Miranda Gold Corp. - Coal Canyon

Angel Wing Iron Point PPM Redlich Neon Big Blue

BPV and CONO Coal Canyon Fuse Red Canyon Red Hill TAZ

Why Colombia Pavo Real

Summary
The Coal Canyon property consists of 64 unpatented lode claims in the heart of the Cortez Trend. The property is 10 miles (16 km) south of the Barrick's Cortez Hills gold deposit and it adjoins the northeast side of US Gold's Tonkin Springs property (Figure 1). The property occupies two square miles (5.2 sq km) of the Windmill lower-plate window, a feature that exposes favorable carbonate rocks that are analogous to carbonate rocks that host the Cortez Hills and Pipeline gold deposits.

In mid-March 2008, Miranda signed an Exploration Agreement with Option to Form a Joint Venture with Queensgate Resources Corporation (Queensgate). Queensgate may earn a joint venture interest in the Coal Canyon, BPV and CONO projects.

Under the terms of the exploration agreement, Queensgate must fund $3,000,000 in exploration activities over a five-year period in order to earn a 51% interest in the properties. Upon earning a 51% interest Queensgate may earn an additional 9% interest, for a total of 60%, by funding an additional $2,000,000 and can eventually earn up to a 70% interest in all three properties by funding a bankable feasibility study on any one of the properties. The first year's $260,000 is an obligation that will include exploration expenditures as well as payments to maintain the underlying mineral lease.

Figure 1. Location of Coal Canyon and adjacent gold deposits.

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Location
The Coal Canyon gold property is located in west-central Eureka County, Nevada along the Battle Mountain-Eureka mineral trend. The region is typified by north-northeast trending mountain ranges separated by broad, alluvium filled valleys. The property is on the northwest flank of the Simpson Park Mountains and extends into Pine Valley. Elevations range from 5,000 ft (1,525m) to 7,500 ft (2,286m). Access to the property is excellent via secondary roads and tracks branching off Highway 278. Nearby towns include Elko (85mi/136km to the northeast), Carlin (65 mi/104 km to the north) and Eureka (60mi/95 km to the south). The property is currently held by Miranda Gold Corp. via an agreement with Nevada North Resources.

Coal Canyon is proximal to existing economic gold mines, newly discovered gold deposits and previously operating mines, including: the Pipeline mine complex (+20.0M oz), Cortez Hills/Pediment (12.0M oz), Cortez mine (1.4M oz), Horse Canyon mine (0.8M oz), Buckhorn mine (0.4M oz), Tonkin Springs mine (1.7M oz), and Gold Bar (1.0M oz).

Geology
The Battle Mountain-Eureka mineral trend is a 90 mile long (145 km), north-northwest alignment of predominantly carbonate-hosted gold deposits in north-central Nevada. Examples include the Pipeline mine complex, Cortez Hills, Archimedes, Gold Acres, Horse Canyon, Marigold/Millennium and Gold Bar. Disseminated gold deposits are hosted in Ordovician through Devonian sedimentary rocks, but seem to blossom in Silurian and Devonian-age carbonate rocks. The Battle Mountain-Eureka Trend is also famous for a world class gold-base metal skarn deposit (Fortitude/Phoenix), and a Climax-type porphyry molybdenum deposit (Mt. Hope). Gold deposits (Buckhorn, Mule Canyon) hosted in Miocene basalt occur in the Northern Nevada Rift. The Battle Mountain-Eureka mineral trend is 39 miles (62 km) southwest of a prominent, 40 mile long (64 km), +100 million ounce gold belt known as the Carlin Trend.

Four distinct rock packages occur on the property. They include:

Rhyodacite lava flows exposed in the central portion of the property.
Igneous dikes of undetermined age. Altered igneous dikes crop out in a north-south drainage in the northwest portion of the property and they have been intersected in recent drilling. Dikes are lathy-textured, contain irregular quartz pheno/xenocrysts, and strike west-northwest. Hydrothermal alteration includes disseminated limonite, clay-altered feldspars, and silver-green color mica (Figure 2). Lathy textures and green micas (chromium/nickel-bearing) are typically associated with lamprophyre dikes proximal to / or within gold deposits of the Cortez and Carlin districts. The dikes may reflect a previously unrecognized dike swarm/structural corridor favorable for disseminated gold mineralization.
Upper-plate sedimentary rocks of the Vinini Formation. Chert, mudstone and greenstone flows are typical rock types exposed in the southern portion of Coal Canyon.
Lower-plate, Ordovician to Devonian age carbonate rocks dominated by silty to muddy turbiditic limestone, dolomite, and lesser quartzite. These rocks are included in the Wenban, Roberts Mountains, Hanson Creek and Eureka Formations. At Coal Canyon, lower-plate carbonate rocks crop out or are covered by younger volcanic rocks. Lower-plate carbonate rocks are the primary hosts for multi-million ounce, disseminated gold deposits on the Cortez and Carlin Trends of north-central Nevada.

At surface west-northwest, northwest and northeast-striking faults transect the property. Mapping indicates these faults focus hydrothermal alteration and zones of elevated gold, arsenic and antimony (Figure 3 and 4). The northwest-striking Grouse Creek fault focuses igneous dikes, hydrothermal alteration and concentrations of potentially economic gold. The Grouse Creek fault and a west-northwest striking fault-fold corridor will continue to be a focus of exploration, particularly where these structures intersect favorable lower-plate stratigraphy.

Figure 2. Oxidized, lathy-textured lamprophyre dike. This sample returned 241 ppb Au, 2010 ppm As, 3.95 ppm Hg, 37 ppm Cr, and 95 ppm Ni.

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Figure 3. Coal Canyon geologic summary.

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Figure 4. Strongly decalcified/silicified and quartz veined Roberts Mountains Formation silty limestone. This sample, collected near drill hole MCC-4, assayed 443 ppb Au, 722 ppm As and 45 ppm Sb.

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Exploration History
The Coal Canyon property has a long exploration history including work by Homestake, Amselco, Cordex, Fisher Watt, American Copper and Nickel Company, Great Basin, Kennecott and most recently Golden Aria. These operators completed 41,220 feet (12,567) of drilling in 83 holes. Of these 83 holes, only 14 holes were drilled on the current Coal Canyon property (Figure 5).

Past exploration focused on the northwest-trending Grouse Creek fault that lies on ground controlled by others, adjacent to the southwest margin of Miranda's property. Historic drilling along this fault encountered gold mineralization up to 85 feet of 0.022 oz Au/t (26 m of 0.753 g Au/t) in the Hanson Creek dolomite and the underlying Eureka Formation. In this setting, gold mineralization is associated with altered dikes, iron oxides, breccias and silicification.

Figure 5. Drill hole location map.

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Joint Venture Exploration
Geophysical surveys conducted by Golden Aria demonstrate the Grouse Creek fault-controlled gold mineralization correlates with gradient resistivity and self-potential geophysical anomalies. Conceptual targets inferred from these geophysical responses are for broad zones of silicification enveloping vertically-extensive, oxidizing sulfides, which could represent pyritic dikes within gold-bearing fault zones. Compilation of geophysical data, surface mapping and geochemical sampling illustrate untested targets that warrant follow-up drilling.

Golden Aria Corporation completed a two-hole drill program totaling 2,020 ft (615m) in late 2006 (Figure 5). Drill holes MCC-1 and MCC-2 were designed to test resistivity and self-potential anomalies at the intersections of altered fault zones, in favorable lower plate carbonate rocks. The holes intersected six, 30 ft (9.1m) to 200 ft (61m)-thick zones of moderately decalcified, and variably silicified/clay altered silty limestone; however both holes did not test the entirety of their target horizons due to poor drilling conditions. Neither of the holes intersected significantly anomalous gold mineralization. The Venture Agreement between Miranda and Golden Aria was terminated in March 2007.

Queensgate's 2008 exploration program included property-wide geologic mapping, soil and rock geochemical surveys, and 1,950 ft (594.5 m) of reverse-circulation drilling in two vertical holes (MCC-3 and MCC-4) (Figures 5 and 6). Drilling tested for disseminated gold mineralization in hydrothermally-altered and geochemically-anomalous zones developed at north / northeast-striking fault intersections within the Roberts Mountains and Hanson Creek Formations. Drilling also established depths of favorable stratigraphic horizons.

Hole MCC-4 intersected hydrothermal alteration in the form of decalcification, silicification, sooty pyrite cemented breccias, quartz-dolomite veins and disseminated sphalerite in the middle and lower Hanson Creek Formation. The hole intersected 10 ft of 0.011 oz Au/t gold from 980 to 990 (3.0m of 0.392g Au/t from 298.8 to 301.8 m) within a sooty pyrite / silica-cemented breccia zone. This mineralization occurred within a larger, lower-grade gold zone that returned 230 ft of 0.004 oz Au/t from 970 to 1,200 ft (70.1m of 0.140g Au/t from 295.7 to 365.8m). The hole ended at 1,200 ft (365.8m) in anomalous gold mineralization.

Results from MCC-4 are significant as they represent the first subsurface, Carlin-style, disseminated gold mineralization on the current Coal Canyon claims. Geologic interpretations indicate the hole is on the south limb of a southeast-plunging anticline, within a larger west-northwest striking fold-fault corridor (Figure 3). Anomalous gold and hydrothermal alteration in MCC-4 may be related to the combination of: the plunging anticline; NE, WNW and N-S high-angle faulting, and low-angle / subsurface thrust faulting. Additional drilling is recommended in this west-northwest corridor to continue testing for a sediment-hosted, disseminated gold deposit.

Figure 6. Track rig advancing drill hole MCC-4.

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2010 Plans
Due to market conditions in 2009 Queensgate's work obligation was postponed until 2010. As a consideration for the postponed exploration program, an additional 100,000 shares of Queensgate's stock will be issued to Miranda.

In the short term Queensgate will ensure that all lease and claim payments remain in good standing, Queensgate and Miranda geologists will peer review proposed Coal Canyon drill targets and a proposed mercury-gas survey at BPV and Cono, and initiate the permitting process for additional drill holes at Coal Canyon.