Alderon’s “Baby Brother” Begins To Grow Up

Ridgemont is hard at work, advancing its Redford Iron Ore property on a number of fronts in recent weeks. The company continues to report solid results from its on-going drill program, they have recently landed a new President and they are increasing their exposure to the U.S. markets with a listing on the OTCQX.

Successful Drill Program Continues

Management continues to release strong assay results from its ongoing drill program at Redford with highlights including 43% iron over 49 metres and 52% iron over 31 metres. This current drill program, which started in late May, illustrates the consistent grade and thickness of the iron mineralization across the property. To date, Ridgemont has completed 43 diamond drill holes, totalling 7,570 metres.  Highlights of the latest batch of assay results can be seen in the table below.

With the consistent results received from the more than 7,500 metres of drilling already completed this year on the Redford property, I’m confident Ridgemont can achieve its goal of outlining an initial NI 43-101 resource estimate.

It’s important to keep in mind that this property was a past producer.  This isn’t a grass-roots exploration play, the property is host to the Brynnor iron deposit, which was developed by Noranda Mines in the 1960’s and produced 4,480,940 tonnes at 56% iron from the open pit part of the deposit.  The mine closed in 1968 at the expiration of the sales contract with Japanese steel makers after a protracted labor strike.  The surface deposit was not exhausted and the underground extension of the deposit was never developed. This ore had been shipped directly to Asia in the past and if Ridgemont has its way, it can again.

Attracting Top Tier Talent

I have stated before that one of the things that attracted my attention to Ridgemont is its management, backed by Mark Morabito’s Exploration Group in Vancouver.  This group has been directly responsible for the success and rapid advancement of Ridgemont’s “big brother”, Alderon Iron Ore Corp.; taking it from a market cap of $30 million to over $300 million in its first year. The importance of the family connection between Alderon and Ridgemont was clearly illustrated earlier this week with the announcement of the appointment of Brian Penney as the new President and CEO of Ridgemont, starting December 1.

This is another major step in the growth of Ridgemont as Mr. Penney brings significant iron ore experience to the firm, having worked for the Iron Ore Company of Canada (“IOC”), a Rio Tinto subsidiary, for more than 15 years. During his tenure with IOC, Mr. Penney held many senior roles including: General Manager of all Processing Facilities, General Manager of Mining Operations and General Manager of Integrated Planning.

Mr. Penney’s twenty years of experience in the mining sector has also included senior operating and environmental positions in the gold industry.  He is a professional engineer, graduating from Technical University of Nova Scotia (TUNS) with a degree in Metallurgy.

Clearly, the success of its “big brother” has enabled Ridgemont to attract top-tier talent, like Brian Penney, at a very early stage in its development. Additionally, Ridgemont should be able to continue to draw on the Alderon experience and expertise, as Mr. Morabito transitions from his current role as Ridgemont’s President and CEO to that of Executive Chairman of the Board.

Exposure to U.S. Markets

In combination with the hard work that Ridgemont is doing to advance the Redford property and deepen its management bench with the appointment of Brian Penney as President and CEO, it is also working hard to raise its profile in the U.S. market place with a successful listing on the OTCQX under the symbol RIOOF. The OTCQX is the premier tier of the U.S. OTC market, offering investors transparency, detailed corporate information, and easy access through their regulated U.S. broker-dealers.  Several large international companies are quoted on the OTCQX including Adidas, Air France, Gazprom Neft, Repsol and Deutsche Telekom.  This move follows in the footsteps of Alderon, which has been listed on the OTCQX (under the symbol ALDFF) since July, 2010, providing access to the vast U.S. equity market.

Bottomline

Combined with the Redford property’s ideal West Coast location, great infrastructure, and local Aboriginal community support, Ridgemont’s management has made many key moves, from increasing their knowledge of the mineralization, to acquiring top-tier talent, to raising its profile in the U.S. public markets. Alderon’s “baby brother” is definitely beginning to grow up and I look forward to seeing the results of the initial resource estimate which I anticipate can show the true potential of this project.

Please Note – Resource Clips article on RDG

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Posted in A Grandich Company All Posts Canadian Stocks Exploration Shares Mining Shares Ridgemont Iron Ore by Peter Grandich