MineCore Canadian Ammolite Properties
MineCore International, Inc. holds 6 Ammonite Shell Agreements issued by the Government of Alberta consisting of 1000 hectares through the 2005 acquisition of privately held American Gem Corporation (AMC). AMC has produced Ammolite from 2 of the 6 Shell Agreements. AMC is a producer and marketer of the gemstone ammolite, with sales of raw ammolite, Ammonite fossils, Feng Shui products, cut and polished ammolite, and jewelry containing ammolite gemstones. The assets of AMC include 6 permits totaling 963.92 hectares in the Ammonite district.. AMC's revenues are from ammolite sold to wholesale, retail and e-commerce customers. A large selection of AMC's ammolite products available on the Internet can be viewed at www.ammolite-guaranteed.com.
In July 2003 AMC (a division of MineCore) engaged Petroleum and Mining Resource experts to supply the company with a comprehensive report and evaluation of its Bow River North Block of ammolite reserves for the purposes of identifying a commercially viable deposit.
They identified a substantial deposit of over 9700-gem quality Ammonite's in a 7-hectare environmentally favorable mining site with less than 10 meters of overburden. The 9700 Ammonites will produce approximately 2.2 million ammolite gems, 20% being "naturals" and 80% being "triplets".
In financial terms this deposit, at AMC's wholesale pricing is worth almost $280 million. The company's historical mining data suggests that MineCore will be able to extract the ammolite deposit for under $500,000.00 per hectare. This cost includes complete reclamation of the effected area.
Note: "Naturals" are free-formed gems that have not been cut to a specific size or shape. They are commonly used for making custom jewelry. "Triplets" are calibrated stones that have been cut to standard shapes and sizes and caped to make the gem more durable. Triplets are often used to make large quantities of a single design, allowing for better marketability.
MineCore International, Inc. plans to excavate a 7 Hectare Ammolite deposit, where the gem bearing zone is up to 10 meters under the surface. After the topsoil is removed, strip mining methods will be used to remove the overburden covering the formation where the ammonites are found. The deposit specifics are described in Ammolite property tests section.
About Ammolite
Ammolite is a precious gemstone produced from Ammonite fossils. The Ammonite fossils are the hard shells of extinct mollusks that existed for over 330 million years and became extinct approximately 71 million years ago. Ammonite fossils are found on every continent ranging in appearance, form and color. Each Ammonite is unique and shows very intricate suture patterns, which are created by the complex walls dividing the inside of the shell. The Ammonites found in Southern Alberta's Upper Cretaceous Bearspaw formation show brilliant colors. The beautiful array of colors found in Ammonites from Southern Alberta comes from light interference or reflection by the various shell layers. Ammonite fossils have been found in virtually every natural occurring color and are being sought out by collectors all over the world.
Stripping off a thin outer layer of the Ammonite shell skin and polishing the fossil skin produce the gemstone ammolite. The after polishing will be either a flat natural ammolite with a backing thickness not exceeding 1.5 mm or, depending on thickness and stability, the flat thin ammolite gemstone is manufactured into triplets which is composed of a natural backing, a colorful ammolite center and a synthetic spinel protective cap. Spinel is being used in the industry as a caplet as compared to glass, which is used in the opal industry for caplets. Ammolite gemstones come in seven distinct colors: ruby crimson, fiery orange, amber yellow, emerald green, jade, azure and mauve. The CIBJO International Commission of Colored Gemstones recognized ammolite as a gemstone in 1981.
The history of Ammolite begins more than 65 million years ago during the cretaceous period when dinosaurs ruled the earth, and the oceans teamed with an enormous variety of aquatic life. The continents were evolving into the shapes we are familiar with today. During this time the interior of North America was partially submerged under the warm shallow Bearpaw Sea, which bordered the developing Rocky Mountains. Today, part of this region is southeastern Alberta, Canada.
Living in the Bearpaw Sea were many exotic creatures, one of which was the Ammonite, predecessor to the squid and the South Pacific nautilus. These squid-like creatures had coiled shells with gas filled chambers that provided buoyancy and propulsion. They were a favored delicacy of the predacious marine reptile, the mosasaur. Sinking its teeth into the coiled shell, a ravenous mosasuar would extract the ammonites, squid-shaped body, and devour it, discarding the empty shell that then sank to the sea floor.
Settling on the sea bottom, the empty ammonite shell was buried in mineral rich sediment carried there by the rivers and streams from the young Rocky Mountains. During the fossilization process the sediment not only preserved the shell but also enhanced the shell's colors into iridescent greens, reds, yellows, and rare blues and violets.
MineCore International, Inc. purchased AMC to expand its operations in the colored gemstone market. MineCore reviewed the ammolite product line and the potential of the products over the last year. "We foresee a huge market for ammolite stones and jewelry," stated Jerry G. Mikolajczyk, MineCore's Chief Operating Officer. "Ammolite is one of the rarest gemstones in the world and has equally strong masculine and feminine appeal. We plan to conduct research on using sapphires from our Madagascar operations for the caps of the triplets. This would enhance the strength and durability of the triplet and increase the value of the ammolite gemstone. We believe that using sapphires as the caplet will create new markets for both sapphires and ammolites. The sapphire-ammolite triplet gemstone would be superior to the industry spinel capped triplet. We believe that the combination of the operations will benefit each other and add shareholder value."