Commerce Resources (CCE-V) shares jumped 55% today alongside news that the company is taking action to get environmental approval for its Upper Fir tantalum-niobium project near Blue River, BC.
Commerce shares were up 41 to $1.15 apiece on the TSX Venture Exchange on a trading volume of nearly 9.8 million.
With environmental approval, the company can go ahead with a pre-feasibility study for the Upper Fir project this fall, which would allow it to start applying for mine construction permits.
In May Commerce will receive metallurgical test results that will be used in the feasibility study.
Niobium is a soft, gray, ductile metal used to make special steel, and tantalum is a hard blue-gray, lustrous metalt is highly corrosion-resistant and is used in electronics.
A new resource estimate came out in early March this year. The project has an indicated resource of 23 million tonnes grading 177 grams Ta2O5 per tonne, or 9 million lbs., and 1,100 grams per tonne Nb2O5, or 58 million lbs., using a cut-off grade of 100 grams per tonne tantalum.
The inferred resource is 13.3 million tonnes grading 178.4 Ta2O5, or 5.25 million lbs. and 1,100 grams per tonne Nb2O5, or 33.7 million lbs.
The environmental work includes water and sediment quality sampling, groundwater sampling, surface water surveys and fish and organism investigations.
On land, soil, vegetation, rare plants and habitat surveys will be conducted, as well as terrain analysis, acid rock drainage and metal leaching studies.
Commerce says it will soon send information to local communities but a more formal consultation will be necessary once Upper Fir enters the British Columbian Environmental Assessment process.
The company has another tantalum-niobium project in the Blue River area called the Verity property, which has an inferred resource of 3.06 million tonnes grading 196 grams Ta2O5 per tonne and 646 grams Nb2O5 per tonne.
In total, the Commerce has 530 sq. km.
The Yellowhead Highway, Canadian National Railway, and BC Hydro power lines all cross the Upper Fir property.
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