Resource World Magazine

A s discussed in Part I of this series, specialty metals play a critically important role in our lives, and are vital as alloying agents, present in electronics, batteries, and numerous other applications. Their importance is such that strategic concerns have been raised, most notably in the US, about the security of supply. Reliance on China or South and Central Africa, for example, is considered by some to be an increasingly risky option. Questions have also been raised about the transparency of various supply sources. So as attention turns towards more secure jurisdictions, many Canadaheadquartered companies believe they now have an excellent opportunity to highlight their strengths. For example, Happy Creek Minerals Ltd. [HPY-TSXV] believes its Fox tungsten project taps directly into this potential. President and CEO, David Blann, highlighted the company's most recent drill campaign at the property and argued that hole F12-27's intercepts (see p. 22) were, "for a brand new discovery, the best tungsten drill results globally, excluding China." "In just one of the zones, we have begun to outline a deposit that is high-grade, near-surface and open in extent," he told Resource World. "What will further drilling bring? Well that's going to be exciting. Fox has the opportunity to be a large, long-life project and among the lowest-cost producers in the western world." With developing world growth continuing to spur the resource supercycle, the long-term outlook for specialty metals remains bullish. However, the current sluggish market cycle remains problematic and is reflected in price performance. Most specialty metals still languish well below their pre-2008 crash highs. Tying in with the economic doldrums, there is also an on-going struggle among juniors to secure financing and necessary liquidity. It seems unlikely that this situation will ease any time soon, while quite a few – the ones without fiscal stamina and APRIL 2013 funding – could soon fall to the wayside; something commentators like Rick Rule argue would not be a bad thing. The spectrum of projects and number of companies involved in manganese, magnesium, cobalt, titanium and tungsten is broad. Below are just some of the companies worth keeping an eye on. MANGANESE – Mn Available in several forms, manganese's most common application is within ferromanganese, used as a deoxidizer in steelmaking. Meanwhile, there is growing potential for manganese through its uptake in technological applications, most notably within lithium-ion batteries. American Manganese Inc. [AMY-TSXV; 2AM-FSE] aims to produce high-purity, electrolytic manganese dioxide or chemical manganese dioxide (CMD) from its flagship Artillery Peak property around 170 km northwest of Phoenix, Arizona. At a basecase cut-off of 1% manganese (Mn), the project's North Chapin, Lakes/MacGregor area has an indicated resource of 62.2 million tonnes for an average grade of 2.3% Mn, while inferred resources are just over 20 million tonnes, grading 2.5%. At a cut-off of 0.9% Mn, indicated resources for other zones are just below 145.6 million tonnes, grading 2.98% Mn. Inferred resources are 54.7 million tonnes, grading 2.83% Mn. Production will rely on a unique patented process and, on February 27, the company announced a "notice of allowance" from the US Patent and Trade Mark Office for this. In October 2012, American Manganese contractor, Kemetco Research Inc., successfully produced rechargeable lithium-ion batteries from CMD produced at Artillery Peak's pilot plant. Buchans Minerals Corp. [BMC-TSXV] is exploring and developing projects in Atlantic Canada, including its Woodstock Project in western New Brunswick. The property hosts three zones of sedimenthosted manganese and iron mineralization, including the Plymouth deposit, which has a non-NI 43-101 compliant resource (outlined in the 1950s) of 46.5 million tonnes, averaging 10.9% Mn and 13.3% Fe (iron). The North Hartford deposit, also non-NI 43-101 compliant, comprises 45 million tonnes, grading 8% Mn and 12% Fe, while South Hartford contains 45 million tonnes, grading 8% Mn and 12% Fe. On February 14, the company announced results for a drill campaign at Plymouth undertaken with strategic partners Minco Plc. [MIO-AIM]. Highlights include hole PL-13-011, which averaged 11.25% Mn over 113.85 metres. Minco is earning a 50% stake in Woodstock. Ecometals Ltd. [EC-TSXV] holds the Serra do Navio manganese mine in Brazil that was operational from 1957-1997. The manganese was sourced from 18 open pits located along a 9-km stretch. The property has a non-NI 43-101 compliant resource of 1.2 million tonnes oxide, grading 38.43% Mn, and 4.4 million tonnes carbonate type, grading 30.61% Mn. Stockpiled material is also present at Serra do Navio in 34 locations that contain an estimated 3.3 million tonnes manganese mineralized material, grading between 28% Mn and 45% Mn. Globex Mining Enterprises Inc. [GMXTSX; G1M-FSE; GLBXF-OTCQX] holds the Houlton Woodstock property in Carlton County, New Brunswick. The property has four manganese zones: Iron Ore Hill, Moody Hill, Sharpe Farm and Maple Hill. In the early 1950s, Stratmat Ltd. identified six iron-manganese bodies within which host Globex's claims. A historical non-NI 43-101 compliant resource delineated 194 million tons, grading an average of 12% Mn and 30% Fe. In 2011, Globex drilled two holes at Iron Hill. Hole GNB11‐2 returned 116.54 metres of manganese mineralization, including an intersection of 19.92 metres averaging 11.17% Mn and 16.75% Fe. The company aims to undertake additional work at Houlton Woodstock during 2013. Reunion Gold Corp. [RGD-TSXV] is developing the Matthews Ridge manganese project in Guyana. The project includes an abandoned manganese mine www.resourceworld.com 19

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