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Rare earths and rare metals are not often covered by the mainstream media, and because you can’t actually see

them, most people are totally unaware of the importance they play in our daily lives – and how important they will be in the future. Seventeen different metals comprise the rare earths (Nos.57-71 in the Periodic Table) that often occur, all together, in the same mineral deposit – see sidebar for list. Rare earths are used to make semiconductors, very power-ful magnets for wind turbines, computer hard drives, electric vehicles, speakers, etc. (neodymium), energy efficient light bulbs (cerium, lanthanum, europium), mantles for camping lanterns (yttrium), to name just a few. Blackberries as well as iPods, DVDs and cell phones utilize rare earths. They are crucial for military purposes as well. They are utilized in the manufacture of lasers (europium, terbium, yttrium), unmanned

aircraft, cruise missiles and smart bombs (dysprosium, neodymium, praseodymium, samarium, terbium).

In this article, we will only be looking at tantalum and niobium, although there are other elements that are considered to be rare metals such as germanium, gallium, tellurium, beryllium, lithium and indium.

Tantalum is essential for cell phones (tiny capacitors), computers, data storage, digital cameras, flat screen televisions, aerospace (jet engines), energy, chemi-cal production and medicine to name a few. Niobium is used to make super alloys for steel structures such as bridges and buildings, oil and gas pipelines as well as

automotive and aeronautical components.The exploration and mining of tanta-

lum is complicated by the fact that some of it is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) under coercion and by forced labour, the profits of which are used to buy weapons. Responsible buy-ers avoid buying tantalum from DRC, and with Australia’s Wodgina Mine closed, which supplied 30% of the world’s tanta-lum, supplies are becoming scarce. Indeed, London’s Metal Bulletin has reported that offers for tantalum scrap have reached as high as US $330/kg, more the double of the price at the start of the year.

Recently, there occurred a ‘game-chang-

British Columbia rare earths

and rare metals

staking rush underway

by Ellsworth Dickson

Left to right, Roman Mendoza, Mining Specialist, AMEC, John Gorham, Project Manager for Commerce Resources, and Scott Ansell, Project Manager for Preliminary Environmental Assessment, at the Upper Fir tantalum-niobium project near Blue River, British Columbia. Photo courtesy Commerce Resources Corp.

A U G U S T 2 0 1 0 www.resourceworld.com 7

ing’ event whereby the largest buyer of DRC tantalum material apparently balked at a shipment from the DRC and instead bought a significant amount of tantalum from the Brazilian producer CI Fluminense, at a pre-mium to the western contract price. This

transaction most likely took place because of the impending and now-passed Financial Reform bill in the US which carries with it a SEC reporting requirement to prove that no US company is sourcing materials from a conflict country such as the DRC.

Regarding rare earths, as well-respected market analyst James Dines has pointed out that a three-megawatt wind turbine contains over 700 lbs of neodymium, most of which is mined in China, and a Toyota Prius uses about 65 lbs of neodymium in its drive

Map courtesy of Commerce Resources Corp.

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TSXv:CCE FSE:D7H | www.commerceresources.com

Rare Metals in British Columbia and Quebec, Canada

motor as well as lanthanum in its rechargeable battery. Given the fact that the world is in a race to go green, it is obvious that a great deal of rare earths will be needed in the near future. There’s just one problem. China controls about 97% of the world’s supply and production of rare earths and, due to their own quickly developing society and related infrastructure, they have been cutting back on exports. Bloomberg recently reported that China has cut its rare earths export quota by 72% with shipments capped at 7,976 tonnes, down from 28,417 tonnes for the same period a year ago.

That’s why mineral explorers are actively seeking rare earths deposits located just about anywhere that’s prospective for these valuable metals.

In recent months, a rare earths and rare metals staking rush has been developing in what has been dubbed the Rocky Mountain Rare Metal Belt that runs from southeast to northwest British Columbia, literally over a dis-tance covering the entire province. BC rare metal deposits are present in a variety of geological settings with many known deposits associated with a belt of Devonian alkaline intrusions of syenite to carbonatite composition. The belt has been known to host rare earths and rare metals for many years; however, for the reasons noted above, the Rocky Mountain Rare Metal Belt has recently been seeing intense exploration activity.

This exploration activity is encouraged by Chris Graaf’s Spectrum Mining Corp. discovery at its Wicheeda Creek Project in October 2009 where drill-ing returned a 48.64-metre interval averaging 3.55% rare earth elements (REEs), and other encouraging assays.

David Hodge, President of Commerce Resources Corp. [CCE-TSXV],

Laura Rapp, left, Dahrouge Geological, and Leila Tate, Sage Environmental, exploring the Commerce Resources Upper Fir tantalum-niobium project. Photo courtesy Commerce Resources Corp.

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ConnectingOpportunity and You

www.zimtu.de / FSE: ZCT1 / TSX-V: ZC

had already seen considerable success with the Blue River Tantalum-Niobium Project in southeast BC when he realized how under-explored the belt was and how much potential for discoveries remained untapped in the Devonian alkaline intrusions of syenite to carbonatite rocks that make up the belt. Consequently, through a 50/50 joint venture between his Zimtu Capital Corp. [ZC-TSXV] and Cazador Resources Ltd./Cathro Resources Corp. , he staked a great deal of ground which the J/V has been farming out to exploration companies. The J/V properties were selected through careful screening of regional geochemical survey stream sediment databases available from the BC Geological Survey and Geoscience BC. Based on a data-base of 43,250 samples, the selected targets represent some of the best heavy and light rare earth elements geochemical anomalies in the province.

In an interview, Hodge told Resource World, “The Chinese have been cutting back on the amount of rare earths they are letting out of

the country and just in the last few days have increased those cutbacks which will further cause price increases throughout the rare earths and rare metals spectrum. However, what is more important to our industry is the considerably increased anxiety in the Western World over the future supply of a whole vari-ety of rare earths and rare metals.”

James Dines underscored Hodge’s com-ment when he noted that Toyota is financing the development of the early-stage Dong Po rare earth deposit in Vietnam. However, it is expected it will take three to seven years to bring the mine into production, develop an extractive metallurgy and build a refinery.

THE PROJECTSAlix Resources Corp. [AIX-TSXV; 37N-Frankfurt] has acquired a block of claims totalling approximately 450 hectares which host a historic BC Minfile Rare Earth Oxide (REO) occurrence. BC Minfile reports that “a sample of chips taken at random across a 1-metre section returned… 2.04%

RARE EARTHS

Lanthanum ......................................... LaCerium ...............................................CePraseodymium ....................................PrNeodymium ........................................NdPromethium ......................................PmSamarium .........................................SmEuropium ............................................ EuGadolinium .........................................GdTerbium .............................................. TbDysprosium ........................................DyHolmium .............................................HoErbium ................................................ErThulium ............................................. TmYtterbium ........................................... YbLutetium ............................................. LuYttrium ................................................. Y

RARE METALS

Tantalum ..............................................TaNiobium ...............................................Nb

10 www.resourceworld.com A U G U S T 2 0 1 0

REO”. Alix acquired a second claim block covering 2,100 hectares contiguous to and adjoining ground recently acquired by International Montoro Resources and one kilometre from Spectrum Mining’s rare earth discovery. These claims are located approximately 80 km northeast of Prince George and are northeast of Spectrum’s Main Showing.

Bolero Resources Corp. [BRU-TSXV; U7N1-Frankfurt] reports multiple scintil-lometer anomalies have been identified on the northeast portion of its carbonatite syndicate rare earth claim group 80 km northeast of Prince George. The anomalies are within two km of Spectrum Mining’s Wicheeda REE discovery.

Soil and silt sampling on Bolero’s Carbonatite Syndicate claim group has been effective at generating significant local and regional REE geochemical targets worthy of more exploration. The samples originated from tightly spaced grids to the immediate northeast of Spectrum Mining’s discovery area, while additional silt samples were also collected from drainages through-out the northern half of the Bolero’s claims. Concentrations of cerium and lanthanum assayed up to 631 parts per million (ppm) and 377 ppm respectively, with 20 samples showing total rare earth contents above 1,000 ppm. Pathfinder elements such as nio-bium and barium also show distinct elevated concentrations against background.

Mackevoy Geosciences has conducted exploration on 24 of Bolero’s 57 claims including visual reconnaissance work and sampling on many of the satellite anomalies. Mackevoy recorded multiple scintillometer anomalies on the NE claim group and has begun further exploration in those areas. A total of 70 line-km of magnetometer and 90 line-km of scintillometer data have been collected to date. Mackevoy has established a new base camp to the south of Spectrum Mining’s Fluorite southern claim group and will continue to define potential drill targets for Bolero’s upcoming drill program. Bolero has the largest contiguous land package sur-rounding Spectrum’s Wicheeda rare earth discovery, spanning over some 56,000 acres.

Canadian Industrial Minerals Inc.

[CIN-CNSX] is earning a 75% interest from Commerce Resources Corp. in the Carbo Rare Earth Element Project located approximately 80 km northeast of Prince George. CIN has engaged Aeroquest Ltd. to fly a close-spaced AeroTEM III radio-metric-magnetic survey over the Carbo property. Field crews are continuing a geo-logical mapping and soil sampling program that began in 2009. A permit applica-tion for a minimum 1,000-metre diamond drill program has been submitted to BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources. The Carbo claims straddle and directly adjoin Spectrum’s discovery prop-erty, with the currently reported drilling being about two km from a Carbo car-bonatite showing which hosts analogous mineralization.

Exploration work conducted by Commerce in 2006 sampled outcrops con-taining up to 0.46% total rare earth oxides plus yttrium (TREO+Y). A reconnaissance program in 2009 by CIN included 17 rock, 43 silt and 57 soil samples. Analyses of soil samples included one exceeding the detection limit of 10,000 ppm (greater than 1%) cerium and values up to 509 ppm gadolinium, indicating the presence of heavy REEs. Rock samples from previously known mineralized carbonatite averaged 0.40% TREO+Y.

A new carbonatite was discovered west of and parallel to the known mineraliza-tion. It is within an open-ended cerium soil geochemical anomaly with values up to 217 ppm cerium. Mineralized outcrop at this locality contained 0.36% TREO+Y plus 50.1 ppm gadolinum, again indicating the pres-ence of heavy rare earth elements (HREEs).

Commerce Resources Corp. is an exploration and development company with a focus on tantalum, niobium and rare metal deposits, in particular, its Blue River Project. The Upper Fir deposit is located in the Kamloops Mining Division of British Columbia, about 10 km north of the town of Blue River. The Upper Fir deposit contains indicated resources of 7,384,000 tonnes grading 217 grams Ta

2O

5/

tonne (tantalum) and Nb2O

5 (niobium)

grades of 1,202 grams/tonne (3,533,000

and 19,568,000 lbs of contained Ta2O

5 and

Nb2O

5, respectively). Inferred resources

at the same 175 g/t Ta2O

5 cut-off include

16,494,000 tonnes of 213 g/t Ta2O

5 and

1,222 g/t Nb2O

5 (7,746,000 and 44,436,000

lbs of contained Ta2O

5 and Nb

2O

5, respec-

tively). (Stone & Selway, 2010).A Preliminary Economic Assessment

(PEA), or scoping study, for the Upper Fir tantalum-niobium deposit, under the supervision of AMEC, is under way. The study is expected to be completed in Q4. Fieldwork is under way and a 10,000-metre (30-40 hole) definition drilling program is planned to determine geological rela-tionships and upgrade the classification of resources. Results from the 2009 drill program (22 holes; 5,587 metres) are pend-ing and are expected to be included in the block model which forms the basis of the ongoing PEA.

Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. [EPL-TSXV] holds the Ice River property located within the Golden Mining Division 45 km east of Golden, BC within the headwaters of Moose Creek. The company has farmed out a 75% interest to Waterloo Resources Ltd. [WAT-TSXV]. Field work by Eagle Plains began in 2005 and included recon-naissance rock geochemical sampling and prospecting of talus and outcrops in the cirques and valleys. A two-person field crew spent five days exploring alpine and sub-alpine areas north and east of the east-west ridge trend connecting Buttress Peak on the west to Manganese Mountain on the east, as well as the north-south ridge trend connecting Manganese Mountain on the south with Zinc Mountain and Sentry Peak to the north. Traverses on the property area successfully located or verified the mineral potential for the semi-precious gemstone sodalite, dimension stone (syenite, and alkaline mafic intrusive rock), and industrial or rare metals includ-ing titanium, niobium, zirconium and a variety of REEs. The 2005-2008 explora-tion program demonstrated that there are a number of anomalous geochemical values of niobium, zirconium, barium as well as cerium and other REEs. In addition to the Waterloo Showing area, two other areas

A U G U S T 2 0 1 0 www.resourceworld.com 11

with niobium, zirconium hafnium and REE mineralization have undergone pre-liminary surface exploration and warrant further work.

The 2009 soil geochemical sampling program was designed to test known extensions of Nb and REE mineralized dyke swarms visible in alpine areas that project, beneath overburden, lower in the Moose Creek Valley. A cluster of approxi-mately 40 soil samples along three contour lines are anomalous to very anomalous in REE’s (La, Ce, Y) and barium, with additional spotty anomalies in Nb and molybdenum. Fourteen of 40 soil samples were above the upper detection limit (>2,000 ppm) for the REE – Ce. The soil anomaly is consistent over a 600 m x 600 m area and represents a prime target for further evaluation.

The 2010 work program at the Ice River property will include detailed prospect-ing/mapping and soil/rock sampling at the base of Buttress Peak, as follow-up to very encouraging anomalous REE and Nb soil geochemistry results from 2009.

Electric Metals Inc. [EMI.A-TSXV] has staked a 5,500-hectare land package – the Sibley Creek Project – that is highly pro-spective for REEs mineralization in the Monashee Mountains of southeast BC. The project is located approximately 80 km north of Revelstoke and contains part of the Perry River and Mount Grace carbon-atite formation.

International Montoro Resources Inc. [IMT-TSXV] has granted an option agreement for Electric Metals Inc. to earn a 75% interest in Montoro’s Chuchinka property in north-central BC. The 2,268-hectare Chuchinka property is contiguous with the Wicheeda claims of Spectrum Mining. Drilling on Spectrum Mining’s Wicheeda property suggests that mineralization remains open in all direc-tions, including to the north of Wicheeda where the Chuchinka property is located. Int’l Montoro and Electric Metals plan to get together with other nearby companies (Commerce, Bolero-Canadian. Industrial Minerals) to fly an airborne geophysi-cal survey of the claim areas. For the

Chuchinka property, ground geophysics is planned as well as sampling.

Paget Minerals Corp. [PGS-TSXV] has acquired the Mt. Bisson rare earth prop-erty from Pembrook Mining Corp., a 9,096-hectare claim group located 50 km northwest of Mackenzie in central BC. The claims cover the Wolverine REE pegma-tite field within high-grade metamorphic rocks of the Omineca Belt. Exploration by Chevron Minerals and others in the 1980s discovered REE mineralization at several occurrences, including the Laura 1 and 2 and Ursa showings. Pembrook completed an airborne survey in 2006 and followed up with a ground exploration pro-gram including sampling and mapping in 2007. This year, company geologists have been rock and silt sampling and geological mapping in order to define drill targets.

Paget has also acquired the Xeno rare earth property from Pembrook Miningcomprising 857 hectares in northern BC. Multiple zones of carbonatites and diatreme breccia complexes outcrop over two km by 50-300 metres. Rock samples assayed total REE grades returning between anomalous and 2.2% with 0.3% yttrium.

Spectrum Mining Corp. (private) has completed 11 diamond drill holes total-ing 1,835 metres on the Main Zone at the Wicheeda property in 2009. All 11 drill holes intersected significant rare earth mineralization, of which the best drill intercepts were a 48.64-metre interval that returned 3.55% REE, a 72.0-metre interval that returned 2.92% REE, and a 144-metre interval that returned 2.20% REE in three separate holes. Spectrum has announced that extensive work will be undertaken this year including continued drilling and mapping of the Main Zone as well as to further test two separate cerium-niobium anomalies within the carbonatite-syenite breccia complex north of the Main Zone.

In 2007, Taseko Mines Ltd. [TKO-TSX; NYSE Amex] acquired the Aley Niobium Project located about 120 km north of Mackenzie. Discovered in 1980 by Cominco, from 1983-1986 approximately 10,000 feet of diamond drilling was com-pleted in 20 holes, outlining near surface

mineralization in the range of 20-30 mil-lion tonnes. Assays for 18 of Cominco’s 20 holes had intersections of greater than 8 metres in length and averaged 0.75% Nb

20

5

Following the acquisition, Taseko explored the Aley deposit to update Cominco’s work. Taseko is not currently working on this project but expects to resume exploration work in the future.

Zimtu Capital Corp. has a 50/50 joint venture with independent prospector David Javorsky who recently reported 2.5% REEs in a stream sample on the 1,250-hectare Cerium Mountain property about 50 km southwest of Revelstoke. By press time, he will be back on the property searching for the source of the REE-bearing stream sediment sample. n

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