Puget Ventures Inc. – Advanced Cobalt Property, Werner West Cobalt Mine

Long Tail

Puget Ventures Inc. (CVE:PVS) is a Vancouver, British Columbia-based mining exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of metals properties, with a current emphasis on cobalt and nickel-copper-platinum group elements (PGE). The Company’s acquisition focus has been on the historically productive Werner Lake Mineral Belt, stretching 60km along a highly mineralized strike and located in the Kenora Mining District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada.

Overview

Puget Ventures Inc. (TSXV:PVS) is a Vancouver, British Columbia-based mining exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of metals properties, with a current emphasis on the strategic metal cobalt. The Company’s acquisition focus has been on the historically productive Werner Lake Mineral Belt, stretching 60km along a highly mineralized strike and located in the Kenora Mining District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Puget is the largest land holder in this region, with a consolidated package of properties which encompass historic deposits and past Cobalt and Nickel-Copper-PGE producers. The existing mines in the area include the Werner Lake Cobalt Mine, Gordon Lake Mine, and Werner East and West Mines and the Norpax Nickel Deposit.

Werner Lake Mineral Belt, emphasis is being placed on the Company’s flagship project, the Werner West Cobalt Mine, as it is one of the few advanced primary cobalt properties in North America.

In late September of 2010, Puget Ventures Inc. and Imperial Mining Holding Ltd., announced they had signed an Indicative Offer to form a multinational cobalt exploration company with cobalt assets in Russia and other mineral assets in Mongolia.

Concurrent with this all-stock transaction, Puget Ventures intends to seek shareholder approval to change its name to Global Cobalt Corporation (“Global Cobalt”) www.globalcobaltcorp.com. Global Cobalt’s new flagship asset would be a Russian project with and historic cobalt resource. The currently known size and scale of the deposit, as well as its potential, suggest a significant cobalt asset. This transaction comes at a time when world demand for cobalt is at its all-time high – the timing for this corporate transformation is ideal.

Investment Highlights

  • Puget is growing its cobalt resource through the tactical acquisition of an advanced Russian primary cobalt exploration project.
  • Continued exploration in the Werner Lake Belt – potential to become a domestic source of the strategic metal cobalt.

Chief Properties

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Werner West Cobalt Mine

The Werner West Cobalt Mine is Puget Ventures Inc.’s flagship Canadian asset and provides the nearest term primary cobalt production in Canada. Werner West is located in the Werner Lake Mineral Belt of the Kenora Mining District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Historic non NI 43-101 compliant reserves and resource estimates total 1.1 million tones of 0.31% cobalt, 0.29% copper and 0.011 opt gold.

First mined in 1929, 1932 and most recently in 1940-1944, Werner West is a high-grade cobalt deposit well along the production curve. Historic mining production numbers included 2% and 5% cobalt and grades up to 20% cobalt.

The Company completed 7,616 metres of drilling in 34 holes over the winter and spring of 2009-2010. The initial winter program of 1839 metres in 17 relatively shallow holes was designed to test the bodies within and adjacent to the known ores-hoots of the West Cobalt and Old Mine Site blocks, essentially as part of the due diligence for the NI 43-1010 Resource Estimate which was initiated by PEG Engineering Group. After successful completion of the initial phase, the program was expanded to a spring phase of 5,777 metres in 17 holes, aimed at probing the ore-shoots at depth, and at testing whether the deposits were indeed constrained by an apparent shallowly plunging shoot direction.

In total, 1,839 metres of drilling were completed in 17 diamond drillholes during the Phase I program in spring of 2010. The drilling of the Werner West Deposit returned a 12.30 metre intercept averaging 1.21% cobalt, including a very high-grade interval grading 12.48% cobalt over 0.90 metres. These high-grade intercepts are associated with anomalous copper, nickel and gold values.

Phase II drill results were released in June, 2010, showing a high grade extension of the Werner Lake cobalt deposit. The initial winter program of 1839 metres in 17 relatively shallow holes was designed to test the bodies within and adjacent to the known oreshoots of the West Cobalt and Old Mine Site blocks, essentially as part of the due diligence for the NI 43-101 Resource Estimate which was initiated by PEG Engineering Group.
Historic Data: Reserves & Resources: Werner Lake West and Old Mine Site

Proven Reserves: 140,031 tonnes of 0.475 Co; 0.26% Cu; 0.008 oz/t Au
Probable Reserves: 40,829 tonnes of 0.25% Co; 0.43% Cu; 0.003 oz/t Au
Indicated Resources: 51,456 tonnes of 0.13% Co; 0.26% Cu; 0.003 oz/t Au
Inferred Resources: 507,412 tonnes of 0.31% Co; 0.29% Cu; 0.011 oz/t Au

Category1

Mining Area2

Tonnes

Co %

Cu %

Au opt

Proven Reserve

Lenses 1&2

17,145

0.46

0.14

0.022

Proven Reserve

Lens 3

34,476

0.72%

0.30

0.005

Proven Reserve

West Cobalt

82,210

0.37

0.27

0.06

Proven Reserve

Stockpile3

6,200

0.50

0.30

0.09

Probable Reserve

West Cobalt

40,829

0.25

0.43

0.030

Indicated Resource

West Cobalt

51,456

0.13

0.20

0.03

Inferred Resource

West Cobalt

363,647

0.37

0.27

0.006

Inferred Resource

West Cobalt

430,663

0.18

0.29

0.015

Inferred Resource

Minesite

55,068

0.63

0.24

0.011

TOTAL

1,101,694

0.31

0.29

0.011

The Norpax Deposit

The Norpax Deposit is located approximately 7km east of the Ontario-Manitoba border and lies under a lake that has variously been named Tigar and Almo. In addition to the main deposit, other drilled smaller zones are reported up to 500m east and 1000m west with the western trend of mineralisation merging with that of the Big Zone.

The Norpax Deposit Exploration was discovered in the 1950s through 1970s and was explored by underground development as well as surface drilling. Norpax Nickel Mines Ltd. sank a three-compartment shaft to 402 ft in 1958 after surface drilling. Norpax never reached production but in the course of underground development two levels were established at 250 ft and 375 ft depths and a deposit delineated aggregating 1 million tons grading 0.5% Copper and 1.2% Nickel.

In April of 2009, Puget Ventures entered into an agreement with Harper Capital Inc. to earn a 100% option to purchase the mineral interests in the Norpax Property. A drill work program commenced in the fall of 2009 with successful intersections expanding it at depth by 100m and potentially along strike for several hundred metres.

The company says they are continuing to work in order to better define and confirm historical data.

The Werner Lake Minesite Deposit

The Werner Lake Minesite Deposit is located approximately 500m east of the Werner West Cobalt Deposit which is situated 14km east of the Manitoba border and approximately 100m north of the access road between Almo and Werner Lakes.

The earliest recorded claim staking in the Werner Lake area appears to have been in about 1921 when the discovery of what was to become the Werner Lake Mine was made. This property eventually came under the control of Falconbridge predecessor, Ventures Limited, and achieved some production of cobalt ore between 1932 and 1944. Subsequently, Falconbridge undertook more exploration including diamond drilling in 1957. They optioned their claims to Canmine in 1995, who earned a 100% interest in them. Between 1995 and 1997, Canmine drilled a total of 217 diamond drill holes totalling 27,895m on the Werner West and Werner Lake Minesite Deposits and orchestrated site rehabilitation and excavated 3,382 tonnes of cobalt-bearing rock. There are three known lenses contained within the property with proven reserves of Lenses 1 and 2 including 6200 tonnes of cobalt ore grading 0.5% cobalt, 0.3% copper and 0.009 oz/t gold. Lens 3 contains higher tonnage and grade and this trend may well continue at depth with higher grades in undiscovered lenses.

The deposit has undergone various diamond drilling programs by Puget Ventures, improving the delineation and historic resource estimates

Eastern Shallows Cobalt-Copper Deposit

The Eastern Shallows Cobalt-Copper Deposit is located about 4.2km east of the Werner Lake Minesite Cobalt Deposit near the eastern shore of Gordon Lake.

The deposit is a series of lensoidal pods with an eatery strike and is open to the east. Two separate zones, the main zone and the south zone were discovered and delineated by diamond drilling.

Canmine drilled a total of 31 diamond drill holes totalling 3,859m on the Eastern Shallows Deposit between December 1995 and March 1996. A Total of 646 drill core samples were assayed for cobalt, copper, gold and arsenic from the drill program.

A summer work program of surface exploration and prospecting was conducted by Puget Ventures in 2010 to focus on the newly discovered Eastern extension of the Werner Lake Cobalt Deposit located 800m to the east of the current deposit area and on strike to Puget’s Easter Shallows Cobalt Deposit and are currently awaiting results.

Management

Ray Castelli – Director, Puget Ventures Inc.

  • Mr. Castelli was appointed CEO of Weatherhaven, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of redeploy able camps and shelter systems, in January 2008 and has grown it to become a key supplier to the Canadian, US, Australian and NATO armed forces, numerous resource exploration companies as well as the United Nations and other disaster and humanitarian relief agencies.
  • Ray was co-founder and Senior Vice President of Quadrem, a Dallas-based global supply chain and e- procurement company, serving 19 of the world’s largest natural resource companies, including Rio Tinto,
  • BHP Billiton, Alcan and Inco.
  • Mr. Castelli was also one of six Canadian business leaders named to a new Canada-Brazil CEO Forum to foster trade growth and investment ties between the two countries

Erin Chutter – President and CEO, Director, Puget Ventures Inc.

  • Prior to founding Puget in 2007, Erin provided business-consulting services to a wide variety of public and private companies in the natural resources sector.
  • Ms. Chutter has held various positions for federal and provincial government officials, and sits on the Boards of the Canadian Taxpayer’s Federation and the MacDonald Laurier Foundation, as well as the Boards of two other listed companies.
  • Erin was recently inducted as a 2011 Business in Vancouver Top 40 Under 40 achievement award winner

Mr. Jean-Pierre Colin – Director, Puget Ventures Inc.

  • Provides creative corporate strategy consulting services to high profile international mining companies
  • 30+ years of investment banking experience with a proven track record of advancing mining projects 
through to successful development
  • Is the Director of Premier Gold Mines and is special advisor to the Executive Chairman and Board of 
BlackRock Metals Inc.

Peter Reynolds – Director, Puget Ventures Inc.

  • Is engaged by EBRD to carry out reviews of EBRD’s investments for several projects in Mongolia and Russia and is the EBRD’s nominated Director on the Board of IMHL
  • Nearly 40 years in the minerals industry, with high-level experience at various mines including being former Manager of Operations Planning & Mine Projects/Manager Mine Business Improvement at Olympic Dam and was former Managing Director Marlborough Resources as well as Mining Engineer Normandy Mining

Wilson Russell – Director, Puget Ventures Inc.

  • Doctorate in Engineering Physics, Marseille, France with over 30 years experience in business and technology development in the Offshore Petroleum and Ocean industries.
  • President of Northstar Electronics and Northstar Technology (manufacturer of ocean sonar equipment for Lockheed Martin)

Bagrat Safarian – Director, Puget Ventures Inc.

  • Mr. Safarian is the current Managing Director of RnB Capital
  • He was the Director of Investment Banking at CentralInvest Inc. from 2004 to 2008 and a Senior Consultant 
of PA Consulting from 2000 to 2002 
Marc Thomas, Director Global Cobalt
  • General Director and Partner, Industrial Solutions and Technologies, a technology company that represents European and American manufacturers in the Russian marketplace
  • Strategic and commercial skills developed through leading regional turnarounds for Blue Chip FMCG Multinationals
  • Specializes in business strategy, team building, development and management of sales teams, trade marketing and Key Account Development

Senior Technical Team:

Michael Dehn – Canadian Operations


  • Founding CEO of Puget Ventures Inc., with over 17 years of experience in the mining industry including extensive technical knowledge of the Red Lake District; Current President & CEO of Jourdan Resources Inc.

Steve McRobbie – Consultant

  • Former Director of Exploration for FTSE-100 listed Kazakhmys and Director General for ASX-listed Monaro Mining (Kyrgyzstan)
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