Lateegra Gold hires Butrenchuk for phosphate report
2008-04-28 03:48 MT - News Release
Mr. Chris Verrico reports
PHOSPHATE EXPERT JOINS THE LATEEGRA TEAM
Lateegra Gold Corp. has engaged Stephen Butrenchuk, PGeol, to review and author a National Instrument 43-101-compliant report. Mr. Butrenchuk will also provide consulting services to Lateegra to aid advancement of the company's recently acquired Fernie formation phosphate claims.
Mr. Butrenchuk is recognized as one of the leading authorities on phosphate deposits in British Columbia. He began his career with Cominco Ltd. where he spent 16 years as an exploration geologist. He then worked four years on contract to the B.C. Geological Survey during which time completed numerous commodity studies and authored several publications on industrial minerals including:
1999 -- Fernie Phosphate Project Assessment Report, BCMEMPR;
1998 -- Cabin Creek Phosphate Project -- Project Summary, BCMEMPR;
1998 -- Bulletin -- Phosphate Deposits in British Columbia, Ministry of Employment & Investment, BCMEMPR;
1987 -- Phosphate Inventory of Northeastern British Columbia, BCMEMPR;
1987 -- Phosphate in Southern British Columbia (NTS 82G and 82J) Open File, BCMEMPR;
1986 -- Phosphate Inventory published by the Legislative Library of British Columbia.
Mr. Butrenchuk states: "I am excited to have an opportunity to work with Lateegra Gold Corp. I have always believed in the potential of the Fernie formation to host economic phosphate deposits and that could not be truer in today's economic climate. Lateegra has secured a large area of very prospective phosphate ground that has potential for economic development."
Mr. Butrenchuk has been contracted to complete a detailed National Instrument 43-101 technical report on the company's current claim holdings which will include re-evaluation of historical drilling completed in the area by Cominco, Imperial Oil, Formosa Resources and First Nuclear Energy.
The company believes that Mr. Butrenchuk's intimate knowledge of the Fernie formation will enable them to focus in on the most prospective phosphate areas and quickly identify drill targets.
The company believes the worldwide economic outlook for phosphoric acid, the principal derivative of phosphate production, will remain strong for the coming years. The company has recently acquired Fernie formation phosphate claims totalling in excess of 120,000 acres of land along the contact between Jurassic- and Triassic-aged rocks, where the highest-grade phosphate beds are believed to be present. The company believes that it currently owns the vast majority of the prospective phosphate lands of the Fernie formation and plans to fast-track an exploration program to identify the most economic deposits in the area.
The Fernie, B.C., region is strategically located in proximity to target markets for phosphoric acid with excellent infrastructure, including rail, power, labour and abundant supply of sulphuric acid from a nearby smelter.
Concurrent to the company's planned 2008 summer drill campaign, the company will look to form strategic business partnerships to determine the economic potential of the development of a phosphoric acid plant in the Fernie region.
Phosphate, in the form P2O5, is an essential fertilizer component. It is a nutrient for plants and a constituent in food production. In modern intensive agriculture it is necessary to boost natural phosphate levels in the soil through the addition of phosphate fertilizers. Phosphate fertilizer products such as ammonium phosphate and triple superphosphate form 85 per cent of the primary market for phosphoric acid. Phosphoric acid is created through a wet process when sulphuric acid is added to calcium phosphate rock.
Canada consumes 1.15 million tonnes per year of phosphoric acid, importing 600,000 tonnes annually from central Florida producers. The largest shortages of phosphoric acid in Canada are currently in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The company believes that a phosphoric acid plant located in Fernie would be ideally situated to supply the shortfall of phosphoric acid in Western Canada.
In Canada, the phosphoric acid market is currently dominated by Agrium Inc., which operates a phosphate fertilizer production facility in Redwater, Alta. Agrium receives the calcium phosphate rock in Alberta from its mine in Kapuskasing, Ont.
Phoscan Chemical Corp. is the only other junior phosphate exploration company in Canada focused on the advancement of that company's Martison phosphate deposit, also in Ontario. Phoscan plans to develop a phosphoric acid facility near Hearst, Ont. Phoscan trades on the TSX Venture Exchange, having a market capitalization of approximately $260-million.
Fai Lee at RBC Capital Markets states, "Morocco-based OCP Group's second-quarter prices for phosphate rock is between $350 and $400 per tonne, which is roughly $150 to $200 per tonne higher than they were in the first quarter of 2008."
Chris Verrico, president of Lateegra, states: "We have some very serious problems developing globally within the food and energy sectors. We believe fertilizer demand will continue to be extremely strong in the coming years and we are pleased to have acquired the Fernie formation phosphate claims. The company will now be focused on defining an economic phosphate deposit and exploring the potential of developing a phosphoric acid plant in the Fernie region. We especially look forward to working with Mr. Butrenchuk whom we believe will provide valuable assistance in fast-tracking our planned exploration."
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