SEG - Society of Economic Geologists
SEG - Society of Economic Geologists
SEG - Society of Economic Geologists
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44 <strong>SEG</strong> NEWSLETTER No 90 • JULY 2012<br />
... from 43<br />
Exploration Reviews (Continued)<br />
EXPLORATION REVIEWS<br />
move from mining back to into exploration,<br />
suggests that the company has a<br />
confident view <strong>of</strong> the world uranium<br />
price over the next decade.<br />
The Australian Bureau <strong>of</strong> Statistics<br />
(ABS) reports that during the October to<br />
December quarter 2011, mineral exploration<br />
expenditure in Australia increased<br />
to A$945M, an increase <strong>of</strong> 35% over the<br />
same quarter in 2010. However, the<br />
actual meters drilled in Australia fell by<br />
6% over the 12-month period. Of concern<br />
is the fact that the proportion <strong>of</strong><br />
meters drilled on greenfields projects has<br />
fallen since 2003 from around 45% to<br />
just over 30%, while brownfields drilling<br />
has increased from 55 to 70% over the<br />
same period, suggesting that the appetite<br />
for risk in the corporate game plan is<br />
decreasing.<br />
Now, a gentle reminder for those you<br />
who have thought about a trip “Down<br />
Under” – here is your excuse. The 34 th<br />
International Geological Convention is<br />
being held in Brisbane from 5 th to 10 th<br />
August, and has a number <strong>of</strong> exciting<br />
symposia covering many topics, including<br />
mineral resources and mining, mineral<br />
exploration geoscience, and mineral<br />
deposits and ore forming processes—visit<br />
www.34igc.org for more information.<br />
See the online version <strong>of</strong> the <strong>SEG</strong><br />
Newsletter for lots <strong>of</strong> exciting exploration<br />
news from the Australasian<br />
region, and here are some <strong>of</strong> the highlights.<br />
Yet again, Western Australia is<br />
leading the pack, and our correspondent<br />
there (Roger Thomson) has made a<br />
first-class effort to report all the exciting<br />
news from “the West.” Standout<br />
announcements include the Northern<br />
Star Resources bonanza intersection <strong>of</strong><br />
2.3 m @ 36 oz/t Au below its Paulsens<br />
gold mine, the Integra Mining Cu-Au<br />
discovery at Imperial in the Kalgoorlie<br />
region, and the Fox Resources intersection<br />
<strong>of</strong> 23.7 m @ 3.3% Cu at the Ayisha<br />
project in the Pilbara. However, the<br />
most exciting copper news is Straits<br />
Resources’ discovery <strong>of</strong> the Avoca<br />
Tank Besshi-style VMS deposit in NSW<br />
with a best intersection <strong>of</strong> 84 m @<br />
2.86% Cu (including 12 m @ 6.38%<br />
Cu), with credits <strong>of</strong> Zn, Au, and Ag. Not<br />
to be outdone, our friends in NZ have a<br />
number <strong>of</strong> exploration successes,<br />
including the announcement by the<br />
Newmont/Glass Earth Gold joint venture<br />
<strong>of</strong> a drill intersection <strong>of</strong> 15 m @<br />
19.4 g/t Au at their WKP epithermal<br />
project close to the Waihi gold mine.<br />
EUROPE<br />
Regional Correspondent:<br />
Paul W. Kuhn (<strong>SEG</strong> 1983 F)<br />
Avrupa Minerals Limited<br />
Porto, Portugal<br />
E-mail: paulk@avrupaminerals.com<br />
Website: www.avrupaminerals.com<br />
Spring has passed quickly and summer<br />
is on us. The field season in mainland<br />
Europe is well underway, and results<br />
from early season work have already<br />
found their way to corporate news<br />
releases. From my first pass review <strong>of</strong><br />
more than 150 exploration and mining<br />
companies, I see a lot <strong>of</strong> exciting activity.<br />
As always, there is a lot <strong>of</strong> activity<br />
to report from Turkey, Sweden, Finland,<br />
Ireland, and Spain, but eastern and central<br />
Europe, as a whole, are extremely<br />
active right now, and surprisingly, even<br />
Portugal is a busy place. I am beginning<br />
to see more reports from the less mining<br />
oriented (or formerly mining-oriented)<br />
countries such as Germany,<br />
Italy, England and Northern Ireland,<br />
Greece, and even Austria.<br />
Gold exploration is still the main pursuit.<br />
Even with so-called price-<strong>of</strong>-gold<br />
(POG) doldrums, many <strong>of</strong> the reporting<br />
companies are truly looking for the pot<br />
under the rainbow. Even though fundraising<br />
is incredibly difficult for all <strong>of</strong> us<br />
junior explorers, it is still possible to<br />
raise some money for almost any really<br />
good gold idea. For the rest <strong>of</strong> the precious<br />
metal stories, though, it is indeed<br />
difficult to do much. This may put a<br />
damper on exploration later this summer,<br />
unless there is a turnaround in the<br />
junior markets. Given that market sentiment<br />
is almost 100% negative, I<br />
expect the turnaround at any time…<br />
European recession fears and the lack<br />
<strong>of</strong> strength <strong>of</strong> many <strong>of</strong> the EU members<br />
are bullying the financial markets right<br />
now, but with signs a European version<br />
<strong>of</strong> QE1 or 2, or whatever, beginning to<br />
show up with governmental changes in<br />
France, Spain, Portugal, and (again) what -<br />
ever in Greece, the POG will be ripe for a<br />
good jump. Even today, as I write this<br />
short note, US jobs data came out weaker<br />
than the mainstream media expected and<br />
the POG went back up over US$1,600/<br />
ounce. Yessirree, step right-up and print<br />
more money to race to see who can get<br />
to the bottom first!! Good for POG!!<br />
Still many companies are exploring<br />
for other metals and products in Europe.<br />
The copper price has been remarkably<br />
resilient, considering the economic<br />
malaise. Tungsten prices remain fairly<br />
buoyant, if you can find an accurate<br />
quote in this rather non-transparent<br />
market, and I see the big zinc companies,<br />
including European-based Nyrstar<br />
and Glencore, among others, are buying<br />
up whatever advanced projects that<br />
they can find. Lundin Mining produces<br />
zinc concentrates from a brand<br />
new zinc plant at Neves Corvo in<br />
Portugal. I do see less hype from the<br />
REE sector in Europe, but in this case,<br />
prices <strong>of</strong> the various elements are dropping<br />
like the rocks that they come from.<br />
My overall observation about the<br />
European exploration theater is that new<br />
interest is being driven by the re-opening<br />
<strong>of</strong> a number <strong>of</strong> former mining countries.<br />
The EU has only recently come to the<br />
understanding that the resources it<br />
needs and wants to drive what<br />
economies are left (read Germany,<br />
France, and England) will not necessarily<br />
be available, as and when they are<br />
needed. The realization that some <strong>of</strong> the<br />
resources need to be produced locally,<br />
where they are available, is late in coming,<br />
but a real opportunity for responsible<br />
explorationists and miners. Some <strong>of</strong><br />
the 150 or more companies working in<br />
Europe are really taking advantage <strong>of</strong> the<br />
fertile target areas in and around Europe.<br />
SOUTH AMERICA<br />
Regional Correspondent:<br />
Mark I. Pfau (<strong>SEG</strong> 2004)<br />
Tellurian Exploration, Inc.<br />
E-mail: markpfau@fastmail.fm<br />
Country Correspondent:<br />
Regina Baumgartner-Peru (<strong>SEG</strong> 2008)<br />
E-mail: regina.baumgartner@gmail.com<br />
Three recent and unresolved conflicts<br />
with governments in South America<br />
should be a warning light for explorationists<br />
on that continent. First, the<br />
highly publicized takeover <strong>of</strong> Spanishowned<br />
oil company YPF SA by Argentine<br />
President Cristina Kirchner demonstrates<br />
the length to which government<br />
will go to force its political agenda on<br />
to the resource sector. By raising a<br />
ruckus in the media about nationalizing<br />
YPF, the largest oil company operating<br />
in Argentina, the company’s stock lost<br />
50% <strong>of</strong> its value in the past year. Then,<br />
the Kirchner government announced<br />
that compensation would be based on<br />
current market value <strong>of</strong> the company.