Nanisivik Mines ups stake in Highwood

A wholly-owned subsidiary of Mineral Resources International (TSE), Nanisivik Mines, recently acquired an additional 462,000 shares of Highwood Resources (TSE), increasing its stake in that company to 1,127,000 shares or 15.5%. The share-purchases were made for investment purposes, said Graham Farquharson, president of Nanisivik Mines, and no further purchases are currently planned.

The Thor Lake beryllium-rare earths property on the north shore of Great Slave Lake is the main property asset of Highwood. The project is currently undergoing a detailed feasibility study conducted by Hecla Mining.

Previous work by Nanisivik included underground bulk sampling of the deposit and the development of a flowsheet to produce beryllium and rare earth concentrates.

Hecla is currently carrying out pilot plant work to process the beryllium concentrates into beryllium hydroxide and possibly other forms of beryllium products.

Pure beryllium and beryllium oxide have important uses in the nuclear-energy field and in the missile, aircraft, electronics and scientific-equipment industries.

Beryllium is also used as an alloying agent with copper, nickel, iron, aluminum and magnesium.

According to the federal ministry of Energy, Mines and Resources, a considerable expansion of the beryllium industry is to be expected in the future.

Highwood and related company Aber Resources (VSE) are also active in a number of interesting gold and base metal projects in the Northwest Territories. In particular, the Sunrise Lake property, northeast of Yellowknife, appears to have promise as a polymetallic silver- lead-zinc project.

Highwood’s shares were traded recently on the TSE for $2.15, 5 above their 52-week low of $2.10.