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Quantum’s Nebraska Niobium Resource Project Will Reduce Foreign Dependence
~ By Ted Niles- April 4 2012
Crowded as Quebec’s Abitibi region is with big players, it’s mostly the juniors “We benefit in several ways,” Dumas points out, “the knowledge that they have, the
who find the gold. Two of them think they’ve found something very big indeed deal flows that come through their door. Obviously, they’re looking at deposits in ex-
in their Standard Gold-Duverny Project, a joint venture of Bowmore Exploration cess of two million ounces, so a lot of the more grassroots projects are presented
TSXV:BOW and Threegold Resources TSXV:THG. It’s early days, but Phase I drill- to us. If they fit our strategy, we’ll move on these transactions.”
ing results announced last week have the partners very excited.
Threegold‘s Goncalves sounds equally pleased. “What we end up with is 30%
of something that we know can be huge, and we’ll have spent nothing to have
achieved that. And I’m okay any time that happens.”
In January, Threegold picked up additional land contiguous to the two properties,
another 133 claims “which are about as large as the entire package of Duverny and
Standard Gold put together,” Goncalves says.
Both companies have other projects, principally Bowmore‘s Chivas Gold-Silver
Project in Sonora State, Mexico and Threegold‘s South Bay Gold Project in the Val-
d’Or mining camp southeast of Standard-Duverny.
Bowmore has an option of up to 70% of Chivas, which in 2007 saw 3,100 metres of
drilling by X-Ore Minerales. Assays released that year included
“What I found incredibly positive about it, and I don’t think the market quite caught 1.26 g/t gold and 182 g/t silver over 15.2 metres
it, is that we define mineralization over 3.6 kilometers.” says Threegold President/ 1.16 g/t gold and 48 g/t silver over 9.2 metres
CEO Victor Goncalves. “That’s huge. This is the kind of system you only see in ma- 0.64 g/t gold and 25.2 g/t silver over 19.8 metres
jor world-class mining camps, such as Timmins, Red Lake, Larder Lake in Ontario
and Kalgoorlie in Australia. These are world-class deposits that obviously weren’t Bowmore has built about 32 kilometres of mountain road and now has a rig onsite
found overnight. But what this says to me is that it’s a huge discovery, and we now ready to start drilling within a 5.2-square-kilometre epithermal system.
understand the system much better based on this first round of drilling.”
Threegold‘s wholly owned South Bay Project got 1,819 metres of drilling in its
Assays (from intervals at depths between 10 metres and 373 metres) released Phase II program last year. Assays released March 15 include
March 29 include
1.01 g/t gold over 8.3 metres
0.74 grams per tonne gold over 68 metres 0.56 g/t over 1 metre
(including 19.05 g/t over 1 metre) 1.33 g/t over 4.9 metres
0.59 g/t over 44 metres 0.82 g/t over 5 metres
0.57 g/t over 26.5 metres (including 1.79 g/t over 2 metres)
(including 6.03 g/t over 1 metre)
0.8 g/t over 16 metres Looking back at Standard-Duverny, Goncalves says, “We’re involved in something
1.43 g/t over 8 metres that could be a world-class mine or even a world-class camp, but without actually
7.06 g/t over 1 metre having to spend money to do it. Plus, we have our 100%-owned South Bay Project
which produced very positive results and will get more drilling. So we have two
Standard Gold and Duverny are two contiguous properties that include the really good opportunities here.”
Standard Gold Mine (also known as the Goldvue Mine) which shut down in 1953.
As Bowmore President/CEO Paul Dumas explains, the former underground mine Of Bowmore, Dumas says, “We have a great strategic alliance, access to capital,
now offers open-pit potential. “We wanted to target the initial shaft that was there,” a very strong share structure and some great prospects. We’ve just come out with
he says. “We did some huge stepouts, 800 to 900 metres, testing the diorite dyke. the results from Standard Gold; we’re presently drilling Chivas; and we’re going to
We’re pleased with the results because we’re looking for a large, bulk-tonnage, start another drill program in southern Quebec at our St Victor Property. We’re ag-
open-pittable deposit. This is a kilometric, vast, ankerite-altered zone. So we’re gressively looking at other assets as well.”
pleased with the results we got. Obviously we’re going to do a follow-up this sum-
“
mer.” Next up will be more mapping and geophysics in preparation for Phase II At press time, Threegold had 108.5 million shares trading at $0.10 a share for a
drilling. market cap of $10.9 million. Bowmore had 49.3 million shares trading at $0.285 a
share for a market cap of $14.1 million.
Bowmore holds 100% of Duverny while Threegold holds 100% of Standard. Bow-
more, as project operator, has an option to earn up to 70% of Standard through a
plan of arrangement with Osisko TSX:OSK. An initial 51% may be had by paying Our indicated resource contains just under 129 million
$280,000 and spending $4 million in exploration over five years. The other 19% kilograms of niobium. Our inferred resource has another
would come after spending $6 million over an additional five-year period. 523 million kilograms. The current price for niobium in
the form of ferro-niobium is about $43 a kilogram. So
Osisko looms larger yet. This mid-cap holds 35% of Bowmore and has two key the numbers are very big on this
people on its board, Osisko President Sean Roosen and Executive VP Robert
Wares. – Peter Dickie
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