Lithium Corp gets new life; joins in search for gold

A revival is in the works for The Lithium Corp. of Canada. The company, whose Manitoba beginnings can be traced back to 1934, has joined in the hunt for gold.

The Lithium Corp., which owns or has interests in four mineral prospects in northern Ontario and Manitoba, has planned exploration programs for three of the properties at a total cost of $1,431,000. Funding for the exploration work was raised through the issuance of 2.4 million common shares.

At the Fox River project in northern Ontario, north of Hearst, the Lithium Corp. is earning a 50% interest (by spending $1 million by June 1, 1990) in a joint-venture operation with Noranda Exploration. An exploration program costing $531,000 has been drawn up for the property, which comprises 170 claims.

At the Whitney Twp. property in northern Ontario, located at Timmins, where the company is currently managing the project, a $400,000 exploration program is planned. Under an agreement between The Lithium Corp. and Noranda, the latter may earn up to a 50% interest in the 26-claim property. $500,000 program

The third project, located in the Willow Lake area of Manitoba, near the Ontario border, consists of 30 claim blocks. A $500,000 exploration program is planned. The Lithium Corp. has a 90% interest in the claims, with River Oaks Gold Corp. holding the other 10%.

In addition to gold, each of the three properties contains base metals mineralization.

The firms of E. A. Manning and Marchment & MacKay are handling the underwriting of the shares. A secondary offering of 1.1 million shares is planned. The company’s fourth prospect is two groups of claims in the Cat Lake-Bernic Lake area of Manitoba which were originally staked in the 1930s for the purpose of mining lithium. Reserves were established at both properties; at one, the Cat Lake property, production seemed imminent in the mid-to-late 1950s until a reported over-supply of lithium led to suspension of operations. The company says it has no immediate plans for these claims.

Prior to the share offering, tbs Resource Developers held almost 60% of the shares of The Lithium Corp.; after the offering, tbs’s interest drops to about 16%.

Chief executive officer of The Lithium Corp. is Jean-Claude Bonhomme and Murray Cooper is chief financial officer. The two directors are Robert Couture and Harvey Tremblay.