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 |   Red Canyon Property, Nevada
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| | The Red Canyon gold project consists of 237 lode claims covering 7.7 square miles (19.9 km2) along the Battle Mountain-Eureka Gold Trend in Eureka County, Nevada (Figure 1). The project covers a two square mile alteration cell in rocks that are age-equivalent to gold-bearing host rocks at the Cortez Hills, Pipeline and Gold Bar deposits. Previous exploration successes include:
- 95 feet of 0.117 oz Au/t from 20 to 115 feet (29.0m of 4.007 g Au/t from 6.1 to 35.1m) in drill hole KR-001 and 85 ft of 0.046 oz Au/t from 15 to 100 ft (25.9m of 1.568 g Au/t from 4.5 to 30.5m) in ROM07-01. Exploration potential remains open to the northeast in areas covered by post mineral volcanic rocks and alluvium, and to the southeast along the axis of a plunging syncline.
- Three 2005 drill holes that identify a deeper, previously unrecognized gold system between the Ice and Gexa target areas
In August 2008 Miranda finalized an Exploration and Agreement with Option to Form a Joint Venture with Montezuma Mines Inc. ("Montezuma"), a subsidiary of CMQ Resources Inc. Under the terms of the Agreement, Montezuma must spend $500,000 exclusive of underlying lease payments on or before August 1, 2009. Montezuma may earn a 60% interest in the Red Canyon project by funding US$4,000,000 in qualified expenditures over a five year period. Montezuma may then elect to earn an additional 10% interest by completing a bankable feasibility study or funding US$10,000,000 in additional exploration. CMQ's Vice President of Exploration, John Hogg, and Miranda's Senior Geologist, Steven Koehler, participated in the gold discoveries at West Leeville, Hardie Footwall Extension and Four Corners on the Carlin Trend. As such, Mr. Hogg and Mr. Koehler bring considerable knowledge and expertise regarding Carlin-type gold deposits to the Red Canyon project.
Location
The project is on the northwestern flank of the Roberts Mountains approximately 75 road miles (120km) south of Carlin, Nevada. Red Canyon is along the Battle Mountain-Eureka Gold Trend, a northwest alignment of bulk-mineable gold deposits including Pipeline, Cortez Hills, Gold Acres, Cortez, Horse Canyon, Gold Bar and Archimedes (Figure 1). The property is 12 miles (19 km) southeast of the Cortez Hills deposit, a +12.0 million ounce sediment-hosted gold deposit discovered by the Cortez Joint Venture (now Barrick). The northwestern portion of the property adjoins U.S. Gold's Tonkin Springs property.
Geology
Four distinct rock packages occur on the property (Figure 2). They include:
- Lower-plate, Silurian to Devonian age carbonate rocks dominated by silty to muddy limestone, fossiliferous limestone, dolomite, siltstone and lesser chert. These rocks are included in the Horse Canyon, Devils Gate, Denay, McColley Canyon and Lone Mountain Formations. Lower plate carbonate rocks, which are the preferred host for multi-million ounce gold deposits along the Cortez and Carlin Gold Trends, are exposed at surface in an erosional "window." Potential stratigraphic host horizons for gold occur in: silty / debris flow units within the Denay and McColley Canyon, at the McColley Canyon-Lone Mountain contact, and within silty units of the Horse Canyon.
- Upper plate, siliceous sedimentary rocks of the Vinini Formation. Chert, mudstone and greenstone are typical rock types that crop out on the western part of the property.
- Tertiary volcanic rocks cover lower plate carbonate rocks in the central portion of the property.
- Quaternary gravel / tuffaceous conglomerate deposits form a pediment in the northern third of the property. The pediment is a gently-north sloping surface away from the mountain range where the gravels cover carbonate rocks and potential exploration opportunities.
On a regional scale, the upper and lower plate rock packages are separated by a low angle, regional fault known as the Roberts Mountains thrust. At Red Canyon, uplift and erosion of the upper plate rocks created a "window" that exposes favorable carbonate host rocks in the east limb of a northwest-striking anticline. The Red Canyon "window" exposes strongly oxidized, brecciated and silicified lower plate carbonate rocks over a 2 square mile area (5.2 sq. km.). Carbonate rocks at Red Canyon are age equivalent to rocks hosting the Cortez Hills and Pipeline gold deposits.
Geologic mapping illustrates chaotic bedding orientations and the periodicity of structural features at Red Canyon (Figure 3). The property is transected by: west northwest and northwest-striking folds; and west northwest, northeast, northwest and east northeast-striking faults (Figure 4). Compilation of Red Canyon and Tonkin Springs structural data illustrates district scale patterns including: northwest and west-northwest faults transecting upper and lower-plate rocks, and a 310-degree alignment of Red Canyon prospects and Tonkin Springs gold inventories/resources (Figure 4). Similar northwest / west-northwest structural patterns are documented at the +12.0 million ounce Cortez Hills deposit and within gold deposits of the northern Carlin Trend.
Hydrothermal alteration in the form of iron oxidation, decalcification, silicification, clay, and barite/stibnite occurrences are exposed over a two square mile (5.2 sq. km.) area. Alteration extends to the north under pediment cover at the Ice prospect and abuts post-mineral rhyolite flows (Figure 5). This relationship indicates the rhyolite may cover and obscure gold mineralization within favorable carbonate rocks. Additional drilling for near-surface, oxide gold mineralization is recommended.
Exploration History
Previous exploration and drilling by Meridian, Tenneco, Great Basin, Hycroft, Kennecott, Newmont and Romarco focused on four separate prospect areas including Ice, Gexa, Red and Sage. Ninety-five percent of the historic drilling was less than 500 feet (152.4m) deep. Only 14 holes reached depths greater than 1,000 feet (304.9m).
Kennecott completed KR-001, a 2,500 foot (762.2m) vertical drill hole at the Ice Prospect, to follow up on surface gold (>0.01 oz Au/t / 0.343 g Au/t) mineralization in the footwall of the northwest-striking Wall fault. The hole intersected 95 feet of 0.11 oz Au/t from 20 to 115 ft (29.0m of 4.01 g Au/t from 6.1 to 35.1m) in silty carbonate rocks, above massive dolomite of the Lone Mountain Formation. Additional drilling in the vicinity of KR-001 intersected disseminated gold in silty carbonate rocks, including:
- 60 ft of 0.033 oz/t Au from 200-260 ft (18.3m/1.132 g Au/t from 61-79.3m) in M-9
- 40 ft of 0.050 oz/t Au from 320-360 ft (12.2m/1.715 g Au/t from 97.6-109.8m) in M-9
- 50 ft of 0.030 oz/t Au from 380-430 ft (15.2m/1.029 g Au/t from 116-131.1m) in RED-11
- 50 ft of 0.014 oz/t Au from 150-200 ft (15.2m/0.480 g Au/t from 45.7-61m) in RED-06
These holes defined a northeast-striking zone of gold mineralization that remains open along strike (Figure 5).
Joint Venture Exploration
In 2005, Newmont completed geologic mapping, rock chip sampling, a 340 station CO2/O2 soil gas survey, and 13,115 feet (3,998.5m) of reverse circulation drilling in 11 holes. Three holes, NRC-4, -5 and -6, identified a vertically-extensive hydrothermal/gold system below shallow drilling (Figure 6). Drill cuttings from NRC-4 contain deep oxidation, zones of moderate to strong decalcification and silicification, and breccia zones. The hole ended prematurely at 1,170 feet (356.7m) in silicified and oxidized multi-lithic breccia with the following metal values: Au 170 ppb, As 123 ppm, Sb 75 ppm and Hg 7.5 ppm. This gold system remains open in all directions. These alteration features combined with elevated pathfinder metals confirm the presence of a deeper, previously unrecognized gold system.
In late 2007 Romarco completed 6,070 ft (1,850m) of reverse-circulation drilling in eight holes (Figure 7). The holes were selected to drill test several "Carlin-style" gold targets based on recently completed surface mapping, soil geochemistry, a three-dimensional geochemical model, and interpretation of pre-existing drilling. Results include 85 ft of 0.046 oz Au/t (25.9m of 1.568 g Au/t) in drill hole ROM07-01 at the Ice Prospect. Romarco spent in excess of $500,000 to fund exploration on the project. The Romarco exploration agreement was terminated in March 2008.
In plan, five drill holes at the Ice Prospect roughly outline a 195 ft by 820 ft (60m by 250m) zone of gold mineralization that remains open along strike to the northeast (Figure 5). The northeast exploration potential is supported by the five mineralized drill holes, surface rock chip sampling (Figure 8), structural contouring, gravity and a geochemical evaluation completed by specialist Robert Jackson. Miranda geologists will continue evaluating these new drill results in conjunction with existing geologic data. Additional drill targets have been identified.
In 2008, Montezuma completed 1:2,000 geologic mapping over the northern half of the carbonate window, collected in excess of 2,000 soil samples, completed a detailed / property-wide airborne magnetic survey and completed 13 lines of CSAMT. Interpretation of the geochemical and geophysical surveys is in progress. Mapping results include:
- Refinement of lower plate carbonate stratigraphy and the appreciation of favorable horizons for gold mineralization.
- The recognition of a west-northwest striking fault-fold corridor developed in favorable lower plate carbonate rocks. The most favorable carbonate rocks have not been drill tested in this fold.
- The definition of new prospect areas that requires follow-up rock chip sampling.
2009 Plans
Montezuma and Miranda geologists are designing an aggressive exploration program that will begin in late spring 2009. The initial plan includes drill testing near-surface targets at the Ice prospect and deeper targets at the Gexa prospect, completion of the geologic mapping in the carbonate window, interpretation of the geochemical and geophysical data, and drill target development in the northern-central portions of the property.
At Ice, fences of reverse-circulation drill holes are proposed to systematically test for gold mineralization beneath post-mineral volcanic rocks northeast of holes KR-001, ROM07-01 and M-9. At the Gexa target, deep drilling will test a structural / stratigraphic target in the McColley Canyon Formation beneath a 2,600 ft by 980 ft (800m by 300m) gold in soils anomaly. Drilling is anticipated to begin in the late spring of 2009, but is dependent on BLM permit and bonding approval in addition to drill rig availability.
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.
CMQ thanks Miranda for its consent to the republication of certain of Miranda's data and intellectual property. The following is link to Miranda's website where further information exists on the Red Canyon property and Miranda's other mining properties.
http://www.mirandagold.com/ |
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