Fertoz secures Marten Phosphate Project in BC Canada
Brisbane, Feb 5, 2014 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Fertoz Limited (
ASX:FTZ) is pleased to announce it has extended its phosphate interest in British Columbia, Canada by securing the Marten project, an advanced stage underground exploration phosphate mine developed in the 1930's.
Fertoz initially intends to focus on drilling and collecting a bulk sample from the surface outcrop.
The Marten Project, near Fertoz's existing Barnes Lake and Crows Nest Projects, was identified by Fertoz's geologist in Canada. Fertoz has staked tenements 1024365 and 1025533,which comprise the Marten project on open Crown land at very low cost.
The project consists of 1,215 hectares and is located 20km south east of Sparwood along Corbin Road between Fertoz's existing projects at Crows Next and Barnes Lake, see figure below on page 2. The three projects, known as the Fernie Group, are located within 25kms of each other and are well supported by:
- Close proximity to the East Kootenay Coalfields, with the established mining communities of Fernie and Sparwood located less than 30km away providing a ready source of labour, business and government facilities.
- Well-developed road and rail transportation, links to ports on Canada's west coast, and regional centres in Alberta and the north-western United States.
Managing Director Les Szonyi said: "The Marten Phosphate Project acquisition is consistent with our strategy to acquire small phosphate projects in established mining regions in the Americas which have potential to be developed and brought into production with low capital investment."
The property has excellent road and rail access and secondary logging and coal exploration roads as well as power and gas lines through the property. The outcrop of phosphate where an underground mine was established provides the opportunity for the rapid development of a small high-grade deposit.
The Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada Limited (Cominco) carried out exploration in an extensive area of phosphate bearing rocks in 1926, covered by the Marten project. Cominco established an underground phosphate mine there in 1929 employing 13 people, for exploration purposes. Two shallow incline shafts were sunk and two small prospect tunnels were driven on the outcrop of the phosphate bed and a 7ft by 8ft drift (2.1m by 2.4m) was advanced 200 ft (61m). The underground workings exposed a 2.25ft (0.7m)wide phosphate horizon with an average grade of 55% calcium triphosphate which equates to 25% P2O5 (Ref. BC Minfile Report 082G10).
Cominco stopped exploration in 1930 but Fertoz believes the Project is worth reviewing given its small size, shallow phosphate, proximity to infrastructure and potential low capital cost, all of which are consistent with the Company's strategy. The Company intends to undertake site works on the Marten Project, Barnes Lake and Crows Nest in the 2014 exploration season.
The Company is also preparing to extract a bulk sample for customer trials and sales at Wapiti as well as arranging the necessary permits to enable drilling at the Dry Ridge Project in Idaho in 2015.
To view location maps, please visit:
http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/ASX-FTZ-780894.pdf
About Fertoz Ltd
Fertoz (ASX:FTZ) is an Australian-based phosphate exploration and development company with a range of projects in British Columbia, Canada as well as Queensland and the Northern Territory. The Company is focused on becoming a fertiliser producer as quickly as possible, initially focusing on the Canadian/USA markets.
Fertoz plans to develop its exploration assets in Canada in order to identify any potential Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) projects. It intends to seek joint venture partners to assist in funding the exploration projects in Australia.
Phosphate is a commodity necessary for feeding the world, and Fertoz is ready to capitalise on this growing demand.
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