fyi, 15 June 2000 Press Release that the CDNX used to halt the stock. For your comparison.
Also note that Birch has not had a Promotion and in fact most stockholders felt they under-promoted the company. I was told that the area of contention was >>>
"By applying the Company's extraction methods to exploration, Birch Mountain geologists are now able to estimate the level of precious metals within bodies of altered rock."
In hindsight I wish the Company hadn't announced anything prior to the AGM, or possible later. Just seems like the wolves were circling and we didn't recognize it
Tests Confirm Nature of Metals on Athabasca Property
CALGARY, Alberta: June 15, 2000. Birch Mountain Resources Ltd. (BMD:CDNX), has confirmed the nature of metals on its Athabasca property in tests conducted at the University of Calgary and at the Materials Technology Laboratory of CANMET, Natural Resources Canada. The Company has filed for a U.S. patent to protect this discovery and associated proprietary technology.
Birch Mountain has confirmed that the form of the metallic elements detected on its Athabasca Prairie Gold property has not previously been reported in nature. The properties of the new form of gold and platinum group metals may explain past problems encountered with both fire assay and wet chemical methods for their detection and recovery. To the knowledge of the Company and its consultants from industry, government research and academia, this new discovery has not been documented in the technical literature. As a result, Birch Mountain has initiated broad intellectual property protection of its technology.
"Confirmation of a new form of naturally occurring precious metals and advancement of our extraction and recovery technology to the patent pending stage has significant implications for Birch Mountain and for the mining industry," says President Doug Rowe.
In response to these developments, Birch Mountain has broadened the scope of its exploration and technology development along four parallel lines of activity:
completing a fire assay protocol;
developing an extraction and recovery process;
defining material properties; and
identifying the resource potential.
Completing a Fire Assay Protocol
Completing a fire assay protocol for this new form of mineralization has been more difficult than expected. Birch Mountain has contracted Strathcona Mineral Services Limited to conduct the fire assay verification testing. Although the Company has not yet nominated a fire assay protocol for Strathcona to test, Strathcona has conducted independent sampling of drill core and trench samples. While working to complete a fire assay protocol, Birch Mountain is redirecting more resources toward advancing the precious metal extraction and recovery technology in order to move the project ahead more rapidly.
Developing an Extraction and Recovery Process
Birch Mountain's technology uses relatively simple methods to extract precious metals into solution. The Company is now focusing on developing procedures to recover precious metals in metallic form from these solutions. Recognizing that verification testing is an integral and ongoing part of developing an extraction process, the Company has also initiated independent verification of its extraction technology.
Defining Material Properties
The hypothesized nature of this previously unreported form of mineralization has been confirmed through work done at the University of Calgary and at CANMET. Because the form of mineralization is new to extractive metallurgy, Birch Mountain is working with specialists who can assist in further characterizing the form and properties of these precious metals to facilitate the development of a fire assay protocol and a commercial extraction and recovery process.
Identifying the Resource Potential
Through core examination and electric log studies, Birch Mountain has defined the geological, geochemical and geophysical characteristics of altered rocks in parts of its two million acre Athabasca property in northeastern Alberta. By applying the Company's extraction methods to exploration, Birch Mountain geologists are now able to estimate the level of precious metals within bodies of altered rock. |
