What a pleasant surprise!
The Ashram Rare Earth and Fluorspar Deposit continues to grow.
As announced today by Commerce Resources Corp., recent core assays for vertical drilling at Ashram has discovered high-grade rare earth oxide (2.38% REO) over 64.54 m, including a whopping 3.02% REO over 28.35 m.
What makes this high-grade intercept (hole EC16-159) so compelling is that it was drilled at the southern margin of the deposit, where the grades have tended to be lower – yet this hole demonstrates how there may exist high-grade zones all the way to the deposit boundary in the south.
Also at the southern margin of the deposit, hole EC16-158 discovered excellent REO grades (1.71%) along with robust grades of fluorite (7.2% CaF2) over a whopping 222 m long interval starting from surface (from 2.69 m to 224.64 m), including a sub-interval of 2.18% REO over 36.2 m. This hole is located about 150 m from hole EC16-159 and again demonstrates that high grades continue to be present at the southern end of the deposit, and up to the margins. More infill drilling in this area of the deposit would be great to possibly grow the overall resource grade in the next update, making Ashram that much bigger and better.
Compare that to the recent Rockstone report, in which hole EC15-133 was quoted as one of the best REO-fluorite holes ever drilled at Ashram: 235.35 m of 1.92% TREO and 9.8% CaF2 (from 3.65 m to 239 m): There are strong similarities.
The big difference is that today´s announced hole (EC16-158) was drilled some 275 m to the south from hole EC15-133, where Ashram´s MHREO Zone (main zone; high grades of middle and heavy rare earth oxides along with fluorite) is located:
Map showing highlights from the 2016 drill program as well as location of hole EC15-133, which was drilled in 2015.
As the above map already indicated, EC16-158 and 159 were not the only holes drilled in 2016 which were not sent to the lab for assay, until now:
Another pleasant surprise is clearly EC16-157 – a large step-out hole which demonstrates solid REO and fluorite grades near surface over long intervals: 101.86 m averaging 1.68% REO and 8.4% fluorite (from 1.59 m to 103.45 m). This is great news for the already large size of Ashram, which got significantly larger with the results of this hole.
A total of 14 holes were drilled in 2016 with a total length of 2,014 m along the northern, western, southern margins of the deposit. Assays from other holes of this drill program – from the southern and western margin – also showed strong grades of REEs and fluorite. Commerce noted in today’s news-release:
“In addition to the strong REE mineralization returned at Ashram from the 2016 drilling, robust grades of fluorite continue to be present over wide intervals. These include drill hole EC16-158 with 1.71% REO and 7.2% CaF2 over 222.0 m, including 2.18% REO and 11.5 CaF2 over 36.2 m. The fluorite is passively upgraded in the flowsheet and recovered as a separate product during the primary REE recovery process, and therefore, has been identified as a potential by-product of significant value. Recovery and sale of the fluorite (industrially known as “fluorspar”) would also reduce the tailings footprint of the project, resulting in a social and environmental benefit (see news release dated November 15th, 2019).”
Table 1: Summary of mineralized intercepts for 2016 drill core from Ashram
See Commerce Resources´ news-release of November 28, 2019 for further details on the program and its assay results.
As highlighted in the most recent Rockstone report (copied below) on Commerce Resources Corp. and its neighbor Saville Resources Inc.:
• Ashram is one of the largest REE deposits in the world with defined resources at an advanced stage (at Prefeasibility Study level; ongoing).
• Ashram is one of the largest fluorite deposits in the world with defined resources at an advanced stage (at Prefeasibility Study level; ongoing).
• Ashram´s primary commodities of interest are REEs, with fluorite/fluorspar being a highly attractive by-product target at no extra cost.
• Compared to Ashram, Saville Resources Inc. (TSX.V: SRE) sits on even higher grades of fluorite from historical drilling at its Mallard Target, along with high-grade niobium grades (primary commodity of interest).
• Saville is currently considering re-analyzing core from this year´s drilling, which delivered better than expected niobium results but has not been analyzed for fluorite yet.
• With 2 projects working on claims that are so close together, there is a tremendous opportunity for both Commerce and Saville for doubling the interest of the Québec Government to look at the financing of infrastructure.
"Québec already makes a major contribution to the supply of critical and strategic minerals, since it produces nickel, niobium and graphite and has mining projects under development for lithium, vanadium, rare earth elements and tantalum... The Ministère de l’Énergie et des Ressources naturelles, whose mission is “to manage and support the development of land, energy and mineral resources in Québec, with a view to achieving sustainable development,” has launched a review of Québec’s role in the development of critical and strategic minerals. A consultation will take place from November 19, 2019 to February 7, 2020. Partners, community representatives and citizens are invited to present their points of view and comments, providing input for the debate and for the drafting of the government guidelines. Citizens and organizations that wish to express their point of view or submit comments have two ways to do so before February 7, 2020..." (Québec Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources in "Review of Critical and Strategic Minerals")
• With 5 different commodities of interest on Commerce´s and/or Saville´s properties, a strategically important diversification into different industries can be achieved:
Commerce: REEs, fluorspar
Saville: Niobium, tantalum, fluorspar, phosphate
• REEs, fluorspar, niobium and tantalum have been deemed critical for US national and economic security (US remains 100% import-reliant), phosphate is also of interest for Saville. Phosphate rock ore was mined by only 5 firms in the US in 2018, processing it into marketable products valued at $2.1 billion USD for 100% domestic use as intermediate feedstocks in the manufacture of fertilizers and animal feed supplements, according to USGS. The world´s 2nd largest niobium mine, Catalao in Brazil (owned by China Molybdenum) not only produces niobium from its carbonatite host rock but also phosphate as a highly profitable by-product, providing “strategically important diversification benefits“ as the phosphate sector has “attractive long-term fundamentals and positive outlook“ due to its use as fertilizer in the agricultural industry. Catalao‘s ore reserves average 12.5% P2O5, with resource grades between 8.2% and 11.8% P2O5. On Saville´s property, strong grades of tantalum and phosphate continue to be returned in association with the niobium with a zonation between all 3 evident, with strong phosphate drill results reported thus far:
• 6.6% P2O5 over 175.93 m with a peak of 9.1% P2O5 over 26 m (EC19-171)
• 6.0% P2O5 over 237.25 m with a peak of 11.6% P2O5 over 1.5 m (EC19-172)
• 6.1% P2O5 over 265.03 m with a peak of 12.3% P2O5 over 4.5 m (EC19-174A)
• Commerce already has a binding MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) in place with NorFalco Sales, a Toronto-based division of Glencore Canada Corp. Under the terms of the MOU, Commerce has agreed that NorFalco will be the sole provider of the sulphuric acid required for the Ashram Project, at highly competitive market rates and terms. Glencore and Noranda Income Fund produce sulphuric acid in their 4 plants, while NorFalco is specialized in the marketing/shipping of around 2 million t of sulphuric acid annually.
• Not only mining/processing operations require large amounts of sulphuric acid, but also the production of hydrofluoric acid (HF), the precursor to many fluorochemicals needed in big industries such as aluminium smelting or performance of lithium-ion batteries. Note that HF is produced by mixing acid-grade fluorspar with sulphuric acid... So let´s see where the fluorspar will bring us... Commerce aims to produce samples of acid-grade fluorspar to send for end-users´ evaluation. Expect more news in this respect over the next while.
• Fluorite aka fluorspar is an industrial metal deemed critical with an alarming supply-demand picture that turned the entire market upside down, resulting in sharp price increases and end-users looking for new supply.
• Watch Commerce and Saville kicking up one´s heels. Stay tuned...
Company Details
Saville Resources Inc.
#1450 – 789 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC, V6C 1H2 Canada
Phone: +1 604 681 1568
Email: mhodge@savilleres.com
www.savilleres.com
Shares Issued & Outstanding: 63,415,400
Canada Symbol (TSX.V): SRE
Current Price: $0.025 CAD (11/25/2019)
Market Capitalization: $2 Million CAD
Germany Symbol / WKN (Frankfurt): S0J / A2DY3Z
Current Price: €0.011 EUR (11/25/2019)
Market Capitalization: €1 Million EUR
Previous Coverage
Report #9: “Saville reports impressive niobium drill results from Quebec, outshining previous holes and many other niobium projects globally“
Report #8: “On A Winning Streak In The Midst Of Trade Wars: Saville Drills High-Grade Niobium In Quebec“
Report #7: “Saville to start drilling for a niobium discovery in Quebec“
Report #6: “Saville Discovers High-Grade Niobium-Tantalum Boulders, And Possibly The Source, Ahead Of Drilling“
Report #5: “Strong potential for discovery of niobium-tantalum deposit(s) of significance, says independent report filed today“
Report #4: “Saville Releases High-Grade Assays from the Niobium Claim Group“
Report #3: “Eager to Start the Treasure Hunt for Niobium in Quebec“
Report #2: “Win-Win Situation to Develop One of the Most Attractive Niobium Prospects in North America“
Report #1: “Saville Resources: Getting Ready“
Company Details
Commerce Resources Corp.
#1450 - 789 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6C 1H2
Phone: +1 604 484 2700
Email: cgrove@commerceresources.com
www.commerceresources.com
Shares Issued & Outstanding: 41,476,083
Canada Symbol (TSX.V): CCE
Current Price: $0.14 CAD (11/25/2019)
Market Capitalization: $6 Million CAD
Germany Symbol / WKN (Tradegate): D7H0 / A2PQKV
Current Price: €0.10 EUR (11/25/2019)
Market Capitalization: €4 Million EUR
Previous Coverage
Report #31 “Fluorspar: The Sweet Spot for Quebec‘s Steel and Aluminium Industries“
Report #30 “Lean and Mean: A Fighting Machine“
Report #29 “Like A Phoenix From The Ashes“
Report #28 “SENKAKU 2: Total Embargo“
Report #27 “Technological Breakthrough in the Niobium-Tantalum Space“
Report #26 “Win-Win Situation to Develop One of the Most Attractive Niobium Prospects in North America“
Report #25 “The Good Times are Back in the Rare Earths Space“
Report #24 “Commerce Resources and Ucore Rare Metals: The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship?“
Report #23 “Edging China out of Rare Earth Dominance via Quebec‘s Ashram Rare Earth Deposit“
Report #22 “Security of REE Supply and an Unstoppable Paradigm Shift in the Western World“
Report #21 “Commerce well positioned for robust REE demand growth going forward“
Report #20 “Commerce records highest niobium mineralized sample to date at Miranna“
Report #19 “Carbonatites: The Cornerstones of the Rare Earth Space“
Report #18 “REE Boom 2.0 in the making?“
Report #17 “Quebec Government starts working with Commerce“
Report #16 “Glencore to trade with Commerce Resources“
Report #15 “First Come First Serve“
Report #14 “Q&A Session About My Most Recent Article Shedding Light onto the REE Playing Field“
Report #13 “Shedding Light onto the Rare Earth Playing Field“
Report #12 “Key Milestone Achieved from Ashram’s Pilot Plant Operations“
Report #11 “Rumble in the REE Jungle: Molycorp vs. Commerce Resources – The Mountain Pass Bubble and the Ashram Advantage“
Report #10 “Interview with Darren L. Smith and Chris Grove while the Graveyard of REE Projects Gets Crowded“
Report #9 “The REE Basket Price Deception & the Clarity of OPEX“
Report #8 “A Fundamental Economic Factor in the Rare Earth Space: ACID“
Report #7 “The Rare Earth Mine-to-Market Strategy & the Underlying Motives“
Report #6 “What Does the REE Market Urgently Need? (Besides Economic Sense)“
Report #5 “Putting in Last Pieces Brings Fortunate Surprises“
Report #4 “Ashram – The Next Battle in the REE Space between China & ROW?“
Report #3 “Rare Earth Deposits: A Simple Means of Comparative Evaluation“
Report #2 “Knocking Out Misleading Statements in the Rare Earth Space“
Report #1 “The Knock-Out Criteria for Rare Earth Element Deposits: Cutting the Wheat from the Chaff“
Contact:
Rockstone Research
Stephan Bogner (Dipl. Kfm.)
8260 Stein am Rhein, Switzerland
Phone: +41-44-5862323
Email: info@rockstone-research.com
www.rockstone-research.com
Disclaimer: This report contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "potentially" and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. Rockstone Research, Saville Resources Inc., Commerce Resources Corp. and Zimtu Capital Corp. caution investors that any forward-looking information provided herein is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking information as a result of various factors. The reader is referred to the Saville Resources Inc.´s and Commerce Resources Corp.´s public filings for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects which may be accessed through their respective profiles on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Please read the full disclaimer within the full research report as a PDF (here and here) as fundamental risks and conflicts of interest exist. The author, Stephan Bogner, holds a long position in Saville Resources Inc., Commerce Resources Corp. and Zimtu Capital Corp., and is being paid by Zimtu Capital Corp., which company also holds a long position in Saville Resources Inc. and Commerce Resources Corp. Note that Saville Resources Inc. and Commerce Resources Corp. pay Zimtu Capital Corp. to provide this report and other investor awareness services. Also, Zimtu Capital Corp. is an insider and control block of Saville Resources Inc. by virtue of owning more than 20% of Saville Resources Inc.’s outstanding stock. The cover picture has been obtained from Yury Zap and the picture "Bigger is Better" has been sourced from LiveJournal.The cover picture of a fluorite close-up from the previous Rockstone Report has been obtained from Potapov Alexander and the picture of the blue-violet fluorit specimen has been obtained from Albert Russ.
