Mountain Lake Minerals – Gold and Antimony Exploration and Resource Development in Newfoundland
Overview
Mountain Lake Minerals Inc. (CNSX:MLK) is a new exploration company launching with a diversified portfolio of exploration projects that offer exposure to gold, antimony and base metals with an initial focus on three 100% owned projects located on the mining-friendly island of Newfoundland on Canada’s east coast.
These highly prospective projects boast a mix of discovery and resource development potential. Two of the projects (Glover Island and Bobby’s Pond) have NI 43-101 resources already defined and the third (Little River) is a discovery stage project where sampling has returned grades of up to 24 g/t gold and 50% antimony.
In excess of $8.5 million has been spent on the projects to date, which has created a wealth of exploration data to utilize in upcoming work programs.
Investment Highlights
- Only 23,749,997 shares issued with a small trading float
- MLK management owns 14% and institutional investors own >35%
- Management team experienced in exploration, development & operations
- Projects offer potential for discovery and large scale resource development
Key Projects
Glover Island Gold Property
Mountain Lake owns a 100% interest in the Glover Island Gold Property, a project that has been referred to as “the most overlooked exploration property on the island of Newfoundland.”
The Property is located on the south-central portion of Glover Island in west-central Newfoundland and drilling in 2011-2012 resulted in an initial NI 43-101 resource estimation (below). Mountain Lake’s exploration objective is to continue to delineate near surface resources from 17 gold prospects over an 11 kilometre (km) strike length that could be amenable to open pit mining and support a centrally located milling operation on the Island.
National Instrument (NI) 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate
Dave Barbour, P.Geo., an independent geological consultant and Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101, recently commented, “In addition to working on the Glover Island Property the gold mineralization formed the basis of my Master of Science studies and in my opinion it’s the most overlooked project on the island of Newfoundland.”
Little River Antimony +/- Gold Property
The Little River Property is a discovery stage project that was originally recognized for its numerous gold occurrences, but exploration over the past four years has encountered significant antimony (stibnite or “Sb”) values in soil samples and antimony bearing veins have now been identified intermittently on the property over a 21 km strike length. Grab samples from a vein exposed in shallow pits during a prospecting campaign returned values from 27.6% to 50% Sb with gold values up to 24.1 grams per tonne. To date, more than 500 meters of continuous, strike-parallel mineralization has been encountered in drill core.
While only minimal drilling has occurred on the property, the intervals of high grade antimony mineralization are typical of the material mined at the Beaver Brook Mine situated 80 km to the north of the Property. Beaver Brook was the only primary-producing antimony mine in Canada or the United States until it was put on care and maintenance in January 2013.
According to the USGS’s Mineral Commodity Summaries 2013 China was the world’s leading producer of antimony again in 2012 – with Chinese mine output estimated to be 83% of world production. China also continued to shut down antimony mines and smelters to comply with enhanced regulations – with ~400 producers in 2003 reduced to 14 to 18 qualified companies at the end of 2011. The local Government in Lengshuijiang, Hunan Province, which accounts for 60% of world antimony supply, shuttered almost all its mines and smelters and announced the area now had only 5 years of mining life left after 110 years of continuous mining.
The increase in the price of antimony has outpaced even gold over the current 12-year bull market — gold is up ~550% from its 2001 average price of US$280 per/oz while antimony is up ~750% from its 2001 average of US$0.65 per/lb. According to the latest available price quote, as of March 7, 2013 the ask price for a tonne of antimony (99.6% pure ingot) is US$11,000 (source: MinorMetals.com) or US$5.00 per/lb.
The Little River Property consists of 382 mining claims comprising 9,550 hectares over a strike length of ~31 km in the Baie D’Espoir area of southern Newfoundland, where infrastructure is excellent. Mountain Lake is considering joint venture opportunities to fast track the exploration effort.
Bobby’s Pond (Base Metals) Deposit
The Bobby’s Pond Zinc-Copper-Lead Property is located in central Newfoundland south of the town of Buchans. The area is renowned for the historic Buchans Zinc Mines (Production 1928-1984) and is currently host to several other active volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) style deposits. The most recent to be put into production is Teck Resources’ Duck Pond Cu-Zn Mine, in 2007. The Bobby Pond Deposit is located 45 kilometres (km) west by road of the Duck Pond mine/mill complex.
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According to the latest NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate, the Bobby’s Pond Deposit contains an indicated resource of 1,095,000 tonnes of 0.86% Cu, 4.61% Zn, 0.44% Pb, 16.56 g/t Ag, and 0.20 g/t Au; and an inferred resource of 1,177,000 tonnes of 0.95% Cu, 3.75% Zn, 0.27% Pb, 10.95 g/t Ag and 0.06 g/t Au.
Five mineralized lenses ranging up to 15 meters thick occur within a 100 meter width across the ~150 meter strike length of the deposit. The vertical orientation of this stratabound, VMS style deposit, which remains open at depth, the favourable metallurgical characteristic, and the fact that high grade mineralization comes to surface all bode well for the economic potential of the Deposit.
Thick intervals of low grade copper stringer mineralization currently define the edges of much of the Deposit, and suggest that the mineralized system not only continues at depth, but may increase in its copper content.
Mountain Lake owns 100% of the Bobby’s Pond Property and is actively pursuing opportunities to realize value for the Bobby’s Pond Project, which include participation in an area consolidation effort or an outright sale of the asset as a means of internally financing the exploration efforts on one or more of its other projects.
Management
Paul Smith – President and CEO
Mr. Smith brings to the Company a unique skill set that stems from both public and private sector experience. He spent over 30 years with the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources as a senior research Gold Geologist for the Mineral Resources Section and finally as Liaison Geologist for the Mineral Resources Branch before retiring from the department in 2008.
William (Bill) Rogers – Director
Mr. Rogers is a mining engineer who brings 35 years of operational, project and mine management experience to the Company. His career began in the mid-1970s and has included positions with: Inco, Potash Company of America, Hudson Bay Mining & Smelting, and Noranda / Falconbridge / Xstrata; and most recently as mines manager responsible for the operation and maintenance of Xstrata’s underground Ni-Cu mines located near Sudbury, Ontario.
Paul Bowes – Secretary, Corporate Lawyer, and Director
Mr. Bowes is a corporate and securities lawyer in British Columbia and serves as the Company’s secretary. He is a member of the Law Society of British Columbia, and the Vancouver and Canadian Bar Associations. He has been practicing in the areas of corporate, mining, and securities law since 1983 and holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Law degrees from the University of British Columbia.
Frank Metcalf – Director
Mr. Metcalf is a lawyer with over 25 years in the areas of corporate and commercial law, with emphasis on the marine and transportation industries. He has a Bachelor of Laws Degree from Dalhousie University and is a member of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society, the Canadian Bar Association, the Canadian Maritime Law Association, the Association of Average Adjusters (United Kingdom) and the Canadian Association of Marine Arbitrators. He is also the Honorary Consul for Finland in Nova Scotia.
Peter Woodward – Director
Mr. Woodward is Vice President of the Woodward Group of Companies, a diversified, family-owned business with interests primarily in rural Newfoundland and Labrador, plus ventures in the eastern Arctic. The Woodward Group has significant interests in oil distribution, automotive, marine ferries, coastal supply tankers, military contracting, and real estate; and employs in excess of 800 people. Peter has previously served as chair of Labrador Health Corporation, Chair of Labrador College and Chair of the Premiers Advisory Council. He has also previously served on the Board of F.P. Resources and on the board of Newfoundland Power. Mr. Woodward holds a BCom from Memorial University.
Teri Anderson – Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
Ms. Anderson has been providing financial consulting services to public and private companies since 1999. Prior to that she spent five years as a senior financial manager at Nova Scotia Power, a TSX-listed energy company, and five years in public accounting practice with Ernst & Young. Ms. Anderson is responsible for the timely preparation and delivery of financial statements and quarterly reports, and for liaising with the regulatory administrators and the independent auditors. She holds an MBA from Dalhousie University, a Chartered Accountant designation, and a BSc. from Acadia University.
Greg Lytle – Corporate Communications Manager
Mr. Lytle is responsible for corporate, media and investor communications, leads corporate financing initiatives and assists management with business development. He joined MLR in 2006 and has been a corporate communications consultant assisting both public and private venture companies in various aspects of finance and business development for over 20 years. Mr. Lytle has been instrumental in raising more than $50 million for client companies over the past 12 years. His previous endeavors on behalf of client companies include consummating business and financial relationships with majors such as General Electric, Intel Capital and Morgan Stanley
