Mineral Production, Exploration At All-Time Highs

Mineral production in New Brunswick reached an all-time high of nearly $1.57 billion in 2007 and about $46 million is expected to be spent on mineral exploration in the province in 2008, an increase of 37% over last year. The number of claims in good standing peaked at 37,700 in 2008, up over 3% from the year before.

Mineral Exploration -Gold

Freewest Resources Canada and Rockport Mining reported an updated National Instrument 43-101-compliant resource estimate on the Clarence Stream deposit in 2008. Indicated resources are 815,000 tonnes grading 6.85 grams gold per tonne, for 179,000 contained ounces gold; inferred resources are 660,000 tonnes grading 5.94 grams gold, for 126,000 contained ounces gold; and an indicated resource of 114,000 tonnes grading 2.9% antimony, or 7.3 million lbs.

The estimates are based on 393 drill holes totalling 40,750 metres with a cutoff grade of 3 grams gold per tonne. Gold intersections from recent drilling on the Central Zone include 4.22 grams gold over 5 metres in hole CS08- 271 from the Central Zone; 7.98 grams gold over 12 metres in hole CS08-272 from the Deep Zone; and 17.25 grams over 5 metres in hole CS08-290 from the recently discovered New Zone, just north of the Deep Zone.

Stratabound Minerals reported a resource estimate on its Elmtree gold property of 525,000 indicated tonnes grading 2.45 grams gold per tonne, for 41,000 contained ounces gold, plus another 4.6 million inferred tonnes at an average grade of 1.37 grams gold, for 185,000 contained ounces gold; and 41,000 inferred tonnes containing 201,000 oz. silver, 7 million lbs. zinc, and 2.4 million lbs. lead.

Rockport Mining is continuing exploration work on its Devil Pike Brook gold property. Since acquiring the ground in May 2007, 45 drill holes have been completed; intersections include 32.26 grams gold over 10.1 metres in hole DP07-4; and 8.08 grams gold over 7.7 metres in hole DP08-15.

Blue Note Mining discovered a new gold occurrence on its Williams Brook property, located 85 km west of Bathurst. A total of 24 shallow holes were drilled on the property this year and include intersections of 11.2 grams gold over 2.8 metres in hole WB08-11; and 0.74 gram gold over 28 metres in hole WB08-4. The gold mineralization occurs in rhyolite and associated quartz veins containing disseminations and blebs of pyrite, sphalerite and galena.

Polymetallic Minerals

In 2008, Geodex Minerals reported an updated NI 43-101-compliant resource estimate on its Sisson Brook deposit, based on 128 drill holes in Zone III. Measured resources of 18.6 million tonnes grading 0.154% WO3- equivalent; inferred resources of 225.3 million tonnes grading 0.125% WO3- equivalent; and indicated resources of 154.4 million tonnes grading 0.116% WO3-equivalent, based on a cutoff grade of 0.025% WO3-equivalent. Rescan Environmental Services, with help from TerrAtlantic Engineering, has completed a year of environmental and socio-economic studies on the impact of developing an open-pit mine in the area.

Cadillac Ventures drilled 9 holes totalling 2,837 metres on the Burnt Hill tungsten deposit. A total of 2,669 samples have been submitted for analysis.

Rockport, meanwhile, drilled 16 holes on its Bald Hill antimony and gold property during 2008. Intersections include 11.7% antimony over 4.41 metres in hole BH08-3; and 1.12 grams gold over 5 metres in hole BH08-4.

Base Metals

SLAM Exploration conducted beneficiation tests on core samples from the Nash Creek deposit that indicate an overall recovery rate of 90.5% for zinc and 81.5% for lead. The test produced a zinc concentrate grading 54.5% zinc, 0.9% lead, and 115 grams silver per tonne, and a lead concentrate grading 48.51% lead, 5.88% zinc, and 160 grams silver. The material used for the metallurgical test was a composite sample grading 6.8% zinc, 1.79% lead, and 49 grams silver blended from drill holes NC07-59 from the Hayes Zone and NC07-55 from the Hickey Zone. Results from another 30 holes to test for possible extensions along the eastern flank, as well as the northern end of the deposit, included intersections of 0.49% lead, 2.65% zinc, and 13.3 grams silver over 6 metres in hole NC08-204; and 1.2% lead, 3.1% zinc, and 51.2 grams silver over 11 metres in hole NC08-219.

SLAM also discovered massive sulphides in the “South Narrows” area, located 50 km west of Miramichi City. Angular boulders of massive and stringer sulphides were found over a strike length of 2 km. Assay results from follow-up trenching included 7.95% zinc, 4.71% lead, 118.6 grams silver and 1.1 grams gold in trench TSN08-5.

Puma Exploration reported an NI 43-101-compliant resource for the central part of the Hach Lens on its Nicholas-Denys property. The indicated resource is 364,000 tonnes containing about 1 million oz. silver, 11 million lbs. zinc, 5 million lbs. lead, and 6,200 oz. gold (at a cutoff grade of 1% zinc-equivalent). The resource estimate was based on 5,849 samples from 33 drill holes and 569 samples from 21 channel samples. Another 78 holes have since been drilled in the vicinity of the Hach and Shaft lenses and 10,115 samples have been collected. Intersections from the last six deep holes drilled on the Shaft Lens include 108 grams silver, 7% zinc, and 7.4% lead over 3.4 metres in hole F08- 28; and 113 grams silver, 3.2% zinc, and 2.5% lead over 5 metres in hole F08-49.

First Narrows Resources has completed a NI 43-101-compliant resource estimate on the copper stringer zone at its Chester deposit. Measured and indicated resources total 284,000 tonnes grading 2.78% copper and 7.3 grams silver per tonne (using a 2% copper cutoff), based on 179 drill holes. An inferred resource of 298,000 tonnes grading 2.51% copper and 3.1 grams silver lies immediately down dip from the measured and indicated resource.

Stratabound reported a resource estimate on its Captain copper-cobalt deposit based on assay results from 25 drill holes completed during 2007 and 2008. Based on a cutoff grade of 0.6% copper-equivalent, the measured resource is 53,000 tonnes grading 1.14% copper, 0.061% cobalt, and 0.21 gram gold; the indicated resources is 808 000 tonnes running 1.1% copper, 0.051% cobalt, and 0.22 gram gold; and the inferred resource is 681,000 tonnes of 0.60 % copper, 0.039 % cobalt, and 0.12 gram gold. Total reserves are therefore 13,578 tonnes copper, 710 tonnes cobalt, and 270,610 grams gold (8,700 oz.).

Blue Note is into the second year of a 3-year Advanced Exploration Program in the Bathurst mining camp. The program is designed to identify new base metal reserves in the Caribou-Restigouche mines area. The province is contributing 50% of the funding up to a maximum of $1 million per year. Drilling undertaken to test anomalies (identified by a Titan 24 geophysical survey) north of the former Armstrong A deposit intersected 2.83% zinc, 1.01% lead, 0.32% copper and 27.1 grams silver per tonne over 8.3 metres in hole AB08-9.

Kria Resources entered an agreement with Xstrata Zinc Canada to purchase its Halfmile Lake and Stratmat deposits in the Bathurst camp. Halfmile Lake contains a historical resource of 9.75 million tonnes grading 2.49% lead and 8.12% zinc, whereas Stratmat contains 4.24 million tonnes grading 3.22% lead and 7.55% zinc. SLAM reported that 11 holes drilled on its Costigan zinc-lead-silver property intersected disseminations and veins of sphalerite-galena mineralization in a rhyolite dome. Intersections include 1.58% zinc, 3.27% lead, and 8.27 grams silver over 12.1 metres in hole CM- 805; and 2.71% zinc, 5.74% lead, and 9.96 grams silver over 21 metres in hole CM-811.

Uranium

Tripple Uranium Resources completed a 10-hole drill program totalling 2,880 metres on its Harvey property. Assay results from hole HL-4 include an upper intersection of 0.094% U3O8 over 2.3 metres and a deeper intersection of 0.24% U3O8 over 1.2 metres. Vale Inco completed geochemical and prospecting surveys in the Caledonia High
lands southeastern of New Brunswick and has drilled a number of uranium targets.

Mine Development

Potash Corp. of Canada is building a new 2-million-tonne per year potash mine near Sussex. New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham, Natural Resources Minister Donald Arseneault, Mark Fracchia, general manager of PotashCorp’s New Brunswick operation, and Garth Moore, president of Potash Corp., took part in the sod- turning ceremony for the new headframe in late March 2008.

Blue Note launched operations at the Caribou-Restigouche mines in July 2007 and achieved commercial production on January 1, 2008, producing about 80 million lbs. zinc and 42 million lbs. lead to date. Roughly $116 million has been invested by Blue Note to bring the two mines back into operation but they are now closed temporarily due to current low metal prices.

Adex Mining reported results of a NI 43-101-compliant resource estimate for the Fire Tower Zone tungsten- molybdenum deposit at its Mount Pleasant mine property. Based on a cutoff grade of 0.3% WO3-equivalent, the indicated resource is 13.49 million tonnes running 0.33% WO3 and 0.21% MoS2; the inferred resources is 841,700 tonnes grading 0.26% WO3 and 0.20% MoS2. A mineralogy characterization test program for the recovery and extraction of metals was completed by SGS Lakefield Research. The program determined the optimum grinding and metal recovery circuits for the Fire Tower Zone and the tin-indium bearing North Zone.