O Home Page   O About Us   O Stock Quotes & Research   O Upcoming Sector Events (pop-up)   O Mining Organizations & Schools   O Mining Terms - Glossary  O What is NI-43-101?

Argex Mining Inc. (TSX-V: RGX)

       Argex Mining Inc. is a Canadian mineral exploration mining company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (ticker symbol RGX) (US Listing: ARGEF). The Company has come to our attention due, in part, to the exceptional opportunity afforded shareholders as RGX.V has transitioned from a CPC to a mining entity with very large historical high grade tonnage of titanium at its 100% owned La Blache Titanium-Vanadium Project in mining friendly Quebec. RGX.V has commissioned a proprietary metallurgical process expected to result in RGX.V being the lowest cost titanium and vanadium producer in the world, producing a pharmaceutical quality end product. RGX.V is aiming to be a large producer, conceivably producing up to 30% of the world's production of titanium. The La Blache Titanium-Vanadium deposit is a large mass near surface amenable to open pit mining and has historic (non NI 43-101 compliant as numbers predate current rules) tonnage of 79 million tons grading 20.5% Titanium dioxide, 48% Fe, 0.36% Vanadium. Drilling equipment is now on site to bring numbers compliant and build tonnage, also a pilot small-scale processing facility is expected to be complete later this year (2010) to showcase the metallurgical technology and springboard to large scale production/commercialization. A NI 43-101 resource estimate report has been commissioned.

La Blache Titanium-Vanadium Project, Near Baie-Cameau, Quebec, Canada - 100% RGX.V Owned

Titanium, Iron Ore, Vanadium Deposit • Proprietary Metallurgical process in place to exploit the resource

The 100% owned La Blache Titanium-Vanadium Project is composed of three claim blocks, West Hervieux, East Hervieux and Schmoo Lake. These are made up of 12 claims and cover an area of 6.64 km2 and is located only ~100km from Baie-Comeau, Quebec. Baie-Comeau is a deep water port on the North Shore of the St. Lawrence River where Alcoa and the other aluminum processors in Quebec have their processing plants and quite possibly RGX.V too.

Historic tonnage grading 20.5% Titanium Dioxide, 48% Iron Ore, 0.36% Vanadium

La blache has a historic (non 43-101 compliant) resource of 79 million tons (71.6 million tonnes) grading 20.5% titanium dioxide, 48% iron ore, and 0.36% vanadium. The deposit was first discovered several decades ago but was deemed to have too complicated metallurgy for the processing technology of the time.

The map image to the left shows the location of the historic resource located in the west zone (Hervieux - West), shown with drill holes labeled 1 through to 6. The values on those holes give a body based on three holes 52 ft thick -- a nice good deposit near to surface whose in-situ value is exceptionally large.

Drilling equipment now on site to bring numbers compliant & build tonnage

A drill is now on site at La Blache and the historic tonnage is expected to be surpassed and brought compliant to NI 43-101 standards, this should not be difficult as the deposit was historically drilled only to a depth of 20m. The La Blache deposit is a massive large body close to surface. Conceivably, going down to 40m hypothetically could readily double the historic tonnage and provide several decades of open pit mine life -- several holes will be drilled to between 150m - 250m.  A 13,000 metre drill program began on Friday, February 12, 2010 on the Lac La Blache property and exceptionally encouraging results from the first 6,000m (See April 7, 2010 release "Argex provides second drilling update and results" and April 29, 2010 release "Argex reports 192 metres of Titaniferous mineralization from five zones in first hole at East Hervieux" and June 14, 2010 release "Argex reports additional intersections of massive titaniferous magnetite from East Hervieux") revealed intersection of up to 161m of massive titaniferous magnetite.

Argex prepares for scoping study

On June 17, 2010 announced (See related release) the Company has hired Groupe BBA Inc.- one of Canada's leading firms of independent engineering professionals in the mining and metals sector - to help the Company in its preparations for the scoping study on its La Blache properties scheduled for year-end 2010. The scoping study should include an economic analysis of the potential viability of the mineral resources, which may include forecast mine production rates, capital costs to develop and sustain the mining operation, operating costs, and projected cash flows prior to the completion of a preliminary feasibility study.

In-Situ Gross Value

The in-situ value of the historic resource is stunning and it is clear to see why investors involved in RGX.V now are likely to be richly rewarded. The related data predates 43-101 legislation and thus are not to be relied upon for investment purposes, however the data forms a basis for better understanding the prospective nature of the claim and the available data will give Argex a major leg-up in as it rolls up its sleeves to bring the data compliant and put numbers in the ground on its balance sheet. Mining MarketWatch Journal calculates the total gross in-situ value of the historic titanium, iron ore, vanadium tonnage is closing in on US$100+ Billion before factoring in mining costs, recovery rates and the fact there are costs associated in extraction. Note: 79 million tons converted from short tons to metric tonnes = 71.6 million tonnes, the numbers are broken down as follows (values corroborated as per independent source http://shareknow.net/companies/2751 as of July 2010):

Note on vanadium: Clearly RGX.V could tout itself as a major vanadium resource company as the values certainly support that notion, however the reason Argex doesn't focus on it is because the weighting on titanium is 20 times that. Argex will probably be the lowest cost vanadium producer around as well, but if people are investing in Argex for that they are missing the picture.

Note on resource: A NI 43-101 resource estimate report has been commissioned, see related release dated March 25, 2010 "Argex contracts Met-Chem to complete mineral resource estimate".

Grade and Comparables

Argex's La Blache property has significantly higher value than any of the titanium producers Mining MarketWatch Journal is aware of right now. There might be some project sitting dormant that has similar grades to Argex, but Mining MarketWatch Journal can’t find any producers who are producing ore at the grade Argex has at La Blache. On the topic of comparables it is interesting to note market cap comparables too; without nitpicking, we note other juniors in the titanium realm when stacked up to RGX.V clearly show how there is sound logic for the share price of RGX.V to gravitate upwards. RGX.V until now has existed in a vacuum as it ensured it was set to advance in a meaningful way -- that time is now and the market will certainly notice as the story of what Argex is accomplishing (and has accomplished in getting to this point) becomes better understood.

Proprietary metallurgical process

See July 20, 2010 release entitled “Initial positive metallurgical results yield high quality concentrate” - this news release provides highly affirming results.

Argex has commissioned a proprietary hydrometallurgical process that will produce pure TiO2 (titanium dioxide) from material mined at the La Blache deposit without having to go through a steel plant or any of the traditional iron processing facilities. Argex's process will also convert magnetite to hematite and produce that as a high purity powder and will also capture the vanadium as vanadium pent oxide as a high purity powder. Most of these would be considered near pharmaceutical or at pharmaceutical quality metals at the end product. Argex's vision is to be a large producer, in theory up to 30% of the world’s production of titanium. Mining MarketWatch Journal has interviewed experts in the field who describe the metallurgical process (similar in nature to what is being used at Vale Inco's Voisey's Bay Project) as a break-through on par to what heap leaching did for gold and management of Argex believe the process will result in Argex being in the lowest cost quartile in the world for titanium and vanadium production. The process is also a green technology relative to traditional methods as Argex will only be using electricity and minimal to none oil, gas, or coking coal in the actual plant process.

Metallurgists propose a closed-loop process consisting of HCI (for the initial leaching step), which is regenerated and returned to leach fresh ore and a brine matrix (which is inert throughout) and is also recycled to the leaching step. Titanium is removed through a hydrolysis process followed by a screening process which produces the final TiO2. The recuperation rates obtained from initial testing indicates that RGX.V should be able to extract between 90% and 95% of the titanium with a purity of 96% to 97% in the final product. Iron, in the form of hematite, with a purity of 66% to 70% is produced by a hydrolysis process on material coming out after the titanium hydrolysis process. The initial tests indicate that RGX.V should be able to recover between 95% and 99% of the iron. The proposed process has no emissions of greenhouse gases or toxic residues and high-value end products are created directly from the process.

Technical Report and Mineralization at La Blache

To the right is a copy of the technical report on the La Blache property prepared for Argex.  The report also has details on the Mouchalagane Property which is a very good iron ore property but not the focus of Argex's efforts. The document is comprehensive and also provides full disclosure on all the vendor agreements, principles, as well as how much RGX.V paid for each piece of property.

The following are salient detail excerpts on the mineralization found at La Blache noted in the report:

The titaniferous magnetite from the La Blache Property is hosted in three lenses: West Hervieux, East Hervieux and Schmoo Lake.
 
The three lenses are aligned over a distance of 6 kilometres. The lenses vary from 100 metres to 1,130 metres in length and 45 metres to 215 metres in width (RG2002-01 and GM37408). Geochemical analyses tend to be consistent from one lens to the other (GM37408) averaging 50.4% Fe, 20.1% TiO2, 0.36% V2O5, 0.70% SiO2, 7.41% Al2O3, 1.26% CaO, 4.05% MgO 0.19% Cr, 0.03% P and 0.02% S.
 
The mineral resource estimate reported by Bersimis Mining in 1964 (GM37408) is 79 million tons grading 48% Fe, 20.5% TiO2, 0.19% Cr and 0.36% V2O5. This estimate is historical in nature, non-compliant to NI 43-101 Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, and therefore should not be relied upon, but should only be considered has an indication of the iron-titanium mineral potential and not necessarily indicative of the mineralization on the La Blache Property.
 
The main mineral species of the La Blache occurrence is an intergrowth of very fine ulvospinel and magnetite exsolutions (Fe2TiO4). The ulvospinel content approximates 60% (GM16464). It was concluded at the time the magnetite intergrowths were so small (a few microns in size) that the physical separation seemed impossible. Detailed metallurgical studies would be required to determine any fatal flaws in separating iron and titanium. La Blache appears to host a significant iron and titanium mineralization that requires delineation and definition to determine the ultimate tonnage and grade. Lenses vary in width from 15 metres to 100 metres, exceed 300 metres in length with one lens exceeding 1,000 metres (GM164564). This would indicate a quantity in the order of 10 million to 100 million tonnes of massive ulvospinel-magnetite.

Infrastructure, Climate, Region - stable, mining friendly region with good infrastructure

The La Blache Titanium-Vanadium Property has good infrastructure with substantial hydroelectric facilities nearby and year round road access. Equipment, supplies, and manpower are moved in by vehicle right onto property. The La Blache property is close to well established civilization and the 70km road into the site is largely maintained by Hydro-Quebec. The property and climate are amenable to year round mining. Mineral exploration of all types including drilling can be done throughout the year.

Baie-Comeau is only ~100km to the east, it has a seaport and is where Alcoa and the other aluminum processors in Quebec have their processing plants.

 
Quebec ranks 'first' ahead of every mining jurisdiction in the world when ranking of jurisdictions according to attractiveness of mining policies and 'second' in terms of the jurisdictions mineral potential relative to policies in the Fraser Institutes annual survey of mining companies released April 2010. The survey ranks jurisdictions around the world based on their friendliness towards mining - the ranking is essentially a composite index that measures the effects on exploration of government policies including uncertainty concerning the administration, interpretation, and enforcement of existing regulations; environmental regulations; regulatory duplication and inconsistencies; taxation; uncertainty concerning native land claims and protected areas; infrastructure; socioeconomic agreements; political stability; labor issues; geological database; and security. In short, you can't pick a better place in the world to mine than where RGX.V is currently at in Quebec.

RGX.V is also the beneficiary of tax credit incentives offered by the government of Quebec; for every $1 that RGX.V invests in  development and exploration, they will receive ~$0.46 in the form of a tax credit.

Pilot plant will springboard RGX.V to large scale world class production

The capital costs on the initial pilot small-scale plant is less than CDN$4M and construction is expected to be complete later this year (2010). Its purpose is to show the laboratory proven metallurgical process is ready for full scale commercialization. The initial automated micro facility is essentially a commercialization step that will springboard RGX.V to a full scale world class facility. A large scale initial commercial pilot plant is expected to cost in the area of $100 million. The beauty of this business model is that these will be modular in nature so RGX.V can increase capacity by simply adding more units until they have a planned 10 of these in operation. That will also give RGX.V the ability to do routine maintenance or handle production problems on one plant at a time without have to shut down the whole operation.

Where to locate the large scale facility?: Mining MarketWatch Journal contacted Argex Mining's President & CEO, Michael Dehn, for an interview and he offered a great deal of insight into the myriad of considerations and options available to RGX.V in deciding where to locate their plant. RGX.V may consider locating the plant right on site which is ~100km from port or right at the port. The material RGX.V will be processing would yield more than 80% product, there is not a lot of waste in it; there is typically 50% iron, 20% titanium, plus vanadium and a few other metals. So to actually have a processing plant at the port may be an ideal situation, management has not determined that yet.

Argex's President pointed out that there may be special incentives and advantages for RGX.V to locate at port in Baie-Comeau. There are secondary industries that could be developed right around Argex's plant that could take Argex's products and produce titanium metals from titanium oxide or produce pigment right on site or they could produce high quality iron products from the hematite. That’s not Argex's focus, but the ability to have an industrial complex right at the port would allow something like that to happen and the cheap power in Quebec would actually make it quite attractive for businesses to relocate there. Argex's President also offered the following insight "When you are building a mill that is going to process up to 3 million tonnes of high grade ore per year, you can transport the ore via pipeline as a slurry to a process plant off-site. This has the advantage of locating the process plant close to other infrastructure such as a port and allow other synergized value-added process plants to be located in close proximity. We certainly have to conduct the required tradeoff studies to determine the optimum location for the plant. Regardless of the plant location the high grade nature of the titanium, iron, and vanadium, the anticipated low open pit strip ratio, the favourable location of the deposit, and the potentially favourable metallurgical recoveries will result in one of the cheapest titanium producers, if not the cheapest on the planet in the next three to five years."

With over 17 years experience in the mining industry, Michael was President, CEO and Director of Nayarit Gold Inc. from September 2005 to April 2007. Between 1995 and 2005, he worked as an exploration geologist and later as a Senior Geologist with Goldcorp Inc. Michael has been a director and/or management of publicly traded and private junior mining companies, with listings on the TSX, TSX-V, CNQ, Frankfurt, Berlin, OTCBB and Pink Sheets. His expertise lies in grassroots to advanced minerals exploration, marketing and financing junior companies. Michael has worked in diamond, base metals, precious metals, industrial minerals, oil and natural gas, as well as sand, gravel and peat deposits, primarily in the Americas on private, public company and government projects.
 

Mr. Mark Billings, CFO, Director
Mr. Billings is also the President and CEO of Orex Exploration Inc., a junior gold exploration company with properties in Nova Scotia. He is on the board of directors of a number of companies in Canada and the United States. Mr. Billings served as Chief Financial Officer for private and public Internet companies from 2000 to 2006, as well as running his own financial consultancy, Marengo Management Inc. From 2004 to 2006, Mr. Billings was Vice-President of Corporate Finance with Desjardins Securities Inc., where he led a number of public and private financings and took companies public on the Canadian exchanges. Mr. Billings has a Master of Business Administration degree, with honours, from the Harvard Business School, from where he graduated in 1995. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, with highest honours, from Carleton University in Ottawa in 1992. In 2002, he was awarded the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation from the CFA Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia.

  
Mr. Roy Bonnell, Director, V.P. Business Development
Mr. Bonnell is currently CFO and a director of the Corporation. He is also the Managing Director of Atwater Financial Group, a Montreal-based merchant banking group. Mr. Bonnell has an M.Sc. in Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics, an MBA from McGill University, a law degree from the University of Western Ontario and a BA (Honours) from Queen’s University.

Michael Curtis, Director
Mr. Curtis is President and CEO of Opal Energy Corp., an independent exploration and production company focused on developing natural gas resources in South Texas. He is also a director of Roadrunner Oil and Gas Inc. Mr. Curtis has over 35 years of experience in the Canadian financial industry in the areas of trading, research, corporate finance and the management of public companies. In 1998, he founded and became President and Director of Cardwell Capital Inc., a private investment and trading corporation that invests in small and mid-capitalization public companies trading in North American markets.

Anthony Garson, Director
Mr. Garson has a B.Sc. in Earth Sciences from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from the University of Toronto. He has been involved in the brokerage industry as a Mines and Metals Analyst, having served with the following firms, among others: Bank of Nova Scotia, Dean Witter Reynolds (Canada) Ltd. and Canaccord Capital. Mr. Garson was a principal and founding partner of Union Capital Markets (UK) Ltd. and has served as a director of several public companies.

Peter H. Smith, Director
Mr. Smith is the President and CEO of Fancamp Exploration Ltd., which has an inventory of mining properties in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, with potential resources of gold, iron ore, uranium and nickel. Mr. Smith holds a B.Sc. in geology from McGill University and an MS and Ph.D. from Northwestern University. He is a Professional Engineer in Ontario.

Eric T. Harkonen, Project Manager/Mine Engineering consultant
Mr. Harkonen has over 16 years of experience in the mining industry including 10 years in mine engineering & operations with Teck Resources Ltd. and Suncor Energy Inc. and 6 years in consulting where he was the project manager of numerous mining projects throughout Canada and the world. Eric's role in Argex is to oversee the advancement of the project from resource evaluation, scoping study, and advanced Engineering. Mr. Harkonen graduated in 1992 from Queen's University with a degree in Mining Engineering and subsequently graduated in 1994 from McMaster University with a degree in Master of Business Administration. Mr. Harkonen is a registered Professional Engineer.

For more information contact Argex's head office at: Ph (514) 788-8923
  

Company's web site: www.argex.ca               SEDAR Filings: URL