Gold & Base Metal Stock Picks For 2003

Starfield Resources Inc. (TSX.V-SRU) (NASD OTC.BB: SRFDF) is a junior mining company that is aggressively and very successfully developing a significant platinum-palladium-nickel-copper-cobalt deposit in northern Canada.

Since acquiring this 57,000-acre property in 1998, which is located at Ferguson Lake in Nunavut, Starfield has dramatically improved its economic potential. Specifically, the company has increased its inferred mineral resource base ten-fold to 60.1 million tonnes. (The property was previously developed by a major mining company, dating as far back as the 1950s). Most significantly, however, Starfield has discovered three new high-grade zones of platinum and palladium that could form the basis of a new "stand-alone" deposit. This is in addition to the existing drill-inferred resource of 60.1 million tonnes of mineralization which is disseminated along a remarkable strike of over 18 kilometres, of which only 10 kilometres has been investigated.

In September of 2002, the company reported that it had intersected multiple platinum-palladium structures in the immediate vicinity of the mineral deposit's western boundary. This is where over 90 per cent of the known 60 million tones of resources are already concentrated. In this new discovery, a total of seven drill holes over 8,000 metres (26,200 feet) revealed platinum-palladium horizons ranging from 1 to 10 metres (3.3 feet to 33 feet) in thickness. This development may greatly enhance the economic viability of this 55-million-tonne open-pittable resource by greatly enriching its precious metals content. Furthermore, the discovery of these new high-grade platinum-palladium horizons is complimented by a number of large geophysical anomalies. These features may in fact be the geological "footprint" of a whole new mineral-rich massive sulphide structure with particularly high platinum-palladium content.

This significance of this news is underscored by the fact that in recent months platinum prices have reached their highest levels since 1980. Having traded as high as U.S. $700 an ounce as recently as February, platinum prices are benefiting from a long-tem rally that has been precipitated by a global supply shortage. Indeed, demand has outstripped supply for four years in a row now. And this supply-demand imbalance is not likely to ease up any time soon. Platinum discoveries tend to be few and far between. And the world's two largest producers, Russia and South Africa, are both encountering production problems related mainly to depleted supplies.

Platinum is extensively used in the North American automobile industry for the manufacture of environmentally-friendly catalytic converters. And now the auto industry is gearing up to consume even more of this rare metal in response to the U.S. government's drive to develop hydrogen fuel cells. In January 2003, President Bush announced plans to allocate U.S. $720 million over five years to help accelerate the development of fuel cells to combat fossil fuel emissions.

Hence, the management of Starfield is well aware of the implications of a major discovery in Canada's largely unexplored new northern territory of Nunavut. And that is why they have spent over Can. $19 million (U.S. $12.6 million) since 1998 on extensively exploring the property. This includes a prolific 60,000 metres (197,000 feet) of diamond drilling which has traced the property's main mineralized structure along a strike length of over 18 kilometres (11 miles). The average grades of the 60.1 million tonne resource currently stand at 0.93% copper, 0.59% nickel, 1.35 g/tonne palladium and 0.23 g/tonne platinum. However, the most recent round of step-out drilling has intersected higher-grade nickel and copper at depth. This is in addition to the increase in the width (up to 18 metres or 59 feet) of the massive sulphide horizon in the West Zone, as well as the interseption of new high-grade platinum and palladium values.

Significantly, these compelling concentrations of mineralization also remain "open" (continuous) along strike to the west and at depth. Such a scenario is bolstered by highly reliable geophysical data that suggests the strike length of the known massive sulphide deposit may extend considerably further. Or perhaps a whole new parallel massive sulphide structure may be emerging. Of particular interest is one high-grade platinum-palladium geophysical target that measures 1,600 metres by 600 metres (5,250 feet by 1,970 feet). Accordingly, the wider western extensions of this tapered, linear mineralized formation will be the focus of an ambitious 21,000-metre (69,000 feet) drill program, commencing in late spring.

It's not only Starfield's management who see considerable economic potential in this emerging discovery. As far back as two years ago, the venerable Wall Street Journal spoke to Jim Ryan, an independent mining analyst who has been keenly following Starfield's story.

"This could definitely be a major find. I think they are going to come into production eventually because there's just not enough metal (platinum) out there anywhere," he said.

Another commentator on the importance of such rare and extremely valuable discoveries is David Christensen, global coordinator of metals research for Merrill Lynch & Co.

"It's kind of the Holy Grail of the metals industry right now to find world-class platinum-group metals deposits in North America," he said.

The Toronto-based brokerage firm Jennings Capital Inc. also enthused about Starfield's September, 2002 discovery of its new platinum-palladium intersections. It gave the company a 12-month target of Can. $1.75.

A September 09, 2002 research report/speculative buy recommendation states: "Our view is that there remains a much better than normal chance of economic success at Ferguson Lake…Persistence is starting to pay off for Starfield. The results reported could be a breakthrough."

The dramatic increase in size and scope of this discovery from the 6.4 million tonnes that Inco Ltd. reported in the early 50s to 60.1 million tonnes (and growing) today is very impressive. Indeed, it is a testament to the steely determination and geological acumen of Starfield's management team.

President and CEO Glen Indra is a longstanding veteran of the Canadian securities industry and is also an adept financier. Additionally, he has served on the board of a number of publicly-listed natural resource companies. He is joined by fellow director Glen MacDonald. A geologist for three decades, he brings to the company invaluable experience and expertise in this field. During this time, he has also served on the board of several public natural resource companies. Complimenting Mr. MacDonald's geological talents is Henry Giegerich, a mining engineer and fellow Starfield director. As General Manager of Cominco Alaska Inc. from 1982 to 1987, he was responsible for the development of the Red Dog Mine, the largest zinc mine in the world. While with Cominco, he also served as Project Engineer on the Black Angel Mine in Greenland, the Polaris Mine in the Northwest Territories. As Cominco Vice President Northern Group, he was also responsible for running the Con Mine, the Polaris Mine and the Pine Point Mine - all in the Northwest Territories. In over four decades in the mining business, Mr. Giegerich has also served on the board of a number of natural resource companies.

Accordingly, SmallCapMedia believes that Starfield Resources is a well-managed company that is obviously well-regarded in the financial community, as evidenced by the Can. $20 million-plus (U.S. $13 million) that the company has raised to date. Additionally, Starfield has made giant strides towards proving up a likely economic deposit. Already, a 60-million tonne precious and base metals resource has been outlined while there also exists the prospect of an additional "stand-alone" platinum-palladium discovery.

On a technical note, a sustained bull market in gold bullion prices has focused much of the Canadian investment community's attention on gold stocks in the last 12 months or so. This may explain why Starfield's story has been largely overlooked, causing its stock to drift to 12-month lows at around Can. $0.36 (U.S. $0.24). However, SmallCapMedia believes that the prospect of a significant new platinum-palladium discovery (as is suggested by recent wildcat drill intersections), matched with surging platinum prices, will build near-term value into the company in the coming months.