NNSL (Jun 01/98) - Executives from the company seeking to bulk sample the Thor Lake beryllium site will be in Dettah, Ndilo and Lutselk'e this week.

The group, which includes Highwood chief executive officer John Smrke, will make presentations and field questions about the company's proposal to take 100,000 tonnes of rock from Thor, located about 100 kilometres southeast of Yellowknife.

Highwood will also have radiation and environmental consultants on hand for the meetings held by the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

The Dettah meeting will be held at the community hall at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. The Ndilo meeting will be held at the gymnasium at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

Lutselk'e residents will get an opportunity to hear Highwood executives discuss the proposed project at a meeting there Thursday at 10 a.m. at the community hall.

"After this series of meetings, the Regional Environmental Review Committee will look at the questions raised," Terry Pepper, a Highwood executive vice-president, said.

If the projects meets RERC requirements, the next step is NWT Water Board review, he added. The water board's procedure includes a public hearing.

Earlier this month, Highwood held similar information meetings in Yellowknife, Hay River and Fort Resolution.

"At those meetings, we got public feedback," Pepper said.

In Fort Resolution, Premier Don Morin asked if the company had considered barging the ore to Fort Resolution instead of Hay River. Morin is Tu Nedhe MLA. Tu Nedhe includes Fort Resolution.

"We're looking at that option," Pepper said.

Under the Thor Lake proposal, Highwood wants to barge the rock to Hay River (possibly Fort Resolution) where it will be milled to separate the beryllium from tailings.

The refined beryllium would then be transported south for further processing or sale.

The demonstration mill would operate for three to five years.

Highwood, with offices in Denver and Calgary, is part-owned by Royal Oak Mines.

Beryllium, when mixed with copper, makes a strong, light alloy used in aircraft and car parts, computers, satellites and sporting goods like fly fishing rods and golf clubs. One of Thor's resource zones, known as the T Zone, could be the most significant beryllium deposit in Canada.

Thor not only contains beryllium but also other elements.

It is estimated Thor contains four per cent of the world's zirconium resources. Zirconium is used to make fake diamonds. It is also used in high-tech ceramics. Among its most interesting potential applications is in the building of ceramic engines.

Thor also holds rare earth elements like niobium, tantalum, yttrium, uranium and gallium.

But making Thor's zirconium and rare earth elements financially viable would be very difficult, Pepper said.

"We've looked at all the Thor Lake elements. Right now, beryllium is the only one we can make a case for."

Before joining Highwood, Pepper worked for California-based Union Oil's Molycorp. Molycorp was the only rare earth elements mine in North America until it was closed.

"It was put out of business by competition from China."

In the beryllium market, there is currently only one company mining the element in North America, Brush-Wellman in Utah.

Brush-Wellman's beryllium mine and mill are near the town of Delta, Utah, a community of about 4,000.

Delta Mayor Dale Roper said Wednesday the company has been "a good neighbor."

He estimated Brush-Wellman employs about 15 to 20 people at the mine and about 80 to 100 people at the mill.

"It's been a plus for this area."

Asked about health or environmental issues, Roper said, "There's no real concerns I know of." Beryllium is a hazardous material but the company has been very safety-conscious, he added.