ImmunoCellular Therapeutics winds up patient enrollment for Phase 2 cancer trial

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics (MKT:IMUC) said Wednesday it finished enrolling patients for Phase 2 clinical trials for its cancer vaccine ICT-107. 

The California-based company seeks to develop new therapeutics to fight cancer using one's immune system. ICT-107 is a dendritic cell-based vaccine aimed to treat glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer.

The Phase 2 trial, which is a placebo-controlled and double blind study, enrolled 278 patients across 25 sites participating in the trial.  

The trials primary goal is overall survival, with secondary goals that include progression free survival, immune response and safety. 

"We believe ICT-107 represents the next generation of cancer immunotherapy by targeting both tumor cells and cancer stem cells with a dendritic cell-based vaccine," ImmunoCellular chief executive John S. Yu said in a statement. 

ImmunoCellular said depending on the trials progress results could be available sometime in the late second half of 2013. 

In late July, the biotech company said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave clearance to start Phase I clinical trials of ICT-121, a vaccine that targets an antigen expressed in tumours.  

The trial, which will be performed at a Los Angeles-based medical centre, will test the vaccine on 20 patients with glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive brain cancer. 

Like ICT-107, now in Phase II trials treating subjects with the same type of brain cancer, the ICT-121 treatment is the second dendritic cell-based vaccine to enter the clinic.

Both brain tumour vaccines work by turning a patient’s immune system against tumour associated antigens. This is done by pulling out dendritic cells and loading them with antigens. The cells, then, are reinserted into the patient’s body to trigger an immune response.

Western Potash hands in environmental report for Milestone project

Western Potash Corp. (TSE:WPX) (FSE:AHE) said Wednesday it has submitted its environmental impact statement for its proposed Milestone potash solution mine in Saskatchewan. 

Following a technical review by regulatory agencies, the report will be available for public review and will be available on the company's website - expected sometime in the fourth quarter. 

The report was submitted to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment for the project, which is located 30 kilometres southeast of Regina and 80 kilometres from Mosaic's Belle Plaine mining lease. 

The environmental report details features designed to minimize the potential impacts of the project to the environment, while "optimizing social and economic benefits" to the local and regional communities

It includes a series of studies such as wildlife, surface water quality, air quality and vegetation studies, among others, and records all engagement meetings with members of the communities in the area as well as government agencies. 

Once all necessary approvals are in place, environmental monitoring and follow up programs will be outlined.

"Today, after a coordinated effort between all the regulatory agencies and our team we are pleased to be submitting a critical document that will go a long way to de-risking the Milestone Project and ultimately create lasting value for our shareholders," said president and CEO, Patricio Varas. 

The Milestone project is being designed as a solution potash mine with a minimum of 40 years of mining at a full production rate of 2.8 million tonnes per year. 

In June, the City of Regina approved key commerical terms that will allow a large portion of the city's treated sewage effluent to be diverted to Milestone.

Once up and running, Western Potash said the Milestone project will draw between 40 per cent and 70 per cent of the City of Regina‘s wastewater. The agreement, if paid out annually, is worth more than $200 million to the city over a 45 year term.

"We know that effective water governance requires the involvement of a broad range of stakeholders. Western Potash Corp. is but one stakeholder," said Varas. 

"The natural resource sector will continue to be the most significant user of water in Saskatchewan and we believe it falls to those natural resource development companies to demonstrate the kind of leadership and innovation that we hope will become more prevalent in industry. 

"We at Western are planning a very innovative use of water in the development of our Potash Solution Mine," he concluded. 

The feasibility study for the mine is now nearing completion, expected to be wrapped up for late November. 

The company also remains in ongoing negotiations with several parties, which could lead to equity and debt financings, it said, as well as joint ventures or potential takeovers to advance Milestone.  

Under NI 43-101 guidelines, the Milestone project holds 66.6 million tonnes of measured recoverable resource, 186.9 million tonnes of indicated recoverable resource and 708.2 million tonnes of inferred recoverable resource.

Shares of Western Potash are up more than 3 per cent in the last 5 days, lately changing hands at 64 cents. 

Kincora Copper unveils further "elevated" copper and gold at Bronze Fox

Kincora Copper (CVE:KCC) announced Wednesday the remaining assay results from a hole in the West Kasulu zone at its Bronze Fox project in southeast Mongolia- which show an "extensive" copper and gold zone. 

The company said the copper and gold mineralized zone has occasional elevated molybdenum intersections, with mineralization open in all directions. 

The hole, F62, from the West Kasulu zone, returned 3 metres averaging 0.82% copper equivalent, and up to 661 metres averaging 0.44% copper equivalent. The hole also intercepted 9 metres averaging 1.07% copper equivalent. 

These intercepts included grades as high as 3.1% copper equivalent over 1 metre from 929 to 930 metres. 

The company's Bronze Fox, Tourmaline Hills and North Fox assets are located in southeast Mongolia along the Oyu Tolgoi copper belt. The licenses are located 140 kilometres northeast of the famous Oyu Tolgoi copper gold project and 250 kilometres from the Chinese border.

The drilling program at Bronze Fox is targeting an Oyu Tolgoi style of porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum mineralization with large resource potential. 

Further drilling will test the extent of the mineralization and will track the halo east and west, which runs for approximately 2 kilometres, Kincora said.                

"The exploration results continue to demonstrate the extent of the mineralisation at Kincora's properties," said president and CEO, John Rickus.

"The 2012 exploration program remains on track for the season and we continue to improve our understanding of the extent of the high grade system while adding new targets to be explored at a later stage."

In addition to the results from hole F62, further core drill results were announced from holes in Tourmaline Hills, with both gold and copper intersections, the company said. 

New results included 3 metres averaging 1.09 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, 6 metres averaging 0.85% copper with 0.1 g/t and 1 metre of 1.52 g/t gold. 

The company also reported rock chip sample results from the southeast Happy Geo zone, including 60 samples of over 0.2 g/t gold and 5 samples over 10 g/t gold, with the highest at 42.5 g/t. 

The Happy Geo zone sits in a large shear area, which is over 300 metres wide and over 15 kilometres of outcrops. 

The company said the soil geochemistry program for the current work concentration area and the Happy Geo zone has been completed and further high gold anomalies are evident. 

Channel Resources provides corporate update, files Tanlouka technical report

Channel Resources Ltd. (CVE:CHU) late Tuesday provided a corporate update as it filed its NI 43-101 technical report on the Mankarga 5 maiden resource estimate for the Tanlouka project in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

As announced in July, the report identified Indicated Mineral Resources of 14.1 million tonnes at 0.94 grams per tonne (g/t) gold for 425,000 gold ounces and Inferred Mineral Resources of 29.1 million tonnes at 0.78 g/t gold for 729,000 gold ounces. 

With the announcement of a maiden resource estimate at Tanlouka, Channel has achieved an important milestone in demonstrating the potential of the Tanlouka Project. 

From the first hole drilled on the Mankarga 5 structure to the present, over a period of two years, a NI 43-101-compliant resource has been established with a major new resource contained within a single open pit shell. The mineralized structures at Mankarga 5 remain open down-dip and along-strike with potential to add to its gold inventory.

"We are very pleased with the progress that our team has made on the Tanlouka project," Channel's president and CEO Colin McAleenan commented.

"While the very difficult market conditions prevailing over the past six months and especially over this summer have limited the impact of our achievement in the markets, we believe that we have created real value for shareholders that will, in time, be reflected more faithfully."

Tanlouka's expected growth over the next year will be driven not only by a potential market recovery but on a demonstration of the expansion potential of the Mankarga 5 deposit, which remains open along strike and to-depth, further drilling to determine the extent of mineralization at Mankarga 1 and Mankarga 1-South targets, and also on work underway to add new discoveries in other target areas. 

Chief among these include the Manesse and Tanwaka targets, approximately five and ten kilometres north of the Mankarga zone, originally identified in historic regional geochemical surveys. 

Channel has recently followed up on these targets with extensive 100 metre by 25 metre soil surveys, the results for which are expected soon. In addition to the identified targets of Mankarga, Manesse and Tanwaka, the company will begin exploring the western third of the property, which has not yet seen any fieldwork.

"To-date, the exploration of the 79 square kilometer Tanlouka property has been focused on the six square kilometer Mankarga area in the south," McAleenan continued.

"Now that we have identified our first major deposit on the property on which there is ample expansion potential through additional drilling, we are now just beginning to look at some of the additional exploration potential that the permit has to offer. 

"What we are particularly excited by is the level of artisanal mining activity on both Manesse and in particular on Tanwaka, which serves to increase our confidence that we will be able to generate strong drill targets in both of these areas."

Channel Resources said further work is also planned to prepare the Mankarga 5 deposit for economic assessment including further metallurgical studies to expand on preliminary work. While these initial results have demonstrated the free-milling nature of gold mineralization in both oxide and fresh-rock samples, column leach tests on both types of rock and transition material will allow for more definitive estimates on project development costs for heap-leach and CIL milling production scenarios.

The recent metallurgical studies have also included environmental testing on the different rock types, establishing minimal arsenic content and minimal potential for acid-rock drainage from the Mankarga 5 samples. Further environmental testing is also planned, including the collection of weather and other environmental data necessary for an environmental impact assessment of the project.

Corporate social responsibility-related activities have also been initiated.

While these exploration and pre-development activities have taken place, the company has also prepared for the project's future advancement through a build up of local corporate and project infrastructure. 

As Channel earned its 90 per cent interest in the project a Burkina Faso subsidiary, Tanlouka SARL, was formed to hold the interest and to directly manage the project and an office has been opened in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital city. 

The company's existing exploration 'base' in the town of Mogtedo, just north of the project permit, has been upgraded and a new compound, complete with core storage facilities, has been constructed proximal to the Mankarga 5 deposit to facilitate future drilling programs.

"In a very short period of time since our first discovery hole at Tanlouka in 2010, Channel has demonstrated its ability to advance the project quickly and efficiently," added McAleenan. 

"With only a small corporate group in its Vancouver office, we have devoted the bulk of our resources to advance the project and build a dedicated and effective technical and logistical team in Burkina Faso, resulting in a discovery cost for the gold in the recent resource estimate of only approximately $5 per ounce. 

"With approximately $2 million in cash in the treasury, we believe that the company is in a good position to weather current markets while continuing to deliver results from Tanlouka that highlight its exploration and development potential."

Regarding Fox Creek, the company's Mineral Brine project in Alberta, the company said it believes that the project presents a unique opportunity for Channel to capitalize on rising demand for these roducts while at the same time maintaining Channel's focus on gold exploration and development.

Channel has a 100 per cent interest in the Fox Creek Mineral Brine Project in Alberta, where it is assessing the project's potential to produce a package of industrial mineral products, including salt, lithium carbonate, potash, bromine and borates, from brine produced from natural gas wells.

The company has since developed a process flowsheet for the production of mineral products in multiple stages in what it believes is the most efficient manner, utilizing well-established technologies. 

These results are being used in an internal assessment of the project's potential commercial viability in order to prepare the project for a strategic transaction, which may include its joint-venture, spin-off or outright sale to market-specific players.

"The Fox Creek project, given its size and proximity to extensive industrial and energy infrastructure, has potential for development in the near-term", commented McAleenan. 

"Although non-core to Channel's primary asset development strategy, we have been able to advance the project in a meaningful way so that we are now close to finalizing the results of our research into the viability of developing this unique resource."

Great Panther buys El Horcon project nearby Cata processing plant

Great Panther Silver (TSE:GPR)(NYSE MKT:GPL)(AMEX:GPL) today said it has bought a 100 per cent stake in the El Horcon silver-gold project in Jalisco State, Mexico for US$1.6 million in cash.

The property, previously owned by private Mexican company Compania Minera El Dore, covers 7,908 hectares in 17 contiguous mining concessions and is located 60 kilometres northwest of Great Panther's Guanajuato Mine Complex. 

The company noted it is within trucking distance to its Cata processing plant at the complex.              

"The El Horcon Project has excellent potential to be a satellite mine for our Guanajuato Operations," said Great Panther CEO, Robert Archer. 

"We are very pleased with this acquisition as it is consistent with our strategy to acquire assets with near-term production potential in the districts where we already operate, while looking for a larger scale, stand-alone acquisition elsewhere in Latin America."

El Horcon is a historic mining operation but the extent of past production is unknown. 

The property is located on the northwest trend of the prolific Guanajuato mining camp and hosts similar silver-gold mineralized epithermal veins to those seen at the company's existing operations, it said. 

El Horcon hosts nine known veins, with the Diamantillo vein traceable on surface for more than four kilometres. Several underground workings exist, the most extensive of which is the Diamantillo Tunnel, Great Panther noted. 

Chip channel sampling by a previous operator, Exmin Resources Inc, returned average grades for the Diamantillo Tunnel of 1.97 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 99 g/t silver, over a strike length of 80 metres. 

Meanwhile, the Diamantillo vein at the El Horcon workings, 45 metres to the northwest of the Tunnel, returned average grades of 1.50 g/t gold and 20 g/t silver.                 

Exmin and then-partner Hochschild Mining plc completed around 6,500 metres of diamond drilling. 

The company said the "most representative diamond drill hole to the Diamantillo Tunnel", HOR-07-01, intercepted 3.60 metres at 2.88 g/t gold and 61g/t silver - 45 metres directly below the tunnel.               

Great Panther added that its sampling at the property so far is consistent with these historic results. 

Preliminary metallurgical testing at the company's facilities in Guanajuato also shows the El Horcon mineralization to be compatible with the existing mill feed, the miner said. 

While further testing is still necessary, it is expected that recoveries from El Horcon should be roughly 92 per cent for gold and 80 per cent for silver.               

Great Panther said that for its initial geological program, it will focus on a shallow zone of silver-gold mineralization on the Diamantillo vein for a six month phase one exploration program. 

Mapping and sampling of the property will start immediately, to be followed by diamond drilling as soon as permits are acquired, with the aim of outlining a new mineral resource for the project.              

Great Panther Silver is a primary silver mining and exploration company focused on its two operating mines in Mexico, Guanajuato and Topia.

Aside from the development stage San Ignacio, the company also holds the exploration stage property, Santa Rosa, which is located 15 kilometres northeast of Guanajuato.

Last month, Mexico-focused Great Panther posted a 69 per cent increase in second-quarter revenues as processed ore increased by 3 per cent sequentially. 

Overall, the company said that gold production increased 22 per cent to 2,354 ounces from the second quarter of 2011 and Topia silver production reached a record 148,439 ounces, despite lower throughput.

OncoSec Medical gets new patent in China for cancer therapy platform

OncoSec Medical (OTCBB:ONCS) said today that it has snagged a new patent in China for its OMS electroporation platform for cancer therapy. 

The new method of use and device patent was issued by the state intellectual property office in China. 

The patent has the potential to expand the company's commercial opportunities for "minimally invasive and surgical procedures" to treat solid tumors in a large market such as China. 

OncoSec’s ElectroOncology therapies address are less invasive and expensive therapy for treating cancer, and avoid the detrimental effects of current cancer treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy or immunotherapy.

The OncoSec Medical System (OMS) applies short electric impulses to the tumor, causing pores to open in the membrane of cancer cells, which significantly increases the uptake of the immunotherapy or chemotherapy delivered. 

"The issuance of this patent is significant, because the Chinese authorities have given the company patent approval for our claims regarding the OMS electroporation device itself, as well as the method of use," said OncoSec's president and CEO, Punit Dhillon. 

"These are broad claims, wherein OncoSec now has the ability to deliver various therapeutic agents through its electroporation device, including bleomycin and DNA IL-12, as well as to treat tumors with these agents following surgical resection. 

"Thus, this patent will act as a part of the company's core strategy as we continue to develop and build our commercialization strategy in China, one of the largest emerging oncology markets."

The company noted that "numerous research studies" have concluded that cancer has now become a leading cause of mortality in China, representing 25 per cent of all deaths in urban areas and 21 per cent in rural areas. 

OncoSec's therapeutic approaches, as potential adjuncts to surgery, have been shown to selectively kill cancer cells that may exist in the neighboring tissue, which can result in a reduced rate of recurrence and has the potential to complement surgical procedures.

Rathdowney Resources encounters 18.8% Zinc + Lead over 7.8 metres at Olza

Rathdowney Resources Ltd. (CVE:RTH) Wednesday unveiled results from forty-two additional holes from the company's ongoing drilling program in at Project Olza, Poland. 

Amongst the highlights, Hole 165, which intersected 7.8 metres of 18.8% Zinc and Lead (Zn+Pb), is 210 metres northwest of Hole 171 that encountered 8.7 metres of 7.9% Zn+Pb. 

Hole 135, which encountered 8.4 metres of 9.5% Zn+Pb, is 140 metres north of hole 162 which intersected 5.7 metres of 7.7% Zn+Pb including 1.3 metres of 20.0% Zn+Pb.

"The width and tenor of these mineralized intersections bode well for the soon-to-be-released, first compliant resource for this historical mining district - stay tuned," Rathdowney's president and CEO John Barry said.

The holes are located at drill centres in the central and southern parts of the extensive mineralized corridor that extends through Project Olza-area. These new holes include some of the best grades and widths encountered in drilling to date and demonstrate the strength and persistence of the zinc-lead mineralization at Project Olza. 

Project Olza is a Mississippi Valley Type zinc-lead prospect situated in Poland's prolific Upper Silesian mining district which has been a centre of exploration and mining activity since 12th century. 

According to a 2010 USGS report, the Upper Silesian has the most important metal accumulation in any of the world's MVT districts, with an estimated endowment of some 40 million tonnes of zinc and lead1. Because of the district's long mining history, key infrastructure such as power, and smelter facilities with rail access, is readily available.

Given its geological potential and excellent location, Rathdowney's Project Olza presents a compelling investment opportunity among a small peer-group of zinc-focused juniors.

Full drilling details can be seen at: http://rathdowneyresources.com/i/pdf/RDR/RTH_2012_Sep05_NRDrawing.pdf

Rathdowney Resources is a mineral exploration company focused on finding and developing the next generation of zinc-lead-silver deposits in the ore fields of Poland and Ireland. 

Rathdowney is associated with Hunter Dickinson, a diversified, global mine development company with a 25-year history of mineral development success.

Ocean Equities says Kirkland Lake Gold's Queenston deal "fully justified"

Ocean Equities issued comments Wednesday following the news of Kirkland Lake Gold (TSE:KGI)(AIM:KGI) announcing initial drilling results from the licences acquired from former partner Queenston Mining (TSE:QMI). 

Late last month, Kirkland Lake Gold wrapped up the acquisition of Queenston's 50 per cent interest in the seven joint venture properties that the two companies owned in the Kirkland Lake camp. 

Earlier Wednesday, Kirkland Lake Gold unveiled results from surface and underground drilling programs at its South Claims property, uncovering new high grade gold ounces.  

One hole in particular, AB-12-06, intersected 8.52 oz/ton (over 265 grams per tonne) gold over 3 feet of core length at a depth of only 300 feet (91 metres), clearly demonstrate an extension to the South Mine Complex (SMC) as well as the potential for near surface mineralisation. 

"These initial results perfectly illustrate the rationale behind the recent deal with Queenston and have already provided justification," Ocean Equities said in a note.

Kirkland employed two surface drill rigs and one of its six underground exploration rigs to follow up on earlier drill results from the licences that it previously held as a joint venture with Queenston. 

Drill hole SC-11-02 returned an intersection of 1.74 oz/ton (around 54 grams per tonne) gold over 4.6 feet was announced in February prior to Kirkland and Queenston agreeing to an acquisition deal for Queenston’s stake in the JV licences.

The latest drilling has targeted both near surface mineralisation as well as extensions to the SMC that extend onto the previously JV licence areas. Of particular interest is the near surface drilling results associated with the Amalgamated Break, an area of known high grade mineralisation. 

"These are the results that we have been waiting for. We were expecting to see some robust grade and widths from the 5300 Level drilling as the drive from the Macassa property onto the South Claims licence was well placed in an area of known high grade mineralisation and Kirkland has not disappointed," Ocean Equities said.  

"As usual the company has successfully delivered on the exploration front and more bonanza grade gold has been discovered at the SMC." 

In a note, Ocean Equities said that near surface exploration proves the geological model of the Amalgamated Break and highlights the potential for continued near surface exploration. 

Importantly these results come from an area that essentially lies above the SMC and ties in well with the deeper resources. However, the larger growth potential comes from exploration along the Amalgamated Break to the east where historic exploration success has been recorded, the capital markets firm said. 

Drill results at the 5300 Level are likely to quickly become part of the near to mid-term mine plan as Kirkland continues its development of the SMC, which is the source of the higher grade ore feed from the plant compared to the Main Break ore. 

There is already a resource of over 300koz gold on the South Claims licence and Kirkland will be able to add quickly to this total, Ocean Equities said. 

"Kirkland has set itself a resource target of 5 million ounces and drill results like these at the 5300 Level give us increased confidence that the company will be able to easily meet this target in the near term." 

Results from closer to surface are unlikely to figure in the near term mine plan for Kirkland, however, they do illustrate well the longer term potential for the mine and the company. 

Continued success in this area could support a Phase IV expansion at Macassa that would lift production above the Phase III expanded production capacity of 300,000 ounce gold per annum that is expected to be online by mid 2013.

"Clearly the resource potential of Kirkland’s historic mine is far from fully outlined, offer blue sky exploration upside as well as the significant share price increase we expect to result from successful commissioning of the increased production capacity," Ocean said in its note. 

"Furthermore we believe that Kirkland is an attractive company from an acquisition perspective as it combines solid production growth potential with exploration potential in a low risk jurisdiction with little social of environmental risk."

Kirkland Lake Gold discovers new high grade gold ounces at South Claims

Kirkland Lake Gold (TSE:KGI)(AIM:KGI) unveiled Wednesday results from surface and underground drilling programs at its South Claims property, uncovering new high grade gold ounces.  

South Claims in the Kirkland Lake Gold camp in Ontario was formerly a joint venture with Queenston Mining (TSE:QMI), but was acquired by Kirkland late last month. 

"Results are in line with our expectations, discovering new high grade gold ounces on the acquired JV claims," said exploration manager at Kirkland, Stewart Carmichael. 

"With the exploration drifts on the 5300 level already developed, access to both underground and surface drilling on the South Claims was immediate and will be ongoing throughout the year."

The surface exploration program at the site, which is using two rigs, was designed to follow up on the high grade intercept in drill hole SC-11-02, which assayed 1.74 ounces of gold per ton (opt) over a true width of around 4.6 feet, 400 feet below surface. 

The company said drill hole AB-12-01 intersected a mineralized zone that returned 1.12 opt uncut over 6.5 feet of core length. This intersection is located 740 feet west of the South Claims at a vertical depth of 2,456 feet. 

Drill hole AB-12-06 returned 8.52 opt uncut over 3.0 feet of core length, which was around 300 feet below surface and contained "significant visible gold", Kirkland said, adding that it appears to be associated with the high grade intercept in drill hole SC-11-02 approximately 140 feet to the east.

Meanwhile, hole 53-2147 intersected the New South Zone and assayed 11.00 opt uncut (3.57 opt cut) over a true width of 4.5 feet. This hole also included a new hangingwall vein that returned 1.33 opt over a true width of 2.7 feet. 

At least one, and possibly two, new hangingwall veins were also intersected. 

Drill hole 53-2150 returned 0.64 opt over a core length of 13.1 feet and 53-2151 assayed 0.59 opt uncut, (0.54 opt cut) over a core length of 20.6 feet. Further infill drilling to determine continuity between these two holes is required, the company said. 

These drill programs are part of a much larger ongoing exploration initiative, in which Kirkland is currently operating nine exploration drills - six of which are located underground at the Macassa Mine, and three of which are located on surface. 

One of the six underground exploration drills is testing the extension of the South Mine Complex (SMC) area on the HM and North Amalgamated properties, also former joint ventures acquired by Kirkland in late August. 

A second drill is located in a recently excavated drill bay along the west boundary between the South Claims and the Macassa property. This drill is testing the down-dip and strike extension of the SMC on the South Claims, where the existing indicated and inferred resource grade is greater than 1 ounce per ton.    

According to Kirkland, the earliest recorded exploration on the South Claims was in the 1920s, and after 1939, there was no other exploration work on the property until 2007 - when Kirkland and Queenston completed a surface geophysical program.  

Kirkland Gold currently has a near surface resource located on the 100 per cent owned Macassa property close to the west boundary of the South Claims property. 

The resource is comprised of two separate mineralized zones, which contain a combined 16,000 tons indicated resource grading 0.33 opt and a combined 16,000 tons inferred resource grading 0.31 opt. 

The company said the intercepts announced from the recent surface drilling "seem to be related to this resource", but further drilling is required to confirm this relationship. 

Snipp terminates its previously announced non-brokered financing

Mobile marketing services firm Snipp Interactive (CVE:SPN) has terminated a $1.1 million non-brokered financing announced earlier this month, as the company assesses other financing options. 

Snipp said Tuesday that it was approached by financial and strategic investors in regard to its other financing options.

The company's board and management believe that this decision is in the best interest of stakeholders, Snipp said. 

"When we announced the financing terms a number of shareholders expressed concern that the terms were too onerous considering the current financial position of Snipp," said Anthony Durkacz, chief financial officer. 

"We will explore all options to address shareholders concerns and allow us to execute on our business and acquisition strategies."

Under the previously announced non-brokered placement, each unit would have consisted of one unsecured debenture of $1,000 and 5,000 warrants. The minimum subscription amount was set at $100,000. 

Last week, the company reported second quarter revenue rose 19 per cent, citing a growing sales channel. Sales rose to $106,321, compared with $89,660 a year earlier. 

The company reported a wider net loss of $330,380 due to hiring and implementing broader sales and administration abilities, it said.

In early August, the mobile marketing company announced its chairman Atul Sabharwal would replace Erik Hallstrom as chief executive. Hallstrom, who continues with Snipp in an advisory role, stepped down to pursue another opportunity. 

Director Ritesh Bhavnani has taken over as chairman of the board.

Snipp provides print publishers, advertising agencies and corporate brands with a full suite of mobile marketing services in North America. 

It makes its money by designing and implementing these mobile marketing services. The company is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and has operations in Canada, Mexico as well as India.

Orko Silver shares rise by as much as 10%

Orko Silver (CVE:OK) shares were up by as much as around 10 per cent Tuesday, crossing above their 200-day moving average of $1.60. 

The company's shares were lately changing hands at $1.73 per share, up around 9.5 per cent on the day, and were earlier up as high as $1.74. 

In early June, the miner said that it had resolved technical issues that were causing delays in the completion of its updated resource estimate for its 100 per cent owned La Preciosa project in Mexico.

La Preciosa is located in Durango State, which envelops the heart of Mexico’s prolific Sierra Madre Mining Belt, and includes large silver deposits such as Fresnillo and Pitarrilla.

Orko said that delays to the updated resource estimate are attributed to a more detailed review of the deposit that was undertaken, and subsequent development of a revised vein model from the veins that were modeled in the August 2011 resource estimate.

Early in the study, a decision was made to devote a higher level of diligence to the preliminary geological interpretation and resource modeling, said the company.

The La Preciosa resource currently being modeled by Mining Plus has now been defined by a number of individual variably dipping and striking vein sets over an area with dimensions of 3.3 by 1.8 kilometres, and to a depth approaching 650 metres below surface, said the company.

Orko said the resource is extensive - "it remains open along the eastern flank, to the southeast and to depth, thus presenting potentially increased value to the company."

The updated resource estimate, originally scheduled to be completed and released in March, is to be a key component of the new preliminary economic assessment (PEA) currently being completed by AMEC Americas.

The company took over as operator of the project after former partner Pan American Silver (TSE:PAA) (NYSE:PAAS) decided to exit their joint venture in early April.

Copper Fox unveils drilling results, feasibility study for Schaft Creek expected this month

Copper Fox Metals (CVE:CUU) revealed this morning results from two diamond drill holes, showing what it called "widespread mineralization" from the Discovery zone at its Schaft Creek copper-gold-molybdenum-silver project in northwest British Columbia.

The company also said it expects to unveil its feasibility study for the project this month. 

Diamond drill hole CF427-2012 intersected 0.625% copper, 0.59 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, 2.02 g/t silver and 0.006% molybdenum, or 1.01% copper equivalent,  over a core length of 47 metres starting at a core interval of 509.00 metres. 

The same hole also intercepted 0.36% copper equivalent over 336.72 metres starting at a core interval of 428.12 metres, and hole 

CF426-2012 returned 0.21% copper equivalent over 689.11 metres starting at a core length of 76.55 metres. 

The company said that with these holes, phase 1 of the 2012 exploration program has been completed, and that additional drilling may be conducted in September. 

Results of the interpretation of the airborne and Titan-24 surveys that were completed over the Shaft Creek project are expected shortly, it added. 

"Although to date the  drilling was limited in extent, it achieved the first Phase of the  objectives of the 2012 exploration program," said president Elmer B. Stewart. 

"A Phase 11 program is  currently being considered."

Stewart further said that the source of the Titan-24 chargeability  anomaly on the Discovery zone is interpreted to be the  copper-gold-silver mineralization intersected by the 2012 drilling. 

"The higher grade nature of the copper-gold mineralization in certain  portions in (DDH) CF427-2012 and the absence of molybdenum in both  drill holes suggest a separate mineralizing event from that which  formed the Schaft Creek deposit. 

"The combination of these drill  results, the chargeability anomalies and mineralization in outcrop lends considerable support to the mineral potential of the Schaft Creek mineral trend."

The 2012 drilling program so far has totaled 2,206 metres in six  diamond drill holes. The company said difficult ground conditions resulted in the early termination of four of the drill holes from the campaign. 

Also Tuesday, Copper Fox said the results of the feasibility study for the project are expected to be released in September, with an optimized mine plan already completed. 

Sensitivity studies related to capital recovery versus daily mill throughput are being completed to determine the optimal start-up scenario for the Schaft Creek project, the company added. 

The final phase of the  study, the economic analysis, is expected to be completed early this month. 

Schaft Creek is one of the largest undeveloped copper, gold,  molybdenum and silver deposits in North America, according to Copper Fox. 

The feasibility study  is being led by Tetra Tech Wardrop on a minimum 120,000 tonne per day open pit  mine.

The company holds a 100 per cent working interest in the project consisting of 52,843.36 hectares. 

SouthGobi says Chalco abandons bid, unveils board changes

SouthGobi Resources (TSE:SGQ) said that Turquoise Hill Resources (TSE:TRQ) and Aluminum Corporation of China (Chalco) have dropped a $925 million bid for SouthGobi.

"The proposed transaction has minimal prospect of obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals within an acceptable time frame," Vancouver-based Turquoise Hill Resources, SouthGobi’s largest shareholder, said in a statement. 

"As a result, Turquoise Hill and Chalco have agreed to terminate the lock-up agreement, including Chalco’s obligation to make a proportional offer."

Chalco’s plans to acquire a stake in SouthGobi have been hindered by the Mongolian government, which passed a law in May restricting foreign state-owned companies from controlling key assets. The Chinese company was due to make a takeover bid by September 4 after it agreed with Turquoise Hill to extend the deadline for a second time.

Chalco proposed in April to buy as much as 60 per cent of SouthGobi for $8.48 per share.

Turquoise Hill, a unit of Rio Tinto which recently changed its name from Ivanhoe Mines, has a 58 per cent stake in SouthGobi. Turquoise Hill is building the $6.2 billion Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine in Mongolia with Rio Tinto, scheduled to begin production in 2013.

SouthGobi also unveiled board changes, including the resignation of three existing directors and the appointment of five new directors effective September 3.

The company's board accepted the resignation of directors Edward Flood, the Honourable Robert Hanson and chairman Peter Meredith, and subsequently appointed Lindsay Dove, Sean Hinton, Kay Priestly, Brett Salt and Kelly Sanders as directors of the company.

Kay Priestly is chief executive of Turquoise Hill Resources and was named chairman of SouthGobi. Priestly has has more than 30-years of experience in the financial, mining and energy sectors. 

Sean Hinton has been appointed as deputy chairman and will play an active role in supporting the management team. Hinton has more than 23 years of experience in Mongolia and China, including as an advisor to Rio Tinto, Oyu Tolgoi and Goldman Sachs(Asia).

"Peter, Ed and Robert have been longstanding directors and have been instrumental in providing outstanding guidance in discovering, developing and successfully operating SouthGobi's flagship Ovoot Tolgoi mine. I want to sincerely thank them for their long service to the company," SouthGobi's new chairman Key Priestly said.

"I am honoured to be appointed chairman and welcome the other new directors. I look forward to working with Pierre Lebel, our lead independent director, deputy chairman Sean Hinton, my fellow directors and the SouthGobi management team. 

"With the termination of the Chalco transaction, we will focus on the company's core business performance and realizing the operating potential of an outstanding asset."

Pierre Lebel added: "On behalf of the board, particularly on behalf of SouthGobi's independent directors, I want to welcome our new directors to the company. Each brings significant skills and experience that will be very valuable to SouthGobi as we move ahead with future development."

Lindsay Dove spent more than 30 years in the international oil, coal and shipping industries with BP and Rio Tinto where he held a variety of senior management positions. 

Since retiring from Rio Tinto in 2006, Dove has been an independent consultant advising on acquisitions and corporate transactions, primarily in the international coal mining industry.

Brett Salt was appointed Senior Vice President, Strategy and Development at Turquoise Hill Resources on May 1, 2012. 

Previously, Salt was with Rio Tinto for 15 years in a variety of senior product group and corporate level commercial roles.

Kelly Sanders currently is president and CEO of Kennecott Utah Copper and has been working in the mining industry for 32 years, including 28 years with coal mining operations. Sanders previously held senior positions with Rio Tinto Energy America and Ziegler Coal, both in Wyoming's Powder River Basin coal mining district.

SouthGobi Resources is focused on exploration and development of its Permian-age metallurgical and thermal coal deposits in Mongolia's South Gobi Region. 

The company's flagship coal mine, Ovoot Tolgoi, produces and sells coal to customers in China. The company plans to supply a wide range of coal products to markets in Asia.