We are not looking anywhere else at the moment – only in South Africa.”
LOOKING EAST
In Africa, looking east refers to countries such as Tanzania and Kenya.
Canadian-listed Montero Mining & Exploration is focused on finding and developing rare earths, uranium and phosphate deposits in Tanzania, South Africa and Canada.
President and CEO Tony Harwood says that the four-year-old company is currently conducting a 2 500 m diamond drilling programme at Wigu Hill, in Tanzania, a project in which it has a 60% stake, with the aim of defining a resource on one of ten targets the company has developed through the mapping and sampling of the large carbonatite complex.
Harwood says Wigu Hill has had “tremendous interest from the investment community, given the high grade, large tonnage potential, and apparent simple mineralogy and metallurgy”.
“The deposit has been known since the 1950s, and has been studied by various geological surveys and companies since that time, says Harwood.
He adds that there are other rare-earth deposits in Tanzania, but that he believes Wigu Hill has some of the highest grades available.
“We have mainly the light rare earths, such as cerium, lanthanum, neodymium and praseodymium, but, because of our grade – up to 26,2% total rare earths – we have some of the heavy rare-earth elements present in economic quantities.”
Harwood is positive that Wigu Hill may start production “very quickly”, owing to the “high grade, simple mineralogy, potential openpit and close proximity to a major railway siding – 12 km – and the port at Dar es Salaam”.
He estimates the cost to develop the project at $200-million.
He adds that Montero has a strong management team –Harwood himself is a former VP at Placer Dome (now Barrick Gold) and has worked for many years in Africa.
Harwood notes that Montero is looking for high-grade rare-earth deposits in Southern Africa.
“We will go where the giant deposits are to be found.”
Yet another East African rare earths project, also still in its infancy, is Kangankunde, in Malawi.
The company behind it hopes to provide the first new source of rare earths outside China when the Australian Mount Weld mine comes into production in the third quarter of 2011.
By adding Kangankunde to its armoury, Australian miner Lynas will be able to expand its rare-earth resources portfolio.
Kangankunde has an inferred resource of 107 000 t REO at a average grade of 4,24% REO.
The pilot plant for a gravity concentration process has already been completed.
The next steps for this deposit, said Lynas executive chairperson Nicholas Curtis in a March presentation, are to initiate an environmental management plant and to undertake a drilling programme to provide drill core and test resource extension.
SINGING THE PRAISES OF LOFDAL
North of South Africa’s border, Namibia Rare Earths Incorporated (NRE) hopes to develop the Lofdal rare earths project, in the north-west of Namibia, as its principal asset.
NRE was incorporated as a private company in 2010 to advance the development of the Namibian assets formerly held by Etruscan Resources, NRE president Don Burton tells Mining Weekly.
The company is seeking a listing on a Canadian exchange and is targeting an initial public offering “very soon”.
“Lofdal is a brand-new, district-scale rare earths project in the early stages of exploration, with particular focus on the potential for the discovery of heavy rare-earth-enriched deposits,” says Burton.
The interesting thing is that it was never intended for Lofdal to be a rare-earth element (REE) project.
“Our interest in Namibia, and in Lofdal, in particular, arose from a conceptual search for iron-oxide/copper/gold ore (IOCG) deposits in central and northern Namibia in 2005,” explains Burton.
These deposit types are often associated with anomalous amounts of REEs, which can be considered as pathfinder elements in the search for IOCG deposits.
Lofdal was a known REE occurrence on government maps.
“We explored over 20 000 km2 in search of the IOCG deposits with no luck and, late in 2008, we turned our attention specifically to the REEs at Lofdal,” says Burton.
“The rare earths market was just starting to hot up at that time and it was a complicated commodity sector for investors and gold geologists to navigate. However, the more we researched the geology at Lofdal and the market sector, the more compelling it looked.
“On top of this, we quietly prospected and sampled over 80 km2, where over 3 400 rock samples taken at surface told us that the REE-bearing rocks at Lofdal occurred over a huge area. In short, we believed we had uncovered a new rare-earth mineral district.”
Burton notes that Lofdal is the most advanced and focused REE project in Namibia, and that it stands “a very good chance” of becoming Namibia’s first REE mine.
He says that the academic world has known about Lofdal for many years, because of its unique enrichment in heavy rare-earth elements (HREE), and the presence of the heavy rare earth mineral xenotime in the carbonatite rocks. (Xenotime is a brown-to-yellow mineral that is a phosphate of yttrium in crystalline form.)
HREE-rich projects are generally understood to have more than 10% HREEs in the total mix of REEs, while 20% to 40% HREE enrichment is considered exceptional.
“At Lofdal, we see many areas with indications of more than 50% HREEs, and some samples with over 90% HREEs,” says Burton.
“We have the complete mix of all 15 REEs (including yttrium), but of particular interest will be the more valuable heavies such as europium, terbium and dysprosium.”
Burton says that the plan is for NRE “to aggressively move forward” with its exploration plans to make the HREE-rich discovery official.
He is also full of praise for the promining attitude of the Namibian government.
Burton is hopeful that Lofdal can play a significant role in any future REE market.
“All commodities suffer price bubbles and, most recently, uranium would stick in everyone’s mind. Uranium is also particularly relevant to Namibia, as it is the world’s fourth-largest producer.
“Bubbles can burst as investors get ahead of themselves, and one of the problems in any rising commodity market is the hoards of companies all trying to jump on the train before it leaves the station. The challenge is to understand which companies have projects of real merit that will be there in the long term.”
Burton says that a select few projects will work towards filling the near-term supply gap, but the predictions are that certain REEs, especially the heavy REEs, will remain in supply deficits.
“You would need a crystal ball to predict exactly where REE prices will be by the time Lofdal enters commercial production but, if you believe that the global economies, and most importantly China and India, will be embracing electric cars, wind power, solar power and i-Pads, then you should have a certain level of confidence in the REE market in the long term.”
Other companies searching Africa for rare earths include Sunergy, active in Sierra Leone, and Forte Energy, in Guinea.
MARKET OUTLOOK
Kenny sees growth of 10% to 15% a year in REO demand, with current production at around 120 000 t, and the market roughly in equilibrium. However, demand is set to climb to roughly 200 000 t a year.
Equilibrium will only be possible if non-Chinese suppliers come on stream, notes Kenny.
“If they don’t, we have a real problem.”
The main uses of rare earths in 2010 were magnets (21%) and catalysts (20%), says Allen.
Neodymium and samarium are the main rare earths used for permanent magnets (found in televisions and wind turbines, for example), with terbium and dysprosium added for high-temperature stability.
These are among the elements most in demand, notes Allen.
The main rare earth used for catalysis and rechargeable batteries is lanthanum, but it is quite abundant and so relatively inexpensive, even now.
The most valuable rare earth is europium (around $650/kg, compared with $71/kg for cerium), owing to its scarcity.
Europium is unique in the fact that it can absorb more neutrons per atom than any other element. This means that europium and its isotopes are valuable in the control rods of nuclear reactors. Europium is also used to produce certain alloys, including striker and lighter flints. It has also been used in the creation of infrared absorbing automotive glass.
“Naturally, with prices increasing and, more importantly, China squeezing supply, substitutes are being sought for many applications. An example would be the growing competition between lithium- and rare-earths-based batteries for use in hybrid/electric vehicles,”explains Allen.
“This could have an impact on demand going forward, but one that’s hard to quantify – who knows what the next ‘miracle metal’ might be?”
Lynas’s Curtis says that rare earths supply at 115 000 t was somewhat outstripped by demand at 128 000 t in 2010.
Chinese production capacity was around 103 300 t, with non-Chinese supply sources at 11 500 t.
However, forecast supply is that the rest-of-the-world contribution will jump to reach 47 400 t in 2013, with 87 000 t coming from China.
Most of the names in the current rest-of-world production pipeline are not well known.
The nearest-term producers are also the more prominent, namely US miner Molycorp, with its Mountain Pass historic mine, as well as Lynas’s Mount Weld.
“These are both significant suppliers,” says Allen.
“After them come a slew of other hopefuls, mostly with recent projects in the advanced stages of feasibility, but still trying to iron out their process route, funding, permitting and so on.
“There are also historic projects that need capital and repermitting to restart, for example, projects in the former Soviet republics, such as Stans Energy’s Kutessay II, in Kyrgyzstan.”
Allen says that most rare earths projects take a long time to develop because “their chemistry is hard to crack, owing to difficult mineralogy and a comparative lack of relevant expertise outside China”.
While Africa’s most advanced project is Steenkampskraal, there is, however, at least a handful of others also that could add to the inventory of minerals the continent provides the world with – hopefully, before the price bubble, if it does indeed exist, bursts.
Struggling Sierra Leone now a REE target
Monday, April 04, 2011
http://www.raremetalblog.com/2011/04/struggling-sierra-leone-now-a-ree-target.html
It remains one of the basket cases of Africa, but Sierra Leone is slowly rebuilding its economy after the devastating 11-year civil war. With a growing resurgence in mining activity, there is now the promise of potential REE activities in the West African nation.
It has been a stop-start proposition. Eighteen months ago Cream Minerals (TSX.V:CMA) announced it had identified heavy minerals and monazite, the latter with potential to contain REE, at its offshore concession in Sierra Leone. It believed the project had the potential to yield REE such as cerium, neodymium, lanthanum, praseodymium and yttrium among other elements. But the story seems to have withered quickly: according to the company’s website, no further announcements have been made about Sierra Leone and the country is not included on Cream’s list of current projects.
But there’s activity elsewhere. Sunergy Inc., an over-the-counter stock based in Scottsdale, Arizona (OTC.BB:SNEY), now has dredges and operating equipment on site at its 140 square kilometre concession on Sierra Leone’s Pampana River. While the initial emphasis was on the 500,000 ounces of gold and on diamonds, the REE part of the project seems have been gaining more prominence of late with the company stating the rare earths there may exceed the value of the gold.
Sunergy says the REE are in alluvial black sand and could easily be extracted by dredging. Also, inspection of extraction undertaken in the past by local artisanal miners and prospectors shows REE-rich black sand. Laboratory testing “revealed a strong presence of valuable rare earth metals,” the company says. Recent assays by ALS Chemex in Sparks, Nevada, identified lanthanum, scandium, cerium, dysprosium, lutetium, neodymium, praseodymium, as well as hafnium, thallium niobium, tantalum and zircon.
The other development comes from a company listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange. Sierra Rutile (AIM:SRX), which mines rutile, zircon and ilmenite in the West African nation, says laboratory tests confirm the presence of REE at its project area. With a grade of 2.2 per cent, they contain high concentrations of lanthanum, neodymium and praseodymium in the high-tension tailings produced during the processing of rutile and ilmenite. The tailings are in the same source from which Sierra Rutile already recovers its zircon by-product by re-processing through a dry plant.
The company said it would now find how best to separate and recover the REE. It noted what it called “the relatively attractive cost position of processing rare earths which are already extracted and significantly refined as part of our normal rutile separation process“. The samples indicated a value of the REE at $US104.20 a kilogram, this value excluding the yttrium, lutetium and scandium, for which testing is continuing.
Rare-earth mineralisation identified in tailings
11th March 2011
http://www.miningweekly.com/article/rare-earths-mineralisation-identified-in-tailings-2011-03-11
As a result of its ongoing strategic review pro- cess, mining company Sierra Rutile (previously Titanium Resources Group) reports an initial Joint Ore Reserves Committee- (Jorc-) compliant mineral resource and the identification of potentially value-enhancing rare-earth mineralisation in the Sierra Rutile tailings, in Sierra Leone.
The mineral resource estimate of about 600-million tons confirms Sierra Rutile’s standing as one of the largest natural rutile deposits in the world.
Natural rutile is a premium form of titanium dioxide, which trades at a premium of about 20% to synthetic rutile and at a price five to seven times that of ilmenite.
Given the size and quality of the Sierra Rutile asset, the company is currently examining a number of options to significantly increase its production at the mine and intends to release an updated ore reserve statement and associated expansion plans on completion of these studies.
These expansion plans will be designed to take advantage of this asset and the significant positive market fundamentals for premium heavy minerals products, such as natural rutile.
Rare Earths
As part of management’s strategic review, and an added benefit to preparing the mineral resource, the company identified the presence of significant rare-earth mineralisation in the tailings of the minerals separation plant.
These tailings, which have been stockpiled over more than 30 years of operations, have the potential to add significant value to the company. Studies are ongoing to quantify the type, extent and commercial potential of the mineralisation.
“As part of the ongoing strategic review, Sierra Rutile confirms a substantial 600-million-ton mineral resource at Sierra Rutile, making it one of the largest natural rutile deposits in the world with an in situ value, at current market prices, of almost $8-billion. “The company will be working methodically over the coming months to evaluate a number of options available to expand production and derive maximum value from this substantial resource,” says CEO John Sisay.
Meanwhile, at a 0,8% rutile cutoff grade, the mineral resource is contained within two primary mining licence areas covering about 490 km2, with a further five satellite deposits over an area of 69 km2.
The orebody is up to 25 m thick and comprises sediments mineralised from the surface to the underlying bedrock.
Sisay says that the mineral resource estimation is derived from an extensive geological drill-hole database that has been verified by two separate and independent geological consultants, Mine Development Associates and ACA Howe International.
“Geological sampling has been undertaken using a combination of recognised heavy minerals drilling techniques, namely augering and air-core methods. “Drill spacing varies between 30 m by 30 m for measured resources to grid spacing of above 300 m by 300 m for inferred resources,” he concludes.
Based on PR dated 5/4/11 all the filings should be completed by 5/24/11 (AIMHO).
We all know this will likely not happen. The company has been consistently late with filings. As before with 2009 10K, I trust the 2010 10Qs and 10k will eventual arrive. The thing is no one knows the day or hour. We can only hope it is soon.
This does not change the fundamentals of the company and they appear to be forging ahead with collecting Black Sands that hopefully will add decent value once they are processed for visible gold and extreme value from the leftovers sold for REEs and gold dust.
Why 5/24/11 date? That is a few weeks (business days) from the 5/4/11 date.
8 business days passed between appointing Mr. Mark Shelley and releasing the 2009 10k.
Sunergy Board of Directors Appoints Mr. Mark Shelley, CPA of Mesa, AZ to the Position of Corporate Secretary, Treasurer and a Me
Date : 04/21/2011 @ 7:33AM
- Annual Report (10-K)
Date : 05/04/2011 @ 2:41PM
Source : Edgar (US Regulatory)
Stock : Sunergy (SNEY)
10Qs & 10Ks BREAKDOWN
The report contains information current right up to today's filing date as required by U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. This initial filing sets the stage for the 10-Q's for the year 2010 which will be finalized by the filing of our Form 10-K for the period ending December 31, 2010. This filing will be followed by our first 10-Q for 2011, which once filed will bring our financial reporting requirements into full compliance with the SEC and the Caveat Emptor status should be removed. We expect these filings to be completed one at a time over the next few weeks. As soon as we are compliant in our financial filings, management is committed to reapply for relisting on the OTCBB and to remain current in its filing requirements insuring shareholders a higher level of transparency.
Black Sands
Can't tell you exactly how many tons of blk sands we have, as some are stored at the site, others at our house in the village of Masanga, and of course in our compound in Magbuaka. We will certainly have plenty of work in processing all stockpiled blk sands. AMS is the process of sourcing the appropriate separation equipment to process the material.
The cat fight continues with the bulls and bears and other places as well. Hopefully the the bulls pull through today as in the past.
"Sorry dude you don't have a clue to what s comin."
Thanks dagg