Mineral Exploration is the official publication of the Association of Mineral Exploration British Columbia.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/264766
east of La Ronge. Pikoo consists of 33,374 hectares of contiguous mineral claims. As part of an option agreement with Stornoway Diamond Corporation, North Arrow has the right to earn an 80 per cent interest in Pikoo by complet- ing an option work program consisting of 2,000 metres of diamond drilling, including a minimum of two drill holes at each of the North and South Pikoo areas. (The program was completed in July 2013.) North Arrow is awaiting diamond results from kimberlite inter- sections and will then provide notice to Stornoway of its intent to vest an 80 per cent interest in the project. gold La Ronge Gold Corp. is focused on expanding gold resources in the La Ronge Gold Belt with the objective of becoming a gold producer. In late October 2013, the company filed an updated NI 43-101 tech- nical report on its Preview SW property. Highlights of the report include indicated resources containing 158,300 ounces of gold grading 1.89 grams/ton gold and inferred resources containing 270,800 ounces of gold grading 1.48 grams/ton gold. Preliminary metallurgical test work indicates total gold recovery in concen- trates ranged from 90 to 93 per cent. potash Encanto Potash Cor p. was cre- ated to work with First Nations in Saskatchewan in order to develop pot- ash resources on their lands. Working with the Muskowekwan, Ochapowace and Chacachas First Nations, Encanto is exploring for potash on their south- eastern Saskatchewan properties. These properties are joined by the Spar prop- erty, which is located on land owned by the Province of Saskatchewan. Through the joint venture agree- ment with Muskowekwan Resources Ltd., Encanto has added to the project land package, which now totals approxi- mately 58,300 acres. Encanto also has a 100 per cent interest in the 55,000- acre Ochapowace/Chacachas prop- erty and the 91,550-acre Spar property. Uranium In December 2013, Alpha Minerals Inc. and Fission Uranium Corp. closed on their arrangement to spin out some assets of Fission and approximately $3 million in cash to a newly incorporated company, Fission 3.0 Corp. The deal also included the acquisition of all common shares of Alpha by Fission and the spinning-out of all non-Patterson Lake South (PLS) assets previously held by Alpha and approxi- mately $3 million in cash to a newly incor- porated company, Alpha Exploration Inc. Disposition of miner al cl aims in sask atchewan a ccording to Tim McMillan, Saskatchewan's minister responsible for energy and resources, Saskatchewan's and British Columbia's systems for the disposition of mineral claims are based on two different principles. "It is our understanding that B.C. issues a disposition imme- diately upon payment of the registration fee," McMillan says. "In [Saskatchewan's] case, the disposition is issued only once it is approved by the minister. Clients can pay online or in cash. If clients opt to pay cash, they have three days to submit the payment. The cash option is not available in B.C." Approval by the Saskatchewan minister of the economy, which usually occurs within three to five days, is based on two main considerations: ensuring that payment is made for the disposition; and checking the claim application to ensure that the map data was correct at the time of the application. "The second step is very important," says McMillan. "Although the data used by MARS is updated every night, it is possible that it could become out of date by the time the application is made. The Ministry of the Economy needs to be certain when it issues a disposition that the information used to determine the availability of a parcel is correct. If a disposition is rejected, the payment is refunded." Saskatchewan's approach also reflects differences in provincial law. "Once a disposition is issued, the Ministry of the Economy has a limited capacity to cancel it if it was issued on lands which should not have been available for dispositioning at the time the application was made," McMillan says. "It is my understanding that the Government of British Columbia may have broader authority in this area. Regardless, Saskatchewan's preference is to ensure that the MARS data is correct when the application is made and then issue a disposition, rather than try to amend or cancel interests after the disposition has been issued." photograph : Alpha E xploration inc . s p r i n g 2 0 1 4 31 Varying techniques: Early-stage helium survey at Alpha Exploration's Middle Lake project. Saskatchewan Research Council.indd 1 14-02-04 2:08 PM p26-35_Saskatchewan.indd 31 14-02-14 3:07 PM