At a time with when paintings of doom and gloom scenes have more value than the earth's precious minerals and certainly have more value than the stock of many of the public traded companies. Good news is often needed to help us realize that all is not lost in the cow patty pile - otherwise known as the stimulated economy and troubles of today - that we accept as the rule of our times.
Good news is a rare commodity in our industry, in our times and in our situations, so when good news does come along, it should be shared.
Today comes news of aggressive new exploration plans and mineral property expansions, from a private Canadian mineral prospecting company. A company that is bucking the odds and doing what prospectors have been known to do, keep on locating and creating valuable mineral discoveries in all winds and weathers.
Isn't that good news in the prospector world? Maybe it should also be seen as good news in general, simply because there is hope that the entrepreneurial and discovery spirit is not lost in all the doom and gloom that we hear each day.
So What is EagleRidge Minerals Ltd is up to, let us have a look:
Company news release from St. Juliens Newfoundland and Labrador
EagleRidge Minerals Ltd is pleased to announce that it has acquired additional mining claims in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. 78 claims (1950 hectares) have been staked to expand its Baie Vista property on the Baie Verte Peninsula, 130 new claims (3250 hectares) have been staked adjoining its St. Juliens copper project on the Northern Peninsula and 90 additional claims (2250 hectares) have been staked in the Little Bay area of Nortre Dame Bay.
With the addition of these new claims, EagleRidge has expanded it's Baie Vista gold project which now contains 183 mining claims covering 4575 hectares. The Baie Vista property is located in an emerging gold production area on the Baie Verte peninsula. The mining claims are also adjacent to historic base metals mines. This property adjoins the mining leases of the developing Anaconda Mining Pine Cove gold mine and is in close proximity to the Ramblers Metals Ming copper and gold mine.
The Baie Verte peninsula on the Island of Newfoundland is experiencing renewed exploration effort due to increased industry interest in precious metals. The large number of past gold occurrences and more recent platinum group metal discoveries has created a new focus of attention on the area.
EagleRidge views it's Baie Vista property as being a mineral property with excellent potential for the discovery of gold, platinum and base metals along with chromium and magnesium. The Dunnage Zone ophiolitic volcanic-hosted environments, in which new gold and platinum deposits have been recently found on the peninsula, also underlie the Baie Vista property. About 125 gold deposits have been reported on the Baie Verte Peninsula.
Historic data revels that at least 7 documented mineral occurrences exist within the Baie Vista property boundaries and numerous others exist within 50 – 1000 meters from the property boundaries. These include gold, copper, chromium and asbestos, minor silver and nickel indications are also documented. Company staff also made a new gold discovery of 3.8 g/t in late 2008 during a brief field examination. Gold values up to 5.9 g/t (soils) and 6.75 g/t (rock) are reported from past work on the property. EagleRidge will begin an exploration program on the Baie vista property during the summer of 2009.
EagleRidge has once again expanded the St. Juliens copper/ nickel property by acquiring more land covering numerous other base metal mineral showings and marble deposits to the west of the original claims. Based on research activities and the results of the 2008 VTEM survey the company moved swiftly to stake additional claims on two occasions. The St Juliens property now consists of 572 claims totaling 14,300 hectares in area.
EagleRidge continues to experience excellent exploration results, with samples assaying up to 22% copper, at St. Juliens and the company is preparing to start another aggressive exploration program in 2009. Staff and outside consultants are now busy interpreting the VTEM anomalies identified from the 2008 survey and are compiling data to complete the planning for intensified exploration efforts. The new St. Juliens claims add additional discovery potential for base metals and also provide an industrial grade marble deposit with historic reserves of over 40 million tonnes.
EagleRidge Minerals Ltd also staked a total of 90 minerals claims or 2250 hectares in the Little Bay area of Nortre Dame Bay. The company conducted research that revealed appealing gold and copper showings and acted quickly to acquire the land. These claims are staked over geology similar to that encountered at 32 mines developed in the highly productive Dunnage Zone of the Notre Dame bay area. The company is pleased to have acquired an excellent property in this exciting area.
Review of historic data for the Little Bay properties revealed mineral occurrences with copper grades up to 5.16%, gold up to 10.4 g/t and silver up to 2.5 g/t. The Little Bay properties will be explored in detail once planning is completed.Over 100 mineral occurrences exist within the northwestern Dunnage Zone, making this one of the most richly mineralized parts of the island of Newfoundland.
With these new property additions EagleRidge continues to build its property base and diversify the opportunity for discovery success.
Company website www.eagleridgeminerals.com
It is pretty simple is it not, go for it in thick or thin, be a prospector.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Mineral prospecting on the ocean floor
To say that prospecting and mineral exploration is embracing technology is perhaps an understatement when we consider the news that a breakthrough project is moving forward in New Guinea to mine the ocean floor. Well black smokers anyway.
Scientists have documented concentrations of metals found near underwater hydrothermal vents, nicknamed "black smokers" because they act like chimneys, or conduits in the earth's spreading plates, that allow sea water to seep into the earth's crust, where it becomes heated, all the while leaching precious minerals from the surrounding rock and returning mineral super enriched water back up the chimneys.
This soup of water and minerals spews out and cools depositing the enriched mineral material on the ocean floor near the vents. That enriched material is the kind of stuff that prospectors dream of finding when they search for new deposits.
This type of activity also helped to create many of the on land deposits being mined or explored today, however the action took place long - long ago when the land was covered with sea water. The hydrothermal vents and veins that created the on land deposits have long become dormant. The land has been uplifted to high and dry areas and deposits are mined using traditional means.
Today we have the technology to mine these active black smokers providing that we are careful in doing so in a sound manner, where the unique sea life around the black smokers is protected.
About 200 active vents have been found, though only 10 nearby deposits are considered prolific enough to mine, according to a report by the International Seabed Authority. Underwater dormant vents are much tougher to locate, but the deposits around them may also be fruitful. An ISA report indicates a single deposit could weigh 100 million tons.
Although I don’t expect to jump overboard and have a look at one of those deposits anytime soon, it certainly is interesting reading and a testament to human ingenuity.
The Title above provides a reference link to the news story.
Scientists have documented concentrations of metals found near underwater hydrothermal vents, nicknamed "black smokers" because they act like chimneys, or conduits in the earth's spreading plates, that allow sea water to seep into the earth's crust, where it becomes heated, all the while leaching precious minerals from the surrounding rock and returning mineral super enriched water back up the chimneys.
This soup of water and minerals spews out and cools depositing the enriched mineral material on the ocean floor near the vents. That enriched material is the kind of stuff that prospectors dream of finding when they search for new deposits.
This type of activity also helped to create many of the on land deposits being mined or explored today, however the action took place long - long ago when the land was covered with sea water. The hydrothermal vents and veins that created the on land deposits have long become dormant. The land has been uplifted to high and dry areas and deposits are mined using traditional means.
Today we have the technology to mine these active black smokers providing that we are careful in doing so in a sound manner, where the unique sea life around the black smokers is protected.
About 200 active vents have been found, though only 10 nearby deposits are considered prolific enough to mine, according to a report by the International Seabed Authority. Underwater dormant vents are much tougher to locate, but the deposits around them may also be fruitful. An ISA report indicates a single deposit could weigh 100 million tons.
Although I don’t expect to jump overboard and have a look at one of those deposits anytime soon, it certainly is interesting reading and a testament to human ingenuity.
The Title above provides a reference link to the news story.
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