by Jonathan T. Orr,
GreenTechnologyReport.com

Cobalt remains the strong silent type at the clean technology party while mineral hot shot lithium, with its New Yorker cover stories and breathless media coverage, is the current star of the green forward resource market, grabbing all the attention with its flash and glitter. But fame is fickle and any lasting role lithium may play in our battery powered clean tech future will be played alongside cobalt: the hard working performer of green technology which, with its wide range of uses and applications, will be around long after the flashbulbs have stopped popping, working hard in our brave new hybrid world.

As Erin Chutter President and Directorof Puget Ventures Inc. (TSX-V: PVS) says with the typical long view vision that cobalt often inspires, "Even if lithium is ultimately discarded, most batteries would likely continue to contain cobalt" and with their recent announcement of completion of a first phase 18-hole drill program and the start of the second phase at the historically producing 100% owned Werner Lake Cobalt Deposit property, Puget are moving toward becoming one of North America's first producing cobalt suppliers.

Cobalt: The Strong Silent Type Powers A Hybrid Future
Although its not the type of element to brag, Cobalt's impressive resume demonstrates that it is the quiet power behind the green technology throne. Its uses are wide, various and an integral and ever growing part of our modern lives. Cobalt is used not only in batteries for cell phones, laptops, and of course hybrid vehicles but also in the super alloys used to build turbine blades for jet engines and the chemicals used in pigments and dyes.

Cobalt is set to play a major role in our transition away from fossil fuels to a cleaner world moved and powered by hybrid vehicles and Lithium-Cobalt battery technology. Global cobalt consumption was a mere 24,000 tonnes in 1995 but has since rapidly grown to close to 60,800 tonnes annually and it demand isn't likely to drop anytime soon as more and more automobile manufacturers move toward the use of Lithium-Cobalt batteries in their Hybrid designs.

Cobalt not only drives exciting hybrids like the Tesla Roadster and the Toyota Prius but is also being used by manufacturers like Freightliner in the design of fleet vehicles. Fleets hold massive potential for the application of Lithium-Cobalt battery technology as the vehicles follow set routes making the issue of range a non-issue as the vehicles can be kept at centralized depots, making recharging simple and effective.
Globally cobalt used in rechargeable batteries is the fastest growing application, and in 2007 the percentage of cobalt use for rechargeable batteries rose to 23% of total cobalt demand. The fastest growing segment of battery applications is for hybrid electric vehicles that can reduce air pollution and fuel consumption by close to 50% compared to fossil fueled vehicles.

To date Toyota has sold over a million of it's market leading lithium cobalt powered Prius HEV and the auto giant estimates that it will be selling one million hybrid vehicles annually in the next few years. Other companies are playing catch up and General Motors, Ford, Daimler-Chrysler, Mercedes, plan to launch their own hybrids shortly. Experts expect that lithium-ion batteries that contain up to 5 to 7 pounds of cobalt will soon come to dominate the hybrid electric vehicle market simply due to the powerful fact that they can be fully charged in minutes rather than the hours required by other battery technologies. The Global demand for HEV vehicles is expected to climb to near 8 million by 2015 thereby assuring that annual cobalt will also grow exponentially.

A Reliable Cobalt Producer In North America's Backyard
Puget Ventures Inc. is a Canadian-based mineral resource mining company focused on the exploration and development of the Werner Lake Mine. As worldwide demand for Cobalt is set to soar Puget are aggressively focused on bringing their Werner Lake property to production and unlike many cobalt producing countries the Werner Lake property lies in a politically safe mining jurisdiction of Western Ontario, Canada with solid infrastructure and clear access.

As Chutter says with conviction: "Puget's vision is to become Canada's primary producer of cobalt and we are committed to supply the demand for North American cobalt."

Werner Lake Cobalt Deposit
Puget recently announced that it has deployed a second diamond drill rig on their 100% owned Werner Lake Cobalt Deposit, located in the Werner Lake Mineral Belt in northwestern Ontario, Canada and has begun a second phase of drilling. Both rigs will work in concert to accelerate the current second phase program currently underway which is designed to target possible extensions to the known deposits in advance of the planned NI 43-101 Resource Report.

Completion of drilling of the first phase of the exploration program, comprising 1839 metres in 17 diamond drillholes was announced in a press release on March 4, 2010. Of the 15 holes in 5000 metres planned during this current second phase of drilling, three holes have now been completed, totalling 824 metres, which brings to 2663 metres the total drilling on the project to date.

Werner West is Puget's flagship asset and is the nearest term primary cobalt production in Canada. First mined in 1929, 1932 and most recently in 1940-1944, the property has a high-grade cobalt deposit well along the production curve and its historic mining production numbers have included 2% and 5% cobalt as well as grades of up to 20% cobalt.

Puget has the management experience to push toward producing profitability as well as the deep geographical knowledge of the central deposit based on the extensive drilling and mine development programs already completed in 1996-2002. Werner West has had more than $12 million spent on development, including a decline shaft and drifts, environmental, geophysics, metallurgy, feasibility work, and mine engineering.

Puget plans an aggressive parallel course over the next 18 to 24 months, which will include aggressive resource expansion and further mine development. Puget's first phase drill program commenced in December of 2009 the company expects to publish exciting results shortly. The program is targeted to confirm the historic Werner West deposit, gain a better understanding of the high-grade portions of the deposit and prepare for the NI43-101 resource calculation.

Chutter sums up Puget's cobalt production prospects saying, "The key to the Puget story is that we are simply the best game in town, being the only Canadian Cobalt mine near to production. When demand explodes, end buyers will want to work with a mine their backyard rather than with one in high risk, poor access regions".

Puget's forward looking strategy is to continue with an aggressive drilling program to bring Werner West Cobalt mine into production as one of North America's only primary cobalt producer. Puget aims to be the go to Cobalt producer for North American manufacturers supplying the ever expanding demand for Cobalt in the new energy sector powering Hybrid Electric Vehicles and solar and wind powered technologies.

Investors who want to have diverse green players in their portfolios will want to add the multi-talented Cobalt to their packages and who better to have as your Cobalt partner but Puget: the near term producer working in your very own backyard?

Follow the company's progress at: http://www.pugetventures.com/