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Mesa announced on 9/2/2010 that it has vended the project to Passport Potash (PPI).
Exploration permits have been granted from the Arizona State Land Department covering 1,950 acres (3 square miles) in the Holbrook Evaporite Basin. Historic data from a core hole drilled on Mesa's Holbrook Project in 1965 describes potash mineralization grading 13.7% potash over a thickness of 9.5 feet. One additional hole intercepted 13 feet of potash, analytical data has yet to be secured. Both of these drill holes were included in a resource calculation done by the Arizona Geological Survey (AGS) documented in a 2008 publication 'Potash and Related Resources of the Holbrook Basin, Arizona' (OFR-08-07). The study estimates the Basin could host 2.27 billion metric tons of potash. Below is a link to a summary of the AGS report:
www.azgs.state.az.us/minerals_potash.shtml
The AGS report is conceptual. Historic exploration was insufficient to define a mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in delineation of mineral resources. Relatively shallow depths to the potash bed (1,200-1,300 feet) indicate that either conventional underground or solution mining/solar evaporation could be used. Solution mining has the benefits of lower capital cost, shorter timeline to production and lower operating costs as compared to conventional potash operations.
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