Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Prospecting for Silver


The price of Silver has fluctuated some over recent months but it remains at levels that make it an attractive mineral for prospecting attention. As of Nov 3 Silver made gains of 0.8 percent, to $34.48 per ounce.

Silver has always been seen as a favourite mineral in the prospecting community; while not as exciting as Gold or PGM's it still is an attention getter when discovered. The grade needs to be higher than more expensive precious metals like gold, but having lesser amounts as by-products in lead, zinc and copper deposits certainly adds value to the overall ore.

The three silver hotspots in the world are Mexico, Peru and China. These countries boost the best grades and annual production of silver in the world. In 2010 Mexico produced 129 million ounces, Peru put out 116 million ounces and it is estimated that China produced over 99 million ounces.

Numerous companies mine and explore for silver in many regions of the world, some focused entirely pure silver mines yet many others have silver as a valuable metal in poly-metallic mineral deposits.  In many cases the silver is not the primary metal being mined however its content serves well to create additional income and in increasing the overall value per tonne of ore mined.

While it would be great to be able to prospect for and find a viable silver mine, finding one may be a challenge in any location these days. What may be more valuable to the prospector is working on some base metal occurrences and reviewing them for their potential of also hosting silver as a by-product metal. This may add greater value to a marginal deposit of lead, zinc, copper etc. So it is something that you should assay for if it hasn't already been checked. Even in gold and other mineral deposits it is always a good idea to run a couple of assays for silver and for that matter numerous metals.

Most assay labs offer lower cost ICP type analysis that cover up to 30 or more elements, and you should always have a couple of those done on any mineral indications you find. It will provide a base level idea of the composition and allow you to focus future assay work and finances.

Happy Prospecting!



Top 20 Silver Producing Countries in 2010
(millions of ounces)

1.         Mexico              128.6
2.         Peru                   116.1
3.         China                   99.2
4.         Australia              59.9
5.         Chile                    41.0
6.         Bolivia                 41.0
7.         United States       38.6
8.         Poland                 37.7
9.         Russia                  36.8
10.        Argentina            20.6
11.        Canada               18.0
12.        Kazakhstan         17.6
13.        Turkey                12.3
14.        Morocco              9.7
15.        India                     9.7
16.        Sweden                9.2
17.        Indonesia              6.9
18.        Guatemala            6.3
19.        Iran                       3.4
20.        South Africa          2.8


Thursday, September 15, 2011

Antimony supply at top of risk list

I just read in a news story at mining.com that the British Geological Survey (BGS) on Wednesday published the latest list of the 52 elements, minerals and metals most at risk of supply disruption because global production is concentrated in a few countries, many with unstable governments. Link to full story

It is surprising that the BGS places Antimony at the top of it's published (latest) list of the 52 elements, minerals and metals most at risk of supply disruption. Rare earths used in green technology and defence technologies do not top the list but comes in at number five.

Quote from story

The platinum group metals (auto catalysts) hold the second spot while niobium used in touch screens and scanners and tungsten for cutting tools are also at risk of supply disruption as a result of increased competition among the world’s growing economies, political instability, resource nationalism, along with events such as strikes and accidents. China is the number one producer of 50% of the 52 chemicals on the list and produces 75% of the world’s antimony.

In Newfoundland the Beaver Brook Antimony Mine was reactivated in 2008. In October of 2009, Hunan Nonferrous Metals Corporation (HNC), the largest antimony company in the world, acquired 100% equity of Beaver Brook Antimony Mine Inc. At the end of 2009, China Minmetals Corporation, China’s biggest metal trader, acquired 51% equity of Hunan Holdings Group (HNG), the state-owned parent of HNC.  Link to Beaver Creek Mine Profile

The reasoning behind the Chinese investment in the mine and the company holding it becomes clearer and looks like a strategic move, when we look at the BGS list.  

Looks like Antimony is could be another good mineral to prospect for.

Happy Prospecting!





 


 

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Gold From Space

Found an interesting news story at BBC News Science and Environment written by that gold was delivered by meteorites long after their formation.



Their results are published in Nature.
While the Earth was forming, iron sank to the centre of the planet, forming the core.
Any precious metals in the planetary mix would have gone with this iron and concentrated in the core, leaving the mantle devoid of elements such as gold, platinum, and osmium.

But this is not what we observe. In fact, the silicate mantle has up to 1,000 times more gold than anticipated.

Several reasons for this enrichment were proposed in the past, including delivery by meteorites, although until now it has not been possible to prove. 

By measuring isotopes in rocks that are nearly four billion years old from Greenland, the team has managed to date the gold delivery, and to relate it to an event known as the "terminal bombardment".

The story also goes on to say that the scientists have used a totally different mineral to preform their experiments and  reach their conclusions that mineral in Tungsten.


"The proportions of gold and other precious metals are difficult to measure because they concentrate into nuggets, and we need to analyse a lot of rocks to get meaningful data." said lead researcher Dr Matthias Willbold.

They have therefore developed a way of telling this remarkable story of gold's extraterrestrial origin using a completely different element - Tungsten.

More on this story


The study is very interesting I wonder if it would be worth while do a little prospecting at Tungsten occurrences and perhaps do a few assays for gold in those samples?

The whole story about gold and other minerals being "deposited" in younger rocks of the earth as the result of being  impacted with 20 billion billion tonnes of asteroid material, is certainly interesting and intriguing.

May dust off some data on local Tungsten deposits. After all, information is the prospectors best friend!

Happy Prospecting!

 Newfoundland Gold Specimen

Sample from a Tungsten and Molybdenum Showing

Tuesday, September 06, 2011

Miners Holding - Markets Down Post Labour Day

TORONTO-NEW YORK - The Toronto Stock Exchange pared early triple-digit losses but still closed lower Tuesday as North American traders returned from the Labour Day holiday focused on persistent concerns about a global slowdown.


The S&P/TSX composite index finished the day down 83.87 points at 12,518.54 after falling more than 200 points earlier in the session.

The TSX Venture Exchange fell 20.54 points to 1,789.82.
Wall Street markets also lost ground with the Dow Jones industrial average down 100.96 points at 11,139.3. The Dow had been down more than 300 points in morning trading but regained much of the lost ground after European markets closed.

The Nasdaq index fell 6.5 points to 2,473.83 and the S&P 500 was down 8.73 points at 1,165.24. 


Yahoo Finance Link to Most actively traded companies on the TSX, TSX Venture Exchange markets

 

Monday, August 22, 2011

Tawsho Strikes Significant Gold in Newfoundland

"Tawsho Mining is extremely pleased with these results. The level of successful holes with significant gold intersections is very encouraging. Holes number 6 and 8 contained values in excess of 0.58 ounces gold per ton (20 g/t) and 1.38 ounces gold per ton (47.3 g/t) respectively. These higher grades confirm that substantial amounts of gold are being carried in the hydrothermal and metasomatic fluids on the property. Of further significance is the fact that the strong gold showings were encountered at very shallow depths of less than 50 metres. In fact, all significant gold showings were encountered at less than 250 metre depth," stated Dr. Avedesian, CEO.

Click here For full Press Release 

Searching or Gold in Newfoundland Canada

The Island of Newfoundland represents an emerging underexplored gold district, where focused exploration for precious metals was essentially non-existent prior to the early 1980's. Gold has been mined from epithermal (gold-copper) and orogenic (gold-only) deposits, and as a by-product in several volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) operations. Production from orogenic and VMS deposits is continuing, and a number of new advanced projects are targeting similar deposit styles.

Ongoing exploration is also directed at bulk-tonnage, intrusion- and sediment-hosted deposits, and both high- and low sulphidation epithermal deposits. Recent option- and joint-venture-agreements, coupled with new claim staking, indicate renewed interest in these under explored terranes.

The Department of Natural Resources  Newfoundland and Labrador has recently published a helpful Two page flyer highlighting the recent developments concerning Gold Exploration on the island of Newfoundland. A copy can be obtained by clicking here. (PDF Format)

From my own direct involvement with prospecting in Newfoundland I have seen increased activity first hand focused on searching for gold. I have noticed that there are more individuals and companies entering the search each year We have also made discoveries on our properties that show promise and privide the stimulation to keep us prospecting and searching for gold. 

Click the link above and download the nicely made Pdf if you have an interest in searching for gold in Newfoundland.

Keep On Prospecting!!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Gold and Copper Property For sale

Located in Newfoundland Canada

The Ghost Pond property covers 1325 hectare located in Central Newfoundland and situated on geology of the Roberts Arm Formation, a trend that contains numerous past mines and new advanced exploration projects. 


The Robert’s Arm Group is a Mid-Ordovician marine volcanic, sub volcanic and volcaniclastic succession which can be traced from Notre Dame Bay in the north to the area of Lake Bond in the south.  The Robert’s Arm Group hosts several massive sulphide deposits: Pilley’s Island and Crescent Lake in the north and Gullbridge and Lake Bond in the south. The Buchans Group which is correlative with the Robert’s Arm Group hosts the prolific Buchans, ore bodies.


The Central and Nortre Dame Bay areas of Newfoundland are experiencing heightened exploration and mine development activity. Copper, Zinc, Silver, Gold and Lead are some of the minerals being explored for and mined in the region.
The Ghost Pond property hosts historically know mineral occurrences that have been explored intermittently over the years, by a combination of surface prospecting, stripping - trenching, grab sampling, chip sampling and diamond drilling.  Highlights of selected historic assay work are provided below. 

Best Gold Grab Samples
Up to 19.4 g/t AU and 11.6 g/t AU ( +others)



Best Gold Chip Samples

6.18 g/t Au over 3 meters

5.60 g/t AU over 3 meters

3.54 g/t AU over 3 meters



Best Drilling Samples 
1.74% Cu over 3.5m

1.25% Cu over 3.2m

1.60% Cu over 2.0m

2.93% Cu over 1.23m

1.13% Zn over 1.2m

1.8 g/t Au over 1.0 m



Other Assays Reported 
Include 6.55% Zn, 1.85% Pb, 0.8% Cu and 1.05 opt Ag from samples of yet UN-sourced angular float rock.

For more details contact us using this link




For more details contact us using this link

Monday, August 01, 2011

Drilling New Copper Discoveries In Newfoundland

August 1 2011, For Immediate Release - Canada Bay Resources LTD Winnipeg Canada

Canada Bay Resources Ltd today announced that significant milestones have been achieved in advancing the 2011 exploration program at its flagship Copper Project located near St. Juliens in Newfoundland Canada.  Today the drilling rig was positioned on station to begin drilling the first two holes of the 10 drill-hole diamond drilling program. This, the first of five drilling setups, was selected to target the high grade area of copper mineralization on which the historic circa 1903 shaft was sunk. Channel cut, chip sampling and grab sampling of the historic shaft, conducted in 2008 - 2009 resulted in numerous high grade assays that returned over 18% copper in areas of intense chalcopyrite mineralization sampled from surface to 15 meters down the old workings.  

Robert Freeman project manager reports that the local prospecting crew accomplished this milestone under difficult conditions without mishap and with the precision required. We took on this task that required numerous preparations including constructing a boat dock, preparing the drill sites, finalizing the drilling plan and also acquiring the equipment required to transport the drill rig over rugged terrain.

Nick Bodnar, Bodner Drilling Ltd, the rig owner, worked closely with the management team and the McGrath Brothers, property owners, to ensure that the preparations, site transportation and rig positioning was carried out within a satisfactory time frame and completed safely and efficiently. This is a unique example of excellent teamwork he said. Having the original property owners, the option company (Canada Bay Resources) contractors and prospecting crews all working together with a common goal at a site is exhilarating to witness Freeman said.

What has been discovered to date is quite  amazing, I cannot think of many places  in the world where a prospector can help find over 56 (and counting) high grade mineral occurrences, some with, 4, 6, 8 or even 12 inches or more of solid copper bearing chalcopyrite ore in hydrothermal intrusions just under the surface. The assays to date are already very significant; I cannot wait to see what this drilling program will show us. Are we seeing the tip of the iceberg or are we scratching the head of a very large elephant? This drilling will help us find out says Freeman. 

The St. Juliens copper project is a unique property where high grade copper has been discovered to date at numerous locations over a length of more than 11 kilometers on this 80 sq kilometer property. Having the opportunity to explore and diamond drill a property of this potential represents an amazing business building and value creation opportunity for the shareholders said Don Gibb Company President and CEO. Since adoption of our new business strategy the company has made significant achievements toward achieving the goal of creating both opportunity and wealth for the shareholders.

The St. Juliens project has the potential to achieve great success if we are as successful in drilling as we have been in our company development activities to date. We are a very young company, yet we have the experience and team expertise required to seek out, indentify and capitalize on a mineral exploration opportunity that is grounded in solid evidence and supports taking calculated risks to achieve the overall goal. Without the dedication, work and commitment demonstrated by all parties to date, we could never have reached this stage this fast, Gibb said.

Wilbert McGrath, now Vice President of Canada Bay Resources, worked diligently with his brothers Eddie, Don and Fred to prospect and advance the St. Juliens property back in 2007. My brothers and I had a yearning to try new things and seek opportunity that would benefit both our family and our community. What we have now, started out as a hobby that resulted in obtaining samples of rusty looking rocks that produced some rather amazing assays. With those assays came a somewhat enlarged vision and belief that there may be something of importance still hidden under the ground at the old mine site we once played around. We sought out the help and fundamentally important advice available from the great people at the Department of Natural Resources Mines Branch of Newfoundland, which lead to an opportunity for us to become designated prospectors and to showcase our property at the PDAC 2008 in Toronto Ontario.

On July 30th 2011 we held our first town hall meeting in St. Juliens, NL. We invited the people from St. Juliens and surrounding communities to come together to give them a general overview of the St. Juliens exploration activity and also to answer any questions they may have. With 40 people in attendance Robert Freeman and I presented a general overview of the project to give the people an understanding of where the project is and what the objectives are for the next six to eight weeks, particularly regarding the drilling rig being set up on location which is most exciting stage of the project thus far.  We (the McGrath’s) were pleased to share with the people that from our initial interest in the St. Juliens property four years ago when we pumped out the old mine shaft and sent off our first sample to be analyzed assay. The property has continued to prove itself an exciting property of merit, and the more exploration we do the more interesting the property continues to get. Over the past four years we have discovered many exciting surface showing and various other indications that there is very good potential for mineralization in that area that warranted further and elevated exploration.  With all permits and preparations in place and drilling scheduled to begin before mid august we will finally get to see secrets that lay in the St. Juliens geology under the surface.   This is an exciting time for Canada Bay resources and for the people of St. Juliens and surrounding area. The people attending the meeting were very supportive of the project and share our level of interest and optimism as we move forward.

The company field crew is also conducting additional grass roots prospecting on yet un – explored portions of the property  and we are also engaged in  pin point surveying of unchecked geophysical targets using highly effective Beep Mat instruments to follow up on targets of potential that were revealed in the past VTEM geophysical survey and earlier prospecting work. These promising targets could also prove to play an important role in the overall future of the project.

Only about 30% of the property has been looked at in any detail to date. We have basically only scratched the surface yet but have made considerable high grade discoveries. In fact amazing amount of significant copper showings have been discovered on the property and there is strong evidence to support the need for more intense exploration effort that includes diamond drilling. St. Juliens offers considerable potential for locating one or more economic sized copper deposits.


See the Project Images


Visit the Company Website

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Going For The Gold

I read a very interesting press release today... it was good news for both of the companies working the Gold deposit and in advancing their exploration plans... cheers... yet it also helped to further highlight the value that can be achieved from a near surface gold deposit. The companies involved were doing this work to further prove the value of their deposit and not as a mining endeavor per say... 

But as a prospector I also see reason to think that finding something were you can make $197 per tonne of rock serves to provide a good stimulus to keep on prospecting...at today's gold prices you may not need to find the mother load to make a profit... if you could find a nice near surface deposit... that can be mined ...


A few years ago these grades were seen as lack luster... today it is a different story as the value of precious metals has changed considerably...   
 
Here are few lines of their press release and a link to the full story... 

Paragon and Crosshair Recover 314 Ounces Gold from Surface Bulk Sample at Golden Promise JV Project

Highlights of the program include:
  • 313.59 ounces of gold and 23.05 ounces of silver were recovered from a 2,174 tonne surface bulk sample;
  • a bulk sample grade of 5.59 grams/tonne (g/t) gold which is approximately 26% higher than the average block model grade of 4.42 g/t gold; and
  • Positive milling characteristics of the mineralized material.
After refining, the bars and the mill concentrate produced a total of 313.59 ounces of gold and 23.05 ounces of silver which were sold for net receipts of CDN$430,001.85 after treatment charges...


Not bad hey... later on they talk about how to improve the recovery...

Keep On Prospecting



Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Gold Price Hits Record High

Gold hits new record price as global economic fears push investors into seeking safe heavens.

Spot gold set a new record of $1,501.26 (£917) an ounce in Asian trading, underpinned by a weak dollar. Standard & Poor's downgrade of America's debt outlook on Monday sparked a new flight into safe-haven investments.

Spot silver hit a 31-year high of $44.34 an ounce. Brian Ostroff of Windermere Capital described silver as "gold on steroids" on Tuesday. Gold has gained 32% over the past year, while silver has more than doubled in value.

Full Story @  guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 20 April 2011 07.44 BST

Monday, January 24, 2011

A new mineral has been discovered with potential for yttrium and rare earth elements

I just enjoyed reading a story in the 1/23/11 edition of the Bangor Daily News about a new mineral discovery made by Jeffery Marsh a graduate student from the University of Maine and had to post on it.

Some Quotes form the story:

ORONO — Jeffrey Marsh was the first person in the world to lay eyes on menzerite-Y, a species of garnet.
Marsh, 33, of Oakland made the discovery in 2009 while working on his doctorate at the University of Maine.

Marsh is a native of San Diego, Calif., who earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees in his home state. He collected the rock in which the new mineral was found in Ontario, Canada, along the southern edge of the Canadian Shield. Not until Marsh got the 1-inch square sample under a microscope did he make his discovery.

Although menzerite-Y is a garnet, it is not large or showy, according to Edward Grew, the research professor of earth science at UMaine who oversaw Marsh’s work. “The size of a new mineral has little bearing on its scientific significance,” Grew said in an e-mail. “Far more important than size is the mineral’s significance to science. Jeff's new mineral is particularly significant because many common garnets, including those found in Maine, contain some yttrium and rare earth elements. [They] are unusually abundant in Jeff's mineral and make it a new species.”

Link to Full Story

Congratulations Mr Marsh. This is great news and proves that not all of the earths secrets have been uncovered. I shall have to start paying more attention to garnets now. Recently I was working on a property in Newfoundland Canada that has a considerable amount of garnets spread over a fairly wide area. As a result today, I was searching for information on garnets and their potential and lo and behold up puts a story on this fresh new mineral discovery concerning a new type of garnet.

It is good to hear that the new mineral has enriched yttrium and other Rare Earth Elements. I watch for news about new deposit discoveries that may be important to the prospecting business,  this story is special and unique as it isn't every day that new minerals get discovered. Again Congratulations!

Happy Prospecting

Sunday, January 09, 2011

100 once Gold Nugget Going on Auction

This is the kind of thing that prospectors dream of!

And it is a dream come true for San Francisco businessman Jim Sanders whom just happens to have discovered a 100 once gold nugget while using a metal detector in an unmined ancient stream bed near the old Mother Lode mining camp of Washington when he stumbled on the nugget in February 2010.  

A 100-ounce nugget, is expected to fetch between $225,000 and $400,000 when it goes up for auction March 15 in Sacramento, Calif. While current gold prices would make the Washington Nugget worth roughly $130,000, Holabird expects a collector to pay well more because of its historical value. Gold closed at $1,368.90 an ounce Friday.  "It's worth more as a collectible," he said. "No one will be melting this thing. It's one of the most important California gold artifacts that exist."



Link to Full Story


Happy Prospecting !

Tune Into Rare Earth Metals

Just about everyone familiar with the mining and exploration industry is aware that Rare Earth Metals are the focus of increasing exploration effort in many parts of the world today. There have been numerous news stories on Rare Earth Metals (REM) covering issues such as their strategic importance, potential looming shortages, new discoveries, world production dominance by China, increasing prices and so forth. In fact nearly every day we see one or more news articles on the subject.

These minerals and metals are used in many modern devices and appliances. Hybird cars,Smart phones,  guided missiles, coloured televisions, ceramics, lasers, superconductors, high-tech magnets, medical diagnostic devices and numerous other applications all contain rare earth elements. The advancement of technologies is fueling  the demand for REM and there are indications that it continue to do so for some time into the future.

I think that as prospectors we could be well served if we were to include Rare Earths exploration into our efforts.

A recent news release by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA) sates "The burgeoning global markets and growing high-tech applications for rare earth elements provides Ontario with an opportunity to expand its mining - and manufacturing — sectors" and further on they say  "Worldwide demand for these elements is expected to outstrip supply by 40,000 t annually unless new sources are developed, the OMA says. The Ontario Mineral Deposit Inventory documents more than 200 known rare element and rare earth element mineral occurrences across the province". 

The Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry says rare element and rare earth element minerals are among the non-traditional metals being targeted for exploration in Ontario. Areas with rare earth development potential in the province would include Bancroft, Elliot Lake, Hearst, Kenora, Marathon and Moosonee."

Link To OMA Full Story

Rare Earth Metals notes of interest 

A hybrid car contains about 20 kg of rare earth elements. Demand in 2010 was forecast at 150,000 t with longer range projections indicating a demand of 2 Mt for hybrid, electric and hydrogen vehicles by 2025. Future supply problems for these strategic elements are being compounded by China.  At the moment, it produces about 95% of global supply and has 37% of proven reserves. China recently announced it is cutting its rare earth exports by 35% in 2011, which follows hot on the heels of export reduction cuts in the second half of 2010.

Happy Prospecting