Cross Lake acquires Myoff Creek property
Cross Lake Minerals Ltd CRN
Shares issued 32,782,665 Feb 26 close $0.09
Mon 26 Feb 2001 News Release
Mr. Henry Ewanchuk reports
Cross Lake Minerals has acquired the Myoff Creek property located 55
kilometres northwest of Revelstoke, B.C. The recently staked claims cover a
prospective belt of carbonatite that hosts niobium, tantalum and the rare
earth elements, lanthanum and cerium.
Demand for both niobium and tantalum is strong with prices for tantalum
having experienced dramatic increases toward the end of 2000. Tantalum is
used primarily in the production of electrical capacitors for end use in
high growth sectors, such as portable telephones, personal computers,
beepers and automotive electronic systems. It is also consumed as
superalloys for the aircraft industry; as tantalum carbide in the metal
cutting industry; and, as corrosion resistant material for equipment in the
chemical processing industry. Niobium (also known as columbium) is consumed
in the form of ferrocolumbium by the steel industry and of columbium alloys
and metal by the aerospace industry. Use of rare earths continues to be
strong for application in areas such as automotive catalytic converters,
permanent magnets and rechargeable batteries.
The Myoff Creek property, located in the Kamloops mining division, consists
of 37 minerals claims, totalling 75 units, covering 12 kilometres of the
prospective carbonatite horizon. The property is easily accessed by the
network of logging roads in the vicinity and the Mica Dam power
transmission line crosses the property.
The claims, situated within the Monashee complex along the western margin
of the Frenchman Cap dome, cover carbonatite intrusives emplaced in
Proterozoic calcareous sediments of the Shuswap metamorphic complex. The
region has been mapped by the Geological Survey of Canada. The niobium
bearing carbonatite has been traced for the 12-kilometre length of the
claims. Thicknesses range from 20 to 200 metres and the structure dips
shallowly to the southwest. Earlier work was completed by Duval
International Corp. in 1983 and by Teck Explorations Ltd. in 1988 on a
three-kilometre portion of the carbonatite.
In 1983, Duval International Corp. completed geological mapping and
geochemical sampling of soils and rock outcrop. The soil sampling indicated
highly anomalous levels of niobium, cerium and lanthanum over the
carbonatite unit. The reconnaissance rock samples collected during mapping
were all highly anomalous in niobium, tantalum, cerium and lanthanum with
highest values of 2,400 parts per million (ppm) niobium, 72 ppm tantalum,
9,890 ppm cerium and 6,965 ppm lanthanum.
In 1988, Teck Explorations Ltd. completed stream silt sampling,
magnetometer and spectrometer/scintillometer geophysical surveying,
excavator trenching and rock sampling of the trenches. The best niobium
value of the trenches was 55 metres grading 0.19 per cent niobium oxide
(Nb2O5). The average grade of the carbonatite from all the trenching is
0.13 per cent Nb2O5. The samples were all anomalous in cerium and lanthanum
but the results were not plotted on the trench plans. The samples were not
analyzed for tantalum.
The company's future work on the Myoff Creek property will be directed at
exploring the entire 12-kilometre carbonatite belt for economic deposits of
niobium, tantalum, cerium and lanthanum. Work, which is planned to include
geological mapping, soil and rock sampling, trenching and diamond drilling,
is planned to commence as soon as weather permits.
(c) Copyright 2001 Canjex Publishing Ltd. stockwatch.com |
