Hoidas Lake Location Map
Background
Historical Results
Current Work Reports
Outlook
The Hoidas Lake Rare Earth Project, 100% owned by Great Western Mineral Group Ltd. (GWMG), is one of North America's most significant primary Rare Earth Element (REE) properties currently being developed. Hoidas Lake has one of the highest proportions of neodymium (Nd) present in any known rare earth deposit. This makes it strategically important to the permanent magnet industry as demand for permanent magnets used in "green" applications, like electric motors in hybrid vehicles and permanent magnet generators in wind turbines, increases dramatically.
Hoidas Lake Location Map
Hoidas Lake lies 50 km northeast of Uranium City, Saskatchewan. The site is accessible by taking an all-weather road or scheduled air service to Stony Rapids and Uranium City, then by float or ski-equipped aircraft to the property.
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Location
Geological Setting
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Background
Geology and Mineralization
The Hoidas Lake property lies within the Northern Rae Geological Province, which consists of blocks of ancient granitic rock separated by major faults. The company holds a 100% interest in 14 claims covering 12,522 ha.
There are more than 30 known rare earth showings on the property occurring in veins that parallel the Nisikkatch-Hoidas Fault, a splay off the major Black Bay fault system. The key RE-bearing minerals present include bastnaesite, allanite and apatite.
Exploration and Development
Since 2001 the Company has completed five drill programs on the Hoidas Lake property for a total of 184 diamond drill holes recovering 21,700 metres of drill core. On the main JAK Zone, 120 diamond drill holes have been completed, totaling 15,223 metres.
Resource Estimate
In November 2009, a National Instrument 43-101 compliant resource estimate was completed by Barr Engineering Co. Using a 1.5% total rare earth element (TREE) cutoff grade, the following resource estimate, based on Ordinary Kriging methodology, was generated:
| Category |
Tonnes |
TREE |
TREO* |
| Measured |
963,808 |
2.142 |
2.568 |
| Indicated |
1,597,027 |
1.958 |
2.349 |
| Inferred |
286,596 |
2.027 |
2.139 |
| * Total Rare Earth Oxide |
|
|
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Historical Results
Originally discovered in the 1950s as a direct result of post-WWII uranium exploration, the Hoidas Lake property covers more than 30 known rare earth showings situated along a fault structure with a ten-kilometre strike length.
This structure is part of the Black Bay Fault system, a major geological feature that runs for 50 kilometres, southwest to Uranium City. These showings have never been investigated for their rare earth potential until recently, and only one showing (the JAK Zone) has seen any serious exploration work.
Initial trenching on the JAK Zone, carried out by GWMG in 1999, confirmed the presence of significant rare earth element mineralization. Drilling commenced in 2001 and, by to date 120 drill holes have been completed in the JAK Zone. From the outset, drill holes were collared on 25-metre centres, with the goal of establishing sufficient resources to merit starting a preliminary economic assessment report as quickly as possible.
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Current Work
Metallurgy
Metallurgical test work on the Hoidas Lake mineralization is now being finalized using laboratory facilities at SGS Lakefield Research in Ontario, Xstrata Canada in Ontario, and the General Research Institute for Non-ferrous Metals in Beijing, China.
The REEs at Hoidas Lake were originally identified as being hosted in the phosphate mineral apatite and the silicate mineral allanite. However, the recent work carried out by Xstrata using QEMSCAN technology has shown that the majority of the rare earth elements are actually contained in the mineral bastnaesite which is enclosed within the apatite. If a process can be developed to free the bastnaesite then it may be possible to produce a high grade REE-containing mineral concentrate, since bastnaesite can contain up to 70% REE. This material could then be transported off-site for processing, greatly reducing processing and transportation costs.
Environmental
All environmental work on the Hoidas Lake project as been carried out by Golder Associates, environmental managers on the project. The majority of the environmental baseline fieldwork is now complete. The first round of informational public meetings in the impact communities around Hoidas Lake has also been completed under the direction of Golder, and a further round is planned for 2010.
Transportation
The initial transportation study selecting access routes into the Holidas Lake project area has been completed by JD Mollard & Associates in Regina, SK. The study identified winter and all-season routes as well as locations for an all season airstrip.
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Outlook
With the Company's value-added manufacturing facilities generating positive cash flow and the potential for near term production from South Africa, management is confident that the metallurgical and transportation challenges associated with the Hoidas Lake project can be met in a timely and optimal fashion without rushing the testwork to an inappropriate conclusion.
The Company is also pleased with the support it has received from the Fond du Lac Dene First Nation as it relates to working together to make the Hoidas Lake project a success. Management is looking forward to working with Chief Mercredi in addressing and solving infrastructure issues to the benefit of the project.
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