Friday, April 30, 2010

The Canadian Gold Exploration Hotspot is Manitoba

The first question that comes to mind with a headline like this one is - Why should Manitoba be seen as a Hotspot for Gold Exploration in Canada? The answer can be found by doing a little due diligence on the area and in review of recent news from companies exploring in the province.

Over the last couple of years there have been numerous announcements of the high grade gold discoveries being made in Manitoba. Some of these new discoveries and the resulting ramp up in exploration in the Rice Lake Gold Camp was presented in the recent gold search post titled  Gold in Manitoba - New gold camp emerging in the Rice Lake area

These recent gold discoveries due to their grade, size and frequency have "in my opinion" placed Manitoba among a select group of gold exploration camps (areas) in Canada and perhaps even worldwide. Most of these new discoveries have been made by one company, San Gold Corporation, and it can be said that they have nearly single handed been responsible for the rejuvenated gold exploration in region. The discoveries are large, high grade and more importantly they continue to be made.

The result of announcements of new high grade gold discoveries is that there has been a sizable increase in the number of companies now involved in gold exploration in Manitoba, there is a marked increase in the amount of exploration dollars being spent in the area, while there has been a recent increase in demand for mineral claims.

In recent times there have also been many news releases made by exploration companies relating to the acquisition of  new or additional mineral properties in the province and numerous companies have now "locked up" prospective ground in the Rice Lake Gold Camp and other areas of Manitoba.

As the manager of a Prospecting and Exploration Service Company I can report that we have also witnessed  an increased interest in acquiring mineral properties and prospecting services from numerous exploration companies.

Once we wade through recent news and begin to understand the significance I feel that it isn't a long shot to think that Manitoba is a gold exploration hotpot.

Happy Prospecting!

This post was made at www.goldsearch.blogspot.com by Robert Freeman

About the author: Robert Freeman is a full time professional prospector with over 20 years direct hands on experience in the field. He manages a  prospecting and exploration company which provides mineral claims, mineral claim staking, prospecting services, field and logistical services, along with consulting property management and acquisition services to the mining industry. He founded or played a key role in the formation of several exploration companies and has created mineral exploration land packages in numerous regions of Canada for both public and private companies.

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Monday, April 26, 2010

Gold in Manitoba - New gold camp emerging in the Rice Lake area

On Friday April 22 2010, San Gold Corporation made an announcement via a news release with the title

"San Gold Drills High Grade in New RL East Zone including 4.9 meters of 319 g/tonne". 

Part of this news release reads as follows:

Dale Ginn, CEO of San Gold Corporation (SGR: TSX-V) (SGRCF: OTCQX) is pleased to report exceptionally encouraging results from underground exploration drilling following up on the recent discovery of multiple new zones beyond the eastern extremities of the Rice Lake mine (see press releases dated Jan 25 and March 31, 2010).

These zones, collectively known as RL East display remarkable widths as well as grade and are hosted within structures that trend upwards toward the high grade 007 zone near surface. Drill hole #28-10-53 cut 121 g/tonne (3.53 oz/ton) over 13.3 meters (44 ft) and included an extremely high grade segment of 319 g/tonne (9.30 oz/ton) over 4.9 m (15.9 ft) containing coarse visible gold. Drill hole #28-10-80 encountered 5 individual zones within a wider mineralized section of 50 meters (164 ft) grading 4.8 g/tonne (0.14 oz/ton).

Dale Ginn, CEO,  also stated; “San Gold mine geologists have produced one of the most impressive intersections ever within Rice Lake. Taking into account that this is exploration drilling outside of known Rice Lake mine extents, these results are truly remarkable. The mining team’s efforts are demonstrating that this mineralized system is linked to our new surface zones and that our geological model produces results at depth as well as near surface.We look forward to closing this gap and taking a broader approach to a mineralized system that is fast becoming much larger than a collection of individual deposits.”

Full San Gold April 22, 2010 Press Release

San Gold has had additional and remarkable success in finding awesome gold deposits in "other" new reaches of the historic Rice Lake Mine and to the date the company has also discovered new rich gold deposits closer to surface. These near surface deposits include the Hinge Zones and 007 discoveries all of which returned high grade gold intersections from drilling. The Hinge zone discovery has already been developed into the latest mine and the company has also begun underground development towards the new 007 deposit. To get a better understanding of the spectacular gold discoveries made by San Gold in the last few go to their news page on their website http://www.sangoldcorp.com/index.php?id=55

Gold discoveries were first reported in the Rice Lake greenstone belt early in the 1900's and close to 2 million ounces have been extracted to date from mines of various sizes in the area. The new discoveries being made in recent times certainly indicate that much more gold exists in the region than has been mined to date. In fact the record pace at which new discoveries are being made and are being put into production, in my opinion, strongly indicates that we can expect to see many more ounces being "proved up" in the future.

From following the Rice Lake and San Gold developments, one thing is certainly clear to me -  that the beliefs, efforts, dedication and years of hard work by the San Gold Executive Chairman,  Mr Hugh Wynne ( local businessman / prospector)  is paying off in golden colored spades. Mr Wynne played a key roll in assembling the land package, assets  and professional team of what is today San Gold Corp, it can be said with confidence that Mr Wynne has also played an important part in shaping the future of the region and perhaps gold mining as whole in the Province of Manitoba. I feel strongly that Mr Wynne and the entire San Gold team should be nominated for high rewards and recognition at the next PDAC convention.

The Rice Lake Area and the South Eastern Manitoba Region in general has certainly not yet seen the exploration effort or expenditures in its history that its neighbor the Red Lake District of Ontario has seen, however there is strong evidence that it now can boost about grades that equal or exceed the best that the Red Lake Gold Camp has produced.

Just a short time ago on a visit  throughout the Rice Lake greenstone belt I came to realize that at least six different companies are presently drilling or recently completed diamond drilling in the area. There may be more, but there at least six companies actively exploring for gold . San Gold is "chomping away" and continuing the largest drilling program in the history of the area while Strike Point Gold, Wildcat Exploration, Cougar Minerals, Bison Gold and EagleRidge Minerals Ltd have exploration programs ongoing or have recently completed drilling on properties in the area. San Gold and these other active companies are contributing the finances, resources and effort required to finally start unlocking the gold potential of the area.

There is good reason to believe that a new and exciting Gold Camp is now emerging for want of a better name I call it the "Rice Lake Gold Camp".

As a prospector I very much enjoy seeing the new gold camp develop.

Happy Prospecting

This post was made at www.goldsearch.blogspot.com by Robert Freeman

About the author: Robert Freeman is a full time professional prospector with over 20 years direct hands on experience in the field. He manages a  prospecting and exploration company which provides mineral claims, mineral claim staking, prospecting services, field and logistical services, along with consulting property management and acquisition services to the mining industry. He founded or played a key role in the formation of several exploration companies and has created mineral exploration land packages in numerous regions of Canada for both public and private companies.

Thursday, April 08, 2010

Mineral Propsecting Outlook 2010

We never know for sure if any year will be good, bad or excellent for the prospector making a living. But there is information available and news to watch for that may help us get a better feeling for the business outlook. Staying in tune with the times and keeping up with the latest industry news and trends, has to play an important and ever increasing part in the prospecting business today. If one is serious about success we need to remain informed of trends and the opportunities that they could bring.

My thoughts on the 2010 outlook are presented below in short form.

As the demand for minerals increases so should the prospecting effort to locate promising discoveries that could lead to eventual deposits of economic importance. Increased demand for minerals often results in increased demand for new properties. This adds a stimulus to the prospecting profession and helps relight the dream of finding mineral showings of value or the next mine.

2010 should be a good year for the prospector that is seriously looking for a diversified mix of minerals including Rare Earth Elements, Precious Metals, Base Metals, and Industrial Minerals etc especially if he or she has a good portfolio of properties some or all of which may be of interest to larger exploration and mining companies.

With these changing times and technology advancements also comes increased opportunity for growth in the prospecting, exploration and mining fields especially for those folks that are able to search for and find minerals for which the demand is growing. Individuals and companies that can broaden their efforts to include a variety of target minerals should have a better opportunity for success.

While there is little doubt that the uncertain economic times of last year have had an effect upon the demand for new properties, there are indications that the demand is increasing. This can be seen in the press releases of numerous companies and announcements of new property purchases and or options. Rare Earth Element (REE) properties are becoming more of a focus and the demand for quality gold properties has also been on a steady increase. Let us not forget base metals, although maybe not as "sexy" to some there are strong indications that demand will remain strong.

Of course while we are looking into the future demand, we would do ourselves a disservice if we forget about industrial minerals such as magnesium or even aggregate deposits of value. Deposits of this category although far from being in the "stock market fashion or the latest buzz", are still very important to society and to economic advancement. Finding such deposits of good grade and tonnage certainly has and will always have value and can be very lucrative. Perhaps they are a harder nut to crack promotion wise and a harder sell to exploration companies, they are still a key resource to serious mining quarry companies and the eventual rewards of having one can certainly still be worthwhile.

Mineral Properties for Option - Gold - Lithium - Magnesium - Base Metals

The search for REE deposits has recently seen an upsurge as explorers begin to hedge their bets on the future demand for these types of minerals. Lithium or the 3 rd element as many refer to it is also the focus of increased attention.

Gold, Platinum group minerals, and silver are gathering serious attention once again due to potential shortages into the future and the recent increases in price for these metals.

Now that the spring and summer seasons are upon us, prospectors are once again increasing their efforts to examine new areas and revisit past mineral minds as is the tradition. With the new season and increased demand this should be a good year for the prospector.

This post is from Prospecting- The Search For New Gold

Happy Prospecting! Always do your home work and due diligence, learn to sell Popsicles to the people that want them, and be ready to fit the right buyer with the right property. Keep your powder dry and your axe sharp.  

About the author: Robert Freeman is a full time professional prospector with over 20 years direct hands on experience in the field. He manages a  prospecting and exploration company which provides mineral claims, mineral claim staking, prospecting services, field and logistical services, along with consulting property management and acquisition services to the mining industry. He founded or played a key role in the formation of several exploration companies and has created mineral exploration land packages in numerous regions of Canada for both public and private companies.