I often write about Crosshair in terms of their near-term uranium project in Wyoming and the uranium and gold projects in Labrador and Newfoundland.  Lately, however, vanadium has been making headlines which makes me think that this seems like an appropriate time to remind everyone that Crosshair not only has an expandable uranium resource in the Central Mineral Belt (CMB) of Labrador, they also have an outstanding vanadium resource.  Last August, the company released the results of their updated NI 43-101 resource estimate for the CMB in Labrador which not only significantly increased the uranium resource, but also brought the total vanadium resource to 27.56 million pounds of V₂O₅.  In fact, the vanadium resource is actually much larger.

Vanadium – making headlines

Over the past few years, vanadium has become irreplaceable in several industries, such as aerospace, aviation and construction, due to its unrivaled ability to strengthen steel.   In September of last year, Discover Magazine wrote an article titled, “The Element That Could Change the World.”  The article discussed a growing interest in the use of vanadium to advance battery technology.  Vanadium Lithium Ion batteries are beginning to make the electric car industry a reality, but even more interesting is the possibility of storing renewable energy using the Vanadium-Redox battery.

We already know that global energy demand is growing, but at the same time so is the awareness for the need of this energy to be clean!  The nuclear industry provides an obvious solution to this problem, however in some places solar and wind power can also be useful.   The problem you run into with solar and wind power is that they are both unpredictable.  The solution…Vanadium!  “…what is needed is a battery that can store enough energy to pull an entire power station through a rough patch, can be charged and discharged over and over, and can release large amounts of electricity at a moment’s notice.  Several promising battery technologies are already in early-stage commercialization, but the vanadium battery may have the edge in terms of scalability and economy,” (Discover Magazine, September 29, 2008).

An Expandable Resource

Although Crosshair’s CMB project in Labrador is considered a uranium project, the company has also discovered a significant amount of vanadium in the area.

Some drilling highlights include:

• 0.215% V₂O₅ over 46.85 m for Hole ML-57
• 0.605% V₂O₅ over 11.85 m, including  0.305% V₂O₅ over 7.35 m for Hole ML-163
• 0.162% V₂O₅ over 224.0 m, including 0.206% V₂O₅ over 42.5 m for Hole ML-181

After speaking with management regarding the updated vanadium resource, a total of 27.56 million pounds of vanadium, I learned that not only is the resource expandable, but as it stands now, the resource could be expanded without further drilling.  Let me try and explain this based on what management told me.  Because the focus of the project has been uranium, the only sections of drill core that were included in the resource estimate were those that showed significant uranium.  This means the vanadium resource is based solely on what is contained within the uranium resource, but it’s actually much larger. For example Hole ML-181 averages 0.162% vanadium over 224 m but less than 20 m of the hole was actually used for the resource calculation.  The balance, over 200 m, was not included in the resource estimable, but would have definitely added a significant amount to the total vanadium found in the area.

For a comparison, let’s consider Uranium Star’s vanadium project in Madagascar.  Although the company has not completed an NI 43-101 vanadium resource estimate yet, they have produced some great drill results which are in fact comparable to Crosshair’s.

Drill results from Uranium Star’s 2008 drill program:

• 0.41% V₂O₅ over 21.3 m, including 0.51% V₂O₅ over 15.2 m for Hole TH-08-11
• 0.4% V₂O₅ over 44.2 m, including  0.77% V₂O₅ over 13.7 m for Hole TH-08-27

And remember, we’re comparing these values to the vanadium resource that is contained within Crosshair’s current uranium resource.  I’m interested to see how the values compare once Crosshair has expanded the vanadium resource estimate to include all sections of the drill core!

Imagine a project that could be economically viable based strictly on its uranium content.  Now throw in an outstanding vanadium resource and you have a truly unique project with huge potential!

Bottom Line

The bottom line is simple – yes the past year has been difficult to say the least but as things begin to turn around, you need to look for companies that have worked hard to position themselves strategically, and I believe Crosshair is one of these companies.  The CMB project hosts not only 17 million lbs of U₃O₈ but also the potential for a huge vanadium resource, currently at 27.56 million lbs of V₂O₅.  The company has a very prospective gold property in Newfoundland, which already has an initial 43-101 resource estimate of 89,500 contained oz of Au, expandable in all directions.

And lastly, their flagship project, Bootheel.  News regarding the uranium sector has been steady and although the last few months have been a bit slow, summer is typically weak so look towards the fall when both demand and the spot price are expected to rise.  With the initial NI 43-101 resource estimate on the Bootheel uranium property in Wyoming complete with enough uranium to go into production and the permitting process for the project already underway, the company is in a great position to reap the rewards of a strong fall season.

I  spoke with management regarding the resource estimate results and I would like to share a few interesting points about the project:
1.    Yes, this resource estimate does appear to exceed the minimum mining threshold for uranium mining in this part of the world, but it doesn’t stop here.  The Bootheel Project has a historic resource of nearly 11 million pounds of uranium and so far the company has only carried out confirmation drilling on less than 60% of that historic area.  Additionally, the company actually expanded the historic resource area by approximately 400 feet with drilling in 2008, which means that not only can the company still capture the remainder of the historic resource, but there is actually potential to expand upon it.

2.    Another point worth mentioning is that a resource estimate of 4.34 million pounds of uranium oxide not only suggests that Crosshair has enough uranium to go into production, but it also puts Crosshair as one of the leading companies in the area.   There are in fact several other projects in the area that have already begun permitting with less than 3 million pounds in the ground.

3.    Lastly, now that the initial resource estimate is complete, the company is ready to proceed with permitting and a scoping study, as well as additional drilling to further build and expand the resource.

Uranium Spot Price – Expected to Rise
As I stated in my May 15th blog, the uranium short-term spot price, as reported by UxC, has shown quite a bit of volatility over the past few months with the price sitting at $51.00 on May 18th then dropping a week later to $49.00 before picking up again to a whopping $54.00 on June 22nd, and then once again dropping to a summer low of $47.00 on July 27th before hitting  $48.00 recently.  Although the spot price did hit $54.00 in June, it is generally quite typical for summertime to be seasonally weak and we should expect to see both demand as well as the spot price pick up again as we move into the fall.  In terms of the long-term uranium market, I stick by my previous prediction:  Demand continues to out-strip supply and the medium to long-term outlook for uranium remains very bullish.
Bottom Line

The results are in and I’m pleased to report that Crosshair is back in the game and looking good!  As one of the top players in the area, Crosshair possesses some of the necessary qualities for success: an initial resource estimate that not only meets the minimum mining threshold but also has the potential to increase, a project in an area that uses ISR mining techniques and the possibility of using one of several satellite mills, as well as a strong team anxious to take this company to production.
This fall can prove to be an interesting time in the uranium market, and I believe that Crosshair remains one of the top companies to watch!  And don’t forget about the 17 million pounds of uranium that Crosshair controls in Eastern Canada and their very prospective gold project, also located in Eastern Canada.

I want to say it was an absolute pleasure meeting so many blog followers at the Vancouver show. Your words of encouragement were very special to me. I always felt a sense of responsibility to my readers but after you meet so many personally, you come away with even more a desire not to screw up. Thanks again for all the kind words there and here on the blog.

There’s not much to update as yours truly has curled up into a fetal position-lol. I’m very content holding all metals related positions as I think we’re not even close to the explosive stage for precious metals and feel we’ve seen the lows for base metals.

I explained in Vancouver that after 25 years in this business and losing more money than I ever thought I would make as a youngster, I’ve learned to take profits, especially when they come much faster than expected. That’s why I advised taking profits in oil-related recommendations.

Since I’m basically a speculator/gambler, I’ve learned when you swing for the fences its best to have plenty of swings. Profits allow more swings.

I also feel quite comfortable holding my short treasuries and U.S. Dollar positions for the long term.

I’m extremely bearish on the belief that the U.S. economy can return to any real economic growth for years to come. Yes, a recovery is likely but what good will flat growth be anyway? It’s my belief that a multi-year trading range can develop between the lows around DJIA 6500 and 10,500 on the upside. I think the play is to await some a run to the top of the range before going short. If we simply go back towards the lows again I will once again consider the long side depending on the then current fundamental and technical outlooks.

In regards to the few open buy positions and Grandich Clients, here are my latest views:

Taseko Mines – Please see most recent comments

Continental Minerals – Buy up to $1.20. Stock appears to be consolidating recent gains.

Nevsun Resources – Would be a break out on a close above $1.60

All remaining positions in model portfolio are holds.

ATW Gold – The market seems to be realizing that they’re on the threshold of becoming a significant producer and still have excellent exploration potential.

Apella Resources – Still waiting on new developments.

Bravo Venture Group – Soon to be drilling again and the Homestake project is the homerun swing.

Crosshair Exploration – Has lifted off lows thanks to renewed interest in Uranium.

Donner Metals – The Rodney Dangerfield of juniors has finally received a little respect. Here’s to it continuing.

Farallon Mining – The name change says it all. It’s now a producer.

Hawthorne Gold – It too is set to drill and we wait in anticipation of good news.

Knight Resources – Another kick at the can this summer. Here’s to a big kick!

Northern Dynasty Minerals – Is consolidating recent run and is a buy if it gets below $7 again.

Oromin Explorations – Management continues to drill for gold and not investors. This may hurt now but pay off in the future.

Silvermex Resources – Is under review and I hope to have an update out soon.

Sunridge Gold- Just had an update today.

Timmins Gold – Onward and upward towards production now with financings all in place.

Uranium Spot Price on the Rise

The uranium spot price has risen for its fifth week in a row.  Now sitting at $51.00/lb, as reported by UxC on Monday, May 11, the question becomes, “Is this a sign of the uranium market finally making a come-back, or will the price once again retreat?”  It is possible that the short-term spot price could continue to be somewhat volatile over the next few months, but based on the increase in activity from both utilities as well as China’s initiative to begin stockpiling, I anticipate that the gap between the spot price and the long-term price can begin closing significantly.  In the medium to long-term, you can anticipate to see a true comeback in the uranium price as demand continues to out-strip supply.  As uranium prices continue to rise, stocks should react in kind and based on Crosshair’s recent activity and their price reaching above $0.35 on Wednesday, we may already be beginning to see this affect take place.

The Wait is Almost Over

Since successfully completing the business combination with Target Exploration and Mining on March 31, 2009, Crosshair’s (CXX-TSX) team has been working on compiling data from over 600,000 feet of drilling in order to complete an NI 43-101 resource estimate for the Bootheel Uranium Project.  I’m happy to say I’m told that this highly anticipated report is nearly complete and should be released soon!  Although the project has a historic resource of nearly 11 million pounds, the company has only completed confirmation drilling on about 60% of the area resulting in an anticipated potential inferred resource of 4 to 6 million pounds.  Not only is this potential well above the minimum mining threshold for this part of the world but the company also believes that with additional drilling that they can not only capture the remaining 5 to 7 million pounds of the historic resource but also plan to expand upon it.  With a project like Bootheel that has near-term production potential and could be mined using in-situ recovery methods, Crosshair’s plans to advance this project towards production are beginning to take shape.

For more details on the Bootheel project, please visit the project page on Crosshair’s website: http://www.crosshairexploration.com/s/Shirley.asp

Making Some Progress in Labrador

Just over a year ago, the Nunatsiavut Government placed a three year moratorium on uranium mining within the Nunatsiavut’s self-governed Labrador Inuit Land (LIL) in the Central Mineral Belt of Labrador.   The moratorium is scheduled to be lifted in March of 2011 and I’m told the Nunatsiavut Government is on track in establishing a lands administration system, developing an Environmental Assessment Act and developing environmental protection legislation.  One of the main concerns that the Nunatsiavut Government had was in regards to the tailings study and the time has come for some good news out of Labrador.   Aurora Energy Resources Inc., now a subsidiary of Fronteer Development Group, recently announced that it plans to hold a series of community information sessions on the tailings management options for its Michelin Project.  The goal is simple – choose a tailings management option with helpful feedback from the community that will satisfy the company’s need to store the tailings in a safe manner with minimal environmental impact.  This appears to be also great news for Crosshair since this was the main reason the moratorium was established in the first place.  This should be one giant step forward in having the moratorium lifted.

Golden Promise – Moving Forward

In addition to the good news on its uranium projects, Crosshair recently completed the acquisition of a 60% interest in the Golden Promise Gold Project in Central Newfoundland, with an option to acquire up to a 70% interest.  This gold project is host to a composite vein system of gold deposits and is highlighted by the Jaclyn Main Zone, which contains a preliminary NI 43-101 resource estimate of 89,000 contained ounces of gold at a 1 g/t Au cutoff.  This zone, which is open for expansion, has only been intersected over a minimum strike length of 800 m and to a depth of 265 m so far, which explains why one of the company’s top priorities for the project includes additional diamond drilling to extend and further delineate the zone with the objective of increasing the current NI 43-101 gold resource.  Also included in the company’s plans to advance this gold project is a bulk sampling program in order to determine a more representative gold grade for the Jaclyn resource.
For more details on the Golden Promise project, please visit the project page on Crosshair’s website: http://www.crosshairexploration.com/s/GoldenDiv.asp

Bottom Line

With a newly acquired near-term uranium project in Wyoming and signs that things in Labrador may finally be making some good progress, the upturn in the uranium market could not have better timing.  Once the company completes the NI 43-101 resource estimate on the Bootheel project, they’ll be in a good position to begin permitting this summer.  With the addition of a great gold project, not only does Crosshair have a number of great projects moving forward, but they also have enough cash to last well into next year.

At the beginning of January 2009, I wrote about the proposed Crosshair Exploration and Target Exploration merger and so far everything has gone as planned.  The Target Shareholders meeting will take place on March 23, 2009 and all indications point to the merger being approved.  This comes as great news to both companies as the merged company will have the required capital to earn-in fully into a uranium asset that is located within an existing uranium producing region and that has a timeline to production.

This flagship project is located in southern Wyoming and Target is currently compiling data from over 600,000 feet of drilling in order to complete an NI 43-101 resource estimate for the end of April 2009.  Target has drilled less than 60% of the historic resource area (11 million pounds of uranium) and they consider the drilled area to have a potential of 4 to 6 million pounds with the remainder of the historic resource open for capture with additional drilling.  This potential is well above the minimum mining threshold for this part of the world and once the resource is completed, the market will have a better understanding of the potential of this project.  The company will then begin prefeasibility studies and permitting.  Once a prefeasibility study has been completed, the project is slated to be producing uranium in as little as four years.

In addition to working on the uranium project in Wyoming, Crosshair/Target are planning to carry out a significant program on their gold projects in Newfoundland.  I’m expecting more news in the coming weeks.  With the completion of the merger, the uranium resource estimate and the gold program, Crosshair/Target are slated to have a series of news events in the coming months.

READ Article This is a different article from a few days ago

Anooraq Resources (ANO-AMEX) – The completion of the acquisition is expected shortly. I believe this should bring a big bump up in the share price. The rise in platinum prices won’t hurt either. Stay tuned.

ATW Gold (ATW-TSX-V) – Like many of the emerging gold producers, ATW is beginning to generate a lot of attention as they move towards production in March.  I have high expectation for 2009.

I’ve put together a quick summary of the company’s progress in Australia to date.  A full corporate update, which will include the updated mine plan and production schedule for Burnakura, is scheduled to be released by the end of the month.   Brent Butler and his team have made considerable progress at both the Burnakura and Gullewa mine sites:

On the exploration side, ATW has had continued success with the drill bit: consistently hitting high-grade intercepts during their fall program:

-      16.0-metre intercept, grading 9.79 grams per tonne gold.

-      23.7-metre intercept, grading 16.0 grams per tonne gold

-      15.6-metre intercept, grading 13.7 grams per tonne gold

Refurbishing of the plant at Burnakura is nearing completion, with the elution circuit for gold recovery and the gold room being the only items remaining to be completed. Recently, the crushing circuit and mill were commissioned with great success.  A video of the crusher has been posted on the company’s website www.atwgold.comm

A new zone within mining distance of the underground workings has been discovered; drilling has yet to fully define this new zone but the results to date will be included in ATW’s new mine plan.

The underground mining contractor has been selected and management tells me they are pleased with the proposed cost for delivery of ore to the plant.

An IP survey and gravity survey were completed on the Gullewa Project.  Interpretation of these surveys show that the current 750,000 oz Deflector Deposit could continue for an additional 1500 meters.  Gullewa should add another dimension to ATW’s story when it is drilled this spring.

Moving ahead in 2009, I believe that ATW can benefit from the easing of fuel prices and labor costs in Western Australia, giving the company some breathing room in their projected cash operating costs of $700 AUD per gold ounce.  The economics at Burnakura continue to be robust, with the price of gold in Australian dollars recently hitting $1200.  The transition from explorer to emerging gold producer can create significant value for shareholders in 2009.

Bravo Ventures Group (BVG-TSX-V) A brand new client. I hope to have a full report out shortly.

Continental Minerals (KMK-TSX-V) – There hasn’t been much news on KMK in the last few months so I’ll provide the latest fact sheet

Crosshair Exploration and Target Exploration See commentary

Donner Metals (DON-TSX-V) – 2008 was a banner year for Donner and its Matagami Project. The Mining Journal awarded the Donner / Xstrata Zinc Canada exploration team with an Outstanding Achievement Exploration Award for their zinc – copper discoveries in Matagami, Québec. A scoping study is in progress, and enough drilling was done that we can expect a 43-101 calculated resource estimate in the near future.

The Matagami Project is Donner Metals’ zinc – copper project with joint venture partner Xstrata Zinc Canada, one of the world’s largest mining companies. There have been decades of profitable, low-cost production from the Matagami Mining Camp with 10 former producers as well as the Perseverance Mine that was put into production early last year. Perseverance has an estimated 5-6 year mine life, at which point Xstrata should need more mill feed for its 2,600 tonne/day Matagami mill. Donner’s award-winning Bracemac/McLeod discoveries are about 5 kilometres from this mill, and the area has the necessary road, rail, airport, and other infrastructure in place and ready to go. With a positive feasibility study, the Bracemac/McLeod discoveries could be fast-tracked into near-term production.

In 2009 I see Donner continuing the advancement of the Bracemac / McLeod discoveries, while moving ahead with drilling exploration in other areas of the Matagami Camp on highly prospective targets. The exploration team is well-equipped with both historical drilling results as well as a continually evolving exploration approach built upon their success at Bracemac/McLeod. I am very interested to see how many other areas can yield results like Bracemac’s 23.70 metres of 11.46% zinc and 5.63% copper. There is plenty of blue sky potential in the Matagami Camp to go along with the many historical high grade intersections that never had the chance for sufficient follow up exploration. I understand that the Donner / Xstrata team have a very high level of confidence for 2009 with respect to maintaining their strong rate of success.

Eastmain Resources (ER-TSX) – In contrast to the TSX composite index, in 2008 Eastmain’s share price performance bucked the trend of the horrible market meltdown, ending the year on a positive note. Eastmain is very well financed with $20Million in working capital, no debt and an annual exploration budget of $4M in mining-friendly Québec. With two 100%-owned gold deposits, a new discovery at its Goldcorp joint venture and a strong treasury, Eastmain is well positioned to grow in 2009. The Corporation plans to drill a number of gold projects this year.

Drilling over the past 12 months on its 100% owned Eau Claire gold deposit confirmed higher gold grades. The Company reported 300 intersections that averaged 14.65 g/t gold over 1.28 metres including lots of visible gold, with 100 veins averaging 35.87 g/t gold or 1.05 ounces per ton. The Corporation is delineating a high-grade, near-surface gold resource strategically located in an emerging gold district of James Bay Quebec, within trucking distance to Goldcorp’s Éléonore mine development project. Eau Claire is close to existing infrastructure including roads, power, fuel and telecommunications.

Recent drilling has helped determine some of the principal controlling factors to the deposit and has led to a new discovery (”T-Veins”) north of the gold resource. Over 60 drill intersections, extending north into the footwall of the deposit hit high-grade gold-bearing T-Veins, containing up to 17.99 g/t gold over 4.8 metres, and with numerous veins grading over one ounce per ton. The next drill phase at Eau Claire, scheduled for February 2009, will continue to delineate the main gold trend at depth.

Eastmain Resources is a textbook case on how a junior resource company can be successful.

Farallon Resources (FAN-TSX) – Farallon is quickly advancing the G-9 mine through the first months of the commissioning phase in order to get to the target of full commercial production design capacity of 1,500 tpd in January 2009. Once the G-9 mine is at the 1,500 tpd on a sustained basis the mining costs should show G-9 to be a low cost producer on a global scale. The G-9 mine is projected to be in the lowest quartile of zinc producers world-wide. The production targets for the calendar year January – December 2009 are as follows:

January 2009 — December 2009 Targeted Production

Under very difficult circumstances in the metals markets, the management of Farallon has been carefully managing the costs associated with bringing the G-9 mine into production. For almost any mining project the tendency during the commissioning stage is to have a higher start-up cost when bringing a mine into production. However once the G-9 mine is at the full production level, the robust mine plan and the high grades associated with the G-9 deposit should allow Farallon to weather the current downturn in prices far better than others in the peer group. Ultimately, this should allow Farallon to consolidate its position as a low cost producer and benefit from the potential uptick that should occur in metal markets when stability returns to the market.

In this current environment the companies that show they can produce cash flow even at these current low metal prices should be the prime beneficiaries in a return to a bull market in metals. The management of Farallon has utilized a “Parallel-Track” approach in bringing the G-9 into production in a very quick time frame. Management has been flexible in managing revisions to mine plans and, at the same time, expediting the mill commissioning has given Farallon the opportunity to reach commercial production much earlier than most other poly-metallic mines. This is a testament to the strength of the management team and the ability to adapt to changing external circumstances. This approach has allowed Farallon to be more in control of their own destiny when others in the peer group may simply be at the mercy of metal prices due to their higher cost structure. While they’re still working towards their goals on an operational level, I believe their chances for success are still very much in their grasp. In this type of market it is not easy to have that type of confidence, but the quality of the G-9 mine allows them to be confident.

Geologix Exploration (GIX-TSX-V) Quality and expertise of the GIX team.

Randy Smallwood – Wheaton River, Goldcorp, Silver Wheaton

Eduardo Luna – Luismin, Goldcorp, Siver Wheaton

Dunham Craig, Wheaton River, Cominco

etc etc…

These guys know how significant the San Agustin is (they have looked at hundreds of projects during their careers), they know how to build companies, they know how put value back into the shares and increase market caps. The board feels strongly that doing what’s necessary to acquire this project gives GIX a “company maker” asset.

Value of the San Agustin

- San Agustin deposit is 215 million tonnes or conservatively 8.7 m ounces gold Equiv

- value of deposit is $1.0 billion (again this is very conservative because that takes the current value of $1.8 billion and discounts it significantly)

- cap cost is estimated to be $500 million

-leaving $500 million value

Even with 200 million shares that is a per share value of $2.50

100% ownership vs. JV

- Majors don’t always recognize upside (as an example under the stewardship of Silver Standard, the San Agustin was simply a 400K ounce equiv project that they had given up on)

- and that is what can happen when you enter into a JV with a bigger company. They tend to have less urgency so once you enter the JV, you are at the mercy of the major in terms of timimg.

- the Geologix team saw what others didn’t and turned San Agustin into a multi-million dollar ounce deposit.

- SO … having GIX 100% in the driver’s seat gives shareholders the benefit of having the GIX team in control of the project’s growth (the same team who have grown this project 2,000% in 2 years)

Upside

- Project remains open for immediate expansion potential

- high potential to add another 100 million tonnes ( a 40% increase in deposit and value) without going back to market

- medium potential to add another 200 million (85% increase) possibly without going back to market

- potentially explosive gold and silver price rally

- potential to identify additional targets on project

- potential to acquire additional prospective projects as secondary assets

Knight Resources (KNP-TSX-V) – In terms of grade and thickness, Knight uncovered the best intersections to date at the West Raglan Project in northern Québec during this past year. For Knight and joint venture partner Anglo American, the 2008 results show a significant breakthrough on the road to discovering economic deposits. Highlights from the expanded 2008 drilling program include 8.80 metres of 4.73% nickel and 1.16% copper, as well as 36.43 metres of 2.66% nickel and 1.10% copper.

Located just 90 kilometres from Xstrata’s prolific Raglan Mine, the experienced nickel team working in West Raglan has identified Raglan-style mineralization in multiple locations on the project area. Over the past 5 years Knight has continued building upon the geological understanding of the West Raglan Project area and has generated ever-encouraging drill results. The partners are currently working on a 2009 program, and if the past is any indication of their future, 2009 could be another year of significant advancement for the West Raglan Project.

Oromin Explorations (OLE-TSX-V) Oromin Explorations Ltd. is a growth-oriented resource company focused on exploring the Sabodala gold concession in Senegal, West Africa and the Santa Rosa Dome oil prospect in Argentina. The company is well financed and managed by experienced industry professionals with a track record of discovery. The company continues to find significant new deposits and building past discoveries into potential mines. In addition, their oil play is about to kick the can and here’s hoping it goes through the uprights.

Rockwell Diamonds (RDI-TSX) – “RDI has cash and has a new very efficient, low-cost plant ready to go. Although rough diamond prices are off, RDI’s continues to monitor the market and state that unique, very rare diamonds are still achieving premium prices.

Rockwell is actively implementing a range of operations measures to reduce costs and conserve the cash position (approximately C$8m as at Nov 30/08) beginning with an extended 5 week shutdown period over Christmas-New Year’s holiday.

The new processing and recovery plant at the Saxendrift property was completed on-time and on-budget at the end of November 08. Depending on how the diamond market turns in 2009, this new low-cost, high-volume plant is set to go and able to produce with an initial capacity of 200,000 tpm and ramping up to 380,00 tpm

The diamond market has been strongly impacted by the credit crisis and prices of rough diamonds have softened appreciably since the beginning of October 2008 due to decreased trading in the rough diamond market.

Very large, high-quality, rare polished diamonds have continued to achieve premium prices in the market. With Rockwell’s unique manufacturing and marketing agreement with Steinmetz Diamond Group, the company achieves additional revenues – going directly to Rockwell’s bottom-line without any additional risk from the sale of these selected cut and polished diamonds

2008 Accomplishments:

Completed TSX main board listing and assumed ownership of 74% of assets (from previous hold of 51%)

Completed acquisition of TransHex Middle Orange River Ops – doubling Resources – increased production profile

Maintained ops during labor strike and successfully concluded labour negotiations with National Union of Mineworkers

Fended off hostile takeover bid from PALA Investments and revamped BOD to include PALA representation

Saxe drift: commissioned new state of the art diamond recovery plant and new high-volume, low-cost, wet plant (4×18foot rotary pan plant) completed on-time, on-budget (capacity of 380,000 tpm longer term)

Beneficiation agreement with Steinmetz -sale of 102 ct and 2 matching 10ct stones – $$s being added directly to the bottom-line.

In 2008, Rockwell was cash flow positive at operations ($48million) and producing 24,000 carats valued at US$2466/carat.

Santa Fe Minerals (SFM-TSX-V) – Cuatro Ciénegas Project

Cuatro Ciénegas is a high-grade copper oxide project with recorded grades as high as 6% OxCufrom outcrop channel samples. The project area covers 3,408 hecatres in six concessions composed of three separate claim blocks: the El Granizo, Adriana and Don Indio. The deposit is classified as a sediment-hosted stratiform copper-silver-lead-zinc deposit of the Kuperschiefer-type of which there are numerous world-wide examples including: Zambia-Congocopperbelt); Michigan, USA (Spar Lake and White Pine); and Germany and Poland (theupferschiefer district). Tabular deposits of this type may extend laterally for tens of kilometer sand varies in thickness from tens of centimeters to several meters. Within the Cuatro Ciénegasproject area, this lateral potential is indicated on the Don Indio concession from mapping and sampling in mines and prospects over 5km (the total strike length potential in Don Indio is 17km where 70% of the outcrop has been obscured by scree and has yet to be mapped and sampled).

Mineralization on the El Granizo concessions, in the same formation but on the opposite side (south) of the Valle de Jabali, occurs over a strike length of 2.5km. In the NW section of the property, in the Don Indio claim, silver, lead and zinc sulphide predominate. There are several historical small scale workings that have exploited the high grade mineralization.

In the San Marcos West Mine, the weighted average of 36 samples recorded 75g/t silver and 9.5%combined lead and zinc. In La Encalmada Mine, 27 samples averaged 49g/t silver and 9%combined lead and zinc.

The Company intends to commence the copper production from this project by late 2009. Copper oxide mineralization from underground exploration drifts, to be developed as part of an exploration program on the property, will be processed on site in a standard acid heap leach operation to produce cement copper, a product highly coveted by smelters because of its high copper content. This type of process has existed for centuries and is a reliable, cost-effective way of producing copper (although any silver contained in the copper oxides will not be recovered by this process.) Proceeds from the sale of cement copper will be used to fund exploration activities on this and other Company properties.

Professional Research Associates Ltd. (PRA) laboratories in Richmond, BC has been performing metallurgical test work since October 2008 on a 250kg sample of copper oxide material gathered during two campaigns from the outcrop on the El Granizo claim block. A total of 16 channel samples were taken over approximately 100 meters of exposed face. The weighted average head grade as determined by PRA is 1.90% total copper (TCu), 90% of which, or 1.72%, is leachable copper oxide (OxCu). Sampled grades ranged from 3.7% TCu (3.6% OxCu) to 0.6% TCu0.54% OxCu) and bed thicknesses from 2.7m to 9.6m.Initial results from a series of bottle roll tests indicate that target copper recovery should be 85%on a crush size of 10mm. Final process parameters for leach pad design will be confirmed by column leach test work expected to commence mid-January. Final results from the column tests are expected by the end of February 2009. This test work is being supervised by John Fox, B.Sc

(Met), P.Eng of Laurion Consulting Inc. Mr. Fox, a competent person under NI 43-101, is also a director of the Company.

The Company is completing a preliminary economic assessment and is currently evaluating detailed proposals from three mining contractors. The process facility contemplated is very simple, consisting of leach pads, launders containing scrap iron to precipitate the copper, and pumps and piping to circulate the acid and pregnant solution. The Company expects that the capital cost to build the plant, including working capital, to be in the range of $US2-$3 million and produce approximately 10 million pounds per year of copper in precipitate (70% to 80%Cu).

Lobos Project

The Company’s 2008 drilling program tested five northwest-trending epithermal brecciastructures and four potential Carbonate Replacement Deposits (CRD) within an area of 4.5km by4.0km to depths of up to 200m.Drilling in the Cerro Media Luna area returned significant mineralization which, together with the presence of multiphase intrusive events, exhibit good potential for CRD’s at depth. At Charcos, significant mineralization was intersected over four meter and eight meter intervals with values as high as 0.7% zinc and 0.29% lead. Silver and gold mineralization was also anomalous with values over one meter of 0.32gpt gold and 36.5gpt, 47.5gpt, and 34.0gpt silver.

This zone has characteristics of a typical episodial epithermal vein system and has been mappedover a strike length of 1.5km. Complete drill results are posted on the Company’s website.

During the last quarter of 2008, the Company focused its activities on the northern area of Lobosproperty, where mapping and sampling has identified significant silver and lead/zinc values (>300g/t Ag and 10% combined lead/zinc in surface samples) in an area (called Mayra) where there has been small scale antimony mining over a strike length of over 6km. The Company will continue mapping and sampling this structure prior to initiating a geophysical program with follow-up diamond drilling.

About Santa Fe Metals Corp.

The Company’s mission is to utilize the extensive experience and expertise of its management team and board to identify and develop precious and base metal properties of economic and strategic importance in economically and politically stable jurisdictions. The Company has assembled a very experienced management and board with more than 200years of combined industry experience in senior corporate positions encompassing exploration, mining and metallurgical engineering, operations, project management, finance and accounting and mining, corporate and securities law.

The Company’s initial focus for project acquisitions is the prolific Mexican precious metal (gold and silver) and Carbonate Replacement Deposit (zinc, lead and copper) belts of north/central Mexico. Management and Board have extensive Mexican experience, a country that has low political and permitting risk. Further information, including

Detailed drill and metallurgical test work results and Technical Reports, is available on the

Company’s website: www.santafemetals.com

Sunridge Gold (SGC-TSX-V) – Through the latter part of 2008, Sunridge Gold has been one of the most severally oversold junior mining companies out there. This has set up an opportunity to speculate in Sunridge as they remain well funded and are currently sitting on a tremendous amount of contained metals on their Projects in Eritrea that they continue to push towards production.

Sunridge currently has roughly $7 million in its treasury. Given the global financial challenges, the company is conserving capital by limiting the amount of exploration drilling and focusing efforts on advancing their 4 known deposits towards production.

In 2009, Sunridge is expected to continue developmental programs on several deposits. A scoping study at the Emba Derho gold-copper-zinc deposit is continuing and should be complete early in the year.

Metallurgical test work is being conducted at the Debarwa copper-gold deposit and the Gupo Gold deposit in anticipation of scoping studies beginning on these.

Emba Derho: Sunridge recently issued a resource update on the large Emba Deho Copper-Zinc-Gold deposit which now hosts an indicated resource of 62.5 million tonns containing 996 million lbs of copper, 1.9 billion lbs of zinc, 575 thousand ounces of gold, and 20 million ounces of silver. The scoping study is being expanded with a specific focus on utilizing the very good infrastructure that exists in and around the Asmara Project such as local power. The expanded scoping study should be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2009.

Debarwa: Metallurgical work is underway for Debarwa with an emphasis on the high grade copper supergene zone containing 43-101 indicated resources of 1.336 million tones averaging 5.36% copper and 1.54 grams per tonne gold. The objective is to examine the fast track to production possibilities of a smaller high grade operation given the more attractive financing options for a smaller operation in the current market.

Gupo Gold Deposit: The Gupo Gold deposit hosts an inferred gold resource containing 189,000 ounces of gold, with an average grade of 3 grams per tonne. The mineralization is at surface and open for expansion. Sunridge is expected to be conducting meturlugical test to see if the gold can be mined in conjunction with the gold oxide zone at the nearby Emba Derho deposit.

Of interest to Sunridge and their shareholders is the activities of Nevsun Resources, which is currently building the Bisha Gold-Copper-Zinc mine, the first modern mine in Eritrea. Nevsun announced late in 2008 that it had secured $89 million in debt financing and is expected to complete the debt financing of over $200 million of the mine by the end of the first quarter of 2009. This will demonstrate to the market the mining potential in Eritrea and Bisha is expected to be in production in 2010.

2009 is expected to be a good year for Sunridge. With the scoping study at Emba Derho expected to be completed soon and further studies at Emba Derho and other deposits planned, there will be a steady news flow for the company. With Nevsun completing their debt financing, we can expect investor sentiment to improve for companies with projects in Eritrea.

Timmins Gold – (TMM-TSX-V) The Company is preparing an extensive new update and I’ll bring it to you ASAP. Meanwhile, this company remains on track to be a producer in 2009 and emerging producers are likely to develop more interest as they come closer to production.

Growing Demand

Although recent months have seen most sectors (and especially the junior exploration and mining sector) take a serious beating, it shouldn’t end up being a permanent situation.  The spot price of uranium has increased by about 20% since the end of October and although it levelled off during the holiday season while activity dropped, it is expected to continue its upward trend in 2009.  With a continually growing demand for uranium, and the supply side seeing several companies putting their projects on hold, Crosshair and Target appear well positioned with a project that is near-term and appears to have low capital and operating costs.

A Great Project

In June 2008, Target began drilling on their Bootheel Property in the Shirley Basin, Wyoming.  Not only is Wyoming a uranium-mining-friendly state, but it has already produced close to 200 million pounds of uranium and currently has two producing ISR (In-Situ Recovery) mines with several more in the permitting stage.  Because Bootheel is located in an area where the uranium is hosted by sandstones in roll-front settings, the company should be able to use ISR mining techniques which are a more environmentally-friendly and less expensive way to mine uranium.

Bootheel is also slated to be producing uranium in as little as four years.  This relative short timeline is due in part to the fact that an ISR mine can be constructed far more rapidly than a conventional mine and also because you only need approximately 5 million pounds in the ground to go into production.  With a historic uranium resource of nearly 11 million pounds, Target possesses a project that has strong potential. With the cash that Crosshair can supply, this merged company promises to be one of the survivors that makes it through these tough times.  For more details on the project, please visit the project page on Target’s website: http://www.target-mining.com/s/ShirleyBasin.asp.

Keeping Busy

Crosshair currently controls just over 17 million pounds of uranium in the Central Mineral Belt of Labrador.  In March of this year, the Nunatsiavut Government passed legislation placing a three-year moratorium on uranium mining within the Nunatsiavut’s self-governed Labrador Inuit Land (LIL).  Although all of the company’s principal assets fall outside of LIL, “it has affected market sentiment and this cannot be ignored,” says Mark Morabito, President and CEO of Crosshair.  With this new acquisition, the company will not only increase its overall uranium resource base, but will also control a project located in a region already producing uranium.  And make no mistake about it, one day the Central Mineral Belt should be back. Crosshair has a firm hold on its assets there with much of the licenses good through 2017.

Deal Details

The merger will occur on the basis of 1.2 common shares of Crosshair being issued for each outstanding share of Target.  Crosshair will issue approximately 14.6 million shares for 100% of the outstanding Target shares representing 15.4% of Crosshair’s shares outstanding.  The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval for both companies as well as shareholder approval for Target and is expected to be completed by the end of March 2009.

Bottom Line

The merger works for both companies.  It will create a uranium exploration and development company with a timeline to production.   Crosshair will acquire an excellent project in a highly sought after area for much less than it would be spending to explore for uranium. Target will have the money to fully complete its earn-in and the much needed 43-101 resource to put the Bootheel project on the path to production.  Although several uranium deposits have been put on hold or are being shut down, it is actually a good time for these types of deposits (ie. ISR), since they are much cheaper to get up and running and also much cheaper to operate.  This new company has the money and the project to be one of the few to make it through these rough times.

Please Note – TEM and CXX are clients of Grandich Publications See disclosure

As I stated on BNN Friday night, I believe uranium is bottoming and want to establish some positions in related equities over the coming weeks. I discovered a very worthy website just on Uranium. Go to http://uraniumminer.net/

I’m off to the New York Jets versus Kansas City Chiefs game (Yawn-boring). I have a prediction regarding the Dallas Cowboys. Two more losses in a row and T.O. totally losses it. I made a promise to a great friend in Vancouver I will not negatively comment on the Vancouver Canucks for the rest of the year. That may be tougher for me than looking at my resources portfolio. Pray for me-lol

Peace Be With You!

Peter

For those of you that missed my Friday night BNN interview, or for my American friends that don’t catch BNN, please find enclosed a link to my BNN Interview.

This is a two-part interview.  Wait for the video to go to second part when part one is finished.