Ronrico improves position In Ungava pplatinum play

The prospects for Ronrico Explorations have improved considerably ov er the past year — and there is more to come, Donald J. Kemp, president, told shareholders at the annual meeting.

The turnaround in this company’s affairs stems largely from the favorable ruling recently handed down by the Texas Court of Appeals with respect to Ronrico’s oil and gas interests there.

“We estimate that cash flow from current production will be more than $1 million for the 1986-7 fiscal year despite continuing low prices for oil and gas,” Mr Kemp said. This improvement will be reflected in the company’s interim report for the period ending Dec 31.

But it is in the return to mineral exploration in Canada that the company’s fortunes are now being directed. Hopes are especially high for what is shaping up as a major platinum-paladium-gold situation in Quebec’s Ungava-Labrador trough. Here, Ronrico holds a direct 10% interest in La Fosse Platinum Group Inc., a private company formed by well known Quebec prospector Peter Ferderber, which has tied up some 600 sq km of mineral claims by permit and staking.

La Fosse, which will likely “go public” early in the new year, has already spent more than $500,000 on its Labrador project and is budgeting $5 million for 1987, the meeting heard. (At the present time Ronrico and Tandem Resources are the only two publicly traded companies holding a direct interest in the La Fosse play. Both are listed on the VSE, with Tandem also holding a Montreal Exchange listing).

Very few details have as yet been reported on the La Fosse findings, but these will be forthcoming shortly, company officials assure The Northern Miner.

In addition to its 10% direct holding in the La Fosse company, Ronrico has a wholly-owned permit in the Retty Lake sector in the heart of the Unga va project’s big land spread.

Ronrico also holds more than 477 claims in Quebec’s Casa Berardi area. These are in six separate and carefully selected groups covering about 20,000 acres in all. At least $500,000 will be spent on this ground by next March, employing the latest exploration techniques as well as new geological concepts, says Mr Kemp.