It is reported that SilverCrest intends to be a senior tungsten trioxide producer within the next five years.

The company at the end of January announced an updated National Instrument 43-101-compliant inferred resource at the La Joya project, which is shaping up to be a significant high-grade resource holding 100.8-million ounces of silver at a cutoff grade of 60 g/t. The resource is also reported to hold 75.1-million pounds of tungsten trioxide (WO3) at a 0.05% cutoff grade.

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On Nov. 17, Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner landed for the first time at Washington's Dulles International Airport. Just three days later, the town of Goma, the main mineral trading hub in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, temporarily fell to rebels in the latest chapter of a brutal 15-year war.

While the now-beleaguered Dreamliner was never likely to land at Goma's dilapidated airport, there is a disturbing link between the aircraft, Congo's mineral-rich eastern provinces and Washington, D.C.

The metals found in Congo's lucrative mines -- tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold -- are used to make jet engine parts, as well as cellphones, computers and jewelry.

Armed groups in eastern Congo have made a fortune by controlling mines and trading routes, from where minerals are sold into international supply chains and then to American manufacturers. For more than a decade, profits from the minerals trade have helped warring parties fund a fight that has killed more than 5 million people.

In 2010, Congress set out to change this by passing Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The conflict minerals provision requires U.S.-listed companies that use tin, tantalum, tungsten or gold to carry out checks on their supply chains -- known as due diligence -- to determine if their purchases are fueling conflict in Congo, and to publicly report their findings. Currently, the world's major airline manufacturers do not typically disclose this information.

In August, after a 16-month delay largely caused by aggressive industry lobbying to weaken and put off the law's implementation, the Securities and Exchange Commission published the final rule for Section 1502.

Now efforts to address the conflict minerals trade are under attack again. The Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and the Business Roundtable have filed a lawsuit against the SEC to overturn the conflict minerals rule. A cruel twist of fate saw the trio issue their specific concerns to the SEC in Washington just a few days after the first Dreamliner landed at Dulles and hours after Goma fell to the rebels.

Boeing, which has a seat on NAM's board and whose representative is the executive committee chair of the Business Roundtable, appears to be at the forefront of the fight to overturn the rule.

Throughout the rule-making period for Section 1502, Boeing attended 10 meetings with representatives of the SEC -- more than any other company. Most of the meetings took place alongside members of NAM and the Chamber of Commerce.

In comments submitted to the SEC, Boeing indicated that the final rule on 1502 would be too costly and burdensome to comply with, given "the complexity of modern supply chains."

As the world's largest aerospace company, Boeing's influence within the industry -- let alone over its own supply chain -- is considerable. Boeing's attempt to kill Section 1502 through anonymous corporate lobby groups is misguided and irresponsible.

Industry associations are driven by their members. Companies that are members of the chamber, NAM or the Business Roundtable and support legal action against 1502 should come clean and say so publicly. Firms that disagree should issue statements distancing themselves from the lawsuit. Remaining silent can only be read as support for the lawsuit -- and is tantamount to supporting the gruesome conflict in eastern Congo.

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Forevermetals, a Tungsten ring retailer is offering a discount code to help customers with their Valentine’s Day purchases. From February 4th until February 13th a discount code for 20% off can be added to the shopping cart to reflect special savings. The coupon code love20 is being offered to help ease the expense of purchasing Valentine’s Day gifts for the special people on their lives. The discount can be used to purchase any in stock tungsten wedding rings, Ceramic rings, watches and pendants. The coupon code cannot be applied to custom orders or specialized engravings.

Forever Metals has one of the largest, most unique collections of tungsten rings and wedding bands on the internet. Collections include the popular Celtic collection, colored tungsten consisting of black and gold and an assortment of inlays consisting of redwood, abalone shell and carbon fiber. Forever Metals also manufactures a large collection of classic wedding bands to accommodate both men and women. Along with customers being able to shop the in stock rings that are available for immediate shipment the customization option is always available. Gary Camphausen, owner of Forever Metals, believes that allowing customers to customize rings will add a special touch to the rings they plan to wear for the rest of their lives. In the past couple of years tungsten carbide has been gaining popularity due to more customers learning about the strength and durability of the metal over the traditional gold and platinum.

Forever Metals encourages shoppers to buy with confidence when choosing tungsten carbide. The metal is long lasting and comes in many different price points to accommodate almost every shopper. The large, ever growing collection of rings, will also grab virtually everyone’s attention.

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Tie breaker fish off delivers win to Florida pro

Rich Howes of Oviedo, Fla. beat another Florida angler Daniel Lanier in the two-man fish off after the anglers tied on Saturday with 47-2 for three days of fishing in the Bassmaster Southern Open on Lake Toho near Kissimmee. Howes implemented a pattern of punching a Gambler BB Cricket and a Bitter Bug behind 1 1/2-ounce tungsten bullet weights.

Lanier led on day one, Howes led on day two and they tied on day three before battling it out in a half-day shootout on Sunday for the $10,000 cash and Triton Boat prize package.

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The Conflict Minerals Rule (Rule) requires SEC reporting companies to undertake diligence and then report their use of certain minerals. The Rule applies to all SEC reporting companies that manufacture or contract to manufacture products containing any of the four “conflict minerals” – gold, tantalum, tin and tungsten.  Conflict minerals are found in countless electronic and industrial products. All industries – including public utilities, energy and power companies – are covered by the Rule, and companies must consider what diligence and reporting obligations apply to them and their operations.

Although many in the power industry might expect that they would be outside of the scope of this Rule, there are circumstances in which public utilities, energy and power companies could be deemed to be “manufacturers” or “contract manufacturers” under the Rule and therefore subject to it.   

Note: the first reporting period under the Rule is calendar year 2013, so companies should commence a process right away to determine the degree to which (if any) the new Rule applies to them.  A company may have only a few products that are covered, but because of the possible scope and cost of diligence, conflict minerals (gold, tantalum, tin and tungsten) compliance should be considered sooner rather than later.

Failure to comply with the Rule could have serious business and legal consequences. The Rule does not ban or prohibit the use of conflict minerals.  But, customer and activist pressure about the use of conflict minerals has already created quite a stir in many industries. It is important to note that the failure of a reporting company to make a required filing could render it ineligible for S-3 treatment.  That ineligibility could be significant in accessing the capital markets.

As a first step, a public utility, energy or power company should consider:

    Whether its business involves the sale or lease of any product? (for example, smart meters, demand management/energy efficiency devices, power generators, electrical appliances).
    Whether those products are purchased off-the-shelf for resale or whether that company has any input into their manufacture?

The SEC did not provide much guidance on whether an item is a “product” or whether a company will be deemed to be a “manufacturer.” And, although those seem like straight-forward questions, answering them for purposes of the Rule may require detailed and reasoned analysis.
 

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GMA Resources has conditionally agreed to acquire a 90% participatory interest in the charter capital of joint venture Kazakh-Russian Mining Company.

KRMC is party to two subsoil use contracts in respect of two molybdenum and tungsten deposits in northern Kazakhstan - the Drozhilovskoye molybdenum-tungsten deposit in Denisovski rayon of Kostanai oblast and the Smirnovskoe molybdenum-tungsten-copper deposit in Karabalyksky rayon, also of the Kostanai oblast.

The consideration of £40m will be satisfied through the issue of 148,320,720 B shares by the bompany to Lother Enterprises Limited or, at the vendor's request, to Bergfolk Corporation, Strathland Enterprises Limited and Hanson Central European Fund LP.

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Due to SEC (The Security and Exchange Commission) regulations, specifically section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, conflict mineral statuses need to be determined and reported. Access to this information is quickly becoming imperative; in the electronics industry alone, the SEC has estimated the impact of conflict mineral regulations to be over $3 billion dollars.

SiliconExpert's Database, containing data on millions of parts, reveals that nearly 25% of electronic parts contain at least one of the four minerals. Specifically, Passive parts lead the product categories with nearly 30% of all passives potentially having conflict minerals. Following Passives include Semiconductors at 28%, Interconnects at 25%, and Electrical and Electronic Components at nearly 19%.

The top ten products containing one of the four minerals include: MEMS Oscillators, Connector Headers and PCB Receptacles, Connector Card Edge, Capacitor Tantalum Solid, SMD Crystal Oscillator, Resistor Fixed Single-Surface Mount, Resistor (Trimmers, Potentiometer and Rheostat), Switch Push Button, Resistor Fixed Single-Through Hole, and Switch Slide. Six of the top ten are Passives, two are Interconnects, and two are Electromechanical from the category Electrical and Electronic Components.

Only 52% of parts potentially containing conflict minerals have a published conflict mineral status and these parts come from only around 15% of suppliers. Of the suppliers who have a published status, 37 are listed as conflict free, 40 are listed as in progress, and 4 are listed as not clear. Only 30% of parts containing tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold are confirmed as conflict free minerals.
 

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With the warm weather and rain, the area lakes lost between 3 to 5 inches of ice. However, there is still enough ice for walking conditions on the small, shallow lakes and bays. Luckily the snow totals were light enough not to insulate the ice for the next few days of cold weather to help improve ice thickness. Use caution around any area where there are springs, current and near marshy areas. I would not recommend venturing out over the main bodies of deep lakes. Bring along safety equipment including: spud bar, ice picks, throw cushion with rope and a life jacket.

Fishing reports have been inconsistent with the constant weather changes. Fish have been biting, although the "bite windows" have been smaller.

Bluegills were caught around weeds in 8-15 feet, along with deeper water 20-30 feet. Often they will be found near the bottom. Small No. 16 to No. 14 ice jigs must be used to entice gills. Tungsten-style ice jigs worked best for gills in deep water, while Ratfinkees, Moon jigs, Marmooskas and tear drops caught fish in shallower water. Wigglers have been the best bait for finicky fish, with waxworms, spikes and plastics also taking gills. A spring bobber must be used to detect bites.

Crappies were found suspended over various depths. Use your flasher to locate the schools and place your bait above the school. Early morning or just before dusk are the best times. Jigging with a Lil Cecil, Swedish Pimple or Forage minnow took aggressive crappies. An ice jig with a wiggler, waxworm or ice plastic also produced. A tip-down or tip-up rigged with a No. 14 treble hook, light line and a small fathead, rosy red or lake shiner worked for finicky crappies.

Perch were found on the bottom in various depths. A Swedish Pimple, Hali, Ratfinkee or tungsten-style ice jig with multiple spikes produced. A tip-up rigged with a 4-pound fluorocarbon leader, No. 12 or No. 14 treble, hook and baited with a small golden or lake shiner minnow has worked well.

 

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Vital Metals is advancing towards the completion of a Definitive Feasibility Study at its Watershed Tungsten Project in Queensland, where it has the backing of Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC).

The DFS is slated for completion in the March quarter of 2013, with Vital’s end goal being production by 2014. Vital Metals had a cash balance of $2.4 million as at 31 December 2012.

The Indigenous Land Use Agreement which provides for the development of the Watershed mine was registered with the National Native Title Tribunal in December, marking another project milestone.

Environmental approvals outstanding, all of the major requirements needed for approval of the mining leases are now in place.

Farm-in partner Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) continued to contribute to the cost of the DFS study during the quarter.

JOGMEC has now remitted $4.41 million, including an $800,000 payment, in total to Vital for costs incurred for the Watershed DFS since committing to the farm-in in August 2011.

DFS progress

Work completed during the December quarter included metallurgical, plant design (engineering), environmental permitting and approvals.

Guangzhou Research Institute of Non-ferrous Metals has finalised variability test work on the Whole of Ore samples which has confirmed the stability of the process.

The Whole of Ore process achieved consistent mass and metal stability in producing a scheelite concentrate of 65.5% WO3 for a recovery of 84%.

As Vital is using an X-Ray ore sorter on the processing front end, which effectively halves the amount of ore which needs grinding by rejecting un-mineralised rocks, the net recovery of scheelite is expected to be around 78%.

Guangzhou has started work on the optimisation of the dosage of flotation reagents to find the balance between scheelite recovery and minimisation of operating costs of the Whole of Ore process.

Vital Metals has also retained Guangzhou to undertake a flotation program on the gravity spiral tails, which is scheduled for completion in the March quarter 2013.

Once this is completed, a full analysis of the costs and benefits of the respective processes will be assessed and a process will be nominated.

Work on completing the Environmental Management Plan progressed during the December quarter with the final remaining item being the management of waste from the mining and processing operations.

Vital Metals, in consultation with the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, has agreed to remove the tailings dam from the project and will instead be producing a “dry process residue” which will be dumped within the waste dump.

Watershed exploration

Exploration mapping undertaken during the December quarter has returned high grade tungsten rock chip samples from the Mt Elephant and Henry Hill prospects.

The Mt Elephant tungsten prospect is located on the south western side of Mt Elephant.

Samples of three veins with visible scheelite mineralisation were taken and sent for multi-element analyses to ALS in Townsville.

In two of the three rock chip samples, WO3 concentration exceeded 3.78% with the highest rock chip sample reporting 4.14% WO3.

Further detailed mapping will be undertaken to identify the source for the anomalies on the northern and southern side of Mt Elephant.

The Henry Hill prospect is situated directly next to a well maintained gravel road parallel to McLeod River which is about 10 kilometres north of the Mulligan Highway.

Two rock chip samples were taken from the main trench at Henry Hill and sent to ALS in Townsville for multi-element analyses. The rock chip samples reported 1.19% WO3 and 0.05% WO3.

The geochemical sampling program at Henry Hill identified a strong but localised anomaly along the strike of the main trench vein, with the anomalous zone along the soil sampling having a width of around 400 metres.

Analysis

Vital and its investors will soon have a clear indication of the value of the Watershed Project, which ranks in the top 10 unexploited tungsten deposits worldwide outside of China, through the delivery of the DFS.

The DFS is slated for completion in the March quarter of 2013, with Vital’s end goal being production by 2014.

Interest in Watershed is high, with five Japanese companies having already declared their interest in the project as potential partners and offtake buyers.

Proactive Investors considers Vital to be undervalued based on the potential price driving announcements to be released in 2013.

 

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Northcliff Resources of Vancouver says the feasibility study for its 100% owned Sisson tungsten-molybdenum project 60 km northwest of Fredericton confirms that a long life, open pit operation is technically and economically possible using bulk tonnage methods.

The study reports a pre-tax net present value of $714 million at an 8% discount rate, an internal rate of return of 20.4%, and a 4.1-year payback on initial capital expenditures of $579 million at long term metal prices of US$350/tonne for ammonium paratungstate (APT) and US$15/lb for molybdenum. On a post-tax basis, Sisson has a $418 million NPV, a 16.3% IRR and a 4.5-year payback on initial capital. (All values are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.)

The Sisson property has a 334-million tonne proven and probable mineral reserve grading 0.066% WO3 and 0.21% Mo, containing 22.2 million tonnes of tungsten and 154.8 million lb molybdenum. Pre-production capital costs will total $578.8 million, chiefly for the mine, a concentrator and an APT plant.

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