Saskatchewan's newest energy source
The Leader-PostAugust 29, 2009
The world has known about spectacular resource frenzies before and some of which immediately come to mind are the Klondike gold rush; the great Canadian diamond discovery and the more recent Saskatchewan potash fervor. However, one of the most unusual and unexpected has been the recent amazing staking demand for coal properties in central eastern Saskatchewan, a demand set off by the discovery of a new regional coal field by Goldsource Mines, Inc. (TSX-V, GXS), a Vancouver-based Canadian junior mining company. The 'trigger' for this mega boom was the discovery by Goldsource of high-quality, thermal coal deposits at its "Border Property" along the Durango Coal Trend which continues both southeast and northwest of the company's property. Two of their drill holes, which were located 1.6 km apart, each intersected approximately 23 meters of high volatile bituminous B to sub-bituminous C thermal coal in the Chemong target area just 45 kilometres north of Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan. Goldsource actually discovered the coal while drilling geophysical anomalies for diamonds. Following the April 2008 discovery, three subsequent drill program totaling 115 holes have identified six sub-basins containing at least 12 coal deposits of significant dimensions. This summer's drill program uncovered an entirely new sub-basin, named "Niska" which measures approximately 5 km by 10km and contains at least three areas with coal intercepts aggregating up to 62 meters in true thickness. During a recent interview, company president J. Scott Drever noted that these discoveries are relatively near surface and the company believes they are amenable to open pit mining. He mentioned that thicknesses of the coal deposits average from 35-40 meters and intercepts of up to 100 meters have been encountered and that "these thicknesses were unusual for any coal resource and that the higher quality and near surface aspects certainly makes the Border coal one of the most intriguing coal discoveries in Saskatchewan in recent memory." Drever added, "The primary objective for our continued exploration efforts has been to identify priority areas that potentially contain sufficient coal resources that may be economically developed." In addition to those areas already being delineated, airborne geophysics over the rest of the Border Property has uncovered several new target areas. All the discoveries to date have involved low-ash thermal coal with calorific values ranging from 6300 to 8500 BTU's which is particularly suitable for coal-fired power plants. The Border Property measures 35 by 35 kilometres, spanning about 130,000 hectares. Infrastructure in the area is excellent with a provincial highway nearby; electric power and water resources in the general vicinity; and CN rail service within 5 km of the coal zone discovery. Skilled labor and supplies are available in the nearby town of Hudson Bay. Goldsource plans to complete its initial NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate for their highest priority Border Property by late summer or early fall 2009 with a preliminary economic analysis to follow. The company also expects to be working to advance its other projects in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post
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