News release:
Houston provides results of Pakeagama detailed mapping
Houston Lake Mining Inc HLM
Shares issued 12,797,432 Nov 8 close $0.65
Thu 9 Nov 2000 News Release
Mr. E. Grayme Anthony reports
Houston Lake Mining has updated results of geological compilation of
detailed mapping and sampling on the Pakeagama Lake rare metals project.
Houston Lake is in the second option year of a three-year agreement and is
required to expend a further $40,000 in exploration, make $70,000 in cash
payments, and issue 75,000 shares to complete the company's 100-per-cent
option on the 632-hectare Pakeagama Lake property in the Red Lake mining
district of Ontario. The 100-per-cent earn in is subject to a 2.5-per-cent
net smelter royalty.
Detailed mapping of the large exposure of pegmatite has provided a context
for channel sample results announced on May 31, 2000. The detailed mapping
program indicates two separate Wall zones flank the 10-metre-wide Core zone
to the north and south. The Northern wall zone is exposed over a 13-metre
width and has at least a 15-metre strike while the Southern Wall zone is at
least eight metres wide and strikes for 40 metres and is open in both
directions. The Northern Wall zone channel sample results were taken
perpendicular to strike and returned: 344 grams per tonne (g/t) tantalum
oxide, 0.90 per cent rubidium oxide, 1776 g/t cesium oxide, 68.9 g/t tin,
131.9 g/t niobium oxide, 1.34 per cent lithium oxide, 25.9 g/t thallium and
42.2 g/t gallium over 11 metres. The Southern Wall zone includes two
20-centimetre channel samples which also returned economically significant
values averaging 406 g/t tantalum oxide, 1.15 per cent rubidium oxide, 2580
g/t cesium oxide, 57.7 g/t tin, 118.7 g/t niobium oxide, 2.40 per cent
lithium oxide, 57.7 g/t thallium and 74.9 g/t gallium. Germanium and
beryllium results are pending. A total of 4.8 metres of the 10 metre wide
Core zone returned economically significant values ranging from 4.33 to
4.79 per cent lithium oxide.
The Pakeagama Lake Wall zone channel sample results compare favourably with
Sons of Gwalia Ltd.'s Wodgina mine which is located in Western Australia.
The Wodgina mine is a world-class tantalum-only producer containing 35
million tonnes averaging 402 g/t tantalum oxide.
Since 1998, field-based and laboratory data amassed from the Pakeagama Lake
pegmatite by the Ontario Geological Survey (OGS, a provincial government
agency) and the Open University in the United Kingdom, include
approximately 2,000 electron microprobe analyses, 50 bulk chemical
analyses, 21 analyses of potassium feldspar and X-ray diffraction mineral
identification work conducted upon 30 samples. The results of these studies
have been published by the OGS (Open File Report 6000, summary of field
work and other activities, November, 1999, pages 26-1 to 26-12). Additional
analytical work by the Open University and the OGS is currently under way
and is expected to be published in the coming months. The summary report on
Pakeagama Lake has been reproduced on the company's Web site. The report
concludes:
"The detailed documentation of a variety of tantalum-rich minerals coupled
with the presence of pollucite renders the Pakeagama Lake pegmatite and
adjoining area one of the best targets for tantalum and cesium exploration
in northwestern Ontario."
The Pakeagama Lake pegmatite is already the second largest complex type,
petalite subtype pegmatite in Ontario with 260 metres in strike length and
30 to 70 metres in width exposed at surface. The pegmatite has considerable
potential for expansion of its size as the pegmatite is open along strike
in both directions and is flanked by a 120-metre-wide lithium-cesium
anomaly. The anomaly is interpreted to be due to more rare metal pegmatite
buried underneath. Sampling of an outcrop on the shore of Pakeagama Lake
(300 metres along strike to the southeast) returned 642 g/t tantalum oxide,
0.09 per cent rubidium oxide, 408 g/t cesium oxide, 6.5 g/t tin, 64.1 g/t
niobium oxide, 0.03 per cent lithium oxide, 6.5 g/t thallium, and 44.9 g/t
gallium and indicate that the rare metals mineralizing system may extend
for over 560 metres. Houston Lake's management believes that the
combination of high rare metals concentration and large size are
prerequisites for a potential economic rare metal deposit. A $500,000
exploration program has been independently recommended and would involve
line-cutting, geophysics, soil and lithogeochemistry, geological mapping
and diamond drilling.
Houston Lake management views the political environment of Ontario and
especially Northern Ontario as one of the best places in the world for
exploration and development. A 10-year tax moratorium for northern mines
was recently announced by the Ontario government. The vicinity of Pakeagama
Lake is serviced by a winter road which passes within 10 kilometres of the
property. There is presently an initiative under way to upgrade this road
to all weather status.
Tantalum markets are currently experiencing severe shortages of tantalum
powder used in capacitors in various electronic equipment and cellphones,
and are in turn causing these high-technology items to backorder. Tantalum
scrap prices have recently escalated by over 350 per cent in the past year
to $265 per pound due to high demand and shortages in supply. Recent mine
expansions in Australia moderated by a decline in secondary tantalum supply
from tin production are not keeping pace with demand. This shortfall is
expected to intensify due to new applications such as sputtering (a coating
method used in fibre optics to increase transmission quality). Sputtering
is expected to increase from its current annual needs of 90,000 pounds of
tantalum to 400,000 pounds over the next few years. Tantalum is used in a
number of applications, including capacitors which are used extensively in
the electronics industry for cellphones, computers, avionics, automotive
and in communications technology. The world demand for tantalum has grown
at 10 per cent per year since 1992 to approximately 1,800 tonnes per year.
The implications of a new and secure source of tantalum supply from North
America would be extremely important to the high-technology industry and
the Defence Logistics Agency of the United States military which has had to
draw down strategic reserves to meet current demand from chip manufacturers
and the fiber optic communications industry.
A new application for cesium, cesium formate, has been successfully tested
as a drilling and completion fluid in deep sea oil and gas drilling. Cesium
formate's well bore performance and health, safety and environmental
performance are stated as being superior to traditional brines and may
become a standard in an industry striving to use best practice
technologies. The specialty fluid has been successfully used by Shell UK
Exploration and Production, Total Oil Marine and Elf Exploration UK in the
North Sea. Cesium shipments have been reported to bring as high as $1,000
(U.S.) per tonne for 24 per cent cesium oxide.
Lithium from silicate sources is used primarily in the specialty glass
industry and is reported to sell for $340 (U.S.) per ton for spodumene
concentrate (7.5 per cent lithium oxide, 1998). Rubidium is used primarily
in ceramics applications for spark plugs and insulators. Shipments of
rubidium concentrate reached 60,000 tonnes in 1998 with prices of $800
(U.S.) per tonne for lepidolite and $120 (U.S.) per tonne for rubidium
feldspar.
Germanium is used in the manufacture of electronic and optical devices.
Approximately 40 per cent of the market is devoted to fibre optics end
uses. Prices are quoted as $1,700 (U.S.) per kilogram (1998) with annual
consumption estimated at 30,000 kilograms per year and growing. Thallium
has been recently identified as being present in the pegmatite. New
applications in semiconductor, transmission equipment and radiation
detection devices have seen thallium's price more than double to $580
(U.S.) per pound in 1998. |
