Manitoba and Saskatchewan are among the world’s premier jurisdictions for mining and mineral exploration. Here’s a look at eight companies working in the provinces.
ALX Uranium
ALX Uranium (TSXV: AL) is a uranium exploration company with assets in the Athabasca basin and holds over 2,000 sq. km in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Based on an agreement signed in April 2019, ALX has the option to earn up to a 51% interest in the 386.8 sq. km Close Lake project from French uranium miner Orano by spending a total of $12 million on exploration and issuing 10 million shares with certain back-in rights, under which ALX could keep a 23% interest. Close Lake hosts two uranium discoveries and is next to Cameco’s (TSX: CCO; NYSE: CCJ) Cigar Lake and McArthur River uranium properties. Historic drill intercepts include 1.52% of uranium oxide (U3O8) over 23 metres and 0.34% U3O8 over 107 metres, including a higher-grade section of 2.86% U3O8 over 9 metres. Additional drilling and geophysics is planned.
ALX also owns 40% of the 303.8 sq. km Black Lake property with the option to earn up to 75% from UEX (TSX: UEX). The site has a conductive system over 20 km long with historical drilling intersecting uranium mineralization over a 1.7 km strike length. ALX has completed an airborne survey and a drill program, and has more untested targets.
ALX also holds 20% of the 242.2 sq. km Hook-Carter property, which is transected by three corridors prospective for uranium mineralization with drill-ready exploration targets. Denison Mines (TSX: DML) owns 80% of the project. The company has a $3.5-million market capitalization.
Appia Energy
Appia Energy (CNSX: API) is involved with rare earth and uranium exploration in the Athabasca basin in Saskatchewan. It holds a 100% interest in the 143.3 sq. km Alces Lake property, 34 km east of Uranium City. Alces Lake is within the Beaverlodge geological domain with a history of uranium production. A number of near-surface, high-grade, monazite-hosted rare earth element zones have been found at the property. Channel sampling in 2018 returned 53.01% (by weight) total rare earth oxide (TREO) over 1 metre and 22.35% TREO over 6 metres from the Ivan zone, and 41.53% TREO over 1 metres from the Dylan zone. The mineralized zones appear continuous along strike. A total of 44 diamond drill holes were completed on the property in 2019, with 40 intercepting monazite. Intercepts released to date include 16.059% TREO over 16 metres starting at 9 metres downhole, and 6.162% TREO over 7 metres starting at 8 metres downhole. Additional drill results are pending. All of the zones remain open on strike and at depth.
Channel sampling in the Charles zone at Appia Energy’s Alces Lake REE property in northern Saskatchewan. Credit: Appia Energy.
In addition, Appia holds 100% interests in the Eastside, Loranger and North Wollaston properties in the Athabasca basin, and a 100% ownership of a property near Elliot Lake, Ont., with U3O8 and REE resources that are open on strike and at depth. The company has a $15-million market capitalization.
Callinex Mines
Callinex Mines (TSXV: CNSX) is exploring for base and precious metals in Manitoba’s Flin Flon district and in the Bathurst mining camp in New Brunswick. In Manitoba, the company holds the Pine Bay and Flin Flon projects close to Hudbay Minerals’ (TSX: HBM; NYSE: HBM) Flin Flon processing facilities and 777 mine. Callinex has a 100% interest in the Pine Bay project covering over 6,000 square hectares of claims along a 10 km prospective trend in the Flin Flon greenstone belt, and located 16 km from the Flin Flon processing facilities. There are four identified deposits on the site. Pine Bay is the largest and includes a 212-metre shaft with underground development from historic exploration. Callinex has also identified the Pine Bay East Zone, 300 metres away from past underground development, and within 440 metres of surface. The Flin Flon project is a wholly owned, 24.6 sq. km property 3 km from the 777 mine with similar host geology. Airborne surveys have found 14 targets, with two areas of high potential for volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits.
A drill at Callinex Mines Pine Bay polymetallic project in Manitoba’s Flin Flon mining district. Credit: Callinex Mines.
The company also holds the Nash Creek and Superjack projects in the Bathurst mining camp in New Brunswick. A 2018 preliminary economic assessment (PEA) on these two deposits outlined a 3,900-tonne-per-day, open-pit operation producing an average of 96 million equivalent lb. zinc per year at life-of-mine, all-in costs of 37¢ per lb. zinc net of by-product credits, at a $168-million capital cost. Drilling is ongoing on the Bathurst properties to test identified targets and follow up on discovered mineralization. The company’s current market capitalization stands at $7.1 million.
Denison Mines
Denison Mines (TSX: DML) is focused on uranium exploration and development in the Athabasca basin in northern Saskatchewan. It has a 90% interest in the Wheeler River project, 35 km northeast of Cameco’s (TSX: CCO; NYSE: CCJ) Key Lake mill. The two deposits on-site are Phoenix and Gryphon. Total probable reserves at the project stand at 1.40 million tonnes at 3.5% U3O8 for a total of 109.4 million lb. U3O8, with Phoenix, the world’s highest-grade undeveloped uranium deposit, contributing 59.7 million lb. U3O8 based on 141,000 tonnes grading 19.1% U3O8.
The camp at Denison Mines’ Wheeler uranium project in northern Saskatchewan’s Athabasca basin. Credit: Denison Mines.
A September 2018 prefeasibility study outlined an in-situ mining operation at Phoenix with underground mining planned for Gryphon. Upfront capital costs of $322.5 million were estimated for Phoenix, with production averaging 6 million lb. U3O8 at expected all-in operating costs in the range of $11.57 per pound. Plans include building a mine to extract the Phoenix deposit, with Gryphon as a potential second operation. In-situ recovery test work is ongoing at Phoenix with plans to install commercial-scale wells. The company also holds a 22.5% interest in the McClean Lake mill (70% Orano Canada and 7.5% OURD Canada), with a processing capacity of 24 million lb. U3O8 per year.
Denison also owns 80% of the 242.2 sq. km Hook–Carter property (20% ALX Uranium), which is transected by three corridors prospective for uranium mineralization.
Denison is part of the Lundin group of companies and has a $354-million market capitalization.
Gensource Potash
Gensource Potash (TSXV: GSP) is working on the optimization of the selective dissolution potash mining method and its vertical integration within the potash market. The company has developed a technology whereby brine is injected into potash-bearing caverns. The potassium-enriched brine is pumped for potassium nutrient crystallization, with the remaining brine returned underground. This design allows drilling of multiple wells from one location with a smaller operational footprint and a scalable recovery process. Each module is expected to produce 250,000 tonnes of potash annually in the lowest-cost quartile and at a lower unit capital cost, compared to current potash mining methods.
Gensource also holds a 100% interest in the Vanguard property in central Saskatchewan, 170 km south of Saskatoon. A feasibility study on the Vanguard 1 project completed in May 2017 outlined an operation producing 250,000 tonnes per year of salable potash at a capital cost of US$210 million, with operating costs of US$39.54 per tonne. Current proven and probable reserves at the project stand at 9.79 million tonnes of recovered potassium chloride at a total KCl grade of 43.44%. In May 2018, the company executed a definitive offtake agreement for 100% of the production from a 250,000-tonne-per-year module.
Gensource has mandated a German bank as the lead arranger for the debt component for the Tugaske project within the Vanguard area. Gensource also holds the Lazlo area projects in central Saskatchewan, which are prospective for potash exploration targets. The company has a $53-million market capitalization.
Murchison Minerals
Murchison Minerals’ (TSXV: MUR) principal property is the 100%-owned Brabant project in Saskatchewan, host to the Brabant-McKenzie VMS deposit, 175 km northeast of La Ronge. Resources stand at 2.1 million tonnes in the indicated category grading 9.98% zinc equivalent, with another inferred resource of 7.6 million tonnes grading 6.29% zinc equivalent. The deposit outcrops at surface and has been traced over 1,100 metres of strike. Mineralization is open with additional exploration targets identified on the property, which traverses 35 kilometres.
Location map of Murchison Minerals’ Brabant-McKenzie zinc-copper project, 175 km northeast of La Ronge in northern Saskatchewan. Credit: Murchison Minerals.
Murchison holds a 100% interest in the HPM nickel-copper-cobalt project in Quebec, 180 km northwest of Sept-Îles. Past exploration was completed by Xstrata as well as Murchison, with the best drill hole returning 43 metres of 1.74% nickel, 0.9% copper and 904 parts per million cobalt. Mineralization has been traced over 300 metres of strike and down to a depth of 280 metres.
Next steps for the company include follow-up fieldwork at Brabant based on regional survey results, drilling of 12 priority targets and metallurgical testing of Brabant–McKenzie mineralization as well as drilling and trenching on the near-surface parts of the deposit. The company has a $3.66-million market capitalization.
New Age Metals
New Age Metals (TSXV: NAM) focuses on platinum group metals and lithium exploration and development. The company’s flagship 100%-owned, 48.6 sq. km River Valley project is located 60 km east of Sudbury. Current measured and indicated resources at the project stand at 99.3 million tonnes grading 0.9 gram per tonne palladium equivalent for a total of 2.87 million equivalent oz. palladium, with an additional inferred resource of 52.3 million tonnes at 0.63 gram for 1.06 million equivalent oz. palladium. Additional drilling is planned. Mineralization occurs over a strike length in excess of 16 kilometres.
At the exploration camp on New Age Metals’ River Valley PGM property near Sudbury, Ont., from left: Mike Neumann, director; Harry Barr, chairman and CEO; Trevor Richardson, president and chief operating officer; Susan Mitchell, advisor; and Todd McCracken, consultant. Photo by Trish Saywell.
New Age Metals is the largest mineral claim holder in the Winnipeg River pegmatite field, which hosts the Tanco pegmatite, a unit prospective for the occurrence of lithium. The company’s seven projects total 116.2 square kilometres. The claims are 140 km northeast of Winnipeg and three are ready for drilling. The 100%-owned, 22.9 sq. km Lithium One project contains over 40 pegmatites. Surface mineral samples from the Silverleaf pegmatite have returned up to 4.1% lithium oxide (Li2O). A 1,500-metre drill program is planned to test the units. At the 100%-owned, 1.45 sq. km Lithium Two project, three pegmatites have been identified to date with surface sampling returning up to 3.8% Li2O and 1,500 metres of drill testing planned. The wholly owned, 33.9 sq. km Lithman West project features a number of rock and soil anomalies.
The company also holds the Genesis PGM nickel-copper project in Alaska with multiple drill ready prospects. The company’s current market capitalization stands at approximately $ 3.9million.
Rockcliff Metals
Rockcliff Metals (CNSX: RCLF) is working on advancing VMS copper deposits in Manitoba with three projects within trucking distance of a leased mill and tailings facility. It has a 100% interest in the Tower property, 120 km southeast of Snow Lake, which hosts an indicated resource of 1.1 million tonnes grading 4.5% copper equivalent for a total of 108.8 million contained equivalent lb. copper and an inferred resource of 1.3 million tonnes grading 2.5% copper equivalent for a total of 70.5 million equivalent lb. copper. Permitting is ongoing, with underground development for bulk-sample extraction expected in 2020. A 15,000-metre drill program at Tower is also ongoing, with the resource open at depth and on strike. A PEA of the project is expected by year-end.
Rockcliff holds a 100% interest in the Rail property, 40 km west of Snow Lake, with an indicated resource of 822,000 tonnes grading 3.9% copper equivalent for a total of 70.3 million equivalent lb. copper. Mineralization is open with untested targets at depth, and 10,000 metres of drilling ongoing.
An aerial view of the mining town of Snow Lake, Manitoba. Credit: Rockcliff Metals.
The company is conducting work on the Talbot property, 80 km south of Snow Lake, where it can earn a 51% interest from Hudbay, expected by the fourth quarter of 2019. Inferred resources stand at 4.2 million tonnes grading 3.7% copper equivalent for a total of 342.5 million equivalent lb. copper. The company is undertaking 20,000 metres of drilling and the deposit remains open. The company has more untested anomalies on the property.
Rockcliff also has a seven-year processing lease on the Bucko mill and the tailings storage facilities located within 150 km of the three assets. Another 50,000 metres of drilling is planned for 2020 across the properties. On Oct. 24, the company announced that it has mobilized eight drills for a 100,000-metre drill program at the Talbot, Rail and Tower properties. The company’s market capitalization stands at $26.1 million.
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