Although it may sound like something straight out of a Stephen King novel, the land located between Strand and Misery Lakes, approximately 200 kilometres east-northeast of the Canadian town of Schefferville, Quebec, could prove to be anything but scary to miners searching for rare earth elements.
Technically, the land falls within the Mistastin Batholith which forms a large Mesoproterozoic intrusive complex emplaced in the Precambrian Rae Province. REE exploration companies find this spot particularly appealing because it contains several suites of REE-bearing peralkaline granitic and syenitic plutons. A portion of this land is presently being explored by Quest Rare Minerals (TSX-Venture:QRM) and showing strong reserves.
Looking to capitalize on the area, Trijet Mining Corp. (TSX-Venture:TJT) has acquired by staking a property that is contiguous to the northern border of the Quest Misery Lake property. Quest controls another large property in the area, the Strange Lake deposit, which is located 33 kilometres to the northwest of the new Trijet property. Both of these exploration areas for Quest have thus far shown significant REE reserves.
Reconnaissance bedrock sampling from Misery Lake has yielded results of up to 27% Fe2O3 (iron oxide), 1.2% P2O5 (phosphorus pentoxide) and 2.25 wt. percent TREO (total rare earth oxides). According to reports from Quest, Strange Lake has boasts an inferred mineral resource of 115 MT @1.0 wt. percent REE and 1.97 wt. percent ZrO2 (zirconia).
The property acquired by Trijet lies in between these two formidable areas and consists of 119 mineral claims covering 5,819 hectares (14,380 acres). Although there is no NI43-101 compliant reports for the land, the Geological Survey of Canada recently performed a survey on the land north of Schefferville which revealed significant thorium and uranium anomalies with the Trijet property. These sort of anomalies are often associated with REE content.
Additional research has shown above average levels of yttrium and beryllium anomalies on the Trijet land. Trijet is making haste in planning an exploration project on many avenues including prospecting, ground-based radiometric surveys, geological mapping and sampling during the next summer months to be followed by a drilling campaign.
Investors are responding positively to the news and sending shares of TJT out on a high note for the week. The stock has traded more volume so far today heading into the close than it has in a single day in more than one year with over 400,000 shares trading hands. Bouncing off nearly a 52-week low of under a dime, shares closed strong, up 40% on the day.
