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fir property









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The Fir deposit, defined by 15 diamond drill holes, contains an indicated resource of 5.65 million tonnes grading 203.1 grams per tonne Ta2O5 and 1,047 grams per tonne Nb2O5. The current geological model suggests this may be part of a larger mineralized system, traced in soil sampling and geophysics.

Property Summary

The Fir deposit consists of 12 contiguous unsurveyed mineral claims (Fir 1 to 12) which cover a total area of about 1,725 ha (17¼ km squared).

The Fir Carbonatite is up to 75m thick and near flat-lying. It has been intersected by fifteen drill holes and traced (on surface) along a strike length of about 400m. Significant prior drill results include: Hole BC-19 with 8.2m of 318g/t Ta2O5, 1,400g/t Nb2O5 and 3.15% P2O5. Given the foregoing, this carbonatite body has the potential for exceptional grades and tonnages.

The Fir claim group was originally staked by Commerce Resources Corp. for its exploration potential, and is held 100 percent. The property is not subject to any royalties, back-in payments or other agreements.

Maps

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Regional Location
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Property Location
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Geographic Location

Photo Gallery

Technical Report

History of Exploration

Year Description

2004 The University of British Columbia, along with Nelson concentrators, completed metallurcial work using a magstream separator.
2003 Company commissions initial bulk sample gravity separation test using material from the Fir Property.
2003 Indicated resource estimate for the Fir Property. The Fir carbonatite contains an indicated resource of 5.65 million tonnes (Verzosa, 2003).
2003 Updated inferred resource estimate for the Fir Property. The Fir Carbonatite contains a potentially open pitable inferred resource of 6.74 million tonnes (Verzosa, 2003).
2002 New Discovery -- exploration and sampling leads to the discovery of the Upper Fir Carbonatite 1.2 kilometers east of the main Fir deposit.
2002 Company releases assay results from the 2002 Work Program. Results continue to confirm the large tonnage potential of the Fir Property.
2002 Company processing 300kg bulk sample of carbonatite from the Fir Property at Knelson Concentrators of Langley, British Columbia. Sample was designed to produce a large enough sample of 'gravity concentrate' to allow the testing of multiple methods of upgrading the tantalum and niobium concentrate.
2002 Inferred resource estimate for the Fir Property. The Fir Carbonatite contains a potentially open-pitable inferred resource of 5.2 million tonnes grading 194 g/t Ta2O5, 897 g/t Nb2O5, and 3.50% P2O5 (McCrea, 2002).
2001 Diamond drilling at Fir, estimated to be 1200m in 6 holes.
2001 Ground geophysical surveys, prospecting, stream sediment sampling, preparation for drilling (Dahrouge, 2001).
2000 Prospecting of new occurrences in recently logged areas, sampling of specimen pit for mineralogy (Dahrouge, 2001).
1984 Mapping and sampling (Pell, 1985).
1982 Detailed mapping and sampling of known carbonatites (Aaquist, 1982).
1981 Diamond drilling at Mill, Verity, Bone Creek, Fir, total of 29,964.9m in 28 holes; mapping and sampling; 1:4,000 scale topographic map (Aaquist, 1982).
1979-80 Airborne and ground geophysics, geologic mapping and sampling, and 1,066.8m core drilling (Ahroon, 1980).
1977-8 Ground magnetometer and scintillometer surveys, prospecting, trenching, sampling and analysis (Jackson et al., 1978).
1967-9 Blue River carbonatites examined by Kennecott Copper Corporation (Mariano, 1982).
1964 Carbonatite occurrences examined by Kennco Explorations (Western) Limited (Mariano, 1982).
1955 Property examination by R. B. Rowe (1958) of the Geological Survey of Canada.
1954 Minor sampling (McCammon, 1954).
1953 About 3 miles of road-building, stripping and trenching; Mill-showing discovered (McCammon, 1954).
1951-52 Extensive geologic mapping, test-pitting and sampling; primarily examined for its uranium potential (McCammon, 1952).
1950 Several hand trenches, mapping and sampling (McCammon, 1950).
1949 Carbonatite bodies first discovered by Oliver E. French, Zonolite Corporation examined the property for its vermiculite potential (Mariano, 1982).



Infrastructure

The project benefits from excellent existing infrastructure. The Yellowhead Highway, Canadian National Railway, and BC Hydro power lines all cross Commerce's property. There is year-round access to the Fir deposit from a logging road which branches from Highway 5 about 23 kilometers north of the town of Blue River. Through the western parts of the property is the main line of the Canadian National Railway (CNR). Lastly, a BC Hydro line passes through the central part of the Fir claim group.

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Project Highlights
  • Indicated resource at the Fir Property of 5.65 million tonnes grading 203 g/t Ta2O5 and 1,074 g/t Nb2O5 (Verzosa, 2003).
  • Inferred resource at the Fir Property of 6.74 million tonnes grading 203 g/t Ta2O5 and 1,074 g/t Nb2O5 (Verzosa, 2003).
  • Project remains open for expansion.
  • Favorable proximity to infrastructure such as rail, roads and power.
A Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 has verified the written disclosure of any scientific and technical information on this webpage.