A Canadian company believes it has hit a high-tech mother lode.

Appia Energy is confident it has found a high-quality rare earth elements deposit at Alces Lake.

The Vice President of Exploration and Development says their property contains commercially viable minerals used for just about any technical product, including cell phones, electric vehicles and medical products, essentially anything involving magnets.

James Sykes says the next step is determining the size of the deposit near Uranium City this summer with the chance of setting up a small temporary commercial operation at the same time as long as they have enough money along with board and regulatory approval.

The elements are close to the surface and Sykes says extracting them would be possible by setting up a quarry. He says he was able to pull up a significant amount within minutes by using a pick-axe and shovel.

He stresses it could take a few more years to fully assess what they’ve found but says industry experts have told him they believe it’s similar to the deposit of a producing mine in Australia.

Sykes who is based in Saskatoon is hopeful of developing North America’s first rare earth elements mine.