Tantalum - Some of this you have probably seen before:
#1/The Geology:
- The Northern Miner, March 9, 1998: " The potential tantalum credit at Separation Rapids would come from accessory tantalum minerals such as wodginite and tantalite, which can be sold as a concentrate for up to US$40 per lb. of 40% Ta2O5... Holes 14, 15 and 21, drilled by Avalon into the extremities of the main Big Whopper zone, all intersected economic-grade tantalum mineralization (above 0.01% Ta2O5) at shallow depths over widths of 6 to 16 metres within the petalite pegmatite. Grab samples collected from a narrow mineralized dyke on the north side of the Big Whopper assayed up to 0.11% Ta2O5 and 0.21% Cs2O.
Currently, Avalon is engaged in a second phase of diamond drilling, specifically, infilling on 25-metre centres in the near-surface portion of the petalite deposit. Later, the program will explore along strike to the west, where the deposit is open and several promising new targets for separate zones of economic-grade tantalum and/or cesium mineralization have been identified. The main Big Whopper zone, with its low iron content, shows up on an aeromagnetic survey of the property as a low-magnetic bull's-eye anomaly with a tail. Intriguingly, an aeromagnetic anomaly identical in size and shape is found on the opposite limb of an apparent Z-fold in the northwestern portion of Avalon's property. Surface sampling over this zone has returned significant petalite and tantalite grades, so the anomaly has been designated a target for future drilling.
Ontario's Minister of Northern Development and Mines, Chris Hodgson, who paid a visit to the deposit at the same time as The Northern Miner, said the ministry is proud that a provincial geologist, Fred Breaks, had discovered the Big Whopper deposit... Breaks remains active in the area, and continues to study the Big Whopper, running his own set of samples at the Ontario Geological Survey's labs as well as providing analyses of the more exotic elements. Breaks remains bullish on the tantalum potential of the property, having said that "the variation in wodginite chemistry in the Separation Lake-area pegmatites is very extensive and not found anywhere else on Earth, a feature which strongly underscores the high tantalum potential of the area. Avalon has hired the former chief geologist of the Tanco mine, David Trueman, as a consultant, and is currently reviewing proposals from geology departments of Canadian universities for academic study of the deposit."
Tantalum Grades, Recovery Rates, etc.:
- As previously stated, according to Richard Burt, General Manager, Tanco (TMS, 1996) the typical grade of known deposits is less than 0.10% Ta. If produced as a by-product of petalite, indications are 0.005% Ta may be economic.
- Tanco, North America's only tantalum producer, had a large, high-grade deposit (pre-production: 2,000,000t @ 0.216% Ta). But according to the USGS (Minerals Information Report, 1997), since mid-year 1992, there has been no tantalum mining at Bernic Lake, Manitoba, except "...about 59 tonnes of tantalum oxide contained in concentrate was produced from tailings retreatment in 1996).
- Metallurgical test results are required to determine tantalum recovery rates - depends on presence or absence of other minerals, etc. This should not be a problem, if petalite is any indication! New technologies are also improving the recovery rates for tantalum (for a technical overview of the process and new technologies in this area, if interested, one source would be the TMS 1996 Conference Proceedings/website: www.tms.org).
Valuation indicators:
- "The tantalum concentrates are sold for about US$30 to US$40 per pound of contained tantalum - or an amazing US$25,000 per tonne of concentrates." (Alan Ferry, Brenark Research, AVL Research Report, January 28, 1998)
- The U.S. Dept. of Defence Stockpile sold 20,000 lbs of tantalum oxide to Kennametal on October 24, 1997 for an approximate market value of US$1.3 million or US$65 a lb.
- Cabot Corp (Tanco`s parent company) is looking for hard-rock sources of tantalum for its U.S. processing facilities: Cabot Corp., 1997 Annual Meeting: Chairman's Remarks, Thursday, March 13, 1997: "During 1996, we explored literally the farthest reaches of the world to secure scarce raw materials for some of our businesses. Our Performance Materials Division, which primarily manufactures tantalum products, currently accesses tantalum raw materials from our principal Australian supplier and from our company-owned mine in Manitoba, Canada. However, we believe the long term will require a greater diversity of supply, so last year we began exploring the quality, size and accessibility of deposits in Mozambique, Africa. Dick Burt and Roger Bergman are here today as Award for Excellence recipients in recognition of their extraordinary efforts in seeking out these ore supplies in undeveloped and dangerous regions of southeast Africa."
NOTE: I am not into promotion, I prefer the facts! Based on the facts, my opinion should not be surprising:
1. if the world's other large pegmatites are any indication (Bikita/Zimbabwe, Greenbushes/Australia, or Tanco/Manitoba), its only a matter of time before AVL hits a subzone(s) of tantalum and/or cesium.
2. any commercial grade of tantalum could add to the bottom line (i.e. reduce the cost of petalite production) ... find it in higher grades/quantities and it will attract a lot of attention from U.S. processors (i.e. Cabot Corp).
DRT |
