Ask Jean Desmarais to name Amseco Exploration’s TSXV:AEL flagship and the President/CEO replies, “Man, that’s a good question. That’s a very good question. I would say that I have a few of them.” His answer reflects not a lack of focus but rather an abundance of gold and graphite properties in Quebec and Ontario.
Just last month, the company announced a 1,500-metre drill campaign on its Cookie Monster Gold Project, a 50/50 JV with Vantex Resources TSXV:VAX. Located in the prolific Fancamp deformation corridor of north Quebec’s Chapais-Chibougameau region, the 1,445-hectare property’s neighbours include the Monster Lake Project. Last August, while undergoing drilling by Stellar Pacific TSXV:SPX, the property showed results up to 76.53 grams per tonne gold over 2 metres. Then, on April 11, Monster Lake’s current owner, TomaGold TSXV:LOT, hit an intersection of 237.6 g/t gold over 5.7 metres. “Unfreaking believable,” exclaims Desmarais. “The whole region should boom, and I have a property right there.”
Quartz veining: At Cookie Monster Gold Project, Amseco's JV with Vantex.
Clearly, Amseco will not abandon gold for graphite, even though the company recently picked up its second set of graphite acquisitions. In March, the company got a 100% interest in the 469-claim, 25,362-hectare Tetepisca properties. The carbon-rich region is accessible by Highway 389 and logging roads, about 25 kilometres from north Quebec’s Manic-Cinq hydroelectric dam and 215 kilometres from the deep-sea port of Baie-Comeau. Other companies in the region include Cliffs Natural Resources CLF,Focus Metals TSXV:FMSand St-Georges Platinum CNX:SX.
“It happens to be a region I know quite well because the First Nations are great friends of mine,” Desmarais explains. “As their mining expert, I represent them in their conflict with the government.”
Amseco had teamed up with St-Georges only two weeks earlier for a 50/50 JV on two packages containing 10,110 hectares of graphite prospects. The Tetepisca West, Canadian Goose and Wooden Lake properties lie in the same region as Tetepisca proper. The Southern Properties consist of the Pike River, Lake 222 and the Polynesian Lake graphite properties, about 120 kilometres from Baie-Comeau. The properties were acquired by staking government lands, thereby avoiding dilution to existing shareholders.
Although graphite stock prices have pulled back since their April highs, Desmarais remains confident about the long-term potential. “I think the next decade will belong to graphite,” he says. “I don’t think it’s just a uranium or lithium play; I think it’s a long-term investment.” The carbon allotrope is currently used primarily in the steelmaking industry but future projections tie it to increasing demand in such energy technologies as fuel cells, solar panels, pebble-bed nuclear reactors, vanadium-redox batteries and lithium-ion batteries. Even discounting next-generation projections, cutbacks in exports from China—which produces about 80% of world supply—will require new mines to open elsewhere.
“So my intention is to have a play in precious metals and industrial metals as well,” Desmarais declares. Amseco‘s properties have already had airborne surveys, and graphite outcrops have been identified. Desmarais says a three-month exploration program will likely begin this month with another airborne survey, field work and shallow drilling.
But getting back to good old-fashioned gold, Amseco is the largest claimholder in the Barry Urban Mining Camp of Quebec’s geologically and infrastructurally rich Abitibi region. The company holds a 100% interest in 10,919 hectares and, as project operator, shares a 50/50 JV with Beaufield Resources TSXV:BFD in another 6,992 hectares. Others in the vicinity include Metanor Resources’ TSXV:MTO Barry Deposit and Eagle Hill’s TSXV:EAG Windfall Lake Property. This year’s drill results are pending for Amseco‘s JV and wholly-owned properties.
I think the next decade will belong to graphite. I don’t think it’s just a uranium or lithium play; I think it’s a long-term investment. So my intention is to have a play in precious metals and industrial metals as well—Jean Desmarais
Further north, in Quebec’s James Bay region, Amseco holds another gold property, the Chika Project. Situated 15 kilometres from the La Grande-3 hydro dam and three kilometres from LG-3 Airport, Chika excited interest last year when grab samples showed results up to 24.38 g/t gold. Plans for 2012 include further field work, geophysics and drilling.
The company’s Tisdale Project in Ontario’s Timmins Camp consists of a modest 57 hectares next door to Goldcorp’s TSX:G very immodest Dome Super Pit, once an integral part of the Porcupine operation which has been producing gold for over 100 years. Amseco considers Tisdale prospective for silver, copper and nickel, as well as gold.
Among Amseco‘s staff and advisers are geologists Jean-Pierre Cloutier, Roger Moar and Mack Watson. Cloutier’s background comprises over 40 years of exploration, including nearly two decades with Falconbridge, and he was closely involved in several key gold and base metals projects. Moar has been a consulting geologist since 1994, for companies such as Apella Resources TSXV:APA, Freewest Resources, Golden Tag Resources TSXV:GOG, Ecu Silver Mining and Manicouagan Minerals TSXV:MAM. Watson is credited with participation in several gold, copper and zinc discoveries in Ontario and Quebec. “Mack is a good friend, and we also have a whole team of experts on the ground,” Desmarais adds.
“With gold and graphite, we’re in two good areas, and we have good properties in each of them,” he points out. “We’re careful with our money, so our burn rate is very low. We have a very strong team of geologists onboard, and we’re going to start getting some IR exposure in the US. Our market cap is less than $4 million, so there’s lots of room up there. I think we’re probably the best growth stock you’ll see over the next few months.”
At press time, Amseco had 61 million shares trading at $0.05 for a market cap of $3.1 million.
PS> The MCap as of Today right in the Middle of Tax Loss season is $1.2M Trading @ $0.02. As a buyer here on this Low Float Play...I like It !