Green movement in exploration: cobalt makes an appearance in northwestern Ontario.

• Author: Ross, Ian
• Position: MINING

The green energy movement has sparked a new phase of exploration in a corner of northwestern Ontario.

A handful of mining exploration companies are actively probing the granite rocks between Kenora and Sioux Lookout in searching for rare earth elements and rare metal mineralization. Even cobalt is making an appearance.

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One of the companies in' the mix is Puget Ventures in the Werner Lake area, north of Kenora.

President Erin Chutter said the string of properties her Vancouver junior company has packaged together since 2008 is capable of developing into a sizeable cobalt deposit with multiple mines, "like pearls on a necklace."

The Vancouver junior has big plans to become Canada's only primary cobalt producer with its centrepiece project, the past producing Werner West Cobalt Mine.

They've assembled a 60-kilometre-long belt of properties covering two former mines and five historic deposits and resources, including three cobalt and two nickel-copper-platinum group metal deposits.

Werner West had a sporadic mining history in 1929,1932 and in 1940-44, producing grades as high as 20 per cent cobalt.

Cobalt was a highly strategic metal used by the U.S. military to make nuclear weapons. Production numbers from Werner Lake were only declassified in the 1990s, said Chutter.

Werner West has historic non-compliant reserves and resources totalling 1.1 million tons of 0.31 per cent cobalt, 0.29 per cent copper, and 0.011 ounces per ton of gold.

Today, cobalt is still considered strategic, but for more peaceful consumer items such as rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, solar panels and wind turbines.

Over the year, few analysts have followed the commodity but the fact that the London Metals Exchange began trading cobalt last February is proof that the grey metal has a rich future and a growing following.

"We feel we've timed it nicely," said Chutter.

With cobalt prices fluctuating this summer between $20 and $22 a pound, and with all forecasts indicating strong prices for five years, Chutter said it shouldn't be a problem to stay above their $12 economic threshold.

With 70 per cent of the world's cobalt supply in conflict-striken or unstable countries like Zambia and the Congo, prices should stay high for a while.

"We'll push the project hard as long as prices stay strong," said Chutter.

The former Gordon Lake Mine--active in the 1960s for nickel, copper and PGEs--is east of Puget's land package, and some of the underground mine...