Element79 reorganizes its Nevada portfolio

Element79 Gold (TSX.V: ELEM, FSE: 7YS, WKN: A3E41D) is focused on the exploration and development of the past-producing, high-grade Lucero gold and silver mine in Arequipa, Peru. The intention here is to resume production in the near future. In an all-or-nothing package, Element79 Gold acquired a portfolio of 16 projects in total from Waterton Global Resource Management in December 2021. These have since been validated and sold or developed further.

A large proportion of the projects have since been sold or abandoned following a critical review of the historical data sets in order to generate revenue for the development of other projects and increase value for shareholders. Last year, Element79 Gold sold the Stargo and Long Peak projects to Centra. For other projects that are at a very early stage and also outside the parameters of Element79 Gold, management made the decision not to renew the claims of eight projects. However, the databases of these projects were retained.

The Maverick Springs project had a historical resource of 1.8 million ounces of gold equivalent at the time of acquisition. A review of the drilling data has increased the mineral resource estimate to 3.71 million ounces of gold equivalent. Maverick Springs was sold to Sun Silver on May 8, 2024, with the cash received being used to settle debt and liabilities. Element79 Gold retained 3,500,000 shares in Sun Silver Limited, issued at a price of 0.20 Australian dollars (AUD), as an investment. The plan is to hold and strategically dispose of these shares over time.

With regard to the Valdo portfolio, the original option has now expired. Element79 Gold is currently in discussions with several parties regarding the sale of Projekta. Element79 Gold is in sales talks with other interested parties for the Clover and West Whistler portfolios. As discussions are being held with various interested parties for the same projects, the company is confident that it will be able to announce a successful conclusion to the talks by the end of the year.

North Mill Creek, Elder Creek and Elephant appear promising

The North Mill Creek project consists of six unpatented claims located on the edge of the Goat Window in Lander County, Nevada. The Goat Window is an exposure of lower plate rocks beneath the Roberts Mountains thrust that are the preferred carbonate for Carlin-type gold deposits. Previous drilling at North Mill Creek has returned encouraging results that warrant further exploration.

The Elder Creek project consists of 23 unpatented claims covering the historic Elder Creek open pit mine in Lander County, Nevada. Elder Creek is located in upper plate rocks, and the mine area is believed to represent a leak in the deeper lower plate of the Roberts Mountains Thrust. This suggests that deeper targets may host significant mineralization in faulted and anticlinally folded sedimentary strata.

The Elephant project consists of 197 claims located at the base of Nevada Gold Mines’ Phoenix operation mine dumps. Elephant hosts a covered pediment target with varying depths of cover based on fault block displacement. Limited previous drilling has confirmed the presence and mineralization of the Elephant target model.

Sales news leads to interest in Clover and West Whistler

Element79 Gold has been positively impacted by the news of the sale of the Maverick Springs project, with subsequent calls from business partners expressing interest in the remaining portfolio, including Clover and West Whistler. These projects have been visited and are currently being reviewed by the Element79 Gold team to decide how to proceed.

The Clover project consists of 162 claims covering 3,063 acres and is located over felsic volcanic and tuffaceous sedimentary rocks. Two sets of conjugate faults strike through or border the property, with each of these fault systems leading to a major gold producer. Previous project owners had drilled 104 holes and completed reclamation work. Exploration results include channel samples of up to 274 g/t gold.

Located 19 kilometers west of Eureka, Nevada, the West Whistler project is a moderate group of 103 claims covering 2,057 acres in Eureka County. It is located in close proximity to the former Barrick Ruby Hill mine, now owned by i80 Gold. Historical work includes mapping, soil sampling, VLF surveys and six drill holes.

Creating value for shareholders remains the key objective

“Element79 Gold has always endeavored to extract additional value from the extensive project portfolio accumulated over the last few years to create value for our shareholders. The current market trend of rising gold and silver prices as well as the economic and mining friendly state of Nevada are key points that have prompted both previous sales and current potential transaction partners to target the remaining Battle Mountain projects in our portfolio,” stated James Tworek, Element79 Gold’s CEO and Director.

“We, along with industry peers and transaction partners, have always believed that the Battle Mountain portfolio contains several noteworthy prospective targets that warrant extensive exploration and prospecting to further validate the historic high-grade assays and drill results. We have had success in other sales of the portfolio and continue to pursue a strategy of unlocking value for our shareholders and increasing our focus on exploration and development of our high-grade, past-producing core Lucero project.”