Virginia Uranium, Inc. announced late Monday its intention to merge with Santoy Resources, Inc., a Canadian mineral exploration company with interests in uranium, oil, gas, methane and gold deposits in Canada.

The merger, which will involve the exchange of stock, cash and future interests, would give the combined company additional money, expertise and investment backing to open up the Coles Hill deposit in Pittsylvania County for mining. Virginia Uranium has been at the forefront of efforts to overturn Virginia’s 25-year moratorium on uranium mining.
“It’s really a way for us to raise money, for the future and long term of the project,” Walter Coles Sr. of Virginia Uranium, Inc., told the Virginian-Pilot newspaper.

Santoy signed a letter of intent to acquire interests in three entities — Virginia Uranium, Inc., which is based in Virginia and controls the rights to the Coles Hill deposit near Chatham; Virginia Uranium Ltd., a Yukon corporation; and VA Uranium Holdings, Inc., also based in Yukon. Virginia Uranium, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of VA Uranium Holdings, and Virginia Uranium Ltd. holds a 12 percent minority interest in VA Uranium Holdings.

As a result of the deal, Santoy will take a 20 percent stake in VA Uranium Holdings. Santoy will also put up $3.5 million in cash as part of its investments in VA Limited and VA Holdings.
In a statement, Santoy said it “is pleased to proceed with this transaction as it gives the Company a significant position in a uranium project situated in a stable political location.” The Coles Hill uranium deposit, located on Walter Coles’ family farm, is one of the largest untapped uranium deposits in the United States and worth an estimated $10 billion.

The combined company will be led by Norm Reynolds, currently chief executive officer of Virginia Uranium Ltd., Reynolds is expected to be appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the new corporation. Walter Coles Jr., currently Executive Vice President of VU Limited, is expected to be appointed Executive Vice President of the new company. Ron Netolitzky, currently Chief Executive Officer of Santoy, will continue his active involvement in the company as a director. Mike Cathro of Santoy will serve as vice-president of exploration.

The merger of Santoy and Virginia Uranium must be approved by Canadian authorities. The companies expect to remain incorporated in Canada.

Santoy describes itself as a “junior Canadian mineral exploration company” which has focused on four main geographic locations for uranium mining: the Prolific Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan, Southeast British Columbia, Otish Mountains of Quebec and in the Central Mineral Belt of Labrador. With the price of uranium steadily increasing, the company says it has a record of success in the discovery and development of uranium deposits and “of taking uranium discoveries through to feasibility study.”

The fate of the Coles Hill project will depend on efforts to lift Virginia’s moratorium on uranium mining, which was put in place in 1983 when Marline Uranium last attempted to mine the Coles Hill site. After a proposed feasibility study died this year in the General Assembly, legislators called on the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission to sponsor a feasibility study, to be conducted by the National Academy of Sciences or a similar scientific organization. The scope of the study has yet to be determined, and the Coal and Energy Commission also must determine how the study will be paid for.

BONAVENTURE ENTERPRISES INC. is pleased to update shareholders on its recent exploration work at the Company’s Squaw Creek and Cottonwood Projects in Nevada (U.S.A.).

At the Squaw Creek Property core hole SC-0801 intersected 120 feet (37 meters) averaging 1.07 g/t gold, including two gold assays over 3 g/t in a deeper offset of previous intersections (refer to the news release issued by Bonaventure on February 15, 2008). At the Cottonwood Property, ground magnetics and CSMT geophysical surveys have identified major north-south trending structures that may be feeder faults for mineralization based on the Carlin-gold mineralization model.

Squaw Creek Property

A 1,358 feet (414 meters) long core hole (SC-0801) was drilled in late 2008 to test a mineralized fault zone down dip from drill hole SC-0702, which gave 70 feet (22.5 meters) grading 1.02 g/t gold. Previous drilling by Bonaventure indicated the fault dipped approximately 70 degrees. However, the fault now appears to flatten to roughly 45 degrees causing SC-0801 to intercept the zone only 180 feet (55 meters) below the elevation of SC-0702.
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Tight credit and falling metals prices due to the international financial crisis have caused a sharp slowdown in mining exploration along Argentina’s Andes.

Exploration in San Juan province this year fell 14% from 2007 to 175 million pesos ($51 million), according to a study from the provincial mining ministry cited by industry magazine Mining Press.
San Juan is heavily dependent on revenues from mining, and the province’s strong support of the industry has attracted a number of major projects. About 20% of all investment in

Argentine mining exploration was spent in San Juan this year, according to Mining Press.
Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX) operates the Veladero gold mine in the province, and development projects include Yamana Gold Inc.’s (AUY) Gualcamayo mine and Xstrata PLC’s (XTA.LN) $1.8 billion-to-$2 billion El Pachon copper mine project. Twenty-six companies are exploring in the province, provincial Mining Minister Felipe Saavedra said recently.
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HARRISBURG, Pa., Dec 16, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ — Permit Fees Have Been Unchanged Since 1984

The Environmental Quality Board approved a Department of Environmental Protection request today to impose new fees for Marcellus Shale drilling permits that will replace the flat $100 permit fee with a variable fee structure based on well depth.

The new fee structure will help ensure adequate funding to cover program expenses for permit reviews and well site inspections. The fee increase will also allow the department to hire additional staff in Meadville, Pittsburgh and Williamsport to process permits and monitor drilling activities in the northcentral and northeastern areas of the commonwealth.
“Due to technological advances in drilling and rising natural gas prices, gas exploration in the commonwealth has increased significantly with 40,000 new drilling permits anticipated during the next three years,” Environmental Protection acting Secretary John Hanger said. “Despite this substantial increase in workload, including permit review and inspection of oil and gas well sites, the department has not increased the $100 permit fee for oil and gas well permits since 1984.
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By Mike Cadman, iol.co.za

Illegal trading in protected and threatened animals, including leopards and cheetahs, is openly taking place at the Mai Mai traditional medicines market in central Johannesburg – but the authorities are doing nothing to stop it.

This week at least seven full leopard skins and three cheetah pelts were on display, but traders said they were not aware that they were required to have permits to possess and sell the skins.

Smaller sections of leopard, cheetah and serval skin, for use in capes, headbands and other adornments, were available at the market.

Skins and body parts of at least 40 other species of mammals, birds, reptiles and marine life, some of them endangered, including Cape pangolin, African rock python, honey badger, crocodile, hippo, giraffe and spotted eagle owl are also available. Vulture body parts and feathers, and vervet monkey skins and hands, are also often sold at the market.

The Mai Mai market is a traditional medicines market and many of the traders are traditional healers. Some animal parts are used as medicine to cure physical ailments and others to enhance spiritual wellbeing or for supernatural purposes. Leopard and cheetah skins are widely worn in South Africa by traditionalists and by royal families and other people of status.

“This leopard skin comes from Zambia and its price is R7 500,” a trader who did not want to give her name, working in shop 141 at the market, said. “This one is R6 000; it comes from Botswana.”

She said the cheetah skin displayed in the shop came from KwaZulu-Natal and was for sale for R6 500.

Another trader, working at shop 131, said the several leopard skins and a cheetah skin hanging from the eaves outside came from KwaZulu-Natal.

Both leopards and cheetahs are listed in appendix 1 of the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (Cites), which is intended to impose strict regulations on trade in these species. Permits are required to hunt these animals or sell their skins.

Many of the other species on sale at the market are protected by environmental legislation.

Though the market is administered by the Metropolitan Trading Company, which is owned by the Johannesburg Metropolitan Council, the company does not monitor the legality of the trade at the market.

“We look to [the] council to deal with issues around wildlife to determine whether or not people are complying with regulations and whether they are authorised to be in possession of particular skins and other animal products,” said Nhlanhla Makgoba, the communications and marketing manager for the Metropolitan Trading Company.

Makgoba said she believed that the council’s environmental health division monitored the trade, but Nkosinathi Nkabinda, a spokesperson for the city’s department of health, said this was not the case, but claimed that the Gauteng department of agriculture, conservation and the environment was the responsible authority.

A spokesperson for the department said it was attempting to deal with illegal trading in wildlife at Mai Mai but the matter was “very sensitive”.

“The use of animals in traditional medicine is a very sensitive issue among certain communities and we have an ongoing programme aimed at educating people about environmental laws,” said Sizwe Matshikiza. “We will not be able to change attitudes overnight.”

Animal Rights Africa said nothing had been done to enforce environmental regulations.

“It’s clear that government conservation agencies are not acting in the interests of conservation and wildlife. It’s ironic that South Africa has chosen the leopard as a logo to promote the 2010 soccer World Cup but we do little to offer the species protection.”

© 2008 Independent Online. All rights strictly reserved.

Epson, the leader in digital imaging technology, launched an ambitious initiative to help restore the biodiversity in Serra da Gardunha, Fundão, Central Portugal.

Epson will work with local partners to restore the area’s scenery and wildlife, all of which were devastated by the severe forest fires of 2003 and 2005.

The Epson Gardunha Biodiversity Initiative forms part of Epson’s Environmental Vision 2050: a wide ranging environmental commitment that also includes reducing the company’s entire CO2 emissions by 90% by 2050.

A ceremony was held on the slopes of the Gardunha Mountain to celebrate the first phase of the project, which will focus on restoring 40 hectares of the Serra da Gardunha.
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While it will certainly ensure more business, the soon-to-be passed mining bill is likely to discourage large multinational mining companies from investing in Indonesia, putting the future of the industry at stake, mining groups warn.

A new permit system, which will replace the Contract of Work (CoW) system, is the primary thing deterring firms from investing here, chairman of the Indonesian Coal Producers Association, Jeffrey Mulyono, told The Jakarta Post.

“I won’t be surprised if we will see some of them pulling out of this country,” Jeffrey said, adding that some miners had planned to cancel investments, including British-Australia mining giant BHP Billiton, which has already withdrawn their US$4-billion investment plan in Maluku.

He argued that the bill would only serve the interests of small and medium sized miners and only hinders the operation of big players.
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