Grizzly Discoveries Inc.
No one knows for certain what the future will hold, but that doesn’t mean people can’t predict. In analyzing current and future economic and population statistics, Brian Testo, president and CEO of Grizzly Discoveries, and his management team have acquired two flagship properties that they have determined investment-worthy. As a Canadian-based junior exploration company with stakes in Alberta and British Columbia, Grizzly Discoveries is actively moving forward with projects in the gold, silver, copper and potash markets. Testo explains the irony of how an uncertain world economy can still bring about some plausible possibilities.
“It’s a pretty ugly market out there,” he says. “I think the uncertainty in the market is going to raise the price of gold. Personally, in the next year, I believe it will be over $2,000 an ounce. Europe is in trouble, as we know. The situation with Iran and having nuclear capabilities is scaring some people, and Greece is a problem. I don’t have a crystal ball and I can’t say what’s going to happen, but what I do know is that as we go forward, the gold price will go up because of the unstable situations in the world.”
Concerning potash, “this is needed throughout the world,” he says. “In early January the population hit 7 billion, and with the limited amount of arable land, farmers will have to put potash on their land to increase the crop yield so that they can feed the world. Take the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) for example – they are especially interested in the potash market.”
Grizzly Discoveries holds 2.45 million acres in three discreet potash properties located along the Saskatchewan-Alberta border within the upper portion of the Prairie Evaporite. Geological mapping conducted by the Alberta, Saskatchewan and U.S. governments have indicated the area is potash-rich. Saskatchewan, the province next to Alberta, is the No. 1 producer of potash in the world, Testo says. “In December 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey did a strategic potash map of the world including Canada, and they placed two major targets on my ground in Alberta,” he explains.
The company owns 1 million acres in southern Alberta near Medicine Hat and 1 million acres in northern Alberta between Vermillion and Lloydminster. In Provost, Alberta, the company has a 50 percent stake of approximately 500,000 acres shared with Pacific Potash Corp.
Grizzly Discoveries recently hit visible potash minerals between 1,650 and 1,655 meters below surface at Medicine Hat and sent samples for geological testing and analysis. “There are some nice grades there but it’s not quite economical yet,” Testo says. “We’ll probably raise money and do more drilling on it in the next third and fourth quarter of 2012.”
Grizzly Discoveries has also made promising discoveries at its 235,000-acre Greenwood gold property in British Columbia. “A four-hole drill program at its Dayton target area resulted in the discovery of a new low-grade bulk tonnage-style gold-copper mineralized zone in the area,” the company says.
Currently, it is completing a six-hole exploration program at the Motherlode target area to test gold-in-soil anomalies spatially associated with electromagnetic targets. After completing drilling at Motherlode, the drill will be moved to one or more targets at the Overlander and Ket 28 target areas to test other gold-in-soil anomalies or electromagnetic targets. “We have drilled about 30 holes here, and we are getting to the point where it’s almost economical,” Testo explains. “So what we are going to do on that project is drill six more holes to determine which spot will give us the best chance to prove up our resource.”
What happens after that is too far into the future to predict, Testo says, but he is certain of one thing. “We will do what’s best for the shareholders,” he says. “If it’s best to raise the money and mine it, we will do that. Or if it’s best to get a takeout with royalty, we will do that. Whatever is best for the shareholder is what we will decide to do.”