SRU on Alberta begins trading tomorrow after a three month halt. It was halted at .50 with the next offer at $1.25. I'm not certain what it will do but there could be a good daytrading or short term opportunity here, along with the obvious long term potential.
From Denver-based "The Mining Record":
Starfield Advances Promising Base Metal/PGE Discovery
By Kevin Moe and Faith Featherstone
Canadian Journalists
Rankin Inlet, Nunavut Territory - Long believed to contain vast untapped
mineral riches, this newly formed territory in Canada's eastern Arctic
has historically received limited exploration due to its geographic
isolation, forbidding climate, and prohibitive exploration costs.
Following a number of important recent developments, including the
publication of the region's first comprehensive geologic survey last
year, a mining-friendly government, ongoing improvements in
infrastructure, and advances in exploration methods, the barren tundra
of Nunavut Territory has emerged as one of the most highly prospective
mineral exploration frontiers in the world today.
From aggressive diamond exploration in the west, where development of
the Ekati diamond mine continues, to the search for gold and uranium in
the east by major multinationals such as Comaplex, Cumberland and
Australian-based Western Mining Corp., Nunavut is currently witnessing a
flurry of exploration activity.
For many of these explorationists, such as Vancouver-based Starfield
Resources Inc., the application of modern exploration technology to
Canada's underexplored north represents a rare opportunity to
participate in the birth of a new world-class mining region.
After acquiring what is considered one of the most promising projects
in the new territory, Starfield is targeting a large tonnage
polymetallic and PGE deposit at Ferguson Lake, located 100 miles
southwest of Baker Lake and 120 miles west of the port of Rankin Inlet
in southeastern Nunavut.
"We believe we are on our way towards defining a world class ore
deposit in a new, relatively unexplored mineral belt," states Starfield
President Glen Indra. "There are several promising scenarios we are
investigating through a $1.7 million exploration program this year. Our
objective is to prove up the platinum/palladium component, or triple the
tonnage, or find sweet spots of higher grade areas of nickel and copper
to allow us to pursue feasibility."
Initially discovered in 1950 by Canico, a subsidiary of Inco, the
Ferguson Lake Project was the subject of over CDN $15 million (in
current dollars) of exploration work during the 1950s, which included
over 37,500 meters of surface diamond drilling, reconnaissance
geological mapping, airborne and ground geophysical surveys and two bulk
sample tests.
Drilling along a 5.4 mile long ultramafic complex on three contiguous
mineralized zones revealed mineralization in all drill holes.
Importantly, on the western portion of the unit, a drill inferred
resource of 6.4 million tonnes (7 million tons) grading 0.87% copper and
0.75% nickel was established (Department of Energy Mines and Petroleum
Resources, Government of NWT 1995: Ferguson Lake in Significant Mineral
Deposits of the NWT). Based on this data, the contained metal value of
the nickel/copper resource identified on the property exceeds $470
million.
"Inco recognized this property from the 1950s on as a very important
resource," says Indra. "What they didn't pursue at the time was the
platinum and palladium component."
Yet these ‘sweeteners' are among the most exciting potential at
Ferguson Lake for consulting geologist Nick Carter, PhD. The author of
several reports on the Ferguson Lake Project, Carter has over 30 years
of experience in the Canadian mining industry, including tenures at Inco
and the Ministry of Mines in the province of British Columbia.
"Most nickel deposits have some associated platinum/palladium found in
the same system of mineralization," states Carter. "Although it wasn't
reported, we know Inco was getting some values in the 1950s. But back
then metallurgical recoveries were not as good and there wasn't very
much interest compared with today - platinum and palladium are among
the few commodities maintaining their prices."
Intrigued by the platinum/palladium potential at Ferguson Lake,
Homestake Mineral Development Co. received permission to conduct a rock
sampling program on the 5.4 mile strike length of the Main Zone in 1987.
According to a Department of Indian and Northern Development assessment
report filed by G.H. Cameron, significant platinum/palladium and cobalt
values were intersected in bedrock within sulfide rich zones.
Limited follow-up work last year by the Ferguson Lake Syndicate,
confirmed the PGE presence, revealing values as high as 4.55 g/t
palladium. The work also resulted in the discovery of a new
sulfide-bearing hornblendite unit, the South Discovery Zone, located 5
km to the south of the Main Zone.
The parallel zone, which was traced on surface for in excess of 1,000
meters and remains open along strike, contains appreciable copper,
nickel, cobalt, platinum and palladium with values up to 1.68% copper,
2.91% nickel, 2.44 g/t palladium and 3.1 lbs of cobalt. Mineralization
appears to be identical to that of the Main Zone, with massive sulfides
on surface up to 10 meters thick. Subsequent to the discovery, Starfield
expanded its presence in the area to 57,304 acres of mineral claims.
"On the basis of surface sampling conducted to date, I think we can be
reasonably confident we're going to get some good platinum/palladium
values in the current exploration season that could add significantly to
the gross value," Carter states.
An aggressive $500,000 Phase I exploration program is currently
underway on the property, consisting of a geophysical program and a
1,200 meter drill program - the first drill to be mobilized on the
property since the 1950s.
"In the 1950s nobody, not even Inco, had experience drilling in the
Arctic," says project manager Bob Krause, B.Sc. "And the technology has
changed dramatically, the drilling and geophysical techniques are much
better, state-of-the-art satellite imagery. All of that has really
enhanced our ability to find a deposit at Ferguson Lake. It's a whole
new world up there."
The project has also become less remote from the rest of the world,
with the only airstrip for 3,000 square kilometers and a 45-person base
camp equipped with modern technology, including computers and e-mail
allowing for rapid communication.
Additionally, the exploration team at Ferguson Lake is benefiting from
a wealth of existing data, states project geologist Tom Kraft, who
conducted initial sampling along the known zone last fall.
"It helps us tremendously to have something already drilled with
positive results," says Kraft. "We have good width, and limited drilling
to depth - all this project needs is follow-up. As opposed to being a
grass-roots project, it's extremely beneficial when you can walk in and
add to it, as well as double check. We're encouraged from what we've
seen and feel quite confident the results we're anticipating will show
up."
According to Kraft, the exploration program underway has excellent
potential to increase tonnage and discover additional anomalies.
Preliminary exploration work, including geophysical surveys, a UTEM
electromagnetometer and a magnetometer survey have identified numerous
drill targets within both the Main and South Discovery Zones to confirm
the copper/nickel grades and investigate platinum/palladium/cobalt
values.
Immediately following Phase I, Starfield will allocate an additional
$1.2 million for a further 2,500 meters of step-out diamond drilling to
increase the tonnage resource and test other known zones on the
property.
In conjunction with the drill program, surface exploration will be
ongoing to investigate the remaining 21,000 hectares of the company's
large, relatively unexplored property
"Although the Ferguson Lake Project remains highly speculative, it's
certainly an intriguing project and one that needs to be watched,"
states Joseph Hamilton, an analyst at Dundee Securities, in Toronto.
"Although you need a pretty high grade to compete in platinum group
metals, certainly there are indications they could have something along
those lines."
For more information, contact: Starfield Resources Inc. 1-877-233-2244
Suite 420 - 625 Howe Street Vancouver, BC, Canada V6C 2T6
www.starfieldres.com
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