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Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Lithium, Canada's New Gold? TNR.v, CLQ.v, CNY.v GM, F, GOOG, TTM, BYD, OIH, OIL, HUI, XAU

We guess TNR resources is TNR Gold TNR.v - local view on recent Lithium properties acquisitions by the Junior.
"THUNDER BAY, ON ---- March 23, 2009 ------ While most of us are trying to get by, some companies and governments world wide are planning ahead to get a foothold in the new future economy. Last year’s energy prices reached and all time high, and the cost of that energy taxed much of the life out of the economy. It is the remembrance of those times that had many people thinking, “What if we did not need Oil”
At to-day’s prices for oil, many people are not as concerned about fuel economy, and I do not believe that the vast majority of us care enough about the environment enough that they would give up their new SUV in favour of a small plug in electric car such as the electric Nissan shown above. That said should the gloom of high energy prices return this little car could look pretty good! (We change the picture - car there is really nothing to be exited about! Other statements are not changed even if they are not correct any more S.)
It turns out we have our own little patch of Lithium right here in Northwestern Ontario. ( Nipigon ) Attention was drawn to the issue when Vancouver listed TNR resources announced the buy several claims in the Nipigon district for their lithium content. TNR it seems is banking heavily that lithium will become a strategic material in the future economy, so acquiring this property is a strategic move. Lithium is the lightest of all metals. Imagine throwing a metal bar in a pail of water. If the bar was made of Lithium it would float! Even more surprising the metal would at once burst into flames in a reaction with the water that would produce lithium oxide and hydrogen gas, this is not a good move don’t do this if you ever get the chance. When materials become strategic their values become artificially enhanced, and production can occur even though it is far cheaper to get the material from another country. In this sense strategic can mean the opposite of common sense.

While the mineral in the Nipigon area is a crystalline form of Lithium consisting of elements of aluminum oxygen and silicon all bound up in a crystal, the greatest amounts of the mineral are found in brines which have a higher than usual concentration of the element. Argentina and Chile produce the most Lithium y using this method. Bolivia has the biggest reserves of lithium carbonate in their huge inland salt deposits. The crystalline form of the ore is better for producing the metal, but most uses for the element are in a chemical form. Lithium batteries used by Nissan’s car do not contain the metal, but use lithium in an advanced battery chemistry combined with other elements. Russia and China like Canada have reserves of Lithium bearing ore, but presently it would be cheaper to purchase Lithium Carbonate from Argentina than produce their own.
Also found on TNR’s new claim is the presence of rare earth elements. Often referred to as REEs these metals include metals like Lanthanum and Niobium. These two elements are important to the future economy but you might have some at home right now if you own a plasma colour TV. Should you park a Hybrid car in your driveway the chances are that there are REEs in the electric motor. These elements have very strong magnetic properties such that when they are alloyed with other magnetic elements making it is possible to make very powerful electric motors for their size.
I have not come across any mining operation where the primary products are REEs. These metals tend to be produced as byproducts of other operations such as uranium mines. There is a large deposit of REEs in Canada’s North West territories and it could be the first primary producer of these materials.


While futurists predict a rosy picture for electric cars I am a little more skeptical. For one thing the technology it replaces has a 100 year history of adapting and changing to meet the needs of the day. If we can produce green fuels for these engines, do we need to replace them?
The mineral resources that TNR has purchased were known in 1949, and at that time not developed further. At about the same time Ontario Hydro built the Pine Portage generating station, highway 585 was build to service the construction and operation of the dam as well as First Nations communities along the way such as Cameron Falls. This deposit is much closer to services such as power and roads than the property in the North West Territories. When things become strategic, the economics can change. These investors are counting on a huge surge in demand for lithium products big enough to make their claim a player in the market. There is no doubt in my mind that this technology will develop and become more important. Battery cars will have a lot of competition from reciprocating engines, especially those burning bio-engineered fuels.
Bert Rowson For LakeSuperiorNews.com"


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