Miranda Gold Corp. (“Miranda”) (TSX-V: MAD) has acquired
a portfolio of 16 exploration projects in Nevada, Alaska and
Colombia of which 9 are in earn-in funding agreements with industry
partners. Miranda is a generative exploration company that employs
the joint venture business model where partners fund exploration
and drilling programs on Miranda’s projects to earn an interest in
that project.
In 2011, Miranda saw the most spending (~$5.5 M) and the most
amount of drilling (~13,000 m, 43,000 ft) on Miranda’s projects by
its partners in its history. It is possible that 2012 spending and
drilling will surpass that of 2011.
Although not all of the funding partners have approved drill
programs Miranda is expecting all of them to maintain the earn-in
agreements. This is critical to the exploration process as
commitment and continuity are typically needed to advance ideas and
test targets and ultimately result in discoveries. Discoveries are
made with the drill and Miranda has knowledgeable industry partners
that understand this process. Currently we expect 8 of the 9
projects that are in earn-in agreements to be drill tested in 2012
potentially resulting in total exploration expenditures of
approximately $7 million. It is too early to calculate the number
of drill holes or the total amount of drilling but the following
table summarizes our current earn-in agreements as well as when
drilling is anticipated to start. In 2012, Miranda hopes to secure
funding partners for the remainder of our portfolio as well as
continuing generative exploration to increase that portfolio by
acquiring more projects.
2012 PARTNER
ACTIVITIES
PROJECT PARTNER YEAR
LOCATION
START
DATE
BUDGET
Pavo Real Red Eagle Mining Corporation
("Red Eagle")
2 Colombia January
$2,200,000 Cajamarca Red Eagle 2 Colombia
$200,000 Red Hill
NuLegacy Gold Corporation ("NuLegacy") 3 Nevada
April $1,050,000 Coal Canyon
NuLegacy 2 Nevada June
incl. in Red Hill Angel Wing Ramelius Resources Ltd.
("Ramelius") 2 Nevada June
$750,000 Big Blue Ramelius 2 Nevada
June $650,000 Red Canyon
Montezuma Mines Inc. ("Montezuma") 4 Nevada
May $800,000 Taz Navaho Gold Ltd.
("Navaho") 2 Nevada June
$600,000 Ester Dome Agnico-Eagle (USA) Limited
("Agnico-Eagle") 2 Alaska June
$700,000
9 projects
$6,950,000
Note: year column is the agreement year. The budget estimates
are based on the greater of the minimum funding for each agreement
year or the amount approved by that funding partner.
PROJECT DETAILS
2012 is the first year that Miranda has had an active drill
program in January. Colombia is not only a frontier jurisdiction
but also a climate whereby field work, including drilling, can be
conducted year round. In mid-December 2011, Red Eagle began
drilling on the Pavo Real project (see photos on our Flickr account
at www.flickr.com/photos/mirandagold/sets). Red Eagle is currently
drilling its fourth hole in a total drill program of 5,000 m
(16,404 ft) approved and budgeted. Assays are pending for most of
the holes and drill results will be released when available and
analyzed. This first round of drilling should be completed in April
and pending positive results a second program could be initiated
later in the year. Cajamarca is Miranda’s second project in
Colombia in a funding agreement with Red Eagle. To date an air
magnetic survey and reconnaissance style stream sediment and rock
chip sampling have been conducted on the property. Red Eagle’s
plans for 2012 have not been finalized.
In Nevada, Miranda is also expecting an early drill season.
NuLegacy will begin drilling in April at Red Hill. A total of eight
to ten holes are anticipated to be drilled with at least two and
likely three of these being offsets of BRH-13, a previous hole that
intersected 13.7 m of 8.13 g Au/t (45 ft of 0.237 oz Au/t) This
exciting project lies 10 km (6 mi) southeast of Barrick Gold’s new
Cortez district discoveries, Red Hill (same name as our property)
and Goldrush, where a gold resource of 7.0 million ounces has been
announced by Barrick. Miranda’s exploration team believes that
these deposits are controlled by en-echelon faults that trend to
the southeast. Miranda’s Red Hill project is the next known gold
occurrence to the southeast of Barrick’s new discoveries. For more
details on the Barrick discovery and Miranda’s project please see
the end of the year Newsletter which is archived at
www.mirandagold.com. NuLegacy will also drill one hole at Coal
Canyon which is included in the Red Hill earn-in agreement.
Funding partner, Ramelius, a mid-tier Australian producer has
committed to additional drilling at both Angel Wing and Big Blue in
Nevada. Drilling results from 2011 demonstrated that the Angel Wing
vein systems are wider than expected. Geologists from both
companies have examined the drill cuttings and core from the 2011
work and believe the mineralogy and textures encountered indicate
that the drilling intersected the veins above any prospective gold
rich window in a typical epithermal system. The 2012 program is
being designed to test the veins at deeper intervals. At Big Blue
near surface, oxidized gold mineralization was intersected in upper
plate rocks including 25.9 m of 0.75 g Au/t and 16.8 m of 0.86 g
Au/t (85 ft of 0.022 oz Au/t and 55 ft of 0.025 oz Au/t). This near
surface gold mineralization is interpreted to represent leakage
from a deeper buried Carlin-type system. Lower-plate carbonate
rocks act as better host rocks in Carlin-type deposits. The final
drill hole in 2011, encountered altered lower-plate carbonate rocks
that were significantly anomalous in both arsenic and mercury
albeit containing only weak gold mineralization. This 2011 hole was
lost due to poor ground conditions encountered during drilling and
before intersecting the entire carbonate sequence. The 2012 program
will re-drill the area of high arsenic and mercury, located below
the near surface gold mineralization in the hopes that better gold
grades will be encountered deeper in the system.
At Red Canyon, Nevada, Montezuma successfully expanded gold
mineralization at the Ice Zone target and tested one new area. At
least six additional target areas remain to be tested and Miranda
is hopeful that Montezuma will receive its board approval and
funding for additional drilling in 2012.
Miranda’s second Australian partner, Navaho, completed only one
hole in 2011 at the Taz project, Nevada. This core hole drilled to
732 m was designed to test the entire carbonate stratigraphic
section. Final assays from this hole are pending. Navaho is
formulating its exploration program for 2012.
Finally, Agnico-Eagle has an approved 2012 budget of $700,000
for drilling at Ester Dome, Alaska. In 2011, in its first year at
Ester Dome a significant amount of the exploration budget went
towards completing a soil grid and defining drill targets. Six
holes were drilled with four intersecting low-grade gold
mineralization. Most of the 2012 budget will be allocated towards
drilling which could begin as early as mid-May.
Miranda continues to seek and evaluate properties and submittals
in both Colombia and Nevada. During the last five months, Miranda
has evaluated over forty submittals in Colombia. Five properties
continue to be of interest and the company has initiated
negotiations on two of these properties. A potential funding
partner has been identified for one of these properties so the
company is optimistic that we will continue to execute the project
generator/joint venture model in Colombia. According to Miranda’s
President, Ken Cunningham, “the prospect generator and joint
venture business model is extremely attractive in challenging
markets such as what we have seen in the last few years. We are
pleased to be able to offer our shareholders numerous chances for
discovery while conserving our treasury.”
Miranda has also strengthened both our Nevada and Colombia
exploration teams. Candace Dykeman has accepted a position as
Senior Geologist tasked with overseeing Miranda’s Nevada generative
program. Candace has over 30 years of exploration experience.
Claudia Naranjo Ruiz joined Miranda’s Colombian team as a Senior
Geologist in February, 2012. Claudia has worked in both the private
sector and for the Colombian government as a geologist for over 15
years. Claudia will assist in both acquisition evaluations and in
project management. Miranda is pleased to have attracted both of
these individuals in this very competitive market.
All data, disclosed in this press release, including sampling,
analytical and test data have been reviewed and verified by Vice
President of Exploration Joe Hebert, C.P.G., BSc. Geology and
Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
Corporate Profile
Miranda Gold Corp. is a gold exploration company active in
Nevada, Alaska and Colombia and whose emphasis is on generating
gold exploration projects with world-class discovery potential.
Miranda performs its own grass roots exploration and then employs a
joint venture business model on its projects in order to maximize
exposure to discovery while minimizing exploration risk. Miranda
has ongoing partnerships with Agnico-Eagle (USA) Limited, Montezuma
Mines Inc., Navaho Gold Ltd., NuLegacy Gold Corporation, Ramelius
Resources Ltd., and Red Eagle Mining Corporation.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
“Kenneth Cunningham”
Kenneth CunninghamPresident and CEO
For more information visit the Company’s web site at
www.mirandagold.com or contact Joe Hebert, Vice President,
Exploration at 775-738-1877.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
U.S. investors are cautioned that mineral deposits on adjacent
properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on our
properties. We advise U.S. investors that the SEC's mining
guidelines strictly prohibit information of this type in documents
filed with the SEC.
This news release contains forward-looking statements that are
based on the Company’s current expectations and estimates.
Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words
such as “plan”, “expect”, “project”, “intend”, “believe”,
“anticipate”, “estimate”, “suggest”, “indicate” and other similar
words or statements that certain events or conditions “may” or
“will” occur. Such forward-looking statements involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause
actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or
anticipated events or results implied or expressed in such
forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: the
earn-in funding agreements with partners being maintained by those
partners, the timing and amount of planned exploration programs,
the actual results of current exploration activities; conclusions
of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans to
continue to be refined; possible variations in ore grade or
recovery rates; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the
mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or
financing; and fluctuations in metal prices. There may be other
factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as
anticipated, estimated or intended. Any forward-looking statement
speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may
be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims
any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement,
whether as a result of new information, future events or results or
otherwise. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on
such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.
Outcrop Silver & Gold (TG:MRG)
Historical Stock Chart
From Dec 2024 to Jan 2025
Outcrop Silver & Gold (TG:MRG)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jan 2024 to Jan 2025