| Development Corp. |
THE ST. CHARLES DE BOURGET DEPOSIT Micrex has finalized a production finance facility for its magnetite/titanium property (the St. Charles de Bourget Deposit), located in the Saguenay/Lac St-Jean Region, in Bourget Township on the north shore of the Saguenay River, Québec. The Company expects production to begin as soon as a buyer with reasonable terms comes forth. Property access is excellent, with paved roads to the property boundary. The CN Railway is only 25 km away in Saguenay, and the property is within 60 km of the deep water shipping terminal at Ports of Grande-Anse, which accesses the St. Lawrence Seaway by way of the Saguenay River. The deposit is classed as a magnetite and titanium rich magmatic segregation within an anorthosite host rock. Current independent engineering gives a total resource estimate of over 37 million tons, (6,000,000 tons Measured Mineral Resource, 12,000,000 tons Indicated Mineral Resource and over 19,000,000 tons Inferred Mineral Resource), with a strong indication of much more tonnage available. Drill logs for 23 holes that were drilled into the deposit gave an average ore thickness of 252 feet. The average thickness may in fact be higher because several of the drill holes did not go deep enough to detect the lower boundary of the deposit. Numerous assays of the ore have been made with values as high as 65% magnetite and 27.8% TiO2. The pooled average of all samples is 35.1% magnetite and 12.8% TiO2. As with every project of this nature, Micrex is evaluating the resource for all minerals that could be of financial interest. With that in mind, the mineral apatite is abundant in a portion of the deposit. The pooled average for apatite assays is 22.25%. Apatite has value to the phosphate fertilizer industry and testing will be carried out on the overall economics of that use. Recent work has also indicated important levels of rare earth minerals. Micrex will be continuing the evaluation of the ore with those minerals in mind. This deposit has had a significant amount of work done on it to date, including surface mapping, geophysics, metallurgical work, and drilling. Micrex intends to expand on the data through a well-proven exploration formula that has served the company well on the Burmis Deposit in Alberta. Since the prospect area has already been defined through previous work including some selected area magnetometer surveys, Micrex will apply detailed exploration techniques that can be used to better define the known deposit and in all likelihood expand on the resource. In late 2002 and early 2003 Micrex mobilized Apex Geoscience to the property. A tightly spaced ground survey was done using two GEM Systems GSM 19 Overhauser Proton Procession Gradient Magnetometers. The data will be linked to a GPS survey and the two sets of data will be merged onto a digital map base. This will give a detailed picture of the deposit to depth and can be used to assist drill program planning. Drill core from a previous drill program was split and shipped for analysis. This analysis can be used to expand on the mineral database as well as on the resource calculations. Larger samples were taken from outcrop and shipped to International Metallurgical and Environmental Testing Laboratories in Kelowna, BC for metallurgical testing. Micrex considers the location in Québec to be advantageous. As many other exploration companies have discovered, Québec promotes mineral exploration and development through various initiatives including enhanced exploration cost credits, a world class system of information access, and an active Ministry of Natural Resources geared towards industry needs. Micrex now has two excellent magnetite deposits suitable for heavy media production with the added value of titanium mineral potential. The reserves indicated on these properties could enable Micrex to become a world-class source for these minerals. Shipping is a major factor in consumer cost for heavy media. The closer the deposit is to market the more competitive the delivered price will be to consumers. A similar benefit in shipping can be realized from the titanium and other secondary minerals. The Company can now access heavy media and titanium markets in both east and west North America from advantageous locations. The proximity of the Québec deposit to a deep water port that feeds into the St. Lawrence Seaway means better shipping costs to the eastern seaboard and to inland Great Lakes locations of Canada and the US. It also opens the potential for offshore markets. The Burmis property already enjoys a location benefit in relation to an established market in the Western North America Coal Industry. It is located within 6 miles of the CPR railway and Crowsnest Highway #3. Micrex is committed to bringing these two deposits into profitable production as soon as possible. Recent Developments Since 2008 Micrex has produced samples for marketing purposes and brought representatives of several prospective customers to the site in preparation for moving to production. Micrex has a permit to produce 35,000 tonnes annually, with the possibility of producing more upon demonstrating that the market for additional production exists. However, to date none of the proposed arrangements for production have been accepted by Micrex. In 1999, the previous operator of the property took core samples from six holes drilled in various directions from two pads near the western boundary of the deposit (map shows location of pads and other points of interest, with approximate deposit boundary outlined in red). The angles and depths of the holes were:
In late 2009, independent tests of surface samples by another prospective customer indicated that vanadium oxide and other potentially valuable minerals were present in the deposit. The customer's analysis, along with results taken from an apatite concentrate test program conducted in 1988, formed the basis of Micrex's press release on March 24, 2010. Based upon this new information, Micrex decided to analyze the two split cores again, but this time included tests for rare earth elements. The new tests showed that significant concentrations of rare earths, and particularly erbium, are present in the drill hole cores. This was announced in a press release on April 20, 2010, and detailed lab results of the rare earth and common metal tests are here. Although the Company considers these test results to be reliable, and they have been reviewed by Mr. Michael Dufresne, M.Sc., P.Geol. a principal of APEX Geoscience Ltd. and the Company's Qualified Person for this project, readers are cautioned that no report on such has been done that would meet current NI 43-101 standards. A slide show has been prepared containing facts about rare earths and the St. Charles property. Historically, the focus on magnetite, ilmenite and apatite in the deposit overshadowed the value of other minerals that are also present. Micrex is now re-evaluating the ore body to determine the potential value of all the components. New sampling programs are being planned, and the drill cores from the other 4 drill holes will be analyzed.
This page was updated on July 13, 2010. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
