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Since first entering Namibia in 2005, Etruscan has conducted a number of large regional geological surveys over selected parts of northern Namibia near the town of Khorixas and in central Namibia, immediately east of the capital city of Windhoek. Exploration has not been solely gold-focused, but has also targeted base metals and rare earth elements. The Company's initial interest in Namibia arose from an independent doctoral thesis that concluded that certain areas have a high potential for the discovery of iron oxide copper gold ("IOCG") deposits. The association of IOCG deposits with certain pathfinder elements including uranium, thorium and rare earth elements has indirectly led to the most important project currently underway -- the Lofdal Rare Earth Element Project where extensive surface sampling has provided indications for the potential to discover a stand alone rare earth deposit. The Company intends to continue with surface exploration and more detailed sampling of the known occurrences. Exploration in Namibia also continues for gold and base metals.
Lofdal Rare Earth Element ProjectCarbonatite bodies at Lofdal are enriched in rare earth elements ("REEs") and occur as dykes and intrusions. Together with syenite and nepheline syenite bodies these constitute an alkaline intrusive complex that has intruded highly metamorphosed gneisses and schists of the Huab Basement Complex. The alkaline intrusive complex at Lofdal covers an area of 125 km2 of which Etruscan has prospected approximately 25 km2. Individual dykes have been mapped over strike lengths of up to 1.3 kilometers and likely continue for up to 5 kilometers in strike. Dyke thicknesses are highly variable, from less than 0.5 meters up to 8 meters. Carbonatite plugs can measure several hundred meters in diameter.
Rare earth elements constitute a group of 16 elements and industry standards are to report rare earth deposit grades as the sum of the total concentration of both the light rare earth elements ("LREEs") and heavy rare earth elements ("HREEs") plus yttrium which is typically an important accessory ("TREE+Y"). LREEs comprise lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium and samarium whereas the HREEs comprise europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium and lutetium. LREEs and yttrium fetch moderate prices in the range of $4 - $30 per kilogram whereas HREEs command much higher prices in the range of $100-$800 per kilogram with thulium and lutetium selling in excess of $2000 per kilogram. Rare earth deposits that contain relatively high abundances of HREEs can therefore be very valuable at lower grades. The REE carbonatite dykes at Lofdal are enriched in HREEs. The average grade of all dyke samples taken to date is 0.7% total rare earth elements plus yttrium ("TREE+Y"). The highest individual sample graded 8.9% TREE+Y and the highest heavy rare earth (HREE) enriched sample graded 1.5% HREE.
Rare earth elements are used for a number of specialized "green" or high technology applications including "super" magnets for electric motors and rechargeable batteries in hybrid cars, automotive catalysts, mobile phones and video display screens. The rare earth commodity market is controlled and dominated by China which produces over 95% of the world supply. China has recently imposed export quotas and tariffs on rare earth elements. With the single exception of the Mountain Pass operation in the United States, there are no primary rare earth deposits in production outside of China. Only a handful of rare earth deposits are being considered for development and the reader is encouraged to visit the websites of the following companies which provide excellent background information on rare earth deposits and applications in general: Mt. Weld (Lynas Corporation) and Nolans Bore (Arafura Resources) in Australia,, Thor Lake (Avalon Ventures) and Hoidas Lake (Great Western Minerals Group) in Canada, and Mountain Pass (formerly held by Chevron/Molycorp) and Bear Lodge (Rare Element Resources) in the United States.
Maps and Photos
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