April 14, 2008
April 14, 2008 at 4:34 pm · Filed under Investment Review, Uncategorized, infomine
Starfield Resources (TSX:SRU) recently announced that it has developed an environmentally friendly way to process ore at its 100% owned Fergson Lake Project in Nunavut where the company has been exploring for, and finding, nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum group elements.
It seems that necessity bred invention for Starfield at Ferguson Lake. The method typically used by mining companies, of crushing ore and using flotation to separate the mineral from the ore was not an option at this project. Instead Starfield devised to dissolve the leftover ore in hydrochloric acid, producing hydrogen sulphide gas. Burning the by-product gas as fuel will produce enough energy to power the project and then some. While the process of dissolving the ore is not entirely new, burning hydrogen sulphide gas for power is novel. It makes sound economic sense, and it is green. So says Bryn Harris, a hydrometallurgical consultant on the project.
“There’s probably going to be enough power left over that we could operate the whole town of Rankin Inlet, should we choose to do so,” said Harris said in an interview with CBC.
Read the rest of this entry »
April 14, 2008 at 11:25 am · Filed under Guest Commentary
Environmental Change Means Making Smart Choices
By Peter Flynn
Many Canadians would spend $30 per person per year for a significant reduction in the risk of global warming. Move that to $300per year per person - $1,200 per year for a family of four - and support would waver, and it would virtually disappear at $3,000.
This is important, because renewable energy that doesn’t add fossil carbon to the atmosphere costs more than fossil fuels, and there is virtually no prospect of a technology miracle that will change that.
Given this, it is important to set the right goal: Canadians are best served by getting the most reduction in greenhouse gases at the lowest cost. To do this, we need to remember three things. Read the rest of this entry »
April 14, 2008 at 10:51 am · Filed under Investment Review
Vancouver Sun’s Vaughn Palmer wrote an update to the story here. Palmer interviewed Naikun’s new chief Paul Taylor’s, to get the dirt on his move to Naikun.
“I don’t care what people say about me. They will say whatever they want,” Palmer quotes him as saying. The timing of Taylor’s move was considered suspect by some, as irregularities had been uncovered in the insurer’s dealings with some vehicles. Personally, it looks like the kind of story that warrants turfing the person responsible and moving on–definitely not a media frenzy.
Better yet are the terms on which Taylor decided to take the posting, which are certainly indicative of the opportunity Naikun represents rather than an instant cash grab. Palmer points out that Taylor has left behind a salary in the $300G range for a job his predecessor was paid $140G for. Conclusion? An excellent stock compensation package to the man who can make this 1750MW deal happen.
Final note on this subject: Wind is duly noted as being a fickle source of power, but take a look at this Canadian Wind Energy Atlas map. The dark red indicates the highest level of mean wind energy at about 30 meters altitude in the area of the Naikun project. The Hecate Straight is one of the most consistently windy places in the world. So when they compare this future wind farm site to sites onshore, where wind is truly fickle… well, there’s no comparison.
