Commerce Resources Rolls Out the Red Carpet at Its Blue River Tantalum-niobium Project

Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 2:07 pm

Commerce Resources Rolls Out the Red Carpet at Its Blue River Tantalum-niobium Project

Despite the sight of a black bear on September 7 to 9 property tour of Commerce Resources' (TSX. V: CCE) Blue River Tantalum, Niobium Project, the mood was nothing but offensive to a group of managers, entrepreneurs, major newsletter writers, metal traders and senior analysts. Honey Bear, a total of 105 investors, including major players in the German financial and industrial world was on a property held by the company's announcement of his discovery of two new carbonatite anomalies-the Lower Gum Creek and Lower Switch Company Upper Fir Deposit. Lower Gum geochemical anomaly is at least 1.000 meters long and between 200 to 400 g with meters wide geochemical sampling levels for 3211 / t Nb2O5 and 75 g / t Ta2O5 and high light rare earth elements lanthanum (La) at 1905 ppm and enriched cerium (Ce ) at 2666 ppm. The lower gear at least 700 meters long and 50 meters wide with soil analysis, which values the background levels back to 2354 g / t Nb2O5. The abnormal stretches through the historic moat, where carbonatite samples from Anschutz Mining (Canada) Ltd., were 21 and 2930 g / t Ta2O5 and an average of 514 g / t.
The Blue River project is located near Blue River, British Columbia. Commerce has 100% of 500km2 claim group. Infrastructure in the region is excellent, with proximity to rail, roads and power. The first carbonatite bodies were discovered in 1949, at the top of the property for its potential to vermiculite was investigated. Commerce acquired the property in 2000 and has bulk sampling, ground geophysics, stream sampling and drilling to date. A 2007 report prepared by independent consultants Gorham has an indicated resource of 8,600,000 tonnes grading listed 208th 2 g / t Ta2O5 and 1372nd 6 g / t Nb2O5 and an inferred resource of 5500000 tonnes 208th 2 g / t Ta2O5 and 1349th 9 g / t Nb2O5. With further drilling, there is a very good chance of finding new reserves.
Carbonatites are rare, peculiar igneous rocks from deep in the crust. They are host rocks for tantalum and niobium, which are usually found together, along with other rare earth elements (REE's). Tantalum (for Tantalus, a figure in Greek mythology named) is in the manufacture of most electronic devices by its material with the highest known capacity of all metals. According to the company's website, "is tantalum, especially in Australia, Brazil, Canada and Central Africa, with some additional quantities originating in southeast Asia. The average annual growth rate of about 8 to 12% in tantalum demand since about 1995, a significant increase in exploration for this part causes ". Niobium (the daughter of Tantalus "called Niobe) is an additive used in steel production. His presence as the strength of an alloy of steel has tripled. This is crucial for pipelines, aerospace and automotive industries.
Visitors to the project were treated to a presentation by Bill Serjak, the world's leading tantalum and niobium market analyst. Mr. Serjak expects double-digit increase in demand for tantalum in the next two years.
Commerce's goal is to become the world's leading source of high quality tantalum and niobium. The next phase will include development permits, and an ecological survey by Gartner Lee, a top environmental consulting firm.
The company has also investigated processing methods as part of preparation for feasibility. Metallurgical work conducted in 2004 and the recovery rates for Ta and Nb confirmed 83 to 97% of the contained metal values. These recovery rates gives them a comparative advantage relative to producers in other parts of the world. Australia's Sons of Gwalior, which is currently the world's largest tantalum miner, has a much lower recovery rate posted by 55%.
In the spot market, trading tantalum is typically about $ 25 – $ 35/lb. Spot market is used by small producers in African countries such as DRC delivered – with the attendant instability. These sources are not sanctioned by the UN, tantalum concentrate, which comes from a UN-sanctioned countries like Australia or Canada worth twice as expensive as on-site. On a long term contract from HC Starck, the world's largest tantalum processors, tantalum oxide, will sell for about $ 140 – $ 150/lb. Currently the world's largest producer of niobium (pyrochlore from) mine in Araxa in Brazil. Niobium is currently trading at around $ 29/lb- Quadruple prices in January.
With solid support from the German financiers and the people of the Blue River-many shareholders, the company has supported the project from beginning to end. The recent private placement, the company initially to increase sales in the U.S., was to strengthen the unintended (but welcome) consequence of the German in its original investors their positions. Since world trade in niobium and tantalum is primarily done on long term contracts, it is of interest for large companies to take an interest in the development of new, high quality, reliable sources in politically stable countries.
The company is in a unique chance to meet this demand. Alexei Rukhlov, geologist, describes the project as one of the leading experts in carbonatites worldwide polymetallic deposit as "the only of its kind in the world. "Highly-economic carbonatite deposits of this size and quality are extremely rare. With the increasing demand and a market that is almost exclusively serves the long-term contracts, it is important that new, stable and cheap source of tantalum and niobium are discovered and developed.
Trade has the foresight to build the market from the ground up, based on a core of long-term institutional investors were in fact the end buyers of its products. So far, the market reacted positively to this methodological approach, is the company that sells in the $ 1 range. Investors can anticipate healthy long-term gains, but volatility issues affecting the precious and base metals markets. Napoleon Hill, adviser to U.S. Steel's founder Andrew Carnegie and the author of Think and Grow Rich, said, "is perseverance, the character of man as carbon steel. "Or, at the Ministry of Commerce of the United States as carbonatite in steel and success.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended recommendation to buy or sell shares in a company mentioned herein. It is based on sources believed to be a reliable basis, but no guarantee that either express or implied. The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author, provided that the statements attributed to persons other than the author, in this case, comments from people that they are associated.

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