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Gold/Mining/Energy : Platinum $2,000 & Palladium $800 ?? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: banco$ who wrote (64)	11/23/1998 9:04:00 AM
From: DRT	Respond to of 187

Thanks. FYI/This Week In Platinum Number 437 November 20, 1998 Yen Move Triggers Platinum Gains Yen's Climb to 118 Puts Platinum Over $360 Platinum Market In Balance, Slight Deficit, Says JM Amplats MD Warns of Impending Palladium Shortage Fed Cuts Rates For Third Time This Fall Japan's LDP Forms New Coalition, Boosting Yen Strikes in Zimbabwe Rattle Business Confidence GENERAL MARKET OVERVIEW The Fed cut US interest rates by another .25% this week, the third such cut this fall. In Japan, the recently announced, very large, stimulus package brought forward by the Obuchi government this week to help revive the economy brought a guardedly positive welcome on the Nikkei 225 stock index. Talk of coalition building by the LDP in the Japanese Diet also helped. Oil prices sank on the calling off of an airstrike against Iraq over the past weekend. With the debut of the Euro slated for January first, talks of cutting interest rates in that currency are already emerging. With concerns similar to those of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, the Europeans believe a lower rate might be necessary right out of the gate. According to The Financial Times, economists assume that the starting rate for the Euro may be 3.3%, and they believe a cut from this rate to 3% may be necessary to continue economic growth. Euro-economies such as Portugal and Ireland, which are already posting heady annual GDP growth rates of over 5%, may see some inflationary pressure after the currency harmonization, particularly if rates are lowered. Some economists, however, question whether long term growth rates can in reality be positively affected by interest rate cuts and expansion of the money supply. The doubt is best expressed by the joke about the central banker who, feeling hungrier than usual, asks that his pizza be cut into 12 slices rather than 8. METALS MARKET OVERVIEW Johnson Matthey released their 1998 Platinum Interim Review this week. JM estimates a 90,000 ounce supply deficit for platinum in 1998, the second year in a row where supply has been insufficient to meet demand, even when accounting for the 400,000 ounces recovered in the autocatalyst sector. Autocatalyst demand for platinum has slowed in 1998, due to the nature of emissions legislation coming into effect that argues for heavier, in certain engine designs, loadings of palladium. (See below for an expected reversal of this trend.) Platinum jewelry demand in Japan is down modestly as well. However, US and Chinese jewelry demand have more than made up for this decline. And in the investment sector, demand for platinum bullion is up by 21% according to JM figures, due mainly to sustained interest in the Platinum Eagle and an increase of purchases of large bars by Japanese investors. Dow Jones Newswires reports that Barry Davison, managing director of Amplats, believes demand for palladium in the autocatalyst sector will bring the car industry up against price and supply problems. These problems are likely to revive the auto sector's reliance on platinum. Any price advantage that existed is already gone, said Mr. Davison in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires. "If demand (for palladium) continues to grow in an unfettered way ..., in three to four years demand will substantially outstrip new mine supply," said Mr. Davison. "The situation is untenable in the long term because Russian stocks are finite." Mr. Davison said that Amplats is calculating 2% annual demand growth across all sectors in the near-term, although Mr. Davison declined to break the forecast down into the main sectors. "Platinum use in autocatalysis, net, has been pretty flat in recent years and in the short term is likely to remain flat because of platinum substitution by palladium." However, Mr. Davison believes that in the absence of platinum demand weakness due to a sharp global economic slowdown, "we've always said that after depletion of the platinum stocks and therefore lower levels of sales from Russia, platinum prices would consolidate above $400."

To: banco$ who wrote (64)	12/2/1998 12:36:00 PM
From: DRT	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 187

EXPLORATION POTENTIAL OF THE TIB LAKE PALLADIUM PROPERTY OF HOUSTON LAKE MINING INC. (HLM-ASE), DECEMBER 1, 1998. Introduction Houston Lake Mining Inc. ("Houston Lake") has the option to earn a 100% interest in the Tib Lake Palladium Property which is located in the Thunder Bay Mining District of Ontario. Drilling has previously encountered a significant palladium intersection at shallow depths. The mineralizing structure is open along strike and to depth. This report summarizes characteristics of Platinum Group Element (PGE) Deposits and describes the general geology of the Tib Lake intrusion. Geological similarities between portions of the Lower Zone of the Tib Lake intrusion and the Roby palladium deposit at the nearby Lac des Iles palladium mine of North American Palladium Ltd. are noted by government geologists. The exploration potential of the Tib Lake Palladium Property evolves from a synthesis formed from the generalized PGE ore deposit model, observations of the Tib Lake gabbro geology, and results of previous exploration on Houston Lake's Tib Lake Palladium Property. PGE Deposits (Summary from 'Ore Deposit Models, Geoscience Canada') Geochemistry Platinum Group Elements (PGE's) are strongly associated with nickel-copper sulphides. Most researchers suggest that the formation of an economically significant deposit is dependent upon the segregation of immiscible sulphides (liquid sulphide droplets in magma similar to oil droplets in water). The precipitation of sulphide droplets is a critical step in the formation of a PGE deposit and may result from: . Magma ingestion of sulphur or silica (i.e. quartz) from an external source. . Rapid cooling of the magma. . Blending of two different magma types. Class 1: Orthomagmatic Over 90% of current world production is derived from deposits formed solely within the magmatic environment. This class includes magma mixing, magma contamination, and deuteric (volatile or gas rich) fluids derived from magma crystallization. Class 1a. Magma Mixing The major world deposits, the Merensky and UG2 reefs of the Bushveldt Complex in South Africa and the J-M Reef of the Stillwater Complex in Colorado, are included in this subclass. Mixing of magmas of different temperatures and/or compositions may give rise to sulphide liquid droplets and subsequent formation of PGE deposits. Studies have attributed ore formation in these major deposits to a combination of both magmatic mixing and deuteric processes. At the Lac des Iles palladium mine several sulphide zones are attributed to magma mixing of a gabbroic magma and a felsic magma which was presumably derived from the melting of the surrounding wall rock. Higher grades of PGE mineralization are related to the intrusion of an ultramafic (high iron-magnesium) magma into a more evolved anorthositic gabbro. Considerable remobilization of the PGE's in the deposit was caused by late stage deuteric fluids which concentrated PGE's into gabbro pegmatites. Tib Lake Gabbro (Excerpts from 'Geology of the Tib Lake Gabbro' Ontario Geological Survey Open File Report 5780) The Tib Lake gabbro is a well preserved layered mafic intrusion of similar age to and located 15 km from the Lac des Iles Intrusion, the host to the Lac des Iles palladium mine. The two intrusions are the largest such intrusions in the Thunder Bay Mining District. Shared characteristics of age, proximal location, and intrusion size with a known producer make the Tib Lake gabbro a prime exploration target. The Tib Lake gabbro is a funnel-shaped intrusion covering approximately 25 square kilometres. The Tib gabbro can be divided into four zones on the basis of rock type: . The Border Zone is 50 to 150 metres thick and is continuous around the northwestern, western and southern borders of the intrusion. Rock types are dominated by coarse grained gabbros and gabbronorite. Sulphide mineralization (up to 1%) is common. . The Lower Zone is up to 1.5 km thick and extends 7.4 km along the southern and southwestern portions of the intrusion. Weakly to well layered gabbronorite and gabbro with ultramafic layers also contain pegmatitic lenses. . The 1.6 km wide Middle Zone has a strike length of 7 km. The dominant rock types are gabbronorite and leucogabbro. . The circular Upper Zone is approximately 2 km in diameter and is weakly layered. Gabbronorite is the dominant rock type. All known palladium occurrences in the Tib Lake gabbro are confined to the Border and Lower Zones where the presence of cumulate layering, ultramafic compositions, and deuteric alteration is most prevalent. Magma mixing and sulphide precipitation, both critical components of ore formation in other orthomagmatic deposits, are documented in the Border and Lower Zones. Geological similarities are noted between portions of the Lower Zone of the Tib Lake gabbro and that of the Roby deposit at the Lac des Iles palladium mine. Tib Lake Exploration Houston Lake conducted mineral economic studies in November of 1997 and anticipated a looming shortfall in palladium supply. The Company moved in advance of most other companies to solidify its property position in this strategic commodity sector. Houston Lake has the opportunity to earn a 100% interest on the Tib Lake Palladium Property. The Company's 1700 hectare land position is focussed on the prospective Lower and Border Zones of the Tib Lake gabbro and covers all known palladium occurrences. Subsequent staking by North American Palladium Ltd. (Lac des Iles palladium mine) has surrounded Houston Lake's land holdings in the Tib Lake area (see Figure 1). The culmination of previous work on the Tib Lake Palladium Property was the intersection of an estimated true width of 13 metres of 1.68 g/t combined precious metals (PGE's+gold) which included 1.5 metres of 4.53 g/t combined precious metals in drill hole TL-95-09 at a shallow depth of 30 metres. This intercept represents a substantial increase in grade and in width from surface showings. Independent consulting geologists, Oval Bay Geological Services Inc., note that the mineralization intersected in drill hole TL-95-09 is open both to depth and along strike. Summary In summary Houston Lake has anticipated a buoyant palladium market and assembled an extensive land position targeting the Border and Lower Zones of the Tib Lake layered intrusion. Processes of magma mixing, deuteric fluidization, and sulphide precipitation are critical steps in the formation of PGE deposits found elsewhere in the world and are in evidence on Houston Lake's Tib Lake Palladium Property. Geologically sound parallels have been drawn between the producing Roby deposit at the nearby Lac des Iles palladium mine and portions of the Lower Zone of the Tib Lake intrusion. A drill hole from a previous program has intercepted significant palladium mineralization. This intersection in light of other geological attributes serves to provide an economical exploration focus for the upcoming program. The Tib Lake Palladium Property represents a unique opportunity to enhance shareholder value. Houston Lake is currently raising funds to test the continuity of the palladium mineralization encountered in drill hole TL-95-09. E. Grayme Anthony B.Sc. (Hons.), P.Geo., F.G.A.C., M.B.A. On Behalf of the Board of Directors __________ Comment: The map that accompanies the above is a must see, North American Palladium has staked all around Houston's Tib Lake property. The Kuhner Occurrence (TL-95-09) falls within the Lower Zone, not to mention most of the Middle and Lower zones are within Houston's claims. The financing to drill this property is now being finalized. DRT