Resource World Magazine

Resource World - May 2013 - Vol 11 Iss 5

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Exploration and Mining in Manitoba and Saskatchewan B by Simon Rees Both Manitoba and Saskatchewan are blessed with an abundance of natural resources and untapped mineral wealth. Saskatchewan is globally dominant in potash, while the Athabasca Basin, the world's greatest source of high-grade uranium, stretches across most of the province's northern region. The Bakken Shale Formation also spreads deep into southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan, the latter with the lion's share. Gold, base metals and many other minerals abound and, under normal circumstances, both provinces should be riding high. But today's economic environment can hardly be described as normal. Like their counterparts across Canada, companies operating in Manitoba and Saskatchewan continue to feel the effects of the latest downward cycle: price pressure, a freeze in equity financing, increasing costs and countless other concerns. Wayward bureaucracy and red tape hardly helps. For example, the former president of the Manitoba Prospectors and Developers Association, David Busch, marked his departure in the 2013 Manitoba Mining Review by highlighting the urgent need to overhaul flaws in the regulatory and permitting processes. "The resources of Manitoba are not being managed in a responsible manner," he concluded. In the long-term, when today's economic doldrums are left behind and the resource super cycle turns higher, projects in Manitoba and Saskatchewan will be poised to reap large rewards. Canny investors should keep this in mind. Today, there are opportunities in both provinces ripe for the picking, so long as one pays close and careful attention. We track the ups and downs of some of the key companies operating in both provinces. 16 www.resourceworld.com San Gold's Rice Lake gold mine near Bissett, Manitoba. Photo courtesy San Gold Corp. BASE METALS Foran Mining Corp. [FOM-TSXV] has released an increased mineral resource estimate for its 100%-owned McIlvenna Bay deposit 60 km west of Flin Flon, Saskatchewan. Highlights of a new resource estimate include an indicated resource of 13.9 million tonnes grading 1.96% copper equivalent (CuEq) and an inferred resource of 11.3 Mt grading 2.01% CuEq at a base-case NSR (net smelter return) cut-off of US $60/tonne. As well there is a 15% increase in the indicated tonnage and an 18% increase in the inferred tonnage of the deposit at the base case, including increases in the Copper stockwork zone (CSZ) of 37% and 53% in the indicated and inferred categories, respectively. Hudbay Minerals Inc. [HBM-TSX] operates the 777 Mine in the Flin Flon camp, Manitoba, as well as an ore conM AY 2 0 1 3

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