Sign Up NowThis Month's Tiny Gems - June 2011

Denison Mines Corp. (DNN)
Northgate Minerals Corp. (NXG)
PolyMet Mining Corp. (PLM)

 

 

 

Denison Mines Corp. (DNN)

 

Denison Mines Corp. (DNN) is an intermediate uranium producer with production in the U.S., combined with a diversified development portfolio of projects in the U.S., Canada, Zambia and Mongolia. The company also offers mine decommissioning and environmental services through its Denison Environmental Services (DES) division and is the manager of Uranium Participation Corporation (TSX:U).

 

The company's assets include its 100% ownership of the White Mesa mill in Utah and its 22.5% ownership of the McClean Lake mill in Saskatchewan. The Company also produces vanadium as a co-product from some of its mines in Colorado and Utah. Denison owns interests in world-class exploration projects in the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan, including its 60% owned flagship project at Wheeler River, and in the southwestern United States, Mongolia and Zambia.

 

In 2010, the Company completed initial mineral resource estimates for Wheeler River's Phoenix deposit with indicated mineral resources at Zone A of approximately 35 million pounds at an average grade of 18.0% U3O8 and with inferred mineral resources at Zone B of approximately 3.8 million pounds at an average grade of 7.3%. This year Denison is commencing its most ambitious exploration program to-date at Wheeler to further uncover this project's potential.

 

Denison recently provided its 2011 outlook, projecting uranium production of 1.2 million pounds of U3O8 from ore in stockpile and from the Beaver, Pandora and Arizona 1 mines and production from the alternate feed circuit at the White Mesa Mill in the United States. Vanadium production is expected to be 1.7 million pounds of V2O5. As of March 31, 2011, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $158,706,000.

 

 

 

Northgate Minerals Corp. (NXG)

 

Northgate Minerals Corp. (NXG) is an international gold and copper producer with mining operations, development projects and exploration properties in Canada and Australia. Forecasting production between 195,000 – 205,000 ounces of gold in 2011, the company anticipates producing approximately 300,000 and 350,000 ounces in 2012 and 2013, respectively. The company is looking to further accelerate growth through acquisitions in stable mining jurisdictions around the world.

 

Northgate is well regarded for its strong operating abilities and has gained reputation as one of the finest operators in the business by consistently delivering on its promises. In addition to providing significant socio-economic benefits to local communities, Northgate is committed to following sustainable mining practices at all times. The company has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Metal Mining Reclamation Citation from the BC Technical and Research Committee.

 

Record high gold and silver prices are providing precious metal producers with significant leverage to fund growth initiatives. With a robust three-year growth profile, operations and projects in mining-friendly jurisdictions and an experienced management team capitalizing on the company's organic growth and exploration potential, Northgate Minerals is well on its way to meeting and possibly exceeding its business objectives.

 

In recent news, Northgate Minerals acquired a former producing gold property located 50 miles southeast of Timmins, Ontario. The property consists of 24 mining leases in Powell and Cairo townships. Underground exploration within these mining leases is anticipated to commence soon as Northgate explores outside of its current reserve envelope.

 

 

 

PolyMet Mining Corp. (PLM)

 

PolyMet Mining Corp. (PLM) controls 100% of the NorthMet copper-nickel-precious metals ore body through a long-term lease and owns 100% of the Erie Plant, a large processing facility set only six miles from the ore body, in the established mining district of the Mesabi Range. With the Definitive Feasibility Study complete, the company is currently seeking environmental and operating permits to move forward with production initiatives.

 

The Duluth Complex hosts the NorthMet mineralization. The Complex is a well-known geological formation with large quantities of copper, nickel, cobalt, platinum, palladium and gold, and lies in northeastern Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has estimated that the Duluth Complex contains approximately 4.4 billion tons of mineral resources grading at 0.66% copper and 0.20% nickel.

 

Using open pit mining techniques traditional on the Mesabi Iron Range, PolyMet intends to mine ore containing copper, nickel, cobalt, platinum, palladium and gold. Using modern processing techniques to recover these metals, which are used in everyday products such as electrical wiring, automobile emission controls and medical applications, the company anticipates mining approximately 32,000 tons of ore per day.

 

PolyMet Mining recently announced its financial results for the twelve months ended January 31, 2011. Although the company reported a loss for the year, it was significantly lower compared to the same period a year earlier. With cash and cash equivalents of $10.361 million as of last report, the company is well funded with an additional $20 million to be raised through the sale of 10 million shares to Glencore AG.