Much of the appeal to TTM’s business model is that it is scalable. In other words, the Company’s BC projects are being advanced in a very cost-effective fashion. This includes capitalizing on millions of dollars worth of historic exploration data, including drill results. All of which TTM has acquired as the legacy of the exploration efforts of previous project operators.

 

Of special note is the fact that the Company offers shareholders maximum investment leverage to these emerging opportunities through its 100% ownership of all of its properties. Likewise for TTM’s exclusive operational control over all of its exploration programs. And each of the Company’s projects still offers ‘blue sky’ potential for a bulk tonnage porphyry discovery.

 

Hence, TTM has a strategic focus on the development of promising early-stage molybdenum prospects. And the logistics of commercializing a molybdenum deposit benefit immeasurably from the fact that it is an industrial metal that is in huge demand, particularly in the adjacent oil-rich province of Alberta.

 

At the same time, the Company (www.ttmresources.ca) is also involved in the development of associated copper and gold mineralization that coexists with the molybdenum discovery zones at two of its three core BC properties.

 

Why Molydbenum?

In an era when bullion prices and gold equities are still vulnerable to vagaries of investor sentiment and ever shifting geopolitical forces, molybdenum still represents a rock solid commodity. That is because of its indispensable industrial applications, particularly in the oil refining business.

 

Molybdenum prices have paralleled the rise in oil prices during the last several years – and continue to trade at many multiples of their 2002-2003 lows. (Molybdenum trades at around the $25-30 per pound mark).

 

In turn, this scenario makes molybdenum exploration and development companies all the more attractive. TTM is such an investment opportunity – one that has made solid exploration headway since the Company’s inception in 2005.  

 

MolyGold Property Benefits From Ideal Infrastructure

Arguably the most advanced of TTM’s properties to date is the expansive 12,000-hectare MolyGold Property. Ideally situated at the heart of the Lillooet Mining District, the property is in close proximity to a major highway which connects the world-famous Whistler Village ski resort to the deep-water port of Vancouver (120 kilometres to the south).

 

In fact, Whistler is a mere 15 kilometres to the southeast of the property, while the town of Pemberton is located 10 kilometres to the northeast.

 

Therefore, the MolyGold Property benefits from logistically robust infrastructure such as an ample water supply, the presence of a major power grid, as well as a highway connected to an extensive network of logging roads within TTM’s claim blocks.

 

Similarly, the nearby industrial town of Pemberton offers ready access to heavy equipment and skilled operators, as well as other logistical needs, such as helicopter contactors.  

 

2006 MolyGold Exploration Program Zeroes-In on New Discoveries
A fall/winter drill program at the Breccia Zone is targeting two large, well-defined geophysical targets. Each measures approximately 500 metres long by about 300 metres wide. By way of explanation, geophysics typically acts as a reliable indicator of the parameters of sub-surface mineralized systems. 

Recent corroborative geochemical sampling (mineral-in-soil) and rock sampling results on the ground that overlies these targets have also provided considerable encouragement. To date, individual rock samples/surface showings have assayed as high as 1.07% molybdenum – a robust economic grade that roughly translates into $500 per tonne rock. By comparison, many North American mines can profitably operate at a threshold of $50 per tonne of rock/ore.

Additionally, high grade copper values running to 1.9% have also been encountered among the Breccia Zone’s rock samples. Similarly, gold credits as impressive as 3.0 grams per tonne (g/t) have also been reported.

Further soil sampling surveys have also been completed within adjacent target areas. And they have produced early-stage results which appear to mirror the Breccia Zone. These assay results are still pending and will be instrumental in pin-pointing high-priority drill targets for the 2007 exploration season.

 

Elsewhere at MolyGold, several other target areas that include new discoveries have yet to see any systematic exploration and will be the focus of an aggressive field program next season.

 

They include the Camp Zone, which is believed to be an epithermal vein system that has a ‘strike length’ (the direction of the mineralized trend) of at least 1.5 kilometres on surface. This is where a preliminary rock sampling program has returned gold grades that also run as high as 3.0 g/t.

 

Among the new prospects are mineral showings/outcrops that have been exposed in recent years by glacial retreat (which has been greatly accelerated by global warming). These fresh targets represent compelling new opportunities within a large, very favourable geological belt that may yet reveal district-scale potential for a number of important discoveries.

 

The odds in favour of an economic find with TTM’s land package are anecdotally supported by the presence of other mines within the Lillooet Mining District. They include the world-class, past-producing Britannia Gold Mine and the Northair Gold Mine, which are both within 60 kilometres and to the south.

 

Drilling at Road Zone Fails to Reveal a Major Discovery but Crucial Clues Bring TTM Much Closer

Another key MolyGold Property prospect is the Road Zone, which measures at least 600 metres by 450 metres. This is where both molybdenite and copper were intersected in 12 of 15 drill holes spanning 2,000 metres earlier this summer.

 

(Molybdenite is composed of approximately 60% molybdenum and 40% sulphur; it is as valuable as very high grade copper but obviously less than pure molybdenum).

 

Though the assay results were sub-economic, the original target zone remains ‘open’ (continuous) along its strike length. Thus, there still exists the possibility that more meaningful mineralization exists along a lateral plane.

 

In support of this hypothesis is the fact that a parallel zone of similar mineralization has been discovered within one kilometer to the southwest. So the two systems may yet prove to be interconnected.

 

Similarly, the Road Zone’s mineralized drill intercepts and surface showings may have migrated upwards from a mineralized system which lies at greater depths than have thus far been probed. The fact that the grades encountered within the drill holes generally improved at depth seems to add credence to this hypothesis.

 

Furthermore, the Company’s ability to use its existing drill holes as conduits to conducting induced polarization (IP) geophysical surveys from deep, sub-surface reference points offers a major technological advantage.

 

Such an innovative, endoscope-like analysis of sub-surface mineralization is equivalent to a hypothetical drill core measuring 100 metres across (as opposed to the 5-centimetre width of the average drill core).

 

SmallCapMedia speculates that the Road Zone’s shallower mineralization emanates from a breccia-hosted vein system that could in fact be a feeder zone – one that is arguably related to a deep-seated porphyry intrusive (deposit).

 

If this proves to be the case, then a major discovery may yet be in the offing. This is because porphyry deposits tend to be ‘elephant-sized’ structures that typically measure 200-500 million tonnes in size.

Deeker Creek Project: At the Heart of a Prolific Mining Camp
The wholly-owned Deeker Creek Property is located in the Liard Mining Division in northwestern B.C., approximately 65 kilometers southwest of the town of Telegraph Creek.

Notably, this sizeable 12,000-hectare claim block sits within a mineral belt that hosts the famous Eskay Creek gold-silver mine, as well as the Galore Creek copper-gold-silver deposit.

 

This geologically fertile region also hosts two emerging porphyry deposits, namely the copper-molybdenum Stikine and Liard mines-in-the-making – both of which are situated within a 30-kilometre radius of the Deeker Creek claims.

Bonanza Gold and Silver Grades Plus Many New Mineralized Outcrops Prime TTM for a Busy 2007 Exploration Season
The Company’s satellite imagery of the Deeker Creek Property has revealed a wealth of virgin mineralized showings and other prospective unexplored areas. This is due to the fact that hundreds of metres to kilometers of glacial retreat have occurred during the last 15 years - the last time the property was systematically explored. In many instances snowfields have disappeared altogether.

In fact, prior to TTM’s 2005 field prospecting program, the most recent work undertaken on the property by previous operators involved geological mapping, rock, soil, and stream sediment sampling as far back as 1990.

At that time, four anomalous areas of interest were outlined, even though only about a third of the property was systematically explored. However, there was never any follow-up as the project operator ran into problems that were unrelated to its exploration of this property. And molybdenum was not such a sought-after metal in those days.

Nonetheless, the key exploration findings resonate with much more impact these days. They include a molybdenum showing where assay values of up to 0.77% were returned. This roughly translates into $400 per tonne rock – a significantly economic grade. An added sweetener is the fact that the showing also assayed as high as 68 g/t gold – a truly lustrous bonanza grade.  

Two other quartz vein-hosted showings also returned very impressive assay results. In one instance, a 25-centimetre section of a near-surface vein structure assayed 21.8 g/t gold, and bonanza silver grades of up to 378 g/t, as well as an equally eye-catching 23.3% copper. Another surface expression of a different vein system returned assay results as high as 15.8 g/t gold and 271 g/t silver.

Meanwhile, a stream sediment anomaly returned gold values of up to 960 parts per billion (ppb), which suggests that a gold quartz vein system is nearby. (To put these results in perspective, any anomaly in stream and soil sediment samples that runs higher than 100 parts per billion is worthy of further investigation).

Moly II and Gossan Zone Prospects Exhibit Excellent Potential
Among the highlights of TTM’s own more recent exploration results has been the discovery of the Moly II Zone. This is where rock samples have consistently returned impressive assay values, running as high as 0.436% molybdenum (or 4,360 parts per million).

Interestingly, this new Moly II showing zone is located a mere 1,500 metres southeast of the original high-grade molybdenum discovery prospect, which presents the possibility that the two zones are surface expressions of the same mineralized structure or system.

Then there is the Gossan Zone, which is another compelling, sizeable target that measures up to 1,000 metres long and 400 metres wide. This oxidized zone is likely related to the upwards migration of mineralization from a buried sulphide-hosted mineral structure or deposit.

All told, every one of these various key prospects at Deeker Creek will be followed-up with more detailed analysis by TTM during the 2007 exploration season, including plans for drilling the best of them.

Drill-Defining an Emerging Molybdenite Discovery: A Porphyry Deposit in the Making?
The Chu Molybdenite Property is located in central British Columbia and is comprised of seven contiguous mineral claims spanning 2,746 hectares. It benefits from a topographically mild setting. And it is only about 80 kilometres directly south-southwest of the town of Vanderhoof and less than 150 kilometres to the southwest of the city of Prince George.

This constitutes a somewhat advanced-stage property that has historically benefited from a total of 5,672 metres of drilling spanning no less than 26 holes. All of this took place between 1969 (the year that the property’s potential was discovered) and 1982.

Consequently, a well-defined mineralized structure has been identified consisting of many zones that exhibit molybdenite grades in the range of 0.10%-0.12%. This translates into approximately 0.07% molybdenum – which is equivalent to a marginally economic grade and translates into especially encouraging early-stage results.

Past drilling has intersected encouraging molybdenite values (and minor copper and tungsten credits) along a known strike length of approximately 853 metres, which is ‘open’ at both ends.

Mineralization has also been demonstrated to a depth of at least 183 metres, with the system also ‘open’ at depth. Hence, a potentially large mineralized structure may yet present itself, such as a large bulk tonnage porphyry deposit.

TTM believes that there is an excellent opportunity to increase the overall size and scope of this mineralized system, both along a lateral plane and at depth. A ground-based geophysical survey is being used to better define the footprint of the target area prior to the commencement of a spring/summer drill program.

Much of this aggressive initiative aimed at outlining a preliminary mineral inventory will consist of both shallow and deep in-fill drill holes. Some of which will be within the parameters of the known strike length, while there will also be some step-out drilling to test the lateral continuity of the mineralization.

Investment Summary
SmallCapMedia is particularly impressed with the pedigree and depth of experience of the Company’s accomplished management. In particular, TTM’s geological team is technically strong and well-rounded.

Collectively, the Company’s hand-on management and directors also benefit from decades of multi-disciplinary experience in the mining industry, as well as the investment industry.

This potent mix of mining acumen and savoir faire in the arena of venture capital should continue to ensure access to a deep vein of investment capital. In turn, this key value driver promises to help propel the Company to a successful outcome for one or more of its exploration projects.

Other key strategic and tactical factors are also already building intrinsic value into the Company’s share price.

 

For instance, there’s the relatively recent ushering-in of ‘mining-friendly’ federal and provincial legislation in Canada, which includes favorable new tax policies. This has even led to a boom in Canadian mineral exploration.

 

Indeed, this improved business climate, combined with British Columbia’s renowned mineral-rich geology and excellent infrastructure, once again make it one of the most attractive environments in the world to hunt for precious and base metals, alike. 

On a technical note, TTM has approximately 19 million shares outstanding (about 22,000,000 shares fully diluted). Such a tight share structure, matched with upbeat news flow, typically act as a catalyst to a much higher share price valuations.

Accordingly, the advent of plenty of positive news over the next 12 months should easily power the stock’s upwards trajectory. Thus, we expect TTM Resources to be a strong performer in 2007. And the emergence over the next several years of a bulk tonnage, molybdenum porphyry discovery would also provide investors with clear ‘home run’ potential.