Miranda Gold 2012 Outlook
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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
| ? | 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 Cunningham
President 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.
Miranda Gold Corp.
Joe Hebert, 775-738-1877
Vice President,
Exploration