Can you describe your company and say what it does?
Canadian Platinum is an exploration stage mining company with a focus on the development of the largest ultra mafic complex in North America located in Saskatchewan for the purposes of identifying large-scale platinum group metal resources. Historical data and publications have identified this complex as having the most spectacular platinum group element occurrences in Canada. Initial efforts of the company, which include extensive ZTEM and VTEM geophysical surveys and diamond drilling, offer several large targets with exciting assay results. The company will continue to work hard towards defining the property with an ultimate goal of developing a large-scale platinum group metal mine.
What distinguishes your company from others in your space?
Canadian Platinum is distinguished from other junior companies on three significant fronts. The first is with respect to management. Management has an extremely successful track record of identifying and developing large-scale valuable resources in anticipation of favourable market conditions. Their most recent success was with Anglo Potash, where they represented the first junior mining company to identify a large potash resource in Saskatchewan. Eventually Anglo Potash partnered with BHP Billiton and was bought out in 2008 for a final price of $285,000,000, representing Anglo’s remaining 25% interest. Presently, BHP is proceeding with plans to develop the largest potash mine in the world on the property.
The second significant distinguishable feature of the company is its land position. Management has identified and acquired a very large property with encouraging showings of platinum group metals. Experience has taught the team that there must be two integral conditions present before a resource is suitable to develop a mine, that being grade and tonnage. The size of the complex held within Canadian Platinum and the grades of material assayed to date in drill efforts are very encouraging. Management is very excited with the project’s progress and looks forward to results from further efforts.
Finally, the last distinguishable characteristic of the company concerns timing. An important element of junior mining exploration is to have market conditions that offer favourable demand and interest in the commodity in question as this, in turn, provides the necessary interest in the investment community and with potential major partners. In the case of Canadian Platinum, the platinum group metals are forecast to perform very well with diverse demand drivers in investment, jewelry, autocatalysis, and industrial applications.
Can you explain why you have chosen to work in Saskatchewan?
Management has extensive experience developing resources throughout North America. Intuitively, the identification of a location for a potentially viable resource is driven by data that speaks to the grade and tonnage of the mineral in question. However, the location of a resource also plays an important role in its viability. Presently, 75% of the world’s platinum is produced in South Africa’s Bushveld Complex, an area fraught with infrastructure problems, labour issues and a real risk of nationalization. Saskatchewan offers a stable political climate that is open to resource development, a healthy economy with skilled labour and infrastructure that is accustom to mining projects. Presently, Saskatchewan is the largest producer of both potash and uranium.
What are your flagship projects?
The company holds five key projects, which include the Peter Lake Project, the Reef Lake Project, Friesen Lake Project, and The Flin Flon South Project.
PeterLake Project
The Peter Lake Project is comprised of 43 claims covering an area of 229,776 hectares of land encompassing the Swan Lake Complex. This complex represents the largest ultra mafic complex in North America. To date, Canadian Platinum has drilled 43 holes for a total of 13,316 meters. The GSC has picked the Swan Lake ultra mafic complex as the number one exploration target for platinum group metal in Canada. The best assay results to date are 81.5 meters of 0.632 g/t Au+Pt+Pd and 0.4803% Cu and in addition 0.276% Ni. The Swan Lake mineralization represents a polymetallic metallurgy of copper, nickel, cobalt, gold, platinum, palladium, rhodium and iridium.
ReefLake Project
Historically, there were 37 holes drilled in the Reef Lake area, most of them in the area of the Reef Lake trenches. One hole drilled below a trench encountered 27 m grading 0.38% Ni; within this intersection there is 0.4 m assaying 1.49% nickel and 3.8 m grading 1.10% Ni. The nickel mineralization appears to be erratic but individual lenses may have continuity in a northwesterly-direction. Some of the mineralization appears to be open to depth. A 1,000 m diamond drill program is planned for July, 2011.
Friesen LakeProject
The Friesen Lake Property is 25 km South West along strike from the past producing Rottenstone Ni-Cu-PGE Deposit. The Rottenstone Mine is estimate to have an average grade of: 3.28% Nickel, 1.83% Copper, 4.7 grams Platinum, 3.9 grams Palladium, and 1.03 grams Gold. A metric ton of ore from the Rottenstone Mine at the time (1960’s) is said to have been valued at twice the Merensky Reef ore of South Africa. Example of assay results take from the Friesen Lake PGM Project: (six samples) – Cu (.22%), Ni(.15%), Co(.29%), Pt(0.530g), Pd(0.807g), Au(0.145g). A 1,000 meter diamond drill program planned in July, 2011.
Flin Flon South Project
A helicopter-born versatile time domain electromagnetic (VTEM) geophysical survey has been completed over Flin Flon South Project near Flin Flon, Manitoba. The total area coverage is 69.98 km². Based on the geophysical results obtained, a number of interesting EM anomalies were identified across the property. The magnetic results may also contain worthwhile information in support of exploration targets of interest. The company plans a 2D – 3D inversion modeling analyses and magnetic derivative analysis followed by drill testing.
What are the main challenges that you face in operating your business?
There are several inherent risks and uncertainties associated with the company including but not limited to, market and general economic conditions, changes arising as exploration results unfold, changes in regulatory environments affecting the company and the availability and terms of subsequent financings.
Who are the key players on your management team and what is their experience?
President & Chief Executive Officer, Director − Todd Montgomery
Mr. Montgomery is the CEO and a Director of Canadian Platinum Corp. He is also the CEO and a Director of Infrastructure Materials Corp., a U.S. junior mining exploration company with a focus toward the development of limestone in North America. This company is presently traded on the OTC-BB. Mr. Montgomery was the founder and former President and CEO of Anglo Potash Ltd., a Canadian mining company. This company was purchased by BHP in 2008. In 1999, Mr. Montgomery founded and served as President and Chief Operating Officer of SynEnco Energy Inc., an oil sands development corporation. Before 1999, Mr. Montgomery also provided the oil sands properties to Oil Sands Quest, an AMEX-listed company. Mr. Montgomery has acted as an independent mining consultant for 23 years and served as a director and officer of public corporations for 16 years.
Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Secretary and Director − Randy Ludwar, B. Sc.
Mr. Ludwar received a B.Sc. (1977) in Business Administration from Yale University. Mr. Ludwar has been a director of Anglo Minerals Ltd. since 1995 and a private consultant to the Montgomery Group of Companies for the past 14 years.
Director − Brent Walter, J.D.
Mr. Walter is a Director and the Corporate Secretary. He received a J.D. degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1990. He is a lawyer with the firm ProVenture Law LLP in Calgary, Alberta, and practices primarily in the areas of securities and corporate/commercial law. Mr. Walter currently serves as a director and officer of a number of public and private corporations, including Anglo Canadian Oil Corp. and Pacific Iron Ore Corp. He is a member of the Law Societies of Alberta and Saskatchewan (inactive), as well as the Canadian Bar Association.
Director (Proposed) − Mason Douglas, MBA, JD
Mr. Douglas is currently President and a Director of Infrastructure Materials Corp. Mr. Douglas received an MBA from the University of Saskatchewan in 2000. He received his Bachelor of Law (LL.B) from the University of Calgary in 2007. Mr. Douglas is presently an inactive member of the Law Society of Alberta. Between 2001 and 2004, Mr. Douglas was Vice President of Operations of Western Petrochemicals Corp. a privately-owned oil development company. He has also operated as an independent consultant between 2001 and 2006, providing business plans, economic modeling and project management for a variety of mining projects.
Director (Proposed) − Gary Billingsley, C.A., P.Eng., P. Geo.
A professional engineer and geoscientist with more than 30 years’ experience in the mineral industry - 24 of them in Saskatchewan - Gary Billingsley has been an officer and director of several public mining and mineral exploration companies during the past 18 years. In addition to his experience with uranium and base-metal exploration, Gary has been directly involved with putting Saskatchewan’s largest gold mine into production and, on three separate occasions, has played a major role in the discovery of diamond-bearing kimberlite.
Disclosure: Canadian Platinum is a Stockhouse client.