APELLA RESOURCES INC. – Has It’s Time Come?


Published: February 04, 2009 by RssFeed
The following is automatically syndicated from Grandich's blog. You can view the original post here

Apella Resources, a junior resource firm specializing in vanadium exploration, is well-positioned to be at the forefront of this revitalization.* With three vanadium properties held in the province of Quebec, Apella rightfully lays claim to possessing the largest array of potentially viable vanadium deposits in North America.* The company is also invested in exploration for uranium, gold, and copper in both Quebec and Ontario.* However, Apella’s primary focus moving forward is exploring and developing its vast vanadium holdings.

WHAT IS VANADIUM?

Vanadium is an element with dozens of applications.* Best-known as a mineral used in high-strength steel alloys, it imparts strength and hardness while resisting corrosion.* Vehicle axles, crankshafts, gears, surgical instruments, oil pipelines and high-speed tools are all real-world examples of applications utilizing steel tempered with Vanadium.

Vanadium is also a catalyst for sulfuric acid, plastic dyes, pigments, and glass; is used in superconducting magnets; and is utilized in next-generation high-capacity batteries that can be charged and recharged indefinitely while remaining environmentally friendly.* Hybrid automobiles and wind/solar/nuclear energy sources will all benefit from vanadium batteries, as they are brought into the marketplace in the near future.

In addition, the resource is employed in the manufacture of high quality metal alloys that are used in everything from aerospace engines, airframes, rockets, and nuclear power plants to golf clubs.

Currently, South Africa, China, and Russia are the world’s primary producers of vanadium.

APELLA’S VANADIUM HOLDINGS
Apella has three vanadium properties, all located in the province of Quebec.* The potential of these properties to move into full production can’t be underestimated.

Iron-T Vanadium-Titanium-Iron Project
The Iron-T Vanadium-Titanium-Iron property is located in the Bell River Complex near the town of Matagami, in the west-central region of Quebec.* The property currently consists of 27 designated claim cells totaling 1,485 hectares, and covering one block of contiguous claims among Lozeau and Comporté townships.* An additional 94 staked claims were also applied for in 2008 and remain subject to a processing period before approval.

Channel sampling on Iron-T Vanadium project


A recent examination of vanadium grade assays obtained from channel sampling on mineralized oxide zones shows that magnetite-bearing horizons with at least 33.6% Fe2O3 could return an average economical grade of 0.50% V2O5, which represents the typical grade of vanadium deposit.* Excitingly, geological setting and mineralization encountered on the property indicates many similarities with typical world-class magmatic Fe-Ti-V oxide deposits associated with a layered intrusive complex.* Most of these deposits are associated with mafic-ultramafic layered complexes such as the Lake Doré Complex in Chibougamau, Quebec; the Windimurra Complex in Australia; the Panzhihua layered intrusion in China; and the Bushveld Complex in South Africa.

The similarities between the Iron-T-Vanadium-Titanium-Iron property and typical world-class vanadium deposits justify an exploration program.* Apella is planning to push ahead with a two-stage exploration program, budgeted at $1,250,590.* The proposed program is oriented toward geological, geophysical and geochemical data acquisition which can lead to the discovery of an economic vanadium, titanium and iron deposit.

The nearby town of Matagami can provide housing, servicing, supplies, and consumable and transport facilities, including railway access, for an efficient mining operation.

Apella has optioned 100-percent of the Iron-T Vanadium-Titanium-Iron Project, under the terms of which the Company will pay $250,000 and issue 900,000 shares to the vendors, who retain a 3-percent Net Smelter Return (NSR) that can be purchased for additional consideration.* The Company also agreed to spend at least $500,000 on exploration within the first two years.* The Company and the vendors have since entered into an Area of Influence Agreement and have acquired or applied for additional nearby claims in order to expand the Iron-T Vanadium-Titanium-Iron Project.

Lac Dore North Vanadium-Titanium-Iron Project
The Lac Dore North Vanadium-Titanium-Iron Project is 100-percent owned by Apella and encompasses 18 claims covering an area of approximately 300 hectares (741 acres), covering the Northeast extension of the renowned Lac Dore Vanadium-Titanium-Iron Deposit, over a strike length of 2.6 kilometers (1.6 miles).


Historic stripping and channeling on the Lac Dore deposit


Recently a channel sampling program was completed with a total of 60 samples taken, representing a total length of sampling of approximately 90 meters.* The results are as follows:

• Vanadium values from 0.05% to 0.610%, which after conversion to V205, returned values from 0.089% to 1.089%; the average grade of Vanadium Pentoxide (V205) is 0.55%.
•*Titanium (Ti02) values range from 1.33% to 12.30%; The average grade of Titanium (Ti02) is 6.40%.
•*Iron (Fe) values range from 13.23% to 56.50%. The average grade of Iron (Fe) is 32.81%.

This mineralization exposed appears to have striking similarities to that which surfaces at the adjoining 102-million-tonne/5.5-billion-pound Lac Dore Vanadium-Titanium-Iron deposit that Apella staked in August, 2007.

Lac Dore Vanadium-Titanium-Iron Project
In the summer of 2007 Apella staked 57 claims covering a large portion of the Lac Dore Deposit, the largest vanadium deposit in North America and the second-largest in the world. The company staked the claims after discovering they had become open.* A competing staker launched a challenge for 21 of the claims, which remains unresolved.* However, Apella is confident that its staking was of the highest standard and has presented eyewitness, video, and audio evidence to the Mining Recorder, who has since recommended that 10 of the competitor’s claims be rejected at the outset for non-compliance of the Mining Act.

Channel sampling on Lac Dore North Vanadium-Titanium-Iron Project


Accessible by both road and rail, and close to power lines, the Lac Dore Deposit has been extensively explored and developed since its Vanadium content was recognized in the mid-1960s.* It is believed to hold 5.5 billion pounds, or 2.27 billion kilograms, of Vanadium Pentoxide.* In 2002 a feasibility study recommended development of a mine and processing facilities, with capital costs estimated at $364-million, including equipment and infrastructure.

Once the staking issue is resolved, Apella plans to move forward in bringing the Lac Dore Vanadium-Titanium-Iron Project up to current NI 43-101 standards, and moving the project toward the next stage of development.


LOOKING AHEAD


Apella’s vanadium properties hold tremendous promise.* Despite the current economic crunch, the potential for vanadium to pick up steam in a hurry should not be discounted.* There are several possible scenarios that could see vanadium demand spike, thereby propelling Apella’s stock price into the stratosphere:

The Coming Automobile Revolution
With nearly all major auto manufacturers set to unveil hybrid and/or fully electric vehicles by 2012, the demand for durable batteries is increasing.* Vanadium has been proven to double the energy density of conventional lithium ion batteries (the type of batteries used in most electric vehicles currently under development).* Suburu has already decided to choose vanadium lithium ion batteries for their concept electric vehicle, the G4e.* As vanadium becomes a key ingredient in the process of manufacturing electric vehicles, demand for the resource should increase dramatically.

The Advent of Green Energy
U.S. President Barack Obama has pledged to double the production of alternative energy in the next three years.* Wind, solar, and nuclear energy sources require batteries that can retain large amounts of energy, while being capable of being recharged thousands and thousands of times.* High capacity industrial Vanadium Redox Flow batteries are eco-friendly, can be charged and recharged more than 10,000 times, and are capable of maintaining their charge almost indefinitely.

The move towards electric transportation should also enhance the appeal of Vanadium Redox Flow batteries, as power providers rush to find feasible and cost-effective ways to store vast quantities of electricity required for application overnight to charge thousands of parked electric vehicles.

Political Instability
The world’s current primary vanadium sources are South Africa, China, and Russia.* All three have the potential to be viewed as unreliable suppliers of the resource:
•*South Africa is currently embroiled in a massive political crisis involving the ruling ANC and a new breakaway party, COPE.* With presidential elections around the corner, the potential for violence cannot be ruled out.
•*Russia’s recent dispute with the Ukraine over natural gas revenues resulted in a major gas shortage in Europe.* Russia’s willingness to use resources as instruments of foreign policy is calling into serious question the country’s reliability as a trading partner.
•*Although a rising giant, China still has huge social and political challenges ahead.
With all of Apella’s vanadium properties located in Canada, the question of reliability of supply is non-existent.* Canada is one of the most politically stable and thoroughly industrialized nations on earth, with a qualified and productive workforce.


BOTTOMLINE


Apella has a very bright future as vanadium becomes a resource of choice for the “green” revolution set to occur all around us.* When the economy picks up, other uses for vanadium, primarily involving steel, should also help propel the value of the mineral forward.

Apella has an experienced management team led by Patrick O’Brien, President/CEO; Adrian O’Brien, Vice President; and Dr. Christian Derosier, Vice-President of Exploration.* Their expertise is supplemented by an Advisory Board composed primarily of geologists and mining engineers with extensive industry experience in eastern Canada.* The newest addition to the Advisory Board is Dr. Mehmet Taner, a world renowned Vanadium expert credited with the discovery of the Bell River Vanadium Deposit which is part of the Company’s Iron-T project in Matagami, Quebec.

Despite the current economic crisis, Apella has potentially secured the largest combined source of vanadium in the world.* This is a company poised to make a serious and dramatic push forward in the weeks and months ahead.





grandich.agoracom.com
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