A heavy rare earths bearing mineral eudialyte, which could later on produce the rare earths elements yttrium and zirconium, has been positively confirmed discovered outside of Matamec's Kipawa heavy rare earth deposit in Quebec, Canada.

Eudialyte is the primary rare earth mineral carrying heavy rare earths and yttrium on Matamec's Kipawa rare earth development project. The project is a joint venture with Japan's Toyota Tsusho Corp.

Immediately, shares of Forum Uranium Corp. zoomed up over 11 per cent on Tuesday upon the report of the discovery. The Canadian-based energy company has a market cap of $8 million, based on $160 million outstanding shares.

In a statement, Forum Uranium Corp. said samples from five boulders and one subcrop taken on Forum's mineral claims located seven kilometres west of Matamec's Kipawa rare earth deposit returned high values for rare earths elements, yttrium and zirconium.

Yttrium has a variety of uses. It is used in the production of color television, giving it the red color. It is likewise used in microwave technology. Zirconium, on the other hand, is a lustrous, grayish-white, soft, ductile and malleable metal used in several industries such as steel, iron, and nuclear power.

Aurizon Mines Ltd. collected the samples in 2010, and their locations were confirmed by Forum Uranium Corp. in 2011.

"Rare earth bearing minerals can be difficult to identify megascopically and in some cases in thin sections, however, eudialyte was tentatively identified in two boulders and it was estimated that a third boulder contained 5 per cent to 7 per cent eudialyte," the company said in the statement.

With this, Forum Uranium Corp. plans to follow up with a summer field programme that will involve detailed prospecting, geological mapping and soil sampling.

Should further exploration prove successful, Forum Uranium Corp. stand to receive a 50 per cent interest hold in the Kipawa West Project. But it must first complete $200,000 in exploration commitment within 12 months, then another $150,000 in exploration, including a minimum of 1,000 metres of drilling, within 24 months of the date of the agreement.

It likewise has the preference to earn a further 15 per cent interest, totaling to a 65 per cent interest hold in the project, once it establishes a resource estimate on the property within four years of the agreement date.

Forum Uranium Corp. and Aurizon Mines Ltd. may later form a Joint Venture with the former as operator.