Iron Point

Summary

The Iron Point project is made up of 178 lode claims along the Battle Mountain -- Eureka Gold Trend in Humboldt County, Nevada (Figure 1). The project is located at the intersection of the Battle Mountain-Eureka and Getchell gold trends. Miranda assembled a land package on the intersection of these trends, through staking and a simple lease. Major open pit and underground gold mines, within a 25 mile (40 km) radius of Iron Point, contain more than 40 million ounces of gold. Miranda infers that additional gold discoveries are likely to be made in this region.

The Iron Point District has been explored for a variety of metals by other operators. Previous drilling results on the project include 70 ft of 0.012 oz Au/t from 385 to 455 ft (21.3 m of 0.412 g Au/t from 117 to 138 m) in hole NP-34.

Location

The Iron Point project is located in the Iron Point mining district approximately 26 miles (42 km) east of Winnemucca, Nevada. Road access is excellent as the project is bisected by Interstate 80. The project occurs within Newmont Mining Corporation fee checkerboard (in reference to Public Land Survey Sections).

The project is on the Battle Mountain-Eureka Gold Trend, a northwest alignment of bulk-mineable gold deposits. Sediment hosted gold deposits in the area include Lone Tree, Marigold, Phoenix, Twin Creeks, Getchell, Turquoise Ridge, Pinson and Preble.


Geology

Iron Point occurs at the general intersection of the northeast-striking Getchell Trend, the larger northwest-striking Battle Mountain-Eureka Trend, and a third sub-trend that Miranda Gold infers to exist between Lone Tree and the Iron Point district. Further, the Iron Point district is within the northeast-striking "Humboldt Lineament" which may exert basement or crustal-scale controls to mineralization where it crosses the Independence, Carlin, and Battle Mountain-Eureka Trends. The regional geology of the Iron Point district is dominated by folded and faulted lower Paleozoic (Cambrian) sedimentary rocks which are structurally overlain by upper Paleozoic (Pennsylvanian-Permian) rocks. The Iron Point and Golconda thrusts are structural features that complicate the geology of the district.

On the Iron Point project, rocks of the Ordovician Comus and Cambrian Preble Formations are exposed at surface. These rocks are significant gold hosts at the Pinson, Getchell and Twin Creeks mines. The Cambrian rocks are in fault contact with Ordovician Valmy Formation.

Work from a previous exploration program suggests the Comus Formation at Iron Point may be distinct from Comus in other parts of the Getchell Trend. Portions of the stratigraphy are lithologically very similar to the Ordovician Hanson Creek and Silurian Roberts Mountain Formations observed on the Carlin and Cortez Trends. Silurian age graptolites have been collected from laminated silty limestone with phosphatic lenses. These patterns are similar to rocks assigned to the Roberts Mountain Formation, however the Iron Point rocks have been included in the Ordovician Comus Formation. The "Comus" Formation at Iron Point may represent a similar depositional environment to the Hanson Creek and Roberts Mountain Formations. Ordovician and Silurian age rocks of the Hanson Creek and Roberts Mountain Formations respectively are ore hosts for profitable gold mines within the Cortez Trend, which is an important component of the larger Battle Mountain-Eureka Trend. This stratigraphic sequence should be drill tested on Iron Point project.

Intruding the sedimentary package is a Cretaceous age equigranular granodiorite, and numerous northwest to west northwest-striking feldspar porphyry dikes and sills. Cross cutting relations indicate at least two distinct igneous pulses on the project. A crude metal zonation is inferred from mapping and previous drilling. Base metals coincide with hornfelsed rocks, whereas gold mineralization appears to be on the hornfels margin to slightly outboard of the thermal alteration.

Braided strands of the Getchell fault system are inferred to project south directly through the Iron Springs district. This projection is substantiated by United States Geological Survey (USGS) multi-sensor airborne geophysical programs conducted in 1988.

Notable alteration at Iron Point includes broad zones of decalcified and silicified limestone, and clay-pyrite rich felsic dikes and sills. USGS quadrangle mapping suggests a distinctive and repeated pattern of west-northwest and north-northwest inflections and intersections of multi-phase dike-filled fault zones that suggest local dilational pull-apart fault blocks created from a lateral component of movement on west-northwest-striking faults. These fault intersections and the margins of intrusive rocks appear to be the favored locus for alteration and metals within the Iron Point district.

North northwest-trending map-scale fold patterns parallel to north-northwest-trending "Getchell Trend" fault extensions are a notable feature in the district. At least locally, some of the north-northwest faults show reverse movement and extensional reactivation. Significant alteration is also observed in Comus rocks related to a reverse fault that is mineralized and trending northwest under young basalt.


Target Discussion

In the district, over four decades of exploration assessed a variety of metal occurrences within a 25 square mile (65 sq km) alteration cell. Previous exploration efforts focused on disseminated gold, porphyry copper and molybdenum, and replacement-style vanadium occurrences. A number of exploration successes are documented, but to date, no economic-caliber metal deposits have been discovered.

At the Pinson and Preble Mines to the north, dike-filled fault zones were often the principal feeder structures for gold-bearing solutions. By analogy, the intersecting dikes at Iron Point provide a favorable structural locus for gold mineralization. Complex folds, thrusts and unconformities in the district also are considered favorable for structural preparation, channeling and sealing of hydrothermal fluids. At least locally, some folding may be fault-propagated, related to fault inversion. Thus some folds in the district may be within the hanging wall of reactivated faults and act as fluid traps to underlying "feeder zones".

Miranda proposes that the Iron Point alteration, gold anomalies, and their associated west-northwest- and northwest-trending dike patterns may occur within a broad corridor of intrusive axes and interrelated faults and folds. The corridor appears to extend west-northwest from the Lone Tree Mine area. Miranda geologists believe other significant gold deposits may occur along this trend, especially where Getchell Trend structures are intersected. The expected Carlin type target at Iron Point is more likely to be a structurally-controlled end member perhaps related to dike and/or sill margins.

A common denominator between gold mines in the Getchell and north Battle Mountain-Eureka Trends is a close association of significant ore with the Ordovician (especially Comus or Valmy) rocks. Gold mineralization tends to occur within a few hundred feet of fault zones between Ordovician rocks and older Cambrian or younger Pennsylvanian-Permian rocks.

Exploration targets include:
  • The fault contact between Ordovician and Cambrian rocks.
  • Strongly altered "Comus" (Roberts Mountains) Formation rocks along a mineralized reverse fault and a plunging anticline.
  • The intersection of WNW striking dikes, N-S striking faults in areas of alteration and elevated Au-As-Sb-Hg geochemistry.
  • The projection of faults, dikes, and the margin of hornfels aureoles into areas covered by post-mineral basalt.
  • Drill offsets to known gold mineralization in drill holes.

Joint Venture Exploration

In 2007, Miranda geologists completed geologic mapping; a gravity survey; a mercury soil gas survey; and the collection of rock and soil samples over the project area. The data were compiled with previous exploration results to identify opportunities worthy of follow-up drilling. Results included a number of structural, stratigraphic, and geochemical anomalies worthy of drill testing (Figure 2).

In 2008, three reverse-circulation drill holes, MIP-1 through MIP-3, totaling 3,990 ft (1,216.5 m) were completed to test structural, mercury soil gas and rock/soil geochemical targets for a disseminated gold system. The holes were located proximal to north-south striking faults and Ordovician age rocks. Gold deposits surrounding the Iron Point region show a close spatial association with these geologic patterns. Significant gold mineralization (>0.010 oz Au/t; >0.343 g Au/t) was not intersected in this phase of drilling, however Miranda geologists have identified a variety of geochemical and structural targets not yet tested by historic drilling.


2011 Plans

Miranda is currently seeking a joint venture partner for this project. A data package is currently available for review.




This disclosure contains information about properties which we have no right to explore or mine. We advise U.S. investors that the SEC's mining operations disclosure guidelines generally preclude disclosing information of this time in documents filed with the SEC as we must focus on properties in which we do have an interest. U.S. investors are cautioned that mineral deposits on adjacent properties are not necessarily indicative of mineral deposits on our properties.