Rainmaker Mining Corp. has entered into a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the 50/50 partnership of Zimtu Capital Corp. and 877384 Alberta Ltd. to acquire four metallic and industrial minerals permits in north western Alberta, totaling approximately 24,363 hectares. The permits have potential to host deposits of silica sand suitable for hydraulic fracturing, and are immediately adjacent to a current producer.
The terms of the acquisition are:
$10,000 on signing the LOI:
- Issuance of 750,000 common shares on TSX-V acceptance of the agreement;
- $10,000 on completion of a successful exploration program on or before Sept. 15, 2014;
- Issuance of 750,000 common shares on completion of a successful exploration program on or before Sept. 15, 2014;
- The Vendors retains a 2 percent royalty on production, 1 percent of which can be purchased for $1,000,000.
The transaction is subject to acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange.
Chris M. Healey, vice president – operations for Rainmaker commented, “The acquisition of these four claims, adjacent to a current producer of frac sands, is a highly significant addition to our growing portfolio of properties. The claims are well located relative to several markets, and have excellent access to rail, giving Rainmaker a significant competitive advantage in this rapidly expanding market.”
The Peace River property is located north of the community of Peace River, adjacent to the Peace River Frac Sand Quarry, which is owned and operated by Canadian Silica Industries. It extends for approximately 40 km along the Peace River, straddling both the East and West banks where the target unit is exposed. Within the region, the Lower Cretaceous Paddy Member of the Peace River Formation is currently mined for frac sand. The Paddy Member is a friable sand unit representing a shoreline facies deposited in a fluvial environment, with a thickness up to 16.5 m (7.7 m average). The sand grains are almost entirely colorless quartz and beds are dominantly uncemented, which is ideal as a frac sand proppant in hydraulic fracturing.
The Peace River Frac Sand Quarry reportedly has a total annual capacity of 500,000 tons of silica sand. Rainmaker is encouraged by this acquisition given its proximity to infrastructure such as rail and roads, and location near the community of Peace River. Additionally, it is located in close proximity to the Horn River, Montney, and Cardium basins, and is central to the Frac Sand market within northwestern Alberta.
High priority exploration targets have been identified along the river banks from historic reports and maps. Rainmaker plans to commence exploration on the property with an extensive channel sampling program, as soon as snow conditions permit. Using sample results in conjunction with historic data and public information such as well logs, reports, drill core and cuttings, a follow-up auger program is anticipated to take place within the first half of 2014 to delineate locations with the best combination of quality, distribution, thickness, tonnage and accessibility.