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Precious
Metals Special Report
THE
CORTEZ STORY:
Right
Trend, Right State, Right Country, Right time?
Part
1 l Part 2 l Part
3 l Part 4 l Part
5
by Bill Fox
May 11,
2005
Part
4: Profiles of Junior Players
This
section focuses on junior mining companies that have attracted major
mining companies (highlighted in red) as JV partners or lead-manage some
of the larger land positions on the Cortez Trend. Arranged in
alphabetical order, they are BacTech, Bravo Venture Group, CMQ
Resources, Coral Gold, Klondex Mines, Miranda Gold, Nevada Pacific Gold,
Victoria Resource Corp, and White Knight Resources. I have also included
recommendations for particular companies by such individuals as John
Kaiser, Paul
Van Eeden, columnist for Kitco, John Doody of the Gold
Stock Analyst, and Bob Moriarty, head of 321Gold.com.
Disclaimer.
As of the date of publication of this article, I own no shares in any
of the companies below and have received no other forms of compensation
from them. The choice of companies to profile was based on a
quasi-random sampling of the most visible junior players and is not
meant to provide an exhaustive analysis or specific investment advice.
Lastly, although I mention buy recommendations by newsletter writers and
brokerage firms, the stock prices and underlying fundamentals of the
recommended companies may have changed dramatically since the date of
those recommendations. Certain companies may no longer be suitable. In
addition, the sources of these recommendations may have been in error.
BacTech
Mining Corp (www.bactech.com)
TSX-V symbol BM.
Size
of Cortez land position: 55% interest in 36 sq. mile tract.
1) Tonkin Springs: According
to BacTech, in 2003 it acquired a 55% interest in "U.S. Gold's
Tonkin Springs gold property [which] encompasses 36 square miles located
on the prolific Cortez/Battle Mountain Gold Trend in Nevada. A gold
resource of 1,400,000 ounces [measured and indicated] has been defined.
In addition, facilities include a 2,000 ton per day mill with a
bioleaching circuit and complete mine, mill and tailings infrastructure
were included in the US$1.75 million purchase price." According
to U.S. Gold, BacTech "is responsible to fund $12 million to
recommence gold production from the existing 1.4 million ounce gold
resource."
BacTech's
property is located immediately south of the Cortez Joint Venture area
that hosts the Cortez Hills and ET Blue discoveries. BacTech's CEO, Ross
Orr, believes that the Cortez Fault system runs down the spine of the
Tonkin Springs property for 12 miles. Rifts can play an important role
in gold formation, and the property sits in the middle of the
intersection of the Northern Nevada Rift and Battle Mountain-Eureka
Trend, as noted in the Klondex magnetic map midway through Part
Five. No one has ever drilled down to the Lower Plate strata on this
property, but instead all gold mining to date has been relatively
shallow. Placer Dome's Cortez Hills discovery to the north ranges from
1,500 feet down to 2,500 feet. In some places the Lower Plate may
undulate upwards to within 600 feet of the surface. BacTech will not
know until it drills whether it will have to go down 600 feet or 2,000
feet or even further.

Source: BacTech
and Mineral Information
Maps
Projects
outside of the Cortez Trend area:
2) China. BacTech has a right to back into bacterial oxidation projects
proposed by a joint venture company.
3) Dizon Project, Philippines. BacTech is involved in a joint venture
which is evaluating recovery of metal from the tailings at certain mines
that can make use of bacterial oxidation technology.
Active
mines or facilities in Cortez: According to CEO Ross Orr in his
May 5th
Tom O'Brien interview, BacTech originally bought the Tonkin Springs
property with the intention of using it for bioleach processing. The
Tonkin Springs site is a former gold producer with a mill and tailings
infrastructure on site. The mill closed down due to low gold prices in
the late 1990's. BacTech originally considered hauling ore concentrate
from places as far away as Canada to its Tonkin Springs facility with
hopes of eventually processing around 300,000 ounces a year. If the
Cortez Trend takes off, BacTech will likely get surprise business from
neighbors. The company is now evaluating returning Tonkin Springs to
production most likely at a reduced production rate from the original
plan. This might start at about 30,000 ounces a year, and perhaps ramp
to 40-50,000 ounces a year over eight
years. The cash costs of production could possibly range in the low
to mid $200's. The bioleaching process can be modularized and scale
well, and the required plant and equipment is relatively less expensive
than alternative oxidation processes for lower production volumes.
Amount
of proven resources in Cortez. 1.4 million ounces measured and
indicated at Tonkin Springs property. Out of this 500,000 ounces are
"proven and probable" @ $400 an ounce. This constitutes the
total reserves in the company.
Exposure to Cortez: 90% with
balance of effort to locate new projects for future development in
various countries around the world.
Total production. None. BacTech intends to refurbish the
bioleaching plant on its property. The production process is modular and
should scale well if increasing business comes from Cortez Trend
neighbors.
Total Company revenues: $253,184 for the 12 months
ended Sept 2003, but none
for the nine months ended Sept 2004.. Please note the annual
report and most
recent unaudited financial statements for expense data. .
Fully diluted shares: 63 million shares.
Working capital: $1.25 million as of Dec 31, 2004.
Outside ownership/largest shareholders. Largest
shareholder is Sun Valley Gold, a private equity fund for 21%. Linx
Resources, which bought its fund from Rothschild Australia, owns 10%.
RAB Capital of London, UK, owns 6.6%. Veneroso Gold Fund owns 3.5%.
Prudent Bear owns 3.5% plus $C3 million in BacTech debentures.
Management has 7.7%.
Management/Strategy:
"Bacterial Technology" (BacTech) was originally
founded in Australia to develop bacterial
methods to leach gold from certain amenable ores types, typically
the "refractory" sort. "Refractory" means ore that
resists normal chemical treatment such as cyanide to leach out the gold.
Refractory sulfide ores can be decomposed by bacteria that eat away on
the sulfur. This cuts out a number of toxic production steps and is much
more environmentally-friendly compared to competing full process cyanide
leaching and roasting methods.
BacTech
has a strategic alliance with Mintek, the national metallurgical
association of South Africa. According to Mr. Orr, Bactech and Gold
Fields are the two global leaders in bioleaching technology. BacTech
has successfully
commissioned three gold bioleaching plants. Gold Fields operates four
plants using its BIOX
technology, to include the largest plant in the world in Ghana, and
has many more plants on the drawing boards. The bacterial oxidation
process has been commercially available for 15 years. Newmont Mining,
incidentally, runs a large bioleaching process in northern Nevada,
except that it uses an open air process for heap leach pads, whereas
BacTech and Gold Fields bioleach inside tanks.
Bioleaching
might leach out 95% of gold in refractory ore compared to 98% in
competing pressure oxidation processes, however, it has the financial
advantage of requiring much less capital investment for plant and
equipment, which can be modularized and can scale well. Therefore, in
volumes under several hundred thousand ounces of gold a year,
bioleaching is normally more cost effective than alternatives.
BacTech's
CEO told me that he is getting calls from major mining companies about
structuring a joint venture exploration deal for the Tonkin Springs
property. BacTech clearly faces many issues. One involves resolving
whether to buy out or continue to joint venture with its 45% partner
U.S. Gold Corp. Another issue involves whether or not to accept a joint
venture deal from a major gold mining company or else try to find
financing elsewhere. A third issue involves whether it wants to focus on
gold exploration right now, or put it on the back burner and focus on
developing bioleach plants around the world while its Cortez Trend
neighbors hopefully prove up their properties and make the broader area
better defined and more valuable.
BacTech's
2003 annual
report states that its corporate strategy focuses on obtaining
ownership of mining operations that use its bacterial processes. In
other words, rather than just collect licensing, royalty, or consulting
fees to install and run bioleaching plants, the apparent "sweet
spot" is to buy equity exposure in mining operations that would
otherwise be worthless without BacTech's technology. This could be a
great strategy to obtain substantial upside equity exposure at a very
low cost. BacTech's current problem is that the company has a
significant cash burn rate and relatively little working capital in a
very capital intensive business. (Welcome to the junior mining company
sector!). However, the company also has ownership of proven and probable
ounces that provide some cushion to its stock price as a bargaining chip
to do deals and raise more money.
In
Feb 2004 Raymond James of Canada gave BacTech a "Strong
Buy" but later cut its rating after the stock had a run-up. In
its April
2004 review, Veneroso Gold Associates felt BacTech shares were
trading at a substantial discount to NPV based on the firm's Tonkin
Springs resources alone. In his July 5, 2004 letter
to shareholders, CEO Ross Orr reported that mining analyst John
Kaiser also felt that BacTech was undervalued.
[March
16, 2005 late and probably last update: BacTech's stock
plummeted on a March 15
news announcement regarding a Nevada Bureau of Land Management
("BLM") notification that BacTech, "Will be required to
increase its current reclamation bond in respect of the Tonkin Springs
Mine by USD$1.1 million from USD$1.7 million to USD$2.8 million. As of
March 11, 2005, BacTech is non-compliant with respect to the BLM
reclamation bond funding obligation. BacTech has 30 days to post the
additional reclamation bond. In the event the bond is not posted, the
Company's 55% interest in Tonkin Springs will revert to U.S. Gold
Corporation, the original owner of the property."]
Bravo
Venture Group (http://www.manexresourcegroup.com
). TSX.V symbol BVG
Size
of Cortez land position: about 20 sq. miles
1) SF Claims (100% working interest) 2.2 sq miles
2) Gable Canyon Claims (100% working interest)1.8 sq.
miles
3) South Gold Bar Claims (100% working interest) 2 sq.
miles. According to the Oct 21, 2004 Bravo Venture Press
Release, "[Placer Dome can elect]
to enter into a joint venture agreement on such project to earn a 51
percent interest upon total expenditure of $1.0 million.
Placer Dome can also further elect to earn an additional 19 percent by
funding exploration through to a bankable feasibility study. If all
three projects advance, Placer Dome will be required to spend US$3.0
million to earn an initial 51 percent in each project [to also include
Three Bar Prospect and South Lone Mountain]."
4) Three Bar Claims (100% working interest) 3.8 sq.
miles. Same deal with Placer Dome
as described with South Gold Bar above.
5). Pete Hanson Claims (100% working interest) 4.2 sq.
miles
6) South Lone Mountain (100% working interest) 3 sq.
miles. Same deal with Placer Dome
as described with South Gold Bar above. On Feb 15, 2005 Bravo announced
some assay evidence of gold in fragments from a 1989 oil well drilled on
this property, indicating a possible "120-foot-thick interval of
gold-bearing Roberts Mountains Formation."
7) North Lone Mountain (100% working interest) 2.6 sq.
miles
8) Granite Mountain project: (100% working interest)
.50 sq. miles

[Source: Bravo
Venture Group]
Other
projects outside of Cortez:
1) Homestake Project, NW British Columbia
2) Woewodski Island, SE Alaska
Active mines in Cortez: None
Amount of proven reserves in Cortez. None
Exposure to Cortez: Three of the eight Cortez Trend
properties are joint-ventured with Placer Dome. Bravo believes it can
joint venture out the remaining five without a further expenditure of
working capital. The company's working capital will instead go towards
developing its British Columbia and Alaska properties to the point that
they are ready for joint venture deals as well. Bravo believes that it
has hit some good assays on these properties as well, although British
Columbia and Alaska involve very different geology.
Total gold reserves in company. None
Total production None
Total Company revenues: Negative
Fully diluted shares: 53 million shares.
Working capital: Around $1.2 million
Outside ownership/largest shareholders. The Bravo
Venture Group is managed by Manex Group out of Vancouver, B.C. Manex is
also involved with Rio Fortuna, Western Silver (AMEX listing: WTZ),
Southern Silver, and Quaterra Resources.
Management/Strategy: According to a company spokesperson, over
the next few months Bravo will continue negotiations to joint venture
out the rest of its five Cortez Trend properties. Placer Dome is already
a joint venture partner on three properties. Teck Cominco (already a JV
partner with White Knight), Newmont, and other companies are still
active in the area looking at deals. Once the six week rain cycle ends
in mid-March, they hope to get active with Placer Dome on a drilling
program.
The
Bravo spokesperson said that Bravo's property acquisitions were advised
by Trend, a geological consulting company active in Nevada for many
years. Bravo was also guided by data developed by Placer Dome which
suggests that the formations that created the Pediment and ET Blue
deposits extend much further to the south. This is supported by
considerable airborne and surface data collection.
CMQ
Resources (www.cmqresources.com)
TSX.V symbol CMQ.
Size
of Cortez land position: 26.8 sq. miles
1) Montezuma (100% working interest) 12.4 sq. miles.
Located NE of Cortez Hills area in Crescent Valley. This is next to
Placer Dome/Kennecott's large Dean Ranch tract. According to the Sept
10, 2004 Loewen, Ondaatje, McCutcheon analyst
report (Speculative Buy), from Nov 2004 to March 2006 CMQ Resources
will drill 10 exploratory holes looking for Carlin, horst-type gold
targets.
2) Vasquir (100% working interest) 14.4 sq. miles.
Located 15 km NE of Cortez Hills. From Nov 2004 to March 2005 CMQ
Resources will drill 10 exploratory holes here as well. Same types of
targets as the Montezuma property.

Source: CMQ
Resources
Martin
Lambert, the President of CMQ Resources, told me that if I use pictures
such as the one above from his web site, I need to emphasize that this
is simply one of many unproven theories that his company is
investigating. I like this cutaway picture because it does a nice job of
illustrating for the layman how the valleys are filled with alluvium,
how upper and lower plate strata are layered, and how intrusives can
originate from deep within the earth. CMQ Resources has drilled down
around 1,500 feet and hit something in the middle of Crescent Valley,
but it has not drilled enough holes to prove that this thing labeled
"Montezuma" is in fact a horst block structure. CMQ Resources
considers it a Jurassic-aged
[150-205 million years old] intrusive. Also, while attending the January
2005 Vancouver Resource Investment Conference, I did not hear any
geologists validate the theory that the Pipeline deposit drifted from
somewhere up Crescent Valley. Despite all of this, I still like the
illustration.
Incidentally,
"Alluvium"
is "a general term for clay, silt, sand, gravel or similar
unconsolidated detrital material, deposited during comparatively recent
geologic time by a stream or other body of running water." An
"allochthon"
is "a body of rock that has been moved from its place of formation
by tectonic processes, such as thrust faulting." An "autochthon"
is a body "formed in the place where now found. Applied to a body
of rock which has not moved from its original place of formation."
Projects
outside Cortez
3) Kuusamo, Finland, (100% working interest) Exploration for Ni, Cu, PGM
targets.
Active mines in Cortez: None
Amount of proven reserves in Cortez. None
Exposure to Cortez Trend: Currently the main focus of
exploration efforts.
Total gold reserves in company. None
Total production None
Total Company revenues: None
Fully diluted shares: 65.4 million shares. Insider
stake 46%. Institutions 19.9% According to Mineweb, Gold Fields acquired
11% (fully diluted) of the company's shares, significantly
contributing towards the C$8 million working capital. Sprott Asset
Management has 12.5%.
Working capital: C$8 million
Management/Strategy: Martin Lambert, the company's
President, told me that you can drive by some people's homes in the
Crescent Valley area and see bathing suits hanging out to dry from the
enjoyment of hot springs literally in their backyards. (Nevada's answer
to California hot tubs?) In addition to desirable hydrothermal
characteristics, there are elevated mercury levels in the soil that can
be a tell-tale sign. The Montezuma structure seems to have all the right
conditions for hosting gold, except, of course, for sitting on top of
the Cortez Trend fault system and already producing economic grades of
gold in drill results. Mr. Lambert said Gold Fields has invested in his
company, and one of its senior geologists is currently studying CMQ's
properties. Placer Dome also has a large property nearby called
"Dean Ranch." Obviously some staff professionals at two major
firms think that there could be something worth exploring in the area.
Loewen,
Ondaatje, McCutcheon issued an 18
page report (Speculative Buy) dated 15 June 2004 that gives a good
overview of CMQ Resources and the geology of its properties in addition
to the already cited two page Sept 10, 2004 update
report (Speculative Buy).
Coral
Gold (www.coralgold.com)
TSX.V symbol CGR.
Size
of Cortez land position: Total area
(including partner interests) 11,000
acres or 17.6 square miles. Coral Gold's share is about 11.3 sq,
miles. The story, in a nutshell, is that all of the properties
are within a few miles of the prolific Pipeline Complex run by Placer
Dome. They have all shown surface indications of gold here and there,
but they have not been systematically explored down to the Lower Plate.
1) Norma-Sass (66% working interest). 1.2 sq. miles.
This is a joint venture with Levon Resources Ltd.
2) Robertson (100% interest) covers 4,500 acres or 7
sq. miles. It has had over $20
million in exploration funds invested in it to date. According to
the Haywood Securities' 23
June 2004 report, this area "contains 1.8 million ounces of
gold in historical resources from four areas." The report mentions
a step-out hole that found 30 feet of .229 oz/tonne gold beginning at
675 feet. Conversely, the Coral Gold 2004 Annual
Report claims a 583,700 ounce resource for this property.
3) Robertson-Excluded (39% interest, the Cortez
Joint Venture with Placer Dome/Kennecott has the other 61%)
total area covers 4,526 acres, or 7.2 square miles, Coral's share
2.82 sq. miles. Apparently the contract does not put Placer Dome under
any time pressure to perform.
4) Ruf (66% interest) .65 sq. miles. Joint venture with
Levon Resources Ltd, which has 34%.

Active
mines in Cortez:
None
Amount of reserves in Cortez. For its Robertson
property, the company reports
583,700 "contained ounces" at a grade of .053 ounce/ton. It
does not define the economic mineability of these ounces. Its web site
provides more detail in a Jan 29, 2004 Geological
Report.
Other projects outside of Cortez: None.
Exposure to Cortez 100%.
Total Company revenues: None.
Fully diluted shares: About 5 million fully diluted.
This follows a 10:1 reverse split in July
2004 . Insider stake: 44%
Working capital: $C2 million
Management/Strategy: On 7 Jan 2005 I had the pleasure
of speaking with David Wolfin, the CEO. He and his father Lew Wolfin run
six public mining companies, three of which operate in the Cortez Trend
area. The latter companies are Coral Resources, Levon Resources, and
Mill Bay. Levon is partnered with Coral on two properties near the
Pipeline Complex, and Mill Bay has some relatively small parcels about
15 km to the NE of Coral Gold adjacent to CMQ Resources and the Klondex
Fire Creek property (see the northern map section in Part
Five). As mentioned near the beginning of Part
Three, John Kaiser listed Levon as a bottom fish candidate in his 3
Jan 2005 report.
Coral
Gold has been around since 1983, when the company hired the legendary
Dr. Ralph Roberts, who suggested staking claims that tie into Placer
Dome's Gold Acres mine The company has been in and out of different
joint ventures with companies such as Amax (later folded into Kinross)
and the Cortez Joint Venture. The value of the joint ventures got
crushed by down swings in gold prices in the 1990's.
Mr.
Wolfin pointed out that you can find Lower Plate near the surface at the
southernmost boundary of the Robertson property, but they do not know
how quickly it drops off moving further north. For the time being their
exploration drilling is going down 500 to 1,000 feet. In January the
ground is hard from the cold and good for drilling, but during a six
week period from February to Mid-March it usually turns rainy and muddy,
and drilling slacks off. They hope to have assay results by the end of
January for their most recent round of drilling.
There
may be some lucrative deep deposits, but then again drilling costs rise
sharply with depth, as do the costs of creating mining infrastructure.
For many junior companies, they are conserving their cash resources by
remaining focused on relatively shallow drilling targets until higher
gold prices or news of a big discovery by another junior ignites stock
prices to create better terms to raise equity to pay for deeper and more
aggressive drilling. The perfect dream of junior companies is to find
enough shallow gold deposits to pay for an open pit that takes them down
to 500 or 1,000 feet. Then they can launch their underground mines to go
after deeper deposits. This is a lot cheaper and financially less
dangerous in terms of risking runaway costs and stock dilution for the
company than starting at the surface with a tunnel that has to burrow
down 1,500 to 2,000 feet before it reaches economic gold deposits.
Klondex
Mines Ltd
(www.klondexmines.com) TSX.V
symbol KDX.
Size
of Cortez land position: 16 sq. miles.
1) Fire Creek (100% working interest) About 5,000 acres
or 7.8 sq miles, 10 miles NW of the Cortez JV Pipeline Complex.
According to the 15 Sept 2004 Cannacord Letter, 600,000 ounces (now
considered "historical") were once identified around the old
Fire Creek mine. On Oct 18th, company reported, "Klondex drills 25
foot gold intercept at 2.594 ounce per ton ["bonanza"
grade"] on 100% owned Fire Creek property." Around this time
the stock jumped from $C1.00 to $C2.00. On. Dec
29, 2004 Klondex reported fifty one significant intercepts in 21 out
of 28 holes. "The high grade, narrow vein style of mineralization
was determined to be similar to that of the Midas (Ken Snyder) Mine,
another Nevada gold deposit located on the Northern Nevada Rift."
This story gets more exciting when you read the 9
Dec 2004 account by Bob Morarity, head of 321Gold.com, about how
Klondex management flew him from the San Francisco Gold Show to look at
gold-speckled rock specimens in a Reno, NV warehouse. The company is entering
Phase 3 of a drilling program where it intends to drill nine holes
for a total of 10,900 feet.
2) Corral Canyon (100% working interest). 3.9 sq.
miles. Adjacent to Coral Gold's Robertson property. Grassroots.
3) Hot Springs Point (100% working interest) 2.6 sq.
miles. Adjacent to CMQ Resources in Crescent Valley. Grassroots.
4) Woodtick (100% working interest) 1.7 sq. miles.
Northwest of Fire Creek. Grassroots.

Aerial view of Klondex's Fire Creek property
Source:
Klondex
Other
projects outside of Cortez
1) Maggie Creek (67% working interest) in Carlin Trend area
2) Reef (100% working interest) in Fairview District, NV
Active mines in Cortez: None. The Fire Creek Mine open
pit mine was closed in 1983 on account of softening gold prices.
Amount of proven reserves in Cortez. None. Regulators
will not allow Klondex to count the aforementioned
"historical" ounces at Fire Creek, so the official position is
that the company has no significant resources right now.
Exposure to Cortez: Klondex is heavily focused on the
Fire Creek property in the Cortez Trend.
Total production None
Total Company revenues. None
Fully diluted shares: 20 million shares, Somewhere
between 25% to 40% insider ownership. The President has 15%. The
Canadian mining company Wolfden Resources Inc. (WLF) owns 10%.
Working capital: $C6.7 million (Dec 2004). Company
raised $6.25 million in November.2004. No debt.
Management Strategy/Overview: Management hopes that
Fire Creek may prove comparable to the Ken Snyder mine (also marked as
the "Midas Mine" on maps, see the Klondex map of the Northern
Nevada Rift in Part
Five), which sits on the intersection between the Carlin Trend and
the Northern Nevada Rift. In the case of Fire Creek, it sits on an
intersection of the Northern Nevada Rift and an area that is perhaps
five km away from the Cortez Fault system. It is definitely within the
Battle Mountain-Eureka Mineral belt.
The
Ken Snyder mine is an underground mine with about seven million ounces
in reserves that produces 200,000 ounces a year and keeps getting
bigger. Like many underground mines, it continually proves up additional
reserves simultaneously as it mines. As Chris Davie, CEO of Queenstake
Resources told James Puplava in his Dec
4, 2004 broadcast, "...The classic example is the Homestake
mine which was finally shut down in the last two or three years after
135 years of operation. The maximum reserve that Homestake ever had
ahead of it was 2 years."
Klondex
geologist Richard Kern recently explained to me the similarities with
Ken Snyder. The bonanza assay was found deep, about 1,200 to 1,300 feet
down. The veins are multistage quartz calcite. They lie in a similar 16
million year old basalt formation that characterizes the Northern Nevada
Rift. The gold formations seem to form long horizontal ribbons running
parallel to each other, down dipping towards the west. The shapes of the
veins, the widths, and the mineralogy seem similar to Snyder. He is
currently checking out the metallurgical properties for similarities as
well, which involve the ways in which gold can be mechanically or
chemically separated from the ore. The Klondex web site shows rock
samples with visible
gold specks, which of course were the focal point of the special
trip to Reno and write
up by 321Gold.com's guru Bob Moriarty.
Mr.
Kern pointed out that it may be possible to get carried away with the
idea of gold having to be close to the Cortez Fault and near parallel
"controlling structures." It is possible that magma could
initially move up through a major earth crack such as the Cortez Fault,
but then as gold-bearing fluids get close to the surface, they could
seep into and solidify in fractures from a different geological event
that crisscross over the Cortez Fault system at odd angles.
Newmont
Mining and White Knight control "checkerboard" parcels that
lie between five to ten kilometers just west of Klondex's Fire Creek
Mine in an area called Slaven Canyon. It will be interesting to see how
far the Fire Creek's ribbon-like gold deposits extend westwards. White
Knight thinks that Slaven Canyon sits on top of the Cortez Fault system
area, which might comprise a distinctly separate formation. White Knight
will commence drilling deep holes in April.
Miranda
Gold
(www.mirandagold.com)
TSX.V symbol MAD,
OTCBB: .MRDDF
Size
of Cortez land position: 31.1 square miles (19,905 acres or 963
claims)
1) BPV (100% working interest). 43 claims or 1.4 sq.
miles. Miranda
states: "3 miles south of ET Blue discovery."
2) Coal Canyon (100% working interest). 64 claims or
2.1 sq. miles. "Outcropping lower plate carbonate rocks (Roberts
Mountains and Hanson Creek Formations), Bordering mineralized Grouse
Creek fault zone. No deep drilling." "Golden
Aria can earn a 60%
interest in the Coal Canyon property by spending $1.0 million in
exploration expenditures over four years." Ken
Cunningham, Miranda's President and CEO, told me that the Coal Canyon
property is bounded on the west by the gold-bearing Grouse Creek fault
zone.
3) CONO (100% working interest) 73 claims or 2.4 sq
miles. "Gravity data suggests horst feature on margin of claim
block Recent drilling (Newcrest) hit bedrock (Roberts Mountain
Formation?) at 1500 feet."
4) ETTU (100% working interest). 74 lode
claims, or .9 sq. miles. "Geophysical data indicates WNW and NW
structures intersect on the ETTU claims beneath shallow gravel cover.
The WNW structure is a projection from the Gold Bar Mine through a
target being drilled on Tone Resource claims onto the ETTU claims. The
NW structure projects south from the Afgan deposit and is manifested as
a resistivity high. Surrounded by claims recently (May 2004) staked by
Newmont."
5). Fuse-JDW (100% working interest). 209 claims total
or 6.7 sq. miles. According to Ken Cunningham, this outlying area was
selected based on mercury soil gas surveys. Placer Dome announced at the
Vancouver B.C. Cordilleran Round Up in Jan 2004 that mercury is one of
the best indicators for gold in the Cortez Hills. John Kaiser comments
in his analysis of Miranda, "Although the Fuse, JDW and Red Hill
cluster appear to be somewhat off the structural trend, and might easily
be dismissed as moose pasture staking by juniors seeking closeology
benefits, they do represent the fruit of Joe Hebert's geological
thinking that involves speculations about structural offsets which if
true would make the Cortez Trend not just rival but eclipse the scale of
the Carlin Trend goldfield." I provide more information on
Miranda's cross-rift thinking in my "West Northwest School"
section in Part
Five.
6). Red Canyon (100% working interest). 237 claims or
7.5 sq. miles. "Lower plate carbonate rocks including the Devonian
Wenban Formation (host to Cortez Hills) crop out on property. Large
alteration cell with strong geochemical trace elements as well as gold.
Best hole: 95 feet of 0.14 opt (ounces per tonne) gold. Several
excellent targets remain untested by drilling." "Newmont
can earn a 60% interest in the Red Canyon property by
spending $2.5 million in exploration expenditures."
7). Red Hill (100% working interest). 79 claims or 2.6
sq. miles. "Outcropping lower
plate carbonate rocks." Oct 28, 2004 news
release: "[Placer Dome U.S.] PDUS
can earn a 60% interest in the property by spending $2.0 million in
exploration expenditures over four years." Ken
Cunningham believes that the extensive alteration at Red Hill warrants
additional exploration.
8) Horse Mountain. (100% working interest). 4.5 sq.
miles. Miranda
announced its acquisition of this property on Nov 23, 2004.
"The property is located approximately 11 miles west-northwest of
the Cortez Joint Venture's Pipeline Mine and is surrounded by lands
being explored by the Cortez Joint Venture. Placer Dome, operator of the
Cortez Joint Venture...Historic work by Phelps Dodge has defined a small
low-grade gold resource called the Rum Dreams deposit that is hosted by
upper plate quartzite and chert. Conventionally this resource has been
interpreted by earlier workers to represent possible leakage from a
potentially more significant deposit at depth."


Chart
source: Miranda Gold
Outside
Cortez
1 ) Redlich, Esmeralda County, NV, will likely see an aggressive
drilling program this year. Australian joint venture partner Newcrest
intersected ten feet of 0.68 oz per ton gold in one hole and five feet
of 1.35 oz per ton gold in another hole.
2 ) Bald Peak, Mineral County, NV
3 ) Troy, Nye County, NV. Had some interesting results. Miranda's main
geologist believes he found a gold system and got some high grade
samples. Miranda plans to arrange a JV partner.
Active mines in Cortez: None
Amount of proven reserves in Cortez. None.
Exposure to Cortez: About about 75% of exploration
spending. Miranda added all of its Cortez Trend
properties within the last fifteen months.
Total gold reserves in company. None
Total production None, focused almost exclusively on
exploration.
Total Company revenues None
Fully diluted shares: After Jan 21, 2004, 36.8 million
Working capital: Dec 13, 2004 private placement raised
C$2 million, will close by Jan 21st, to total $C3.7 million in treasury.
Outside ownership/largest shareholders. Management has
(with warrants) about 15%. Several newsletter writers might hold around
200,000 shares. Some funds were involved in the recent private
placement. Rick Rule
of Global Resource Investments has 4%.
Management/Strategy: According to management, Miranda seeks
properties that combine numerous geologic features important to Cortez
or Carlin-style deposits. They include:
1)
Exposures of Lower Plate Carbonate host rocks (windows).
This is typically where the Lower Plate has been thrust towards the
surface. Lower Plate rocks have been a better sponge to hold gold
compared to upper plate rocks where gold deposits tend to be more
spotty. As the hills and mountains overlying uplifts of Lower Plate
rock get eroded down, the distance from the surface to the Lower Plate
diminishes. Sometimes this brings the distance within the economic
range of open pit mining (about 500 to 1,000 feet in depth). According
to Ken Cunningham, the major "windows" are near a) the
Pipeline Mining Complex b) Miranda's Coal Canyon property c) Miranda's
Red Hill area d) BacTech's Tonkin Springs mine area and e) Miranda's
Red Canyon area. (As a caveat, the existence of Lower Plate rock does
not guarantee the existence of gold deposits, but it can
greatly increase the odds. There are a lot of Lower Plate exposures
throughout Nevada that do not have significant gold). .
2). Hydrothermal alteration. Swirling water helps to
sort out gold.
3). Presence of intrusive bodies and intrusive dikes.
As an example, the Cortez mine has a gold-rich 38 million year old
dike coincident with the age of many Carlin gold formations.
4). Gold bearing structures or conduits. Note that
"seepage gold" is a clue to more gold further down, and that
without structures for gold-bearing fluids to seep into, there can not
be any gold separation and mineralization to begin with. Miranda is a
major proponent of the "WNW School" discussed in Part
Five.
5) Favorable fold axis. Geologists look for
"structural controls" to help predict how gold-bearing
fluids might have arranged themselves as they cooled down and settled
in.
6) Presence of anomalous geochemical pathfinder elements.
As an example, mercury tends to separate out of gold-bearing fluids at
about the same temperature and pressure as gold itself.
Analyst
Commentary: On the Nov 19, 2004 Report
on Business Interview, Paul Van Eeden, managing partner at Cranberry
Capital and columnist for Kitco.com, commented: "Miranda is run by
two gentlemen who not only know how to work in Nevada, but between the
two of them, they have six discoveries under their belt in Nevada. As an
exploration team, these guys stack up against the best in Nevada. Joe
Hebert, the Vice President of exploration was the [senior] generative
exploration manager for the Cortez Trend venture between Placer Dome and
Kennecott that made the Cortez Hills discovery. Joe through his own work
made another called the ET Blue that Placer Dome has not talked about
much but from what I understand is a bona fide discovery. And Joe and
Ken Cunningham [President and CEO], are applying their geological
concept to generate exploration projects in Nevada. They then joint
venture these out to other companies and exploration companies to
develop. It is only a matter of time. It is a large holding of mine. I
am very happy with it."
Nevada
Pacific Gold (www.nevadapacificgold.com).
TSX-V symbol NPG.
Size
of Cortez land position: 38 square miles.
1) Keystone Property. 11 sq. miles. Site of the
historical Keystone mine. Company interpretation, "The Keystone
project (as well as Cornerstone) is located within the structural
corridor on the Cortez Gold Trend approximately 12 kilometers south of
Placer Dome's 10+ million ounce Cortez Hills, Pediment and ET Blue
discoveries which many consider to be the most significant in Nevada
over the past 15 years." On September 7, 2004, the Company signed a
binding letter agreement with Placer Dome, whereby Placer
Dome has the right to earn a 60% interest in the Keystone project
by spending $5 million on exploration over a five-year period. Nevada
Pacific retains 100% right to explore for silver and base metals. Placer
Dome will initiate an exploration program in first quarter of 2005.
2 ) Cornerstone (formerly called Pat Canyon, no longer
to be confused with White Knight's Pat Canyon property). 2,120 acres or
3.3 sq miles. Company interpretation: "The Pat
Canyon property... is located immediately adjacent to the 1.4 million
[measured and indicated] ounce Tonkin Spring gold mine. The Dec 17, 2004
press release notes
that 25% of the total land package has been systematically worked up,
and soil samples have found four areas of mineralization. Some areas
have included significant levels of elevated anomalies coincident with
gold anomalies.
3) BMX. 24 sq miles of "checkerboard"
properties located on or just off northwest corner of the trend,
surrounded by Newmont's corresponding checkerboard pieces. Technically
BMX may be outside of the Cortez Trend for the same reasons I describe
for Newmont's Phoenix deposit in Part
Three. BMX lies just off the northwest corner of the northern
property map in Part
Five. Placer Dome has right to earn in
60% with $4 million. According to Nevada Pacific:
"A total of 7,060 feet were drilled in ten reverse circulation
drill holes [in Jan 2004]. All ten holes drilled in this initial program
encountered significant gold, trace and base-metal mineralization and
have confirmed the presence of a major gold and copper system."
Company interpretation: "Nevada Pacific believes that the BMX
project has potential for both open pit, low-grade gold/copper deposits
and underground, high-grade gold targets similar to the nearby mines
such as Lone Tree, Marigold, Fortitude, Phoenix, Surprise and Trenton
Canyon."

This
chart not only depicts Nevada Pacific Gold projects, but also red
triangles where 10 million ounce reserves have already been proved up.
Source: Nevada
Pacific Gold Corp
Projects
outside Cortez:
1) Magistral, Sinaloa, Mexico. A producing mine, projected 30,000 ounces
at a cash cost of $250 per ounce.
2 ) Limousine Butte, Carlin Trend, NV. Joint ventured in Sept 2004 to
Placer Dome Gold.
3) Amador Canyon, Lander County, NV
4 ) Buffalo Canyon, Nye County, NV
5) Clover Valley, NV, north of Limousine Butte
6) South Carlin, NV, on Carlin Trend
7) High Dollar, NV, on Carlin Trend
8) Timber Creek, NV
9) Valmy Antler Project (2,080 acres or 3.2 sq miles). Nevada Pacific
controls 100%. Company note: "The Valmy Antler land package abuts
the Glamis' Marigold Mine position on the east and north boundaries and
covers both NE and N-S mineralized trends extending from known ore
bodies. The project lies within Newmont checker boarded private lands
and also abuts Newmont's active lode mining claims that have been held
since 1986." It is near the northern border of the Cortez Trend.
Active mines in Cortez: None. There was a historical
mine, called the Keystone mine on the Keystone property which was active
in 1940's and 1960's. "The mine produced 114 tons of ore yielding
19,800 pounds, 17,900 pounds of zinc, 1,400 pounds of copper and 417
ounces of silver."
Amount of proven reserves in Cortez. None. Drilling
results may be available by late 2005. Placer Dome sets the schedule for
Keystone and BMX, since they are the lead joint venture partner. Under
their JV agreement, Placer Dome is required to spend a certain amount a
year.
Exposure to Cortez: The Cortez area comprises 38 sq
miles out of 75 total square miles in Nevada, or 50% exposure. Nevada
Pacific thinks the sites outside of the Cortez Trend in Nevada are
equally prospective with those inside the trend. The company believes
that the 250 sq miles in Mexico are under-explored, and they are not
necessarily comparable to the Nevada properties because they involve
different geological formations.
Total gold reserves in company. 465,000 oz proven and
probably reserves, included in 616,000 ounces for total reserve and
resource ounces at the Magistral property in Mexico. In the Cortez Trend
area, everything is still in the exploration phase.
Total production 23,000 ounces at Magistral mine in
Mexico in 2003 under Queenstake management, before Nevada Pacific bought
the mine from Queenstake in Feb 2004.
Total Company revenues: None. The Magistral mine was
declared pre-commercial for 2004 based on the capital expenditures
required to improve operations at Magistral. The mine is expected to be
declared commercial effective Jan 2005.
Fully diluted shares: 64 million.
Working capital: $5.5 million.
Outside ownership/largest shareholders. Institutions:
15%, Management 5%. Sept 9, 2004 press release stated that Placer Dome
acquired 1.3 million shares in private placement for US$1 million
Management/Strategy: According to "Nevada
Pacific Hunts for Motherlode" (4-10 June 2004 Northern Miner),
" Nevada Pacific's team was previously involved in the growth phase
of two mid-tier producers, Bema Gold (BGO-T) and Eldorado Gold (ELD-T).
Along with [CEO] Richard Barclay, [Chairman David] Hottmann and senior
management of Nevada Pacific have been involved in the discovery of 75
million oz gold, 10 operating mines, and the raising of about $700
[actually $300] million in venture capital."
Canaccord
Capital issued a Speculative Buy in its Nov 22, 2004 Daily Letter. On
Dec 4, 2004 at the San Francisco Gold Show, John Doody, author of the
Gold Stock Analyst, told interviewer James
Puplava that he had just added Nevada Pacific to his recommendation
list.
In
his Puplava interview, John Doody discussed how Nevada Pacific's Mexican
property could have some exploration upside (a 400 sq kilometer property
with a gold porphyry target) in addition to producing 30,000 ounces a
year. John Doody stated, "The exciting exploration to me is that
they have eleven properties in Nevada, oddly enough. In three of these
properties Placer Dome is spending a total of 13 million dollars over
five years exploring to earn a 60% interest. Placer has got some great
technical expertise, they know their way around Nevada, they know what
they are doing there, and the fact that Placer is willing to bet 13
million bucks on these properties to earn in a 60% interest is very
exciting for me, and I am sure if only one out of three hits, it will be
a good upside for the stock. Plus, they have eight other good properties
that they are exploring on their own, one of which Newmont did ten years
ago, drilling and found 600,000 ounces, so they are going to do more
drilling to hopefully find better grades..."
Victoria
Resource Corp. (www.victoriaresource.com)
TSX-V symbol VIT.
Size
of Cortez Trend land position: 209 square
km.or 80.7 square miles
1) Mill Canyon (49% working interest) 93 square km, or
35.9 sq. miles. Located 1.4 km to the east of Placer Dome’s Cortez
Hills discovery. June 30th Victoria announced:
"Significant [drilling] results from OC-36 include 10.4 grams per
tonne gold over 26 metres [at a depth of 503 to 529 meters]."
Restated in the English system, they found .36 ounce per tonne (.3 and
above is considered "high grade," and may be required to make
certain underground mines economic.) over 85 feet (nice thickness, but
how far and how long?) at an average depth of 1,692 feet. (most open
pits do not go deeper than 500 to 1,000 feet, so we are probably talking
about underground mining to get close to the Lower Plate). Victoria's
Feb 8, 2005 news
release announced the results of seven more deep holes drilled
totaling 4,850 meters, which "outlined a very large `Carlin Style'
alteration' system," however, unfortunately the additional drilling
did not find any assay results for any significant lengths comparable to
the aforementioned drill hole OC-36.
The "Newmont connection." Victoria
also announced Newmont's renegotiated back-end right: "Newmont
has a one-time back-in right [to earn a 51% interest in the property],
which is exercisable during the period beginning on January 1, 2006, or
upon completion of $5 million in expenditures on the property by
Victoria, whichever is earlier.."
2) Hilltop-Slaven (49% working interest). 116
sq. km, 44.8 square miles. Newmont has a
51% back-in right, but Victoria has 100% lease on the
mineral rights.
Outside of Cortez Trend in northwestern Battle Mountain-Eureka
Trend
3) Preble-Pinson (49% working interest). 53
square km or 20.4 square miles. Newmont
has a 51% back-in right. This is
located east of Winnemucca close to where highway 789 and Interstate 80
intersect.
Active mines in Cortez: None. Historical mining includes
working high grade silver veins on the Mill Canyon property going back
to 1863.
Amount of proven reserves in Cortez: None. No
resources, no production, no revenues yet.
Other projects outside of Cortez: None. 100% exposure
to Cortez.
Fully diluted shares: 47.2 million shares, 33% insider
Working capital: $C3.3 million for last quarter ended
31 Aug 2004
Outside ownership/largest shareholders. 33% owned by
Bema Gold.
Management/Strategy: Victoria is a pure exploration company,
therefore the strategy is to keep drilling until they "hit."
They have two rigs on the property, but have not published their
drilling program yet. To finance the drilling, they have everything
lined up through Newmont.
Bema
Gold began with 28% ownership and increased its stake by buying up all
of Victoria's new share issues. Bema retains a right of first refusal,
and has stated an intent to hold its shares. As an adventuresome
intermediate exploration company, Bema has demonstrated competence and
longevity both with its very successful Kupol mine in Russia and it's
promising (at $450+ gold) low grade copper and gold project at Cerro
Casale in the high Andes of Chile (Bema owns 24%, and along with Arizona
Star is joint-ventured with Placer Dome on this deal).
Analyst
coverage: On 3 Aug 2004 Raymond James issued a
"Strong Buy 1"-rated research report on Victoria Resources,
which noted "Victoria's excellent drill results from the Mill
Canyon property are quickly solidifying the company's initial geological
theory that the property represents a faulted-off portion of the gold
trend hosting the Cortez Hills and Pediment deposits to the west (page
1)...Four distinct zones were identified over a minimum width of 185
metres and a minimum length of 125 metres (page 12)...we assume at 15%
probability of finding another Cortez Hills deposit and use a value of
5.25 million ounces (proven and probable reserves at Cortez Hills)
multiplied by a market "in the ground" value of $US50 per
proven and probable ounce [yields an expected value of C$41.4 million]
(page 21)..."
The
"X-Report"
published 23 June 2004 by Haywood Securities of Canada, highlights
Victoria Resources as one of the companies that it thinks will most
likely benefit from the Cortez Trend development. The others include, in
the order they are listed, White Knight Resources (TSX-V, WKR), Coral
Gold Corp. (TSX-V, CLH), Miranda Gold Corp. (TSX-V, MAD), J-Pacific Gold
(TSX-V, JPN), Levon Resources (TSX-V, LVNH), NDT Ventures (TSX-V, NDE),
and Nevada Pacific Gold (TSX-V, NPG). This seems to be based on a theory
that the real "action" will take place running north to south
through the Cortez Hills Hubs.
White
Knight Resources. (www.whiteknightres.com)
TSX-V symbol WKR
Size
of Cortez land position: 83.2 sq. miles
1) Benmark (100% by owned by White Knight) 1.7 sq.
miles
2) Cabin Creek (100% owned) 0.9 sq. miles
3) Celt (100% owned) 12.4 sq. miles. "Teck
Cominco (`TCAI') has an option to earn a 51% interest by
spending US$4 million and paying US $750,000..."
4) Cottonwood (100% owned) 1.9 sq. miles
5) Fye Canyon (100% owned) 10.8 sq. miles. "Teck
Cominco American Incorporated has an option to earn a 51% interest"
by spending US $4 million and paying US$750,000 by 2008. TCAI may earn
an additional 9% interest by completing a feasibility study."
6) Goldstone (100% owned) 1.3 sq. miles
7) Gold Bar Horst (100% owned) 4.5 sq. miles
8) Gold Pick (100% owned) 0.4 sq. miles
9) Hunter (100% owned) 1.5 sq. miles
10) Indian Ranch (75% owned) 17 sq. miles. "Placer
Dome U.S. Inc. has the right to earn a 60% interest for
US $2 million in expenditures over 4 years and may earn an additional
15% by financing a feasibility study." WKR announced Sept
28, 2004 that drilling had commenced here.
11) McClusky Pass (100% owned) 7.6 sq. miles
12) Pat Canyon (100% owned) 4.1 sq. miles
13) Slaven Canyon (100% owned) 9.7 sq. miles. In April
White Knight hopes to start drilling a total of 15,000 feet in 7
to 8 drill holes. Each hole may take two weeks apiece. Although
Slaven Canyon is 5 to 10 km to the west of Klondex's Fire Creek Mine,
White Knight believes that it may reach a different, older formation
closer to or on the Cortez Fault system.
14) Squaw Creek (100% owned) 4.7 sq. miles. "Consolidated
Odyssey Exploration Inc. ("ODE") has an option to earn a 50%
interest by spending US $2 million, issuing 500,000
shares and paying US$500,000 over a 4-year period."
15) Tonkin Summit (100% owned) 4.6 sq. miles

Outside
of Cortez, in Nevada
16) New Pass, in Austin-Lovelock Trend (100% owned) 3.3 sq. miles.
"Consolidated Odyssey Exploration Inc. ("ODE") has an
option to earn a 50% interest by spending $US2 million..."
Active mines in Cortez: None
Amount of proven reserves in Cortez. No proven and
probable yet.
Exposure to Cortez: 96% of White Knight's land position is in
the Cortez Trend. White Knight also has the third largest land position
after Newmont Mining and the Cortez Joint Venture (Placer Dome/Kennecott
(Rio Tinto).
Total gold reserves in company. None
Total production None
Total Company revenues: None.
Fully diluted shares: 65.5 million.
Working capital: Around $13 million
Outside ownership/largest shareholders. Goldcorp owns
around 10%. Other shareholders include Kinross and Teck Cominco Ltd
Management/Strategy: White Knight has had as its
"Holy Grail" finding the Cortez Fault system. The company has
sought to control as much land on top of it as possible. The two lead
geologists, Bob Cuffney and Hans Rasmussen, both worked for Newmont in
the Carlin Trend area in the 1980's. According to Mr. Rasmussen, they
both learned from that experience that "If you are out of the
fault, you are out of the game!"
The
largest and highest grade discoveries along the Carlin Trend are
associated with major faults (see Carlin chart near the beginning of Part
Five ). The Carlin faults are very old, just like the Cortez faults.
Size and age can matter, to the event that these attributes can
increases the statistical odds of repeated geological events that can
bring more gold-bearing fluids close to the surface to form deposits.
Mr. Rasmussen thinks there is a strong possibility that the Cortez
Structural corridor system may be both older and bigger than the Carlin
fault system. The Cortez Fault system corridor appears to have been a
continental or tectonic
plate edge for hundreds of millions of years before the ocean got
pushed further westward, perhaps sometime around the period when the
California Sierras were formed roughly 100 million years ago.
Mr.
Rasmussen is a geophysicist who explained White Knight's methodology for
outlining the Cortez Fault system during a Technical Session of the
Northwest Mining Association on Dec 10, 2004 (pictures from his
presentation are provided at the end of Part
Five). Unlike the San Andreas Fault in California, the Cortez Fault
has been covered over by many relatively recent geologically events
(meaning millions or tens of millions of years ago as opposed to
hundreds of million years ago). It takes some real detective work to
find it.
Both
the Cortez and Carlin fault systems show significant events from roughly
four different geological periods. The Goldstrike Mine in the Carlin
Trend shows a Jurassic (150 to 205 million years old) intrusion. A
Jurassic event is also present on the Cortez Trend at the Mill Canyon
Intrusion, adjacent to the Cortez Hills discovery. Elsewhere on the
Carlin Trend are Cretaceous (71-144 million years old) intrusives.
Cretaceous events on the Cortez Trend are present at Gold Acres and the
Battle Mountain Complex. Lastly, there are significant intrusives at
both Carlin and Cortez related to both a broad 38-40 million year old
geological event and a 16 million year old event that created the
Northern Nevada Rift (see chart in Part
Five produced by Klondex that links Carlin's Ken Snyder Mine to its
Fire Creek Mine).
Mr.
Rasmussen observed that the main gold-formation event for Carlin-style
deposits both on the Carlin and Cortez Trends took place 38-40 million
years ago. He noted that there was a counterclockwise plate
rotation that changed the direction of the Pacific Plate and
Hawaiian Island chain during this period, as well as the end of the
eastward continental compression that I discuss in Parts
Two and Five.
A major geological event for this period figures prominently for the
Golcanda Trend in Nevada, the Phoenix Deposit and Fortitude Mine in the
northwestern end of the Cortez Trend, and also various deposits
extending as far as Bingham, Utah. There is a 38 million year old
intrusive in the Cortez Mine. This event was key to the Cortez Hills
deposit, however the evidence is sketchier in regard to the Pipeline
Complex.
Mr.
Rasmussen believes that the 16 million year old event that formed the
Northern Nevada Rift was also key to many gold deposits. They exist in
basaltic structures that set them apart from other geological events.
They can be found along the Northern Nevada Rift (see chart in Part
Five) at the Ken Snyder (Midas) Mine on the Carlin Trend. In the
Cortez Trend area, they are also found at Klondex's Fire Creek Mine,
Newmont's Mule Canyon Mine, and Placer Dome's Buckhorn Mine deposits
east of the old Cortez Mine.
White
Knight hopes to get verification for its theories through exposure to $5
million in exploration expenditures in 2005. The company anticipates
drilling several long holes in its Slaven Canyon property in April.
Significantly, according to one source, Placer Dome has staked land to
the north and south of this property, which might indicate that certain
Placer personnel also believe that Slaven Canyon lies on the Cortez
Fault system. White Knight also hopes to drill in its Fye Canyon (Teck
Cominco JV), Celt (Teck Cominco JV), and Squaw Creek (Consoldated
Odyssey JV) properties.
Analyst
Coverage: See John Kaiser overview of the company in Part
Two of this series.
Part
1 l Part 2 l Part
3 l Part 4 l Part
5

© 2005 Bill Fox
Editorial Archive
CONTACT
INFORMATION
Bill Fox, VP
America First Trust Financial Services
P.O. Box 820669
Vancouver, WA 98682
Phone: 360-882-5369
Toll Free: 866-945-5369 (866-WILL FOX)
Email | Website
DISCLAIMER:
This report is for
research/informational purposes only, and should not be construed as a
recommendation of any security. Information contained herein has been
compiled from sources believed to be reliable. There is however, no
guarantee of its accuracy or completeness.
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