Vancouver – Commerce Resources (CCE-V) has pulled the longest intercept to date at its Eldor rare earth project in northeastern Quebec.
The noteworthy intercept, hole EC11-048, hit 586.9 metres carrying 2.10% total rare earth oxides from 7 metres to the bottom of the hole. Sample intervals ran as high as 9.88% TREO and seven samples returned intervals higher than 4% TREO.
The three other holes released, of seven drilled during the 2011 winter, included hole EC11-51 that hit 454.6 metres grading 2% TREO from 25 metres downhole, EC11-50 that returned 69.3 metres averaging 2.04% TREO, and hole EC11-49 that cut 80.1 metres averaging 1.85% TREO.
Combined, the step-out holes look to have expanded mineralization at the Ashram rare earth zone by 150 metres to the northeast and pushed known mineralization deeper by about 235 metres to roughly 600 metres depth. The zone is now established over more than 600 metres east-west and 500 metres north-south and mineralization remains largely open.
In March Commerce released an initial resource on the Ashram zone, based on 5,400 metres of drilling over 12 holes drilled in 2010. The model covered an area of 650 metres east-west, 450 metres north-south and a maximum depth of 430 metres below surface, with the base case cutoff grade of 1.25% TREO based on a 7,500-tonne-per-day, 25-year open pit mine scenario.
The base case resource established an inferred resource of 117.34 million tonnes grading 1.74% TREO, with light rare earth oxides grading 1.61%, intermediate oxides 0.07%, heavy oxides 0.02%, yttrium oxide 0.04% and calcium fluoride 5.56%.
The Eldor property, 130 km south of the town of Kuujjuaq, spans 190 sq. km and covers a carbonatite complex in the central Labrador trough.
In early June, Commerce completed a $7.5 million non-brokered private placement of 10.4 million shares at 73¢ each. The company now has 134 million shares out or 178 million fully diluted.
Along with its Eldor project in Quebec, Commerce controls the 1,000-sq.-km Blue River tantalum and niobium project in eastern British Columbia. The company is currently drilling on it and expects to soon have a long-awaited preliminary economic assessment done on the project.
The Upper Fir deposit at Blue River currently hosts 36.4 million indicated tonnes grading 195 grams tantalum per tonne and 1,700 grams niobium per tonne and an inferred resource of 6.4 tonnes averaging 199 grams tantalum and 1,890 grams niobium.
Commerce’s share price was up 8¢ or 13.1% to 69¢ on the latest results. The company has a 52-week share price range between 21¢ and $1.08.
MESSAGE FOR NORTHERN MINER PUBLISHER: I hold the claims bordering to the west of the claims that hold the Eldor Ashram deposit. My property is 2 km west of the deposit and has the strongest REE anomaly in the region. I would love to mention this is a comment posted at this location. I suspect it would not be acceptable as it construes advertising. Comments? Thank you and regards, Glenn Griesbach ps. my website is quebecmineralproperties.com See REE tab.