VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Aug. 20, 2013) - Blackheath Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:BHR)(FRANKFURT:04B) ("Blackheath) is pleased to announce that the Government of Portugal has granted an Experimental Mining Licence ("Licence") for the Covas Tungsten Project in northern Portugal. The Licence is valid for a period of three years, which may be extended by a further two years, and is held by Blackheath under an option from Avrupa Minerals Ltd. Under the terms of the Licence, which replaces the previous exploration licence, Blackheath may carry out test mining programmes as well as further drilling and metallurgical work at Covas.

The Licence covers an area of approximately 1,948 hectares and has been granted for the exploitation of mineral deposits of tungsten, tin and gold. Granting of the Licence follows the established practice under Portuguese mining law and may be followed, if warranted, by the grant of a full licence for full-scale commercial exploitation of mineral deposits on the property.

"We are delighted that the Experimental Mining Licence has been granted at Covas and we will now be able to proceed with the next phase of our work programme," said James Robertson, P. Eng., President and CEO of Blackheath. "We plan to complete trenching and other surface work in preparation for starting our next round of diamond drilling at Covas, as well as at our contiguous tungsten permit at Arga, in September."

Covas is a past-producing tungsten mine and remaining historic resources on the property have been estimated at 922,900 tonnes of 0.78% WO(3) (tungsten trioxide) by Union Carbide in 1980, based on work including 329 drill holes on the property. Mineralization is open to expansion. The price of tungsten has increased significantly in recent years and is currently approximately $42 per kilogram of contained tungsten trioxide. (These resources are historic in nature, prepared by Union Carbide Corp. in 1980 and are considered relevant. However, a qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimates as current mineral resources and the Company is not considering the historical estimates as current mineral resources.)

Highlights from the Phase 1 program completed by the Company early in 2013 included high grade tungsten mineralization of 2.11% WO(3) over 7.98 metres starting at a depth of 44.57 metres in Hole CO 7/12 at the Telheira target and 2.89% WO(3) over 5.10 metres in Hole CO 13/12 starting at a depth of 52.70 metres at the Lapa Grande target at Covas, as previously reported. Other results from the program confirmed extensions of tungsten mineralization in the skarn zones at Covas. (See news releases dated November 26, 2012 and March 1, 2013 for details)

The Covas property is located about 100 kilometres north of Porto, Portugal's second largest city. Blackheath holds the property under an option from Avrupa Minerals Ltd. to earn up to an 85% interest in a joint venture in the project, after incurring minimum exploration expenditures of EUR1 million in two stages to earn a 70% interest followed by completion of a prefeasibility study to earn the additional 15% interest. Blackheath also holds options for a 100% interest in the past-producing Borralha tungsten mine and the Bejanca tungsten-tin mine where exploration is also underway.

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Yesterday, the Ministry of Land and Resources issued the announcement about tungsten concentrate output limitation in 2013. In 2013, the tungsten concentrate output limitation is 890,000 tons. The Ministry of Land and Resources will keep the output control in 2012 and continue imposing control on total of comprehensive utilization. On December 31, 2013, the general office of the Ministry of Land and Resources issued the first of tungsten concentrate output limitation, based on 50% of output limitation in 2012. 2,000 tons of tungsten concentrate was not distributed. Tungsten concentrate output limitation which has been sent to every province and autonomous region is increased by 2,000 tons, compared with 2012. Total of primary mining is 71,000 tons and total of comprehensive utilization is 18,000 tons, increased by 1,600 tons and 400 tons respectively.

Tungsten concentrate output limitation for Jiangxi is 37,750 tons, increased by 650 tons; for Hunan is 23,100 tons, increased by 500 tons; for Yunnan is 6,000 tons, increased by 500 tons; for Guangdong is 3,260 tons, increased by 110 tons; for Zhejiang is 450 tons, increased by 100 tons; for Heilongjiang is 1100 tons, increased by 100 tons; for Xinjiang is 300 tons, increased by 100 tons; for Hubei is 300 tons, increased by 50 tons.

Tungsten concentrate output limitation for Guangxi is 3,000 tons, decreased by 110 tons.

Tungsten concentrate output limitation for Fujian is 2900 tons; for Inner Mongolia is 1,500 tons; for Qinghai is 140 tons; for Henan is 6,000 tons; for Gansu is 1,710 tons; for Hainan is 190 tons and for Shanxi is 100 tons. The output limitation for those provinces or autonomous regions is the same as last year.

The announcement requires to stopping accepting application on prospecting and mining for new rare earth or tungsten concentrate. The new set-up rare earth and tungsten concentrate must conform to output limitation and requirements for capacity balance. Compared with 2012, the fifth situation is set up: the program which is in accordance with industrial policy, mineral resources development program, configuration scheme of mining right, output limitation and requirements of provincial government should be given key support.

The announcement also stresses that the Ministry of Land and Resources will decompose the tungsten concentrate output limitation which has been sent to every local competent department of land and resources. The Ministry of Land and Resources will also inspect monthly reports or quarterly reports and check the implementation accordingly.   



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The $15 million-a-year business sells from a catalog of 12,000 carbide tools to more than 600 U.S. distributors and others in 40 countries.

Carbide is 90 percent tungsten, one of the hardest metals on the planet. Micro 100 has dozens of machines — Dale Newberry says it’s more like hundreds, but he’s lost count — most with grinding wheels coated in industrial diamond, the only substance known that will cut tungsten. The result is a cutting tool that Newberry says will stay sharp 10 or 20 times longer than steel.

Micro 100 makes a miniature end mill the diameter of a human hair for manufacturing optical and medical equipment. Its most expensive custom carbide tools sell for more than $1,000.

Newberry gestures toward his twice-expanded shop stuffed wall-to-wall with machines, some worth nearly a half-million dollars.


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Vital Metals (ASX: VML) has been issued a final environmental authority for its Watershed Tungsten Project in Queensland, clearing away for the grant of the Mining Leases.

The company is partnered with Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) and Macquarie Bank to develop Watershed, which is a ranked amongst the top 10 non-Chinese projects with potential for further growth as it is open along strike and at depth.

JOGMEC have recently secured their right to 30% of the project while Macquarie Bank provided assistance to Vital via a financial facility.

Tungsten is one of a number of “critical elements” that will become increasingly scarce from 2015 according to reports, with the Chinese already accounting for more than half of world appetite.

The company noted that the fundamentals of the tungsten market look strong with price increases in APT being matched by significant new investment in metal production.

Recently, HC Starck announced a joint venture that would allow it to increase its penetration into Asian markets while Xiamen Tungsten Co Ltd announced that it would build a US$160 million hard alloy production plant to meet increasing demand.

Vital plans to develop Watershed as a stable and reliable supply of tungsten concentrate necessary for the production of the tungsten metals that play critical roles from the tungsten carbide buttons on exploration drill bits to the high strength alloys used in the new generation of aircraft.

Watershed Scheelite Deposit currently hosts a Resource of 49.2 million tonnes at 0.14% WO3.

It is located about 35 kilometres northwest of the historic Mount Carbine tungsten deposit, which produced 10,000t WO3 over 16 years, between 1970 and 1986.

The grant of the Environmental Authority is the final step required before the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines is able to consider the grant of the mining leases that make up the project.



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Tungsten resources  has confirmed it has taken ownership of the La Parrilla tungsten mine in southwest Spain.

It has initially put down €900,000 and will make further phased payments of €1.3 million in the third quarter of next year and of €500,000 12 months later.

It’s expected these will be funded from the cash flows from tailings production at La Parrilla.

The decision to move to full title ownership was taken by W following the extension drilling and initial evaluation of the mine and its development potential, it said.

Chairman Michael Masterman added: "La Parrilla will be a major tungsten mine and this decisive step will allow us to proceed with clear confidence and secure title towards development.

“With the tailings project on track to start first production later this year, we look forward to the next development phase of the mine."

Tungsten resources is sitting on one of the largest deposits outside of China. It holds a JORC compliant inferred reserve of 47mln tonnes and almost 40,000 tonnes of contained tungsten metal at a 0.09% grade.

Consultants Golder Associates also identified higher grade zones in the middle of, and adjacent to, the existing historic pit, which will be a focus for exploration going forward, the company said. There was a 0.04% cut-off grade.


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Tungsten Mining has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Chinese investment group that would see a number of that company’s clients invest up to A$15-million in Tungsten Mining.

The investment would take place through a share subscription that would be undertaken in three tranches.

The first tranche would consist of some 12.5-million shares to raise A$2.5-million, by the end of September. The second tranche, which would have an equal number of shares, would be issued by the end of October.

The third tranche, which would consist of some 30.3-million shares, and would raise A$10-million, would be issued by May next year.

Tungsten Mining said on Monday that subject to the A$15-million raising, the MoU also provided for a definitive offtake agreement under which the investors would be entitled to acquire 50% of the Kilba project’s tungsten concentrate production, at a discount to the prevailing market price.

Tungsten MD Paul Berndt said that both the offtake and subscription agreement were subject to due diligence, as well as shareholder and regulatory approval.

“This backing will ensure that we can accelerate the definitive feasibility study of our Kilba project, and will firmly set the company on a trajectory towards developing its first tungsten mine,” Berndt said.

A recently completed scoping study into the Kilba project indicated that a 1.1-million-tonne-a-year operation could be developed for a capital investment of some A$56-million. The project, which would have an initial mine life of seven years, would deliver some 154 000 t/y of tungsten.


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Flight control system

Tungsten alloy weights are usually used to optimize the flight control performance, such as rudder, elevator and ailerons, have a greater advantage than other traditional materials such as steel or lead.

Rotor blades

Helicopter rotor blades require the best balance. Tungsten alloy can be installed in an imbalance in the location of a single leaf in the manufacturing process, such as in helicopter balancer.

Propeller

Tungsten alloy weights can be loaded fail-safe device, in order to avoid the problem of speeding.

Inertial system

Tungsten alloy can be loaded to control the rotation of the gyro flywheel to store kinetic energy. Tungsten alloy used in this gyroscope has two main purposes:

1) To adjust the center of gravity of the triangle.

2) To adjust the beam of the laser oscillation frequency.


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Mitsubishi Materials Corp. reported an increase of 16% in consolidated group net sales for the first quarter of its new financial year (2013/2014) ended June 30 to Yen 423 billion ($4.4 billion). There were reported increases in sales for cemented carbide tools as a direct result of the depreciation of the Yen, but sales of PM parts decreased due to the end of eco-car government subsidies in Japan.

This is largely due to the 13.5% rise in cement sales and a 13.8% rise in sales of the metals division. MMCs ‘Advanced Materials & Tools’ division, which includes Diamet Corp, Mitsubishi Materials Tools Co., Ltd. and MMC Superalloy Corp, continued in negative territory in the quarter with a 1.7% decrease in sales to Yen 36 billion ($369 million). However, operating profit for the Advanced Materials & Tools division increased by 15.1%.  Anyway, sales for cemented carbide were increased as a result of this depreciation.


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Happy Creek Minerals Ltd. is pleased to announce preliminary results from the first drill hole of the 2013 program on its 100% owned, 165 square kilometre Fox tungsten property. The Fox property is located approximately 75 km northeast of 100 Mile House, in the south-central Cariboo region of British Columbia, Canada.

At the RC prospect, drill hole F13-01 is a step out approximately 40.0 metres west of F12-17 (20 metres of 0.63% tungsten trioxide (W03). F13-01 is a vertical hole that was lost at a depth of 30.4 metres while in the mineralized zone due to a drilling problem. The favorable geology consists of calc-silicate and skarn which was intersected from surface, with trace tungsten beginning from 8.0 metres. Starting at 26.8 metres the hole intersected 2.72 metres grading 2.01% tungsten trioxide that is thought to be near true thickness. Other values in this interval include 0.27% zinc, 1.85 g/t silver, 0.09 g/t gold and 1.63 g/t indium. This drill site was subsequently repeated and completed through the favourable horizon and results are pending.

On the Fox property, positive values of tungsten occur in rock, stream sediment, soil and drill core in a 10 km by 3 km area. Drilling by the Company in 2007 at the Nightcrawler zone outlined positive tungsten values in multiple horizons over an area 1.5 km by 500 metres in dimension. Four kilometres to the north, four outcropping mineralized zones are named from south to north the 708, BN, RC (Ridley Creek) and BK prospects. These prospects are within a favorable target horizon (calc-silicate or skarn) spanning a distance of three kilometres and a lateral extent thought to be greater than one kilometre.

A review of drill results from the Fox property to date identified 23 intervals averaging 3.1 metres and 2.41 % tungsten trioxide that comprise a portion of the favourable horizon thickness. Drill highlights from 2011 and 2012 at the RC prospect include 7.35 metres of 1.22% tungsten trioxide, 19.4 metres of 0.82% tungsten trioxide, 11.0 metres of 0.80% tungsten trioxide, 20.0 metres of 0.63% tungsten trioxide and 24.7 metres of 0.68% tungsten trioxide. One kilometer south of the RC prospect, drilling at the BN prospect returned three intervals in hole F12-27: 4.1 metres of 1.78% tungsten trioxide, 14.8 metres of 4.0% tungsten trioxide and 24.0 metres of 0.79% tungsten trioxide including 5.8 metres of 2.01% tungsten trioxide. One kilometre north of the RC prospect, drilling at the BK prospect returned 5.0 metres of 0.68% tungsten trioxide. (Refer to Press Release dated November 19, 2012).

A grade of 2.4% tungsten trioxide contains 24.0 kg W03 per tonne of rock, and tungsten prices are around US$35.0/kg W03 in concentrates and US$42.0/kg W03 as upgraded APT (ammonium paratungstate) (1).

Tungsten is regarded as a strategic and critical metal for industrialized countries. Over 50% is used in cemented tungsten carbide to make cutting tools for the construction, metalworking, mining, oil and gas drilling industries. The balance is used for heavy alloy in applications requiring high temperature stability and density in electronic components, super-alloys, wear-resistant alloys and chemicals for various applications. Tungsten is being used and evaluated as a more effective radiation shield than lead, requiring 1/10th the thickness of lead (2). Zinc and indium also occur with tungsten at the Fox property. Indium is a rare metal used in liquid crystal applications such as touch screens and prices have risen to over US$550/kg ($5.50/gram).

The proximity to infrastructure, near surface setting, large scale and presence of high grade tungsten are thought to make the Fox property a unique and attractive new discovery in the global tungsten sector.


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We have been watching tungsten prices rise, pull back and rise again.

We had assumed that the market was supported by China, the dominant tungsten producer and by a forecast pullback in production from CanTung the world’s larger tungsten mines.

But tungsten prices may also indicate a return of industrial confidence and economic growth within some key manufacturing economies.

Tungsten is principally used for bits for cutting tools which are mainly used in manufacturing and heavy industry.

Manufacturers need to supply machines with tungsten carbide cutting tools as a first step before ramping up industrial production ahead of new forecast demand.

In past cycles new Chinese demand has buried the market and forced prices lower but with the market seemingly in balance we assume that new industrial demand is lifting prices.

It is possible that the US DLA and other strategic stockpile agencies are also part of the demand equation with tungsten marked as a critical metal by the major superpowers.

There are a number of new tungsten producers listed in Canada, the UK and Australia which are worth looking at.  We would avoid Malaga as its Pasto Bueno tungsten mine is now on care and maintenance.

There are no Tungsten ETFs so there is no potential for ETF sales to distort the market.


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