Like the gold price, the price of molybdenum has been rising for the last five years, and quite nicely, too. The price has quadrupled to the $40/lb range. That has would-be moly producers scouring Canada for minable deposits, mostly in British Columbia but also in Newfoundland. Here is a quick look at some of the exploration results that have come to our attention over the past two weeks.
Vancouver-based BARD VENTURES is drilling at the Lone Pine property 15 km northwest of Houston, B.C. Separate holes recently intersected a 152-metre section averaging 0.053% Mo (0.097% MoS2), an 85-metre section at 0.058% Mo (0.097% MoS2), and 357 metres that assayed 0.045% Mo (0.075% MoS2). www.BardVentures.com
Even better grades have been cut by COLUMBIA YUKON EXPLORATION of West Vancouver at its Storie property just south of the former town of Cassiar, B.C. The longest intersection was 237 metres at 0.106% Mo (0.1777% MoS2). The company has plans to drill another 40,000 metres in 2008. www.ColumbiaYukon.com
The Northern Dancer project belonging to LARGO RESOURCES of Toronto is being called one of the largest known tungsten-molybdenum porphyries in the world. The project lies on the British Columbia-Yukon border. Eight recent holes all returned good grades over wide widths, says the company. The best moly assay was 0.15% Mo over 68.8 metres in hole 79. www.LargoResources.com
NEW CANTECH VENTURES of Vancouver is conducting environmental and engineering studies on its Lucky Ship moly project near Houston, B.C. Metallurgical testing of samples is also underway. New Cantech hopes to develop a 10,000-t/d open pit mine and mill. See the May 2, 2007, press release at www.NewCantech.com.
One hundred kilometres north of Kamloops, B.C., Vancouver's NEWMAC RESOURCES' latest hole assayed 0.10% Mo (0.17% MoS2) over an interval of 430 metres, including a 46-metre interval of 0.58% Mo (0.96% MoS2). The mineralization encountered was both disseminated and stockwork in style, with molybdenite and wolframite occurring as disseminated blebs and streaks, and in the selvages of quartz veinlets and smaller fractures trending in several orientations. Occasional veinlets of massive molybdenite up to several centimetres in width have also been noted, according to the company. www.NewmacResources.com
Here is news from a copper-molybdenum property near Matachewan, Ont. PACIFIC COMOX RESOURCES of Toronto reports that drilling at Ryan Lake has intersected 10 metres of 1.2% Cu and 0.26% Mo. The best result was 1.3% Cu and 0.253% Mo over 14 metres. The property is home to an operating barite mill and other infrastructure that the company would like to use to restart copper-moly production. www.PacificComox.com
Vancouver-based PLAYFAIR MINING is busy on the opposite side of the country, at its Granite Lake project in central Newfoundland. The discovery hole cut 167.1 metres grading 0.033% Mo (0.054% MoS2) near surface. Within that length is an intersection of 58.5 metres that assayed 0.050% Mo (0.083% MoS2). Playfair had been examining the tungsten potential of Granite Lake when the moly find was made, and will now seek both metals. www.PlayfairMining.com
PROPHECY RESOURCE CORP. of Vancouver has been testing its Okeover copper-moly property 25 km north of Powell River, B.C. An inferred resource of 86.8 million tonnes grading 0.31% Cu and 0.0014% MoS2 has been made for the North Lake zone. The recent drill program tested the South breccia zone to the south. The company reported that the North Lake zone is open to the east, west and at depth. In addition, molybdenum grades appear to increase to the east. www.ProphecyResources.com
TENAJON RESOURCES of Vancouver is finding encouraging molybdenum assays at both its Ajax property 14 km north of Alice Arm, B.C., and its Moly Brook property at Grey River on the south cost of Newfoundland. At Ajax, core recently assayed as high as 0.075% Mo (0.125% MoS2) over 121.5 metres. At Moly Brook, three holes intersected 378.3 metres of 0.078% Mo (0.130% MoS2), 285.5 metres of 0.074% Mo (0.123% MoS2), and 274.0 metres of 0.085% Mo (0.142% MoS2). Having a choice of moly projects to work on must be nice. www.Tenajon.com
Vancouver-based TERRANE METALS reports 0.063% Mo over 422.2 metres from its Berg property 84 km southwest of Houston, B.C. The same intersection assayed 0.28% Cu. The property has an historic resource of 238.0 million tonnes grading 0.4% Cu and 0.031% Mo (0.052% MoS2). www.TerraneMetals.com
Indicated resources at the Red Bird moly project of Calgary's TORCH RIVER RESOURCES have more than doubled in the last year to 88.2 million tonnes grading 0.061% Mo. There is also an inferred resource of 63.4 million tonnes grading 0.055% Mo. The deposit, located 105 km north of Bella Coola, B.C., has a nice bonus of known rhenium and copper mineralization, too.
Canada has its share of would-be molybdenum producers, but if they were all to come on-stream at the same time the moly price might fall.
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