Rainmaker Mining Corp. has entered into a purchase and sale agreement to acquire two mineral claims in north central Saskatchewan, totaling approximately 10,275 hectares. Both claims have the potential to host deposits of silica sand suitable for hydraulic fracturing.
“The acquisition of these two claims geographically complements our recently announced Jayjay Lake project,” said Chris M. Healey, vice president – operations for Rainmaker.
The Mannville silica sand project is located in north central Saskatchewan, approximately 40 km SSE of La Ronge. The property consists of one mineral claim (5,949.149 hectares). The property is underlain by a marine quartzose sandstone of Cretaceous Mannville age.
According to Saskatchewan Energy and Mines Open File Report, the Mannville Group in this location includes a 12-m (approximate) thick clean silica sand containing 98.4 to 99.2 percent silica.
The Hanson silica sand project is located in north central Saskatchewan, approximately 90 km west of Flin Flon. The property consists of one mineral claim (4,296.398 hectares).
The southern portion of the claim is interpreted to be underlain by predominantly unconsolidated orthoquartzites of the Ordovician Winnipeg formation. This is the same host formation for several nearby high-quality frac sand operations, which are either in production or currently being developed.
These include Preferred Sands, which has an operating facility with an annual production capacity of 850,000 short tons per year, and Hanson Lake Sands Corp., which has reported plans to be in production by the end of 2014.
Open File Report 93-3 comments that the Winnipeg Formation in the Hanson Lake area exhibits “a high degree of roundness and sphericity.” Chemical analysis performed for the study gave silica contents ranging from 99.1 percent to 99.6 percent.