Archive for January, 2008

by Doug Hadfield
The year 2007 was certainly a year to be remembered by investors familiar with Montello Resources (TSX.V: MEO). The company and its JV partner Pennine Petroleum Corp. (TSX.V:PNN) have achieved success at their Pincher Creek operations in Alberta, with one new well completed and scheduled to soon become a producer.

In Tennessee, the company drilled one of that state’s deepest wells ever, totaling 9,557 feet. The company also succeeded in adding — after a year of negotiations — another 190 acres to its land holdings within the Morgan Highpoint Area in Tennessee, adjacent to the infamous Howard-White #1 well, which blew out after briefly producing at an estimated initial flow rate of over 400 barrels of light gravity crude per hour in 2002.

Add to all that, the breaking of a historical threshold — the price of oil has now, for the first time, passed the $100 ceiling. This fact can only bode well for juniors involved in oil and gas exploration. But for Montello, the news is particularly heartening, in the sense that the new oil price preps this producer for production in Alberta and potential production in Tennessee.

For Montello, led by CEO and President Bill Cawker, 2007 was a year of significant growth and change.

In August, the company entered into an agreement to participate in the Mannville recompletion of the Pennine Well at Pincher Creek, in southern Alberta. Four companies were involved in the effort. Specifically, Montello holds a 25% interest, with the remainder of the project held by Pennine (37.5%), Paramount Resources (25%), and a private company as the other JV partner.

The team soon found success, hitting pay dirt in September. Initial swabbing rates were 337 barrels of condensate and 500 million cubic feet (MCF) per day of natural gas. The company expects to begin receiving revenues from this well by the end of April 2008.

The Pincher Creek field is one of the most prolific fields in Alberta and has produced more than 600 billion cubic feet (BCF) of gas and 1 million-plus barrels of associated liquids since 1947 from the Mississippian-age carbonates of the Rundle Formation. Total production from the Pincher Creek field is 2 MCF; an estimated 225 BCF of gas remains to be produced from the Mississippian formations in the productive plates that have been accessed to date.

In 2007, Montello also made strides toward making a name for itself in Tennessee by refocusing its efforts on deep prospectively high-impact plays.

Hence, the company dropped all ownership of 52 shallow oil and gas wells. Key to its new strategy is its newest acquisition — 190 acres of new prospective oil concessions in close proximity to its existing property on the Morgan Highpoint prospect, on which the company has already drilled one deep test well (which has yet to be logged).

In 2008, Montello is in a much better position now to concentrate its energies on developing and hopefully monetizing its prized assets in Morgan County, including drilling at Morgan Highpoint — which is the site of the infamous Howard-White #1 blowout.

Just prior to the Howard-White #1 Well blowout, this well produced at an estimated initial flow rate of over 400 barrels of light gravity crude per hour. The operator of that ill-fated project, Pryor Oil (a private company), also estimated that the well was capable of producing in excess of 5 million cubic feet of gas per day.

A nearby well (John Bowen #1), drilled by another private company, tested at 800 barrels of oil equivalent per day, prior to the owner’s sudden death. The well has yet to be brought online due to legal issues, according to company documents.

Montello cognoscenti will be aware of the company’s first acquisition and subsequent drilling efforts. In July 2007, Montello’s board announced the appointment of Phil Emrich as the Drilling Advisor /Drilling Manager. The highly anticipated drilling of John Bowen #2 test well would become Emrich’s responsibility. The plan: Drill the deepest cased well in the history of oil and gas development in this part of Tennessee and find the source of the previous Howard-White and John Bowen wells.

What some see as a disappointment in that the well has yet to offer clear indications of becoming a spectacular success remains to other investors a silver lining scenario: The well, drilled to 9,557 feet, remains to be completed and logged , an essential factor in determining any oil and/or gas contents of the well bore and surrounding earth.

The well log was to be completed by Haliburton late in 2007. However, the job was postponed due to Thanksgiving scheduling issues; length of time to complete drilling and casing; technical issues with the logging equipment; and the timing of the acquisition by Park Place Energy of Great Northern Oilsands Inc.’s 5% interest in the property.

However, Montello’s final press release for the 2007 season was the very thing many shrewd investors had been waiting for — the company announced it had secured an additional 190 acres within the Morgan Highpoint area. Those familiar with the tongue-in-cheek exploration term “closeology” will understand the significance of this: There is an enormous resource somewhere beneath Morgan Highpoint. That has been proven twice: 400 barrels per hour at Howard-White #1 and another 800 barrels per day at John Bowen #1.

Having access to an additional 190 acres of land in 2008 will allow Montello’s geoscienists to make a discriminating choice on the crucial follow up second test well, scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2008.

This article is intended for information purposes only, and is not a recommendation to buy or sell the equities of any company mentioned herein. It is based on sources believed to be reliable, but no warranty as to accuracy is expressed or implied. The opinions expressed in the article are those of the author except where statements are attributed to individuals other than the author, in which case the opinions are those of the individual to whom they are attributed.

Resourcex Investor is an internationally distributed newsletter about emerging junior resource companies. Sign up for a free 1-month trial to our newsletter and get instant access to news and investing tips that have helped many of our readers make more money. http://www.resourcex.com

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by Craig Thompson
Graham Davis of the Colorado School of Mines recently noted that Peter Tufano of Harvard University measured the sensitivity of gold company value to changes in gold price and discovered that a 1% change in gold price typically caused a 2% change in mining company value. If this is the case, the last year has certainly created billions in value around the globe as gold jumped 47% from $600 to about $880 in just 12 months. From majors like Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX) to juniors like ValGold Resources (TSX.V:VAL), 2007 was a year of phenomenal growth in the potential for profit in the gold industry.

Yet something else we have been witness to is that the share price of most gold companies, while some growth has occurred, has lagged behind this skyrocketing price of gold and the attendant increase in company valuation. To my mind this has created great openings for potential reward in the junior resource market in the sense that while the reward for discovery will be greater than ever, share prices are at present little changed by this reality. So, many companies are at present undervalued.

ValGold recently released a NI 43-101 report that I think illustrates this point clearly. The company is a real go-getter in the sense of acquiring a project, quickly identifying targets, drilling the hell out of it and then — when the time comes — taking it to the next phase or optioning it and moving to the next thing. All this in search of a “company maker”, as the expression goes.

It’s possible that ValGold may have hooked onto something big this time around, however, not only at its Los Patos concessions in Venezuela and Tower Mountain in Thunder Bay, Ontario, but also at its new Fish Creek property in Guyana, which is the subject of the 43-101 technical report.

In late November, the company announced high-grade assays from the Tower Mountain Gold Property, located in the Matawin Gold Belt, 40 km southwest of Thunder Bay, in Ontario. Intersections of high-grade gold occurred in TM-07-56, where 1.5m graded 58.20 g/Tonne Au (1.697 oz/t gold) and in TM-07-58 where 1.5m averaged 18.70 g/Tonne Au (0.545 oz/t gold).

In Venezuela, a growing pool of data including assay results from a 2007 drill program at the Los Patos occurrence is leading toward a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate, which is expected within a few months. ValGold’s concessions also contain a number of gold occurrences that are considered highly prospective.

The newly available data from the Fish Creek project in Guyana should add new fuel to the fire.

Historic exploration for alluvial gold and diamonds in central and northern Guyana dates back to about 1887, with alluvial gold workings in the larger area surrounding the Fish Creek project dating from about 1900 onwards.

The only systematic modern exploration at Fish Creek took place between 1994 and 1997 when Golden Star Resources (TSX.V:GXX.H) completed four distinct phases of exploration, including geological mapping, stream sediment sampling, soil sampling, trenching, deep auger sampling, ground magnetometer survey and diamond drilling.

ValGold now owns all of this invaluable data.

What is most interesting about the mineralization uncovered by Golden Star is that it is very widely disseminated throughout all tested areas, both where previous workings were identified and in areas where no historical artisan mining occurred.

For example, drill holes FI-96/9 and FI-96/10 were drilled to test an auger sample that assayed 20.7 g/t Au located over the fault-thrust contact in an area of high geochemical gold response. This was a historic mining site with gold workings and visible gold in tailings and pits. Hole 10 intersected 2 metres of 33.98 g/t Au in altered andesitic rock containing vuggy quartz carbonate veins with up to 10% sulphides.

This was at the high end of the mineralization found on the property, but only in terms of grade. Throughout the property, over an unusually broad area, gold in soils were found to occur in the 50 to 100 ppb (0.05 to 0.1 g/t) Au range and within those areas more concentrated gold values of greater than 100 ppb (0.1 g/t). These appear to exist within a major fault structure over at least six kilometres.

Throughout the Fish Creek property, the independent author of the NI 43-101 report determined that “sporadic and discontinuous gold mineralization is present at relatively shallow levels in metamorphosed volcanics, sediments and intrusive rocks of the central and northern parts of the licence area.”

What he found mysterious, however, was that although these were large swathes of soils with exceptional gold enrichment, including 6 km x 2 km in the south and 3 km x 2 km in the north, none of the drilling carried out by Golden Star offered an explanation — a source — for the mineralization. This tells us two things — that much work remains to be done to determine solid drilling targets, and that there are possibly much greater grades at depth that would explain the very broadly disseminated gold in soils.

At the time of writing, ValGold’s VP of Exploration, Tom Pollock, had begun to assemble an exploration team for the Fish Creek project in Guyana, including a country manager and two field geologist positions. Together the new team will expend as much as $860,000 (as per the NI 43-101 recommendations) in the next 12 to 16 months to complete a review of historical work, follow up trenching and some drilling, with the ultimate goal of finding the deeper source of sub-surface gold mineralization indicated by previous drilling.

This article is intended for information purposes only, and is not a recommendation to buy or sell the equities of any company mentioned herein. It is based on sources believed to be reliable, but no warranty as to accuracy is expressed or implied. The opinions expressed in the article are those of the author except where statements are attributed to individuals other than the author, in which case the opinions are those of the individual to whom they are attributed.

Resourcex Investor is an internationally distributed newsletter about emerging junior resource companies. Sign up for a free 1-month trial to our newsletter and get instant access to news and investing tips that have helped many of our readers make more money. http://www.resourcex.com

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by Brian Garvin and Jeff West
For those who are out there in the search of high yield investments that can gain you a profit, you already know about the difficulties that finding the perfect investments can pose. Finding the perfect high yield investment opportunities is never an easy thing to do, and making those last minute decisions can be an aggravating thing, indeed. The High Yield Investing Newsletter is a great resource for those out there in search of the perfect high yield investment opportunities, as it provides all of the ins and outs of the high yield investment industry and just how to go about the process.

What is the High Yield Investing Newsletter?

The High Yield Investing Newsletter is a newsletter that is based on the web, devoted entirely to everything related to high yield investing and the various subjects that relate to it. This newsletter is available on a subscriber basis only, and it includes a monthly emailed newsletter and an update that comes mid-month to those who are subscribed to the newsletter. Membership also includes access to a couple of model portfolios and a few other things as well, including research reports and testimonials, and even an Income Security of the Month spot on the website.

Where Did the High Yield Investment Newsletter Come From?

The Editor of the High Yield Investment Newsletter is a financially savvy woman named Carla Pasternak who specializes and prides herself in finding the most income-friendly information on stock opportunities for those who subscribe to the High Yield Investment Newsletter. She is a successful analyst in the investment world herself, so needless to say Pasternak knows what it takes to find those companies that only have the potential to pay rich stock dividends to its investors and deliver long-term financial gain in the process.

For those out there who are really looking to make some leaps and bounds in terms of their income by way of finding high yield investment opportunities, the High Yield Investment Newsletter may be just the thing for you to look into. Edited and created by those who know the business themselves, this newsletter provides the stock-conscious investor with all of the information that they need to make wise financial decisions when it comes to high yield investments. The High Yield Investment Newsletter is made for those who need info on the best opportunities and the ins and outs of the industry; if you are one of those people, you need this newsletter.

You can read our Unbiased, expert review of articles such asAerus Electrolux from Brian Garvin and Jeff West at http://www.MLMreviewKings.com.This article may be used royalty free provided bio & links remain intact. Copyright © Mission Billion, Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide

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by lavanya
With rapidly changing economic equation, the emerging economies like China, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Russia, Brazil et cetera are all set to steal the focus of investors from USA & Europe. No wonder that these new economic powers are growing very fast and tables will be shifted sooner than later. America used to “drive the bus” in global economic terms; now other areas of the world are getting more attention. USA is suffering from economic recession and Federal Reserve is confused on whether to increase the interest rates and keep inflation under check or to reduce the rates and help economy grow.

In spite of fears about the sub prime situation, the U.S.A. economy grew 3.8% during the third quarter, and the employment data appear to be holding up well. Though the impact of the sub-prime crisis and housings market slow-down on the US economic system may have been restrained up to now, economic indicators are indicating that the economy will slow down. Business and consumer confidence appear to be damping in both the US and Eurozone, and leading indicators are too in a negative trend. Till the credit situation clears up, investors will remain edgy allowing high risk credit assets still vulnerable to a further sell-off.

It is expected that sub-prime crisis will cause more troubles in 2008. So, there isn’t much hope left there and so, the big investors have already started investing money in developing countries like India. Hence it makes lot of sense in investing in these emerging economies.

Where to invest amongst these emerging economies is a tough call to take. One one side China has a history of delivering continuous 9%+ growth rate per year for past so many years but i snow trying to slow down to contain inflation. On the other side, India is much less trade- and export-oriented than China and has poor infrastructure which is being developed. As a result, India banks more on the domestic consumer for overall growth and job creation. That also makes it harder to attract productivity-enhancing foreign direct investment but this insulates India from recession in global markets.

In this situation, the safest way for a retail investor to benefit from this growth is by investing in Global Emerging Economy Funds offered by many mutual fund companies. However, if one wants to invest directly in stock markets then one need to be extra cautious because even though these countries are growing fast and will continue to grow, there are many stocks that won’t give good returns and some may even result in complete loss of capital. And if you invest all of your money in one country, then you are putting your money at risk.

Any company or firm irrespective of its size, which aspires to be a global player cannot for long ignore India and china as they are to become high growth emerging economies. India has a vast potential for foreign investment and foreign players find it their next investment destination. India is an investment goldmine for long-term growth. While short term profits may be churned out from time to time but they are not of a penny’s worth in the longer run.

Investing in Gold is a also great option of saving your money in view of decreasing value of USD, whenever US investors get jittery about prospect of US economy they turn to gold as a safe haven. Hence gold might have room for higher levels from where they are today. You can invest money in gold by buying it physically or by buying gold funds offered by many financial institutes.

Lavanay is a featured boarder of Indian Share Recommendations, the stock market discussion forum where he and other featured boarders give free advise to members.

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by Brian Garvin and Jeff West
Isn’t it true that when you make an investment, you are hoping to get the highest return that you possibly can? That is completely understandable and more common than you might think. Sure, making an investment is about possible risk but it is also about possible gain, and the likelier the gain is the better the investment opportunity is going to be. We all want to find the best high yield investment opportunity that we possibly can, but that is not always possible without having to constantly peruse the newspaper, the internet, and other resources to find out which investment opportunities have the highest likelihood of doing some good.

Keeping an Eye on High Yield Investment Opportunities

If you are interested in finding a way to monitor the different investment opportunities and find the right high yield investment opportunity for you, there are some ways to keep track that don’t involve the newspaper. There are some websites out there that are completely dedicated to high yield investment opportunity news and statistics, and they can give a potential investor all of the information that they need to make the best decision possible, at least as far as investment opportunities go. They give minimum investment, maximum payouts, referral information, and just everything that a person could need to make an informed decision regarding their investment possibilities.

Why Monitor High Yield Investment Opportunity Sites?

There are many sites out there that are dedicated to monitoring high yield investment opportunities, and for good reason. Nobody wants to invest in something that is going to end up costing them money, certainly not first time investors. For those out there who are looking to have real return on their investments and find the ones that offer the greatest likelihood of that, such high yield investment opportunity monitoring sites are necessary to keep an eye on things. They give all of the information a person could need to get started with none of the research involved, and that is a good thing. It saves both time and money that could be applied toward other, more productive and profitable things and that is the type of thing that smart investors should be looking for.

For those out there who are on the lookout for a high yield investment opportunity, check out some of the high yield investment sites out there that monitor the progress of different ventures and provide the info that you need to get started.

You can read our Unbiased, expert review of articles such asAffinity Lifestyles from Brian Garvin and Jeff West at http://www.MLMreviewKings.com.This article may be used royalty free provided bio & links remain intact. Copyright © Mission Billion, Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide

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by Brian Garvin and Jeff West
HYIP 101 is a high yield investment program business. With the help of this company and it’s ebook resources, you can learn how and where to invent your e-Gold online.

This business was developed by two long time veterans, Peter Claridge and Paul Bulford. Both of these men have been heavily involved with high yield investment programs in the past. They pass on their combined knowledge to you through HYIP 101. Their ebook is designed for novices and experienced HYIPers alike.

The company cautions anyone who has never dabbled in these programs before that they are risky and volatile for the unexperienced investor. This is one of the main reasons they created this ebook.

The HYIP 101 Guide will teach you about e-currencies, what they are and how they should be used. The guide offers tools, strategies and tips for securing e-currency accounts. This ebook also introduces you to HYIP’s, what you need to know about them and what they are.

This HYIP 101 guide also covers in detail Ponzi’s, BOM betting programs, Goldgames. This ebook also covers stragegies and the realities of different online investment methods.

HYIP 101 addresses and covers all of the knowledge someone would need in order to begin investing in the high yield investment program arena.

This resourceful guide offers an easy to follow glossary of terms, case studies, golden rules of the game and top tips from Peter and Paul, experts in this field.

To summarize, HYIP 101 is a comprehensive ebook for anyone planning to make money online through the investment game.

This company also offers one year access to their members site, the Investors Cheat Sheet, an Admin guide and an exclusive newsletter containing all of the latest HYIP news.

As a member, you also have access to other premium products they offer. Premium membership to HYIP Junction.com, Surefire Wealth, Hot Market Videos plus other books, guides and resource materials for the serious investor.

As a business opportunity, this company offers an affiliate program. This affiliate program is exclusively for anyone who has first purchased the company’s ebook. Affiliates earn 50% commission on every sale and are provided with resource material to begin earning quickly.

You can read our Unbiased, expert review of articles such asAIM International from Brian Garvin and Jeff West at http://www.MLMreviewKings.com.This article may be used royalty free provided bio & links remain intact. Copyright © Mission Billion, Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide

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by ResourceX Investor
In one of the very few bright spots in TSX Venture share performance, Kootenay Gold (TSX.V:KTN) shares jumped 52% on December 10th after the company announced widespread high-grade mineralization from a drill program at their 100% controlled Promintorio Silver Project in northwestern Mexico.

With intercepts like 18 meters grading 950 grams per tonne and 151 meters at 162 grams per tonne silver equivalent, all eyes are focused on the suddenly stellar Kootenay, whose success at Promintorio caps a year in which the company has seen major progress on a big chunk of its property portfolio.

But while the rich intercepts are what has driven the stock to new highs, CEO James McDonald is most interested in what the drill results are telling him from a large scale geological structure perspective.

“These results indicate that the individual breccias drilled in the first phase are part of a single, large mineralized system with distinct characteristics indicative of a porphyry system. Accordingly, drill data suggests the Promontorio may contain a deposit of larger scale and scope than previously conceived,” he said.

That’s his technical way of saying that limits to both the depth, length and width of the mineralized system have not yet been reached. It remains open in all directions.

I asked him if that meant that these breccias referred to in the press release were sitting on top of a porphyry system.

“The point is not that there is a porphyry underlying the breccias but that the breccias themselves are part of a porphyry system,” he replied. “This is evidenced by the potassic (biotite) and phyllic (sericite) alteration grading from a propylitic (calcite chlorite) alteration.”

Perspective is what its all about at Promintorio. Its important to bear in mind that the region surrounding Promintorio, while historically the focus of small scale mining, has suddenly emerged as a precious metals hotspot in the last five or six years.

Current estimates from projects within a 200 kilometer radius of Promintorio put over 15 million ounces of gold and more than 480 million ounces of silver in various categories of mineral resources.

Deposits like Minefineders (TSX:MFL) Dolores project, with over 3 million ounces of gold and 148 million ounces of silver, and Alamos Gold’s (TSX:AGI) Mulatos deposit, at 3.71 million ounces of gold , are turning the region into a primary mining district for Mexico.

Other companies contributing to the previously stated regional resource include Agnico-Eagle’s (TSX:AEM) Pinos Altos, (1.6 million ounces gold), Gammon Gold’s (TSX.V:GAM) Ocampo project (2.86 million ounces gold, 133 million ounces silver), Palmarejo Silver and Gold’s (TSX:PJO) million ounce namesake property, Goldcorp (NYSE:GG), Pan American Silver (TSX:PAA), Fronterra Copper (TSX:FCC) and Tyler Resources (TSX:TYS).

Another perspective to bear in mind is that this program tested only a small fraction of the 40,000 hectares that comprise the entire Promintorio project. The project recently surveyed by an electromagnetic survey shows a number of areas with potential in addition to the 500 meter by 2,000 meter mineralized trend of which only a 175 by 200 meter portion was just drilled.

Nobody I spoke to wanted to be quoted as to what the potential could be. The company prefers to let the results do the talking.

So what’s next?

Well, according Kootenay president Ken Berry, “Given the success of Phase I Drill results we anticipate Phase II to commence early in the new year. We have also initiated an IP Study to source additional priority targets over the 500 meter by 2000 meter structure. “

When asked if the company was going to need to raise more money for Phase 2, Ken Berry responded that the company has “just under $2 million in the treasury and warrants and options outstanding which would yield an additional $6.9 million upon exercise.”
Considering the recent strong share price performance, it would appear likely that a good number of those options and warrants will get exercised.

“All in all”, Ken continued, “these results confirm the historic grades. From surface to depth, mineralization is rich and suggest the Promontorio may contain a deposit of larger scope than previously conceived. A porphyry system could have the set up for the possibility of an open pit.”

“This area of Mexico (Sierra Madre Region) had no major producers six years ago, now there are five major producers each having multi-million oz reserves (gold equivalent). There’s also another four projects expecting to go into production in the next 3 or 4 years.”

A key to Kootenay’s success is CEO, James McDonald, a founder of Alamos (National Gold) which produces 100,000 oz gold per year; and a the former president of Genco Resources (TSX.V:GGC), which produces 1 million oz silver per year. Jim remains on the board of Alamos and Genco Resources.

Kootenay Gold has just over 21 million shares issued and outstanding, and 28.4 million fully diluted.

Resourcex Investor is an internationally distributed newsletter about emerging junior resource companies. Sign up for a free 1-month trial to our newsletter and get instant access to news and investing tips that have helped many of our readers make more money. http://www.resourcex.com

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by Han Ming
Opening an account with an online FOREX trading platform account usually consists of four simple steps: selecting an account type, registration, account activation and confirmation. Consider opening a mini FOREX account with two or three platforms if you wish and ultimately consolidating your money to the one that seems to work best for you. Take time making decisions on which FOREX trading platform you want to work with and don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions.

Make sure you’re opening a FOREX spot account and not forwards and futures account. Almost everyone uses the spot market as it is easier to rollover your position. Be certain that you feel comfortable with FOREX trading platform policies before registering. Look for these few things

1. Bid/ask pip spread on major currency pairs
2. Amount of margin that is required per trade
3. Minimum trading unit size
4. No hidden commission costs or other trading fees
5. Reliability of the trading platform
6. Charting and technical analysis services
7. Requoting policy

Always look for the most competitive spreads as this will reduce your cost of trading FOREX. If you’re trading heavily, it might cost you a whole lot extra bucks for not getting a great competitive spreads. Competitive spreads range about 3 to 5 pips and if you’re getting a spread of 8 pips or more, just ignore this platform.

Transparency of the trading platform is also important to make sure they never charge you extra. Sometimes, they might make a mistake and charge you extra and this might cost you an extra amount you didn’t want. Choose which online FOREX trading platform wisely before trading currencies. If possible, open a mini-account in 2 or 3 platforms before choosing which platform you want to use in long term. Test it for few days and see which gives you the best offer. Opening account in a wrong online FOREX trading platform can cause you to lose both your time and money.

Easy forex is an online trading platform gives lots of free valuable tools. You can start trading instantly at a very low cost. However trading forex involves risks, easy forex will not be responsible for the losses incurred by forex traders. Visit online forex trading or go to http://genuineforextrading.com to trade at lowest cost

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by Doug Hadfield
Investors in True North Gems (TSX.V: TGX) were treated to a rare gift this Christmas past when the company reported the discovery of a new sapphire prospect complete with a 139 carat blue sapphire on its Beluga sapphire property in Nunavut, Canada. The prospect is located on the south shore of Baffin Island, approximately six hundred km west of the company’s Greenland ruby prospects.

The news may have taken some investors off guard, who have been watching closely as the company works toward a positive preliminary assessment of its 110 sq km Fiskenaesset ruby project on the southwest coast of Greenland.

The Beluga sapphire property is actually two mining claims comprising 9.9 square km near the hamlet of Kimmiru. TGX acquired the property in November 2003 through an option agreement with Inuit prospectors who earlier discovered the sapphire occurrences.

The Beluga sapphire occurrence is a metamorphic-type deposit — essentially an ore deposit formed under great pressures and high temperatures, where alteration under these conditions twists, warps and folds the earth and can form gemstones.

To date, twelve gem occurrences, including blue, colourless (sometimes called white), pink and yellow sapphire, have been discovered on the Beluga sapphire property over a 2.7 km strike zone.

The Kikturiaq occurrence is located approximately 1.2 km northeast of the main Beluga occurrence. The samples collected from the surface exposure included several sapphires. The largest is an almost complete crystal weighing 27.85 grams or 139.24 carats.

According to company documents, the large sapphire crystal is a barrel-shaped prism with a colourless core and a bright to dark blue outer rim. The gem occurs in three fragments. The largest of the fragments weighs 18.1 grams (90.6 carats), measures 15 mm in diameter and 20 mm in length.

“Clarity ranges from transparent to translucent,” states the report. “Brittle fracturing, overprinted by recent surface weathering, affects the exposed sapphire crystals.”

This is a most significant discovery for True North Gems. The site had been the focus of some previous exploration activity, but was not mentioned in the 2005 NI 43-101 technical report entitled “2005 Report on Field Activities for the Beluga Sapphire Project.” This new discovery “represents the highlight of the 2007 exploration program now completed on the 18.5 km2 Beluga sapphire property.”

True North Gems’ technical team found nine discrete sapphire showings along the 225 metre, arc-shaped Kikturiaq occurrence. The total sample weight collected in 2007 from Kikturiaq was estimated at 1.3 tonnes.

“We are very encouraged that our specialized exploration expertise continues to yield promising targets, such as the Kikturiaq occurrence, which contain commercial-sized sapphires exhibiting mineralogical characteristics similar to the high quality, colourless and blue gem sapphires previously recovered from the Beluga occurrence”, said Greg Davison, True North Gems’ Vice President Exploration. Davidson is also head of the planning and execution of the sapphire exploration and quality control programs at the Beluga Project.

Davidson and his colleagues have also identified four new sapphire occurrences on the Beluga property, including the Imakkuutuq occurrence, which contained six sapphire showings, located 500 metres southeast of Kikturiaq.

With grab samples and six mini-bulk samples from throughout the Beluga project now in the hands of SGS Minerals Services in Lakefield, Ontario, analysis is ongoing.

TGX Acquires Additional Exploration License in Greenland

Due to a string of major successes, the Fiskenaesset Ruby Project in Greenland has been the primary locus of TGX’s successes to date. True North has hit ruby occurrences in fifty percent of the holes the company has drilled — an admirable accomplishment, to be sure.

Fiskenaesset is located on the southwest coast of Greenland, about 160 kilometres south of the capital Nuuk. The property’s three claim blocks cover 110 square kilometres in which True North stands to earn a 100% interest.

Greg Fekete, President, and VP of Exploration Greg Davison, along with CEO and Chairman Andrew Lee Smith, anxious to expand land holdings in the area, last year applied to the Bureau of Mines and Petroleum (BMP) and the Joint Committee on Mineral Resources for Greenland and Denmark for an expanded mining permit. The company announced in December that it had received a license to explore an additional 713 km2, bringing the total exploration package in Greenland to 823 km2.

True North started work at Fiskenaesset in 2004. A 3,000 kg bulk sample from the Siggartartulik occurrence produced 144 grams gem quality ruby per tonne and 3.3 kg near-gem per tonne. Later the company would produce similar gem and near-gem grades from five other occurrences.

The most important ruby occurrence found to date in Greenland is True North’s Aappaluttoq occurrence in the Fiskenaesset Ruby project. It was here at the end of 2005 that the company first discovered hydrothermal rubies, which are clearer, rarer and more valuable than those formed metamorphically or metasomatically.

A 100-kg sample from Aappaluttoq yielded 533 grams of gem material (including 253 grams of gems greater than 8 mm across) and 550 grams of near-gem material. The largest ruby weighed a staggering 88 grams, or 440 carats.

That stone has since been carved into the Kitaa Ruby, a 302 carat ruby depicting detailed scenes of oceanic lore.

Work in 2006, included a 30 tonne sample from Aappaluttoq and proved (once again) better than the previous work. The company reported 1,937 g/t of gem and 2,563 g/t of near-gem stones.

While True North Gems’ management (and investors) wait for gem grade results from Nunavut, it is clear that 2008 holds much in store. After a three years of exploration in which subsequent years have so outpaced each forerunner, this new year may hold the key that investors have long awaited in North America’s only producer of coloured gemstones — namely, sales (and revenue) of gem quality rubies, sapphires and emeralds in profitable quantities.

This article is intended for information purposes only, and is not a recommendation to buy or sell the equities of any company mentioned herein. It is based on sources believed to be reliable, but no warranty as to accuracy is expressed or implied. The opinions expressed in the article are those of the author except where statements are attributed to individuals other than the author, in which case the opinions are those of the individual to whom they are attributed.

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by Lory Sargu
The idea of starting your very own business can be exciting, but the cost of getting it started can prevent you from being able to follow your dream. Too many new businesses fail and therefore traditional lenders are very careful who they give money to. Even if you approach them with a quality business plan, expertise in the necessary areas of operating it, and a commitment to make the business work they could turn you away.

As a result of these types of frustrations many people turn to private venture capital in order to start their own business. For a small business you may not need a large amount of money to get it off the ground. A private venture capital investor may decide you definitely have what it takes to offer a successful business and they will work out a deal with you.

With their investment, however, it is different than just a loan that you would get from the bank. You will need to repay the loan amount with interest. The investor also will own shares in your business and they will receive a portion of your profits. In most instances this amount is approximately 2% of your profits.

You will need to crunch numbers and see if you really feel that you will be able to make a good profit from your business even after giving the investor their percentage. Once you have paid off the loan in full to them you won’t have to pay it any longer. Keep in mind that it can take several years for a new business to have enough profits to pay extra on their loans.

Before you proceed with a private venture capital investment you need to make sure you are dedicated to owning your own small business. It isn’t as glamorous as some people think it is. You get to be your own boss but you also get to deal with all of the headaches that come along with it. You will have to work hard and work smart in order to be successful. If your only reason for opening the small business is to make money then you won’t enjoy it.

Private venture capital isn’t right for every type of business so you need to carefully evaluate what your needs are and what they can offer you. Take your time to find a reputable private venture capital investor. Some of them prey on innocent people that want to desperately own a business. Others are looking for quality business ideas that they can invest in. They offer a chance for you to be successful and they also make a profit at the same time.

You should be able to schedule a free consultation with a private venture capital investor to discuss the issues. You want to be able to communicate your goals as well as your financial needs to them. A good private investor will work to match your needs with something they can offer. If you feel like you are being taken advantage of in the deal you will want to walk away from it.

Pat Andarton is a professional writer specializing in private equity capital and private equity firm To learn more about Arizona Venture Capital visit PetersonPartnersLP.com

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