On May 23rd, 2008 WestCan Uranium Corporation (WestCan) submitted an application for Coal Property Permits (CPP) covering 23,040 acres in East Central Saskatchewan near Tobin Lake, shortly after Goldsource Mines Inc., announced it had discovered coal in two separate drill holes located near the Town of Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan, close to the Manitoba Border.

The two coal intercepts were approx. 25 and 35 meters in thickness. Subsequent testing of the intercepts graded the coal encountered from High Volatile Bituminous C to Sub-Bituminous B. Goldsource believes the coal it encountered is from the Mannville/Swan River group of Creataceous age (Goldsource Mines Inc. news release in Stockwatch on May 5, 2008). Coal structures of the Creataceous age are generally stratigraphic and can encompass several thousand square kilometres.

WestCan then applied to the Government of Manitoba for a coal exploration permits on two sections of land close to the Manitoba/Saskatchewan border, in proximity to the Goldsource discovery. The decision was prompted by examination of Manitoba Geological Survey maps which indicate that the area is underlain by the Swan River formation of the same Cretaceous age as the Goldsource Mines Inc. discovery.

The Company then announced it had made application for additional coal permits covering 46,080 acres southwest of Wapawekka Lake and southeast of Lac La Ronge near the intersection of Highways 165 and 912, in accordance with the Coal Disposition Act of Saskatchewan. Outcrops of coal had been reported on the south shore of Wapawekka Lake near Hart Point and Wapaw Bay, as well as along the Bow River south of Lac La Ronge.

According to Saskatchewan Exploration and Development Highlights 2007: The Bow River coal field was investigated in the mid 1970’s by Brascan Resources Limited, who completed 72 drill holes and identified shallow lignite, a coal which is suitable for thermal power generation. Santoy Resources Ltd. which now owns the project, completed 16 vertical HQ diamond drill holes in May 2006with the intention of verifying coal and overburden thicknesses. Santoy subsequently reported results from the preliminary drilling were positive and revealed coal seams in the area are more numerous, substantially thicker and of apparently better rank than indicated by past exploration programs. All of the coal intersections are relatively shallow with most within approximately 250 ft (76 metres,) of surface.