Full speed ahead

The world economic downturn isn't stopping exploration in Parsons Pond and St. Julien's.

Survival hopes for the communities were ignited last fall when Eagle Ridge Minerals announced a copper discovery in St. Julien's and Leprechaun Resources Ltd. declared there are large amounts of oil around Parsons Pond.

Meanwhile, resources prices crashed alongside the stock market, sending oil to $38.02 a barrel last Monday from nearly $1.50 last summer and copper to $1.26 per lb from nearly $3 lb. last Sept.

"We won't know until we get into the end of January and realize how much money we'll have available for drilling," said Bill Moore, Eagle Ridge's vice-president of corporate development. "I'm quite confident we'll have the money."

Eagle Ridge was brought to resettled St. Julien's by the McGrath brothers, who hail from neighboring Grandois. As a summer project, the brothers had pumped out an old exploration mining shaft, taken samples and sent them away. The tests showed high percentages of copper.

"Our land man is super excited," said Mr. Moores of prospector Robert Freeman who organized a team to map the area.

The company spent some $750,000 in its first round of exploration and is attempting to borrow $5-million to do exploratory drilling this winter.

"If funding is lined up, it shouldn't take long to get a drill crew mobilized," added Mr. Moores.

Leprechaun Resources, meanwhile, opted to sell stock in their company to finance exploration.

"It is affecting us," said president John Maher of tumbling stock market and oil prices. "But we think we will still be able to continue with our project."

The company has lowered its fundraising efforts to $10 million from its original goal of $15 million to do exploratory drilling. The company's stock is being sold privately, rather than publicly on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

"We're doing pretty good - we managed to raise quite a few million during this stock market melt down," said Mr. Maher, declining to be more specific. "We hope to get fully funded by Febuary."

He said that Leprechaun Resource is doing pre-geological and engineering work while it waits to get its money in order.

"We think we have a very viable project and the economics of it look viable even under today's oil prices," said Mr. Maher. "We're drilling on land and they are vertical wells. We think current oil prices will exceed $70 per barrel by the end of 2009."