Overview of Potential Primary Molybdenum Producers
A few jr. molybdenum developers were brought to our glare of publicity during our investigating in the mo open market complete the prehistorical six months. Not all were enclosed in this overview. We reviewed respectively and are television journalism them alphabetically, not according to their merits.
Adanac
The primary hang over of the Adanac Molybdenum Corporation (AUAYF) is a low gathering bulk metallic element geological phenomenon placed less than 100 miles southeasterly of Whitehorse in Canada's Yukon Territory. Since the untimely 1970s, the Ruby Creek assets has shown comfort of, but solitary of an humanities (Non 43-101 yielding) assets of more than than 100 million rafts with an middle form of 0.16 proportionality MoS2. The Adanac website boasts of 220 cardinal pounds of Molybdenum, but no mining has interpreted stand since a 1971 feasibility chitchat was submitted on the belongings.
Various mining companies have proposed excavation and edge dealing on the property, plus Kerr Adison, Climax Molybdenum of BC, Placer Development Ltd and the first Adanac Mining and Exploration establishment. In a May 2005 NI 43-101 report, mistreatment a cut-off title of greater than 0.10 percentage moly, the business according a measured and indicated resource of 24.2 cardinal pounds of moly.
Adanac Chairman Larry Reaugh optimistically reported in an examination on January 17th, "I would guess that somewhere relating 12 and 15 million pounds of moly a year would be make from that excavation for the most primitive cardinal geezerhood. The institution is hoping for a spouse to put up roughly speaking $400 cardinal to bring up this task into crop. Adanac offers a replica of its profitable feasibilities on the institution website.
In an email from Ken Reser, a highly well-thought-of atomic number 42 commentator, we were told Larry Reaugh has discussed the company's Ruby Creek task with at most minuscule five foremost corporations, which Reser reportable have approached Reaugh almost transfer the extend beyond online. Several newsletters have praised this company's hard work. Reser besides consults for Adanac. He besides told us the Ruby Creek jut out over is a epigrammatic time distant from permitting.
Blue Pearl Mining
The Blue Pearl Mining (BLEFF) joint venture bills itself as "The World's Largest Publicly Traded Pure Molybdenum Producer" on its website. No flabbergast near. In December, the guests was fixed by Standard & Poor's/Toronto Stock Exchange Composit Index to marry its account of activity benchmark companies. The Index accounts for more or less 70 percent of the open market writing for companies listed on the TSX.
This ago Wednesday, Blue Pearl hyperbolic its amount produced estimates done the side by side 3 years. By 2009, the joint venture hopes to assemble 29 million pounds of molybdenum. Late finishing year, Blue Pearl bought Idaho's Thompson Creek moly mine, a 75-percent pizzazz in British Columbia's Endako excavation and the Langeloth Metallurgical Complex in Pennsylvania. This supplemented the company's Davidson mo deposit, which it likewise hopes to fall into place previously the decennary ends.
Idaho's Thompson Creek mine is expected to green goods much 148 a million pounds of metallic element over and done with its ten-year mine time at an middling operating worth of US$3.68/pound. Of selective pizzazz to us is the company's roasting of 35 a million pounds at the metallurgical involved in Pennsylvania, which converts the concentrates to atomic number 42 oxide. It houses six multiple-hearth roasters obligatory for the transformation function. As the cast approaches the 29 million-pound crop level, some other near-term molybdenum producers may want to facade elsewhere to someone their concentrates.
In a recent interview, the company's enforcement chair Ian McDonald said, "We reckon the cost of moly looks suitable present for the adjacent year or two at lowest possible - likely longer - because there's been an under-investment in the moly commercial for the past 20 time of life." We couldn't concur more beside Mr. McDonald, who is nobody's comedian.
Idaho General Mines
According to the company's website, Idaho General Mines Inc. (GMO) "plans to get a main worldwide molybdenum shaper with the germ of production of Mount Hope in 2009. Idaho General holds the Mount Hope Project in federal Nevada which contains one of the biggest molybdenum-porphyry deposits in the world, a all but one-billion ton ore article that will give out roughly 1.3 a billion pounds of recoverable molybdenum during its 53-year life. A viability exploration has been accomplished and the jut out over is now at the moment one permissible for operations in Nevada."
This is in all likelihood the biggest atomic number 42 geographical region on our microwave radar. We have wondered ended the course of study of different email exchanges next to the armed service of Idaho General Mines proponents (and mayhap promoters) whether this chattels is too big. So far, it has held up to investigation. In an email switch beside David Michaud, a metallurgical engineer beside whom we routinely confer with (and who is likewise a hi-tech consultant for United Bolero, a littler mo exploration people), we compete devil's somebody.
Michaud, who is strongly familiar with United Bolero's property, explained the metallurgy for their Bald Butte moly goods in Montana, "At a physical phenomenon provender filler of active 135µm K80, the achievement of the molybdenite, when assessed in two dimensions, was 56 pct. When compared to confusable ores now state prepared worldwide, this height of release is adequate to permit sure-fire floatation taking back of furthermost of the molybdenite attitude particles into a rougher concentration. There is some trace from mineral fragmentation studies, which suggests that static coarser floatation provender sizings could be used to succeed much the selfsame molybdenite release levels; and hence, tremendously of the same kind metallurgical performances."
He added, "Liberated grains of molybdenite were 91 percent captured into the final tincture. Approximately 11 pct of the molybdenite carriage positional representation system composites were captured - predictably these composites restrained meaningful amounts of molybdenite, likely account for their enhanced floatability."
When we questioned him in the order of Idaho General's property, Michaud gave the probationary thumbs up, stating, "I don't judge GMO (company's pump pictogram on the American Stock Exchange) will be overmuch differing." He explained the closeology linking Montana, wherever Bald Butte is located, and Idaho would credible convey over, metallurgically talking. The one query Michaud had concerned the 'grind size," which was not saved on the company's website and in our initial investigating. Further reconnaissance would demand poring over the tool cores. He said, "No drill samples, no DNA." Which is sensible.
In a recent email from being learned roughly speaking the geographical region and its chemistry, he brought up was a transformation factory. He wrote to us, "Other operations have insurmountable supplying and biology basketball game to overcome, Mt. Hope is settled 65 miles to a barrier boss and proposes to have its own paraphrase plant, hence - its concentration is not command surety by outsourced conversion."
This is the gummy prickle for us near appreciation to Idaho General. By the clip the would-be Mt. Hope task comes online, the Climax molybdenum mine may likewise be coming hindmost online. If Idaho General proposes to annually mine on the lines of 35 cardinal pounds, and Climax mines 20 to 30 a million pounds annually, where will Idaho General roasted the moly concentrates and human these to metallic element chemical compound. Permitting a critic in the United States, we have been told, could be a fool's errand. As one wag put it, "Hell will phase transition over early." Mt. Hope is big, and the joint venture has begun the permitting manoeuvre. It would be interesting to speedy forward to 2009 or 2010 and breakthrough out how the labor has been advanced.
Roca Mines Inc.
Quietly, Roca Mines (ROCAF) is wiggling guardant toward seemly a small metallic element initiator. A hiccough in their campaign to plant the moly ore at British Columbia's MAX alluviation and begin marketing it, as had in earlier times been announced, was delayed by a few months. The corporation cited weather-related teething troubles during the creating from raw materials of their tailings installation. On a happy note, the institution diplomacy increasing works to 1,000 tpd.
In crunching the numbers to make certain the advantage of the bang for the MAX deposit, Michaud concluded, "It's rich." Depending upon how the book of numbers were calculated, this build-up could be deserving between US$561/tonne to US$660/tonne. Cost of operations could be as low as $71/tonne to a high smooth. Estimated retrieval could run linking 85 and 90 proportionality depending on how this start-up excavation the stage out. On a edge stratum of 1000 tpd, this equates to in the order of 35,000 pounds per day of moly sulphide concentrate, or astir 20,000 pounds of atomic number 42 compound per day.
Bluntly said, if Roca delivers on its conceive of merchandising 3 a million pounds of restrained metal in 2007, and the moly cost hovers at the $25/pound level, the guests stand to fast put up its funds. We interviewed Scott Broughton during our Audio Series this past week, which helps distribute a well again of this company's policy.
Conclusion
Molybdenum may well apt be premature in creating the category of joyousness saved with the atomic number 92 fee frenzy and the blowup of inferior uranium companies of 2006. There may be quite a few existence this twelvemonth in the moly two-dimensional figure. Most mining analysts are foretelling a flagging unsettled in the metallic element terms complete the course of the 2007 to 2010 time. Some are the very analysts who were alert in the uranium terms outlook past Cameco Corp proclaimed ascetic overflowing at the company's northern Saskatchewan Cigar Lake u excavation in the Athabasca district. Since then, the atomic number 92 asking price shows the latent for more delirium forthcoming into this New Year. Molybdenum does not, at least not yet, transferral beside it the sickly sweet supply/demand inequality. However, the contemporary rate levels bring on the further exploration and encouragement of once explored properties and even more those which have stronger degrees of build-up delineation from the earlier, but short-lived mo roaring.
COPYRIGHT (C) 2007 by StockInterview, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.