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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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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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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Canadian-based mineral-resource company Northcliff Resources Ltd. released the results of a feasibility study this week for its Sisson Tungsten-Molybdenum Project, which elevated the undeveloped deposit to one of the largest tungsten deposits outside of China.

Located in New Brunswick, Canada, the deposit holds 334 million metric tons of proven and probable reserves containing 22.2 million metric tons of tungsten trioxide and 154.8 million pounds of molybdenum at a net smelter return of $8.83 per ton, the company said. The mine life stands at 27 years.

“This is a significant development for Atlantic Canada,” said Chris Zahovskis, president and chief executive officer of Northcliff. “The fact that this project contemplates building an ammonium paratungstate plant, which would represent the first such plant in Canada, and this plant certainly has the opportunity to add value to the project.

“I think it has the opportunity to be catalyst for further economic growth in the province of New Brunswick, and I think that’s a very positive thing.”

Zahovskis pointed out that China, responsible for over 80% of the world’s tungsten supply, has restricted the export of tungsten.

“China has already stopped exporting tungsten ores and tungsten concentrates for many years so that move is what caused the spike of tungsten prices running up from late 2010 through 2011,” Zahovskis said. “It peaked at a historic high of $470 per metric ton and that was in response to China being very honest and saying ‘hey look, we’re going to look after our domestic needs,’ and I’ve attended tungsten conferences where they reiterate that point.”

While China holds an abundance of tungsten that it will not export, there is still global demand for the metal.

“So as a result, the rest of the world does need tungsten, most notably continents like Europe, North America and Japan, and they’re looking for somewhere to get long-term tungsten,” Zahovskis said. “So we think that having a deposit like Sisson, situated where it is, close to deep-water ports with good infrastructure, not only can supply that but is actually a strategic asset when you look at it in the long term.”

The company is moving toward beginning construction in 2014 and commissioning by 2016. It will be filing an Environmental Impact Assessment to both provincial and federal governments in the coming weeks.

Northcliff is also actively soliciting interest from certain parties looking to become joint-venture partners.

“For a company of our size, the capital build is significant, just under $600 million,” Zahovskis said. “It’s still modest by most mining standards I would say, but it’s a big number nonetheless for a company like Northcliff.”

Zahovskis also sees positives coming out of discussions with banks in terms of financing.

“There are other large tungsten projects that have secured or are in the process of securing financing,” Zahovskis said. “So we see that as a positive action because there is recognition that tungsten does have a bright future.”

Northcliff Looking To Hire Locally, Keeping Strong Relations With First Nations

New Brunswick’s unemployment rate has been dipping in the last few months, reaching 10.8% in December, but it remains more than 3 percentage points higher than Canada’s 7.3% unemployment rate for December.

Northcliff will be focusing on hiring locally, aiming for 300 workers to operate the mine and as high as 500 workers during the construction phase.

“New Brunswick is a very depressed area from an employment standpoint. There are a lot of people here with good skills and good trades backgrounds who cannot find jobs and are working in the oil sands,” Zahovskis said. “There’s no reason to think that we can’t attract 300 people in this area.”

The Sisson Project also offers workers the rare opportunity to work near home as the project is located 100 kilometers away from Fredericton, New Brunswick’s capital city.
There are several operating mines within the province, so there is a presence of skilled workers.

Zahovskis also stressed the importance of the company’s relationship with First Nation’s communities and their inclusion in many aspects of the project.

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