Keep your eye on this one. Recently completed a name change to Hitec; formerly Sovereign Resources. No dot com involved however.

Volume reveals substantial market interest at present. Volume reveals also the likelihood of a forthcoming announcement. HTE has 2 potential projects on the go. One as a producer of electrolytic manganese dioxide - the main component of alkaline and button cell batteries, the other is manganese sulphate for the stock feed and fertiliser market.

These projects will possibly require financing by large operators. We reprint for you (just out of interest) what The Mining Chronicle had to say - p 3 vol 3 No. 9.

'There could be a healthy silver lining In Sovereign Resources decision to mark time on its gold assets and concentrate on a Cinderella mineral deposit - ferro manganese. For the past few months, the company has been seeking ways to develop its manganese sulphate project near Port Headland in Western Australia's Pilbara region. Now, it is all systems go following the raising of $923,749 through a one-for-four rights issue, support from Invest Australia to market the project overseas, and the appointment of BHP Engineering to undertake a bankable feasibility study. While manganese sulphate is a vital ingredient for the fertiliser and stock feed industries, a little research shows that manganese has been dubbed 'the element of life' by some scientists and is a vital trace element for all animal and plant life.

In humans, manganese has been found to reduce nervous irritability, relax muscles, improve memory, and help combat tiredness. It is said to be essential for proper digestion and efficient use of food by the body as it produces enzymes that extract energy and metabolise proteins. An adequate intake of manganese allegedly slows the ageing process and promotes weight loss through making the metabolism more efficient. It is also essential for fertility and reproductive processes. Most important of all, perhaps, is the fact that a deficiency of manganese can result in a sagging and sorry libido - an increased manganese intake may do wonders for your sex drive. Does this mean that Sovereign Resources is going into the health product business? Not directly, says chairman, Mark Hansen, but an indirect link could be implied. 'This research just shows how important manganese is to both the plant and animal kingdoms' he said. 'For example, manganese is so vital for grains that they won't seed unless the soils in which they are growing have a reasonable manganese content.'

Sovereign is aiming to supply much of Australia's manganese sulphate requirements through its deposit which contains an indicated reserve of 1.4 million tonnes grading 25 per cent manganese. It is expected that production will average around 20.000 tonnes a year. 'Our aim is to substitute much of the country's imports of manganese sulphate and also to get into the export market,' added Mr Hansen. 'We aim to have one of the most technologically advanced projects of its type in the world that will produce a high quality product that is very low in contaminants (such as arsenic and lead) when compared with current imports.'

Further information an Sovereign Resources' manganese sulphate project can be found at the company's web sites: www.sovereign.net.au and www.srdc.com.au'

An extract from their latest annual report states ' The manganese sulphate project is based upon a large resource of manganese along with stockpiled ore from previous mining activity. The manufacturing plant will be located in Port Hedland on 10 hectares of land that Sovereign currently has under option to lease. The project will use a recently developed cost-efective manufacturing process which produces high quality product that is low in contaminants such as cadmium and lead.

The quality of the ore and the innovative manufacturing process will give the product a premium rating in world market terms. Manganese is a trace element necessary for both plants and animals and manganese sulphate is the form in which it is most easily absorbed. It is used as a fertiliser and animal feed supplement, particularly in the developed economies of the world. The main markets for manganese sulphate are expected to be Australia, which currently imports all its requirements, North America and Europe. Future growth is expected through further downstream processing and development of parallel products.'

Watch the technical chart situation though for any decisions required.