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Summary Miranda Gold controls 79 lode claims at the Red Hill project in Eureka County, Nevada (Figure 1). The claims cover an extensive area of hydrothermal alteration and high exploration potential within the Cortez Gold Trend. Barrick Gold Exploration Inc., Miranda Gold's Joint Venture partner, is currently exploring the property for a large, high-grade, sediment hosted gold deposit. In 2006, Barrick completed four deep drill holes in the pediment covered area of the project. Hole BRH-013 intersected 80 feet of 0.146 oz Au/t (24.4m of 4.987g Au/t) from 1,920 to 2,000 feet (585.4 to 609.8m), including 45 feet of 0.237 oz Au/t (13.7m of 8.105g Au/t) from 1,920 to 1,965 feet (585.4 to 599.1m) in lower-plate carbonate rocks. This intercept confirms a sediment-hosted gold system is present at Red Hill.
Location Red Hill is located in the northern Simpson Park Mountains approximately 80 road miles (128 km) southwest of Elko, Nevada. The property is along the Cortez Gold Trend, a west northwest alignment of bulk-mineable, sediment hosted gold deposits including Pipeline, Cortez Hills, Gold Acres, Cortez and Horse Canyon (Figure 1). Red Hill is 15 miles (24km) southeast of the Cortez Hills gold deposit, a +8.5 million ounce sediment-hosted gold deposit discovered by the Cortez Joint Venture, which is 100% owned by Barrick Gold. Geology Two distinct sedimentary rock packages occur on the property. They include:
The upper and lower plate rock packages are separated by a low angle, regional fault known as the Roberts Mountains thrust. Erosion of the upper plate rocks and the Roberts Mountains thrust created "windows" that expose favorable carbonate host rocks. At Red Hill, the JD Window is one of five unique carbonate windows along a 35 mile (56km), west northwest-striking corridor through the Shoshone, Cortez and Simpson Park Ranges. The alignment of carbonate windows coincides with the Cortez Gold Trend (Figure 1). Within this corridor are the +8.5 million ounce Cortez Hills deposit and the +20 million ounce Pipeline deposit. They are located in the Cortez and Gold Acres windows, respectively. Lower and upper plate rocks are complicated by numerous high-angle east northeast, northwest, northeast and north-south striking faults and northwest-striking folds. These structural features provide pathways for hydrothermal alteration and metals. For example, the east northeast-striking Long fault contains hydrothermal alteration and anomalous gold along 7,000 feet (2,134m) of strike length. The Long fault cuts through a 3,200 by 4,000 foot (975 by 1,219m) area of pervasive red to yellow iron oxidation, decalcification and localized silicification in lower-plate carbonate rocks.
Exploration History Beginning in the 1960's, Cordero, Homestake, Kennecott, Pathfinder, Uranerz and Romarco completed exploration programs on portions of the Red Hill property. Initial work focused on economic evaluation of outcropping antimony mineralization on the east side of the property. Historic gold exploration concentrated on silicified and brecciated carbonate rocks exposed along the east-northeast striking Long fault. Four dozen shallow rotary holes tested these altered rocks for near-surface, oxide gold mineralization (Figure 3). Drill results confirmed anomalous gold and pathfinder elements, but economic gold intercepts were thin and low grade. Other widely-spaced drill holes targeted geochemical and geophysical anomalies within the mountain range with negative results. Figure 3 illustrates drill hole locations and grade thickness (GT) values. Grade thickness values are calculated by multiplying a mineralized interval by the corresponding gold grade. These intervals are summed for the length of a drill hole. The GT value indicates strength of gold mineralization in a drill hole where cooler colors (blue, green) represent lower GT's and warmer colors (orange, red) represent higher GT's. GT values are not tied to economic criteria. The north and east portions of the project are covered by a thin veneer of unconsolidated pediment (alluvial) gravels. The pediment is a gently-sloping surface away from the mountain range where the gravels cover bedrock and potential exploration opportunities. Multi-million ounce, economic gold deposits have been discovered under pediment cover in Nevada including: Pipeline, Cortez Hills, Gold Quarry and Twin Creeks. Historic drilling at Red Hill did not test for large, sediment-hosted gold deposits beneath pediment gravels. This concept was recognized by Miranda and Barrick as an exploration opportunity worthy of follow-up.
Joint Venture Exploration Miranda Gold initially joint ventured Red Hill with Placer Dome US, Inc (PDUS) in 2004. PDUS completed geologic mapping, a CSAMT survey, a systematic soils program, a CO2 gas survey and one drill hole in 2005. Drill hole PRH0508 was designed to test a gravel covered horst margin inferred from CSAMT data. The hole ended at 940 feet in upper plate chert/mudstone. Favorable lower plate carbonate rocks were not intersected and no significant gold intercepts were encountered. In 2006, Barrick Gold Exploration Inc. became Miranda Gold's joint venture partner at Red Hill following the merger between Barrick and Placer Dome. Barrick, as operator, completed 9,860 feet (3,006m) of drilling in four holes in the west pediment area and detailed gravity in the east pediment area (Figure 3). Hole BRH-013 intersected 80 feet of 0.146 oz Au/t (24.4m of 4.987g Au/t) from 1,920 to 2,000 feet (585.4 to 609.8m), including 45 feet of 0.237 oz Au/t 913.7m of 8.105g Au/t) from 1,920 to 1,965 feet (585.4 to 599.1m) (Figures 3 and 4). Mineralization is hosted by lower plate carbonate rocks and is associated with altered igneous dikes, and high levels of arsenic, antimony, mercury and thallium (Figure 5). These features indicate that a Carlin-style gold system is present at Red Hill. In late 2006, Barrick offset BRH-013 with two inclined holes, BRH-014 and BRH-015. These holes were drilled from the BRH-013 site. Both holes tested the lower-plate stratigraphy that hosts the BRH-013 gold intercept. The inclined holes intersected the target horizon approximately 230 feet east-northeast (BRH-014) and 315 feet west-southwest (BRH-015) from the BRH-013 intercept. Although neither of the two offset holes intersected significant gold mineralization, both holes are locally anomalous in Carlin-style pathfinder trace elements. Silicification and clay alteration occur in both holes and dikes occur in BRH-014. Due to down hole deviations in the two angle holes, drill hole piercepoints are aligned along a northeasterly trend such that stratigraphic and mineralization geometries in BRH-013 could not be defined. Mineralization in BRH-013 is open in a northwest -- southeast direction. Based on their experience in Nevada's Carlin and Cortez Gold Trends, Miranda's senior geologic staff believe the gold intercept in BRH-013 signifies the presence of a new Carlin-type gold system and that extensive drilling will be required to define the geometry and size of the system. In late 2007 Barrick completed 11,765 ft (3,587m) of reverse-circulation drilling in six vertical holes. Two holes (BRH-016 and BRH-021) were completed offsetting 80 ft of 0.146 oz Au/t from 1,920 to 2,000 ft (24.4m of 4.987g Au/t from 585 to 610m) in BRH-013 at the West Pediment prospect. Two drill holes at West Pediment, BRH-017 and BRH-017A, ended prematurely in limestone voids before testing their intended targets. Two holes (BRH-023 and BRH-024) tested gravity gradients and projected splays of the Long fault at the East Pediment prospect. These holes are illustrated on Figure 6. From drill hole BRH-013, BRH-016 was drilled 650 ft (200m) to the north and BRH-021 was drilled 720 ft (220m) to the northwest. The holes intersected intervals of variably decalcified, silicified and weakly oxidized lower plate limestone and sulfidized igneous dikes similar to those intersected in the BRH-013 gold-bearing interval. Gold mineralization was limited to 10 ft of 0.081 oz Au/t (3.1m of 2.776 g Au/t) from 2,125 to 2,135 ft (648 to 651m) in BRH-021. At the East Pediment prospect two drill holes, BRH-023 and BRH-024, tested pediment-covered targets outboard from a series of historic antimony prospects. The holes were located based on three criteria: 1) prospect pits exposing strong decalcification, silicification, antimony mineralization and anomalous gold mineralization in lower plate limestone; 2) gravity data that identified structural features beneath shallow pediment cover, and 3) projected splays of the Long fault. The holes intersected similar geology: a thin veneer of alluvium, upper plate siliciclastic rocks and a fault gap that removed the targeted lower plate limestone. Anomalous gold was restricted to 5 to 10 ft (1.5 to 3.1 m) zones. Exploration opportunities remain near the historic antimony prospects.
2008 Plans Barrick intends to drill two holes at Red Hill in 2008. The program will continue to evaluate a west-northwest striking CSAMT anomaly in the vicinity of hole BRH-013. The CSAMT anomaly coincides with: a west-northwest to north-south striking bedrock high, a gravity gradient low, and lathy-textured igneous dikes. Drilling, envisioned for the summer of 2008, is subject to BLM permit approval and the availability of a qualified drill contractor. As these plans evolve, additional information will be added to the web page. 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. |
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