NVGC Long Canyon Overview The Long Can
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Long Canyon Overview
The Long Canyon Trend in Northern Nevada
The northeastern region of Nevada is the largest gold mining region in the United States, making Nevada the fourth largest gold producer in the world, behind Australia, South Africa and China . The gold producing mines, as well as the extensive exploration, are found throughout Northern Nevada, with the majority of the producing mines, being found in the prolific Carlin Gold Trend, the Cortez Gold trend, the Battle Mountain Gold Trend and, the most recently discovered, Long Canyon Gold Trend.
The newly discovered Long Canyon Gold Trend, of North Eastern Nevada, was first drilled by a company called New West Gold. This work started approximately 5 years ago after another smaller company completed some highly interesting geophysical work.
This drill data showed an increase in the probability of a significant gold deposit in the area of the east side of the Pequops Mountains, just south of highway I-80 about 25 miles east of Wells Nevada and about 60 miles west of Wendover.
The drill results also encouraged another company, Frontier Gold, to enter into the project on a further joint venture agreement and to spend $60 million in drilling to prove up over 1,500,000 ounces of mineable gold with similar mineralization to the now famous Carlin Trend, the second largest known gold deposit in the world.
As exploration programs had positive results, proving up a major new trend, Newmont Mining Corp announced their intension to acquire this new deposit and surrounding land position from Frontier Gold for approximately $2.3 billion in February of 2011. The word now is that this new trend is expanding more quickly and to a larger area than the original Carlin Gold Trend did from the original discovery, thus making this new Long Canyon Gold Trend a very significant discovery.
This whole area of Wood Hills, Spruce Ridge and Spruce Mountain, down to the famous Ely, Nevada are were highly active historical small-mine production areas, so much so that the famous historical California/Hastings Cut Off trail , connecting the California gold fields with this active gold, silver, and later lead/silver/zinc/copper producing areas, ran right through all of these properties. One can follow this trail, listed as “The Historical California Trail’ on all Nevada maps to this day. The reason for this old historic trail was for the early stage coach’s bringing people, food, supplies and picking up the gold and silver from this whole area. In fact, it is believed that the famous Butch Cassidy and his wild bunch, robbed the old train cars that later came through this area, as they slowed to make the steep grades into Wells.
In August of 2012, Nevada Gold Corp entered into an option agreement to acquire 120 claims located on sections 5,6,7 and 8 in township 33N and Range 64E with meridian MDR & M. These four sections consist of approximately 2,560 acres. The private lease holder has also optioned to Nevada Gold Corp another adjoining 4sections of 120 claims in the same location. These contiguous claim blocks are bordered on the east by Newmont and Frontier. Renaissance Gold in a joint venture with NuLegacy Gold is drilling on their South Woods Hills Project just to the north of this area and Renaissance Gold in a joint venture with a subsidiary company of Sumitomo from Japan are drilling to the south of this area.
Nevada Gold Corp’s claim blocks are located in the Spruce Mountain region of southern Elko County. This area has been the scene of mining activity since 1869. During those years, small communities named Sprucemont, Spruce, Hickneytown, Monarch, Black Forest, Latham, Jasper, Steptoe, Johnson and Killie came to life and then declined. These camps stretched for 6 miles, from the western to the eastern slopes of Spruce Mountain. The area’s history is fascinating, and it is one of the most intriguing sites in Elko County.
Nevada Gold Corp Property Information 07.31.12
The property optioned by Nevada Gold Corp is accessible year around by two wheel vehicle on the well maintained gravel road from the paved Nevada Highway 93 running south of Wells, Nevada to Las Vegas, Nevada.
Driving south of Wells, Nevada about 8 miles just over the first set of railroad tracks where the Union Pacific RR crosses the Highway 93 from east to west. Just past the RR crossing the first turn off of Hyw 93 to the left or east onto the dirt/gravel Tobar/Ventosa road. Travel south east on this road for about 20 miles to the property. This excellent gravel road runs south directly between the first sections to be acquired by the company. These sections are located on the east slopes of Spruce Ridge with the eastern portion of the property adjacent just north of a natural springs used by the local cattle ranchers named Chase Springs.
On June 4th, 2012 an ‘Option Agreement’ was entered into between Development Resources LLC, a Utah mineral exploration and development company and Nevada Gold Corp, wherein the terms and conditions are specified for the acquisition interest in the first four sections and the ‘option’ to acquire an additional adjoining four sections in the Spruce Ridge area of the Long Canyon Gold Trend.
This agreement, including all of the terms and conditions therein, will be transferred by a further agreement to the Nevada Gold Corp public company .
The agreement includes the rights to acquire a 51% controlling interest in 120 twenty acre BLM mineral lease claims located on Sections 5, 6, 7 and 8 in Township 33N and Range 64E with Meridian MDR&M in Elko County, Nevada.
A cash payment of $10,000 was paid by Nevada Gold Corp to hold the option in place to August 10th, 2012. An additional cash payment of $47,400 has been paid by Nevada Gold Corp to exercise the ‘option’ to proceed to acquire this 51% interest in these first four sections. Part of this payment is for an additional acquisition cost to Nevada Gold Corp and part to be used to pay for the first filing fees to the BLM, County and State of Nevada for the year September 1, 2012 to September 1, 2013.
Additional payments by Nevada Gold Corp to complete the acquisition cost are $25,000 due by September 15, 2012, $25,000 due by October 15, 2012 and a final payment of $75,000 due by November 15th, 2012. These payments complete the ‘cash acquisition costs’ by Nevada Gold Corp for the 51% controlling interest in the first four sections.
The Agreement further states that Nevada Gold Corp shall cause to be delivered 3,000,000 common restricted shares of a public traded company within 60 days of ‘exercising the option’ or not later than October 10th, 2012 to complete the acquisition costs for this 51% interest in these properties.
Nevada Gold Corp has the right to increase this 51% interest in these properties to an 80% interest by agreeing to spend additional funds in exploration programs on the properties specified in the agreement as a ‘Work Commitment’. The Phase One Work Commitment requires Nevada Gold Corp to spend a minimum of $200,000 within 180 days of exercising the option for the purpose of mapping, gathering surface rock chip samples, sediment stream sampling and lab assays. A qualified 43-101 Report will be produced through this exploration program. In the event the samples are favorable, then IP resistivity will also be conducted to locate mineralized drill targets in this Phase One exploration program.
With drill targets located, Nevada Gold Corp is required to expend an additional $1,000,000 in a Phase Two Drill Program to drill out these initial drill targets. These Work Commitment program expenditures are required to be performed within the first year to then receive the extended ownership interest to an 80% interest in these properties. No further expenditures other than the Phase One and Phase Two exploration program costs of $1,200,000 are required for Nevada Gold Corp to hold this 80% interest in perpetuity.
In the event the Phase Two Drill Program produces favorable results, the parties then agree to jointly determine a further exploration program for the further development of the mineral values on the properties.
There were no previous owners for these properties as the land is federal lands controlled by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and were open to staking and claiming by independent parties. Development Resources LLC controls these properties by expending the funds to stake these properties under a process standard to the industry.
These properties are ‘undeveloped’ exploration prospects for precious metals , rare earth metals and base metals. They are located in an area of ‘historic small miner’ workings of known valuable ores and now considered part of the newly discovered ‘Long Canyon Gold Trend.’
These sections are bordered on the north by similar BLM mineral lease claims controlled by Renaissance Gold Company (REN) in JV with NuLegacy Gold (NUG) now currently in a major drill program to define gold and silver values. To the immediate south of these properties is the major exploration program of Renaissance Gold with their JV partner, Summit Mining Company, a subsidiary of the Sumitomo Corporation of Japan. They likewise are in a major drill program to define mineable gold and silver ore bodies as well.
Immediately to the east of these properties is the now famous ‘Long Canyon Gold Ore Discovery, consisting of 2MM plus ounces of drill proven gold ore reserves purchased for $2.3 billion dollars by the Newmont Mining Company as of February 2011. They are now in the Feasibility Stage to put these reserves into production as a major ‘open pit’ gold mine. Newmont is also extending the proven reserves with a continuous drill program as well.
The above named Renaissance Gold Corporation (formerly AuEx Ventures Inc.) in conjunction with their JV partner, Frontier Gold (now Pilot Gold, PLG), spent in excess of $60MM in the discovery and drilling program here to prove up this gold discovery prior to selling out to Newmont Mining Company about 18 months ago.