Bravada Gold Corporation, through its wholly owned US subsidiaries Bravo Alaska, Inc. and Rio Fortuna Exploration (U.S.), Inc., controls 10 exploration properties, (approximately 6,500 hectares or 25 square miles) in several of Nevada's productive gold trends; several of the properties are drill-ready.
Bravada believes these properties have characteristics of very large Carlin-type gold deposits or rich low-sulfidation gold/silver deposits. Underlying payments are reasonable and royalties generally are, or can be reduced to, 1% NSR or lower.
Very large Carlin-type gold deposits occur in “Lower Plate” Paleozoic sedimentary rocks along two major trends in Nevada; the Carlin trend and the Battle Mountain-Eureka trend. Deep crustal features are believed to be responsible for these trends. Along the trends, deposits further cluster as districts and sub-districts. A striking characteristic of the largest Carlin-type gold deposits is their ever-present association with smaller gold deposits that have similar alteration and geochemical signatures. For example, relatively small gold deposits were discovered at and around the Cortez mine decades before discovery of the much-larger Pipeline and Cortez Hills deposits. Goldstrike and Turquoise Ridge are other very large deposits that were discovered long after nearby small satellite deposits were placed into production.
Low-sulfidation gold and silver deposits are another important deposit type in Nevada and elsewhere in the world. These types of deposits are among the most profitable types of precious metal deposits. Such deposits in Nevada include Midas, Sleeper, Sandman, Comstock, and many others.
SHOSHONE PEDIMENT PROPERTY:
Bravada has an interest in 54 claims that comprise the Shoshone Pediment property. Bravada acquired the property from Placer Dome to evaluate low-level gold and encouraging pathfinder geochemistry that are widespread at surface in generally unfavorable Upper Plate rocks. The Property is near the northwestern projection of a series of small gold deposits in Upper Plate rocks at US Gold's Slaven Canyon property, approximately 1.5 to 8km southeast of the Property. The more prospective Lower Plate carbonates are at an unknown depth at Shoshone Pediment. Although gold mineralization may exist in the Upper Plate rocks, which also host the barite mineralization, Nevada’s largest gold deposits typically occur in underlying Lower Plate carbonate host rocks, which have not been tested by drilling at Shoshone Pediment.
Barite was historically produced from an open pit adjacent to the Shoshone Pediment property and the rights to barite at the Property were purchased by Baker Hughes, for which the Company will receive a royalty for any barite produced from the property. Bravada reserves the rights to explore for and mine gold and other metals. Baker Hughes is in the process of permitting an open-pit operation, with production possible in the 2021/2023 timeframe. Timing will depend on several factors, most importantly the price of barite, which is strongly correlated with the oil industry due to its use as an inert weighting additive to drilling muds.
SOUTH LONE MOUNTAIN PROPERTY:
The South Lone Mountain property is located about 32km northwest of the town of Eureka in central Nevada. Bravada owns 100% interest in 28 unpatented mining claims, located on U.S. federal land managed by the Battle Mountain BLM office, subject to a 1% NSR royalty to the original vendor. One half of this (0.5%) can be purchased for US$3,000,000. Many of the initial claims were staked by Placer Dome as part of a property agreement with the Company. Placer contributed money to drill nine reverse-circulation and mud-rotary holes on the property. Placer was purchased by Barrick and the agreement was terminated.
In October 2014, Bravada entered into a lease with option to purchase agreement with Goldspike Exploration Inc. (now Nevada Zinc Corp.) to acquire a 100% interest in the property for lease payments of $325,000 over ten years. In addition, Bravada received 50,000 Goldspike common shares (subsequently sold) and 100,000 Nevada Zinc common shares in the event a National Instrument 43-101 combined resource estimate for the company's Lone Mountain zinc property and the property indicates that at least 10 per cent of the reported tonnage is attributable to the property. All lease payments can be applied to the final purchase price of $325,000 (U.S.), after which advance minimum royalty payments become due annually in the amount of the cash equivalent of 50 ounces of gold.
Bravada and a previous owner of the property have royalties on production from the property. Bravada holds a 1.5-per-cent net smelter returns royalty on base metals production and a 3-per-cent net smelter returns royalty on precious metals production. Bravada's base metal NSR can be reduced to 1 per cent and its precious metals NSR can be reduced to 1.5 per cent concurrently, not individually, by Nevada Zinc for a total cash payment to Bravada of $3-million (U.S.). As indicated in the first paragraph, the previous owner of the property holds a 1-per-cent NSR on both base and precious metal production from the property. Nevada Zinc can concurrently, not individually, buy down the royalty on both base and precious metals to 0.5 per cent for total cash consideration of $3-million (U.S.).
Most of the property is covered by gravel, but hints to the bedrock geology are present on the east flank of the project and the adjacent area of Lone Mountain. Several relatively deep holes in the basin also have defined the geology. The South Lone Mountain project is on the northwest-trending Battle Mountain-Eureka gold trend. The basin to the west of Lone Mountain has been downthrown at least 300m from the bedrock exposures on Lone Mountain. Seismic evidence and drilling suggests a series of Northeast-trending normal faults the cut the basin. Several northwest trending faults are also indicated by the seismic work. Most of the drill holes in the basin have encountered at least 300m of gravel cover.
The Property is adjacent to a historic lead-zinc producer, the Lone Mountain Zinc mine, which reportedly produced almost 5 million pounds of zinc and 650,000 pounds of lead through 1964. Thick zones of high-grade zinc and lead were intersected on Nevada Zinc’s adjacent property and soil sampling suggests that mineralization may extend onto the Company’s claims. Alteration and geochemistry imply that the mineralization at the Lone Mountain Zinc mine is related to a Mississippi-Valley-type replacement deposit.
SOUTH LONE MOUNTAIN PROPERTY:
The South Lone Mountain property is located about 32km northwest of the town of Eureka in central Nevada. Bravada owns 100% interest in 28 unpatented mining claims, located on U.S. federal land managed by the Battle Mountain BLM office, subject to a 1% NSR royalty to the original vendor. One half of this (0.5%) can be purchased for US$3,000,000. Many of the initial claims were staked by Placer Dome as part of a property agreement with the Company. Placer contributed money to drill nine reverse-circulation and mud-rotary holes on the property. Placer was purchased by Barrick and the agreement was terminated.
In October 2014, Bravada entered into a lease with option to purchase agreement with Goldspike Exploration Inc. (now Nevada Zinc Corp.) to acquire a 100% interest in the property for lease payments of $325,000 over ten years. In addition, Bravada received 50,000 Goldspike common shares (subsequently sold) and 100,000 Nevada Zinc common shares in the event a National Instrument 43-101 combined resource estimate for the company's Lone Mountain zinc property and the property indicates that at least 10 per cent of the reported tonnage is attributable to the property. All lease payments can be applied to the final purchase price of $325,000 (U.S.), after which advance minimum royalty payments become due annually in the amount of the cash equivalent of 50 ounces of gold.
Bravada and a previous owner of the property have royalties on production from the property. Bravada holds a 1.5-per-cent net smelter returns royalty on base metals production and a 3-per-cent net smelter returns royalty on precious metals production. Bravada's base metal NSR can be reduced to 1 per cent and its precious metals NSR can be reduced to 1.5 per cent concurrently, not individually, by Nevada Zinc for a total cash payment to Bravada of $3-million (U.S.). As indicated in the first paragraph, the previous owner of the property holds a 1-per-cent NSR on both base and precious metal production from the property. Nevada Zinc can concurrently, not individually, buy down the royalty on both base and precious metals to 0.5 per cent for total cash consideration of $3-million (U.S.).
Most of the property is covered by gravel, but hints to the bedrock geology are present on the east flank of the project and the adjacent area of Lone Mountain. Several relatively deep holes in the basin also have defined the geology. The South Lone Mountain project is on the northwest-trending Battle Mountain-Eureka gold trend. The basin to the west of Lone Mountain has been downthrown at least 300m from the bedrock exposures on Lone Mountain. Seismic evidence and drilling suggests a series of Northeast-trending normal faults the cut the basin. Several northwest trending faults are also indicated by the seismic work. Most of the drill holes in the basin have encountered at least 300m of gravel cover.
The Property is adjacent to a historic lead-zinc producer, the Lone Mountain Zinc mine, which reportedly produced almost 5 million pounds of zinc and 650,000 pounds of lead through 1964. Thick zones of high-grade zinc and lead were intersected on Nevada Zinc’s adjacent property and soil sampling suggests that mineralization may extend onto the Company’s claims. Alteration and geochemistry imply that the mineralization at the Lone Mountain Zinc mine is related to a Mississippi-Valley-type replacement deposit.
Bravada Gold Corp.. is traded on the OTCQB under the ticker symbol BGAVF. This is not investment advice. Please view the disclaimer found on this website.
