Hunting for Rare Metals Near Red Lake
August MINING: A Newspaper North Network Publication
August 1999
by Barb Blakely
RED LAKE/The Sudbury Star
The Pakeagama Lake rare metals' property about 170 kilometers north of Red Lake, Ontario, is so rare that two academics from the United Kingdom have returned to the site a second time for even deeper geological studies.
Dr. Andy Tindle, a geology professor from The Open University in the U.K., and his student, Steve Smith are spending much of their summer on the property. Smith is doing his Ph.D thesis on the rare metals' discovery.
The pair assisted Dr. Fred Breaks of the Ontario Geological Survey with a report on the discovery that was published soon after their first visit to the area earlier this year. The study indicated that the area shows high exploration potential.
Within a week of having heard about the report at a Prospectors and Developers Association conference in March, Houston Lake Mining Inc. president, Grayme Anthony signed a deal with Sudbury prospector, John Brady to acquire the property.
Because Breaks is a respected geologist with the OGS with expertise concerning rare metals, Anthony says he had confidence that the property had significant potential. The Houston Lake president optioned the property before news of the discovery became well known. The junior mining company grabbed 16 claim units, or 632 acres in the Pakeagama Lake area. Houston Lake is a junior mining company based in the Sudbury region.
Anthony visited the property in June where he talked in detail with Tindle and Smith and also with an independent consultant that his company had hired. The consultant recommended that Houston Lake raise $500,000 for exploration of the property.
The junior mining company president is confident that Houston Lake will be able to raise the funds before the end of the year. "This is a good property," he says. Perhaps the most spectacular or uncommon feature of the discovery is the presence of pollucite, a cesium ore mineral. There are only four known occurrences of pollucite in Ontario. "We're talking about something that's worth about $1000 per tonne for 24% cesium oxide," says Anthony. Anthony explains that cesium is expensive not only because it is rare, but also because there is such a huge market demand for it. "The end product is used as lubricant in the oil industry," he says.
He adds that Pakeagama Lake has the highest rubidium content of any rare metals pegmatite in northwestern Ontario. Rubidium is commonly used in ceramics and also in spark plugs. In spite of all of these findings, Anthony insists that it is tantalum that his company is aggressively seeking. He says it is consumer demand that is steering Houston Lake in that direction. "Tantalum is used in computers and mobile phones, and the market has been growing at 10% a year since 1992," he says.
There are also indications of occurrences of lithium on the property. Lithium has many applications including its use in batteries, ceramics, nuclear energy and pharmaceuticals. Because of the potential of the Pakeagama Lake property, Anthony says Houston Lake will begin exploration on the property as soon as possible.
Although it is only in the preliminary stages, Anthony says he believes there will be an open pit mine on the property some time in the future. Anthony is an experienced geologist who once worked for the OGS. The Houston Lake president has his B.Sc in geology and an MBA in business. He is also a fellow of the Geological Association of Canada.
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Comment: What more can one say - other than the impressive 'zoned' surface exposure warrants a name fitting of its size and geology - sticking with Dr. Breaks naming of other rare metal discoveries, this one could be the 'Full Meal Deal', comprising Ta, Cs, Li, Rb, and Be. Lets hope the surface exposure is but the tip of the iceberg (for anyone not aware of this well known fact - 9/10 of an iceberg's size is below the surface).
DRT |
