Silver LoupeRocher Deboule's Artillery Peak Property, Arizona, USA
July 14, 2008
 view of Artillery claims |
Development of a large low-grade manganese deposit at Artillery Peak, |
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I was on the lookout for snakes, but under the careful eye of Jim Marin I managed to go poking around the bulk of the Rocher Deboule (TSX.V:RD) Artillery range claims without finding any. Hot is the single best word I can think of to describe the visit. Take desert sun and lots of black rock and what do you get? I can't tell you the exact temperature the day we visited the property, but the city of Kingman, AZ, about a two hour drive from the property, is known for temperatures in the mid 90s (35C). Temperatures this high are dangerous for mining crews working day shifts in the summer, but crews can work nights during this period. I'm a nature girl myself but Las Vegas at six in the morning is actually kind of pretty. Once outside of Vegas I had to slow through the Hoover Dam area, scenic and shady between the cliff walls. After I got past the dam headed southeast on 93 I put the pedal down again until Kingman. Kingman is in the Mountain region of Arizona, south of Kingman is considered Desert area. I was in Kingman to meet Jim Marin and Tim Neal, consultants to Rocher Deboule and the men responsible for finding and staking this property. Rocher Deboule's "Artillery Peak" property is located about a two hour drive from Kingman, in the Artillery Mountains of the Mohave Desert. The Artillery property consists of about 4,900 acres (1,983 Hectares) in Mohave County, Arizona. Rocher Deboule purchased the Artillery property just about 1 year ago and has been busy ever since. February this year they completed a 17-hole diamond drill program, returning assay results as high as 12.5% Manganese over ten feet (drill hole ADH-1), and 4.02% Manganese over 90 feet. Two weeks ago the company announced completion of reports on the property pursuant to National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Properties). These reports are available on SEDAR, the gist being an Indicated Resource of over 772 million pounds of manganese. The fact that there is a lot of manganese in this part of Arizona is not really in dispute. More than 120 years ago prominent outcrops were identified as manganese along the old Alamo to Signal road (see the map below). At that time transportation was so costly that mining was not feasible. During WWI five claims along the old Alamo to Signal road were developed somewhat, but the end of the war and the corresponding drop in manganese prices came before any ore could be shipped. The first known shipments from the Artillery Mountains were made in 1928, when a few carloads of sorted ore containing 41 to 45 percent manganese were shipped from what is now called the McGregor deposit. |
rock samples from artillery
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 map of Artillery Peak area, from 1948 Artillery Peak Manganese Report, USBM |
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Metallic manganese is used primarily in steel production to improve hardness, stiffness, and strength. Because of the critical role played by steel in infrastructure and overall economic development, the steel industry is often considered to be an indicator of economic progress. Ergo, the demand for steel is the most important factor in the demand for Manganese. |
 Jim stands on a mound of wad |
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Several factors helped drive the price of manganese up in the past. One in particular is of interest: significant imports of manganese by larger developing countries are a large part of the formula for higher demand and price. With China and India on the move, the future looks positive indeed. About US$4,400 per ton was the price of a recent purchase of manganese. To get a rough value of rock, take the percentage and multiply it by the going price per ton. 1% manganese would sell for about $44 per ton and ten percent Manganese would sell for $440 per ton. Rocher Deboule is hoping to mine the property using a leaching process, and concentrate the ore, at about $20 per ton. So with their average grade of 3.79% they would net $146/ton for manganese metal. High-grade ore (35% or more) was not produced in the U.S. in 2007. The only domestic mine production of manganese consisted of small amounts of less than 5% manganese, and the bulk of manganese used in the U.S. was imported. The Artillery properties have at least 1.3 billion dollars worth of manganese at today's price, and can certainly find a buyer in the U.S. that will appreciate paying less for shipping. The Artillery Peak project timeline is available online courtesy of the RD folks, showing they expect to begin production in 2012. So the numbers from this property look good today, but as Bob Moriarty has already pointed out, it would be good to secure a buyer at today's prices. Permitting and reclamation fees should be negligible with the manganese price over four thousand, but there is some lead time required for which the experienced RD crew have accounted in the timeline. Water is readily available from an on-site aquifer, but there is no electricity to the property at the moment. The Artillery property is the number one priority for Rocher Deboule, but they also have four Canadian properties, one of which has another manganese target. Targets at the remaining Canadian properties include niobium, fluorite, coal, and an Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold (IOCG) target, a mineralization type made famous by the huge Australian Olympic Dam and Chilean Candelaria deposits. Rocher Deboule looks to be well positioned with this property, at a time when manganese demand is high and expected to rise, and high oil prices make local manganese a smart alternative for U.S. steel companies. Trading today at $0.30 a share, Rocher Deboule is a company to watch. I do not own shares in Rocher Deboule and am not affiliated with the company. This article was written based upon observation, research, and Q&A with relevant parties, viewed from my perspective and filtered by my own limited understanding. Please do your own due diligence. --Rebecca Bartlett, Miami FL This article is the second of a three-part series on Reaugh Group properties.
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