GOLD – TerraX Minerals Inc. Feb. 13 reported completing the purchase of the Northbelt leases in the Yellowknife area of Northwest Territories. On Jan. 2 TerraX announced the purchase of an unencumbered 100 percent interest in the property with no private royalties or option payments, no assessment requirements and with low annual maintenance fees (C$2/acre/year). Review of historic information from the Giant Mine archives and filed at the NWT Geoscience Office determined that numerous historical high grade gold intersections are situated on the property, including 24.60 grams per metric ton gold over 4.63 meters at the Crestaurum deposit and 4.61 g/t gold over 19.71 meters on a sub-parallel shear (20 Shear). The property consists of 121 leases totaling 3,562 hectares (8,802 acres) which cover some 13 kilometers of strike along the prolific Yellowknife Belt, 15 kilometers north of the city of Yellowknife. The southern part of the property is accessible by road and the remainder is accessible by all-terrain vehicles. Northbelt is situated on the northern strike continuation of the Yellowknife gold camp, immediately west of the major break controlling gold mineralization within the camp. The property is host to multiple shears that are the recognized hosts for gold deposits in the Yellowknife camp, including the past producing 7.6-million-ounce Giant and the 5.5-million-oz Con mines, and it contains innumerable gold showings. Known mineralization on the property contains free milling gold. Maps of the Property and its location are available at www.terraxminerals.com. TerraX has been reviewing the historical technical data on the property, including 300-400 historical drill holes that were completed on the property between 1945 and 1996, mostly concentrated on the Crestaurum deposit (approximately 200 holes). The property was explored at the beginning of the Yellowknife gold rush in the early 1940s. It was staked by multiple claimholders in 1944 with the discovery of the outcropping Crestaurum deposit. Drilling commenced in 1945 and the Property was intermittently active throughout the 1960s and 1970s. By the 1970s Giant Gold Mines had largely consolidated the property and began serious exploration and by the end of the 1980s substantial drill programs were completed. Detailed mapping in this period confirmed that the property hosts the extension of the Yellowknife Gold Camp’s gold-bearing structure and that the stratigraphy associated with the large mines occurs in the southern part of the property. It was also realized that numerous other sub-parallel structures host gold occurrences, including the Crestaurum deposit, along the main camp “break.” In addition a precious metals-enriched base metal (zinc/lead +/- copper) play was identified in the northern part of the property.

DIAMONDS – The Government of the Northwest Territories Feb. 6 reported active discussions with Harry Winston Diamond Corp., soon to be renamed Dominion Diamond Corp, as the first step in securing a formal diamond allocation agreement with Dominion for a portion of production from its diamond mining interests in the territory. “The NWT diamond industry continues to bring substantial training, employment and business benefits to the NWT,” said Industry, Tourism and Development Minister David Ramsay. “We welcome DDC’s continued commitment to supporting diamond manufacturing in the NWT, ensuring we are able to realize even more value from this important sector of the NWT economy.” Harry Winston Chairman and CEO Robert Gannicott said, “We are pleased to see the diamond polishing industry rise to the challenge of marketing Canadian polished diamonds in a manner that can sustain a premium capable of supporting a NWT based polishing industry.” Attracting and sustaining investment in the territory’s diamond manufacturing sector allows the capture of additional benefits from diamond mining activities. Agreements between the GNWT and diamond producers allow approved Northwest Territories diamond manufacturers to purchase rough diamonds from a percentage of the value of producers’ mine production in the territory, helping to support the sector. The discussions between DDC and the GNWT will form the basis of the final diamond allocation agreement and will make additional NWT-mined rough diamonds available to approved NWT diamond manufacturers, supplementing the rough diamonds already available through existing agreements with other NWT producers, the government said.

PERMITTING – Canadian Zinc Corp. recently reported that the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board has issued a land use permit for the establishment and operation of the winter road that will service an operating Prairie Creek Mine. The permit has been issued for a period of five years, starting Jan. 10, 2013, and allows the construction, maintenance, operation and use of the winter road connecting the Prairie Creek Mine to the Liard Highway. This permit will enable outbound transportation of the zinc and lead concentrates to be produced at the mine and inbound transportation of fuel and other supplies during the actual operation of the Prairie Creek Mine. The newly issued road permit incorporates realignment of the original route which will improve access and further reduce potential environmental impact. At the same time, the Water Board also issued a Type “B” water license, which is valid for seven years, starting Jan. 10, and which permits the limited use of water and disposal of waste for road construction, maintenance, and operational activities. The land use permit and water apply to the portion of the winter road which is under the jurisdiction of the Water Board (Crown Land); in particular, 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) of road from the mine site to the point where the road enters Nahanni National Park Reserve and 80 kilometers (50 miles) of road from the eastern boundary of the Park to the Liard Highway.