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The Highland is a low-sulphidation epithermal gold and silver property which forms the eastern edge of the extensive Walker Lane gold trend of western Nevada. The Walker Lane gold trend hosts several multi-million ounce gold deposits including Goldfield, Comstock, Tonopah, Rawhide, and Paradise Peak. The Highland vein system demonstrates a very high water/ rock ratio that often contains bonanza-grades of gold and silver as well as highly anomalous pathfinder elements such as arsenic, antimony, and molybdenum.
The Highland Project consists of 120 lode mining claims covering approximately 970 hectares and hosts multiple high-grade vein and bulk-tonnage gold/silver targets. Vein networks on the property are discontinuously exposed on surface and in trenches over a 1.2 kilometre strike length with gold grades up to 17 g/t. Highland is situated immediately south of a large Tertiary-age caldera of a roughly similar age to the mineralization and host volcanic. The mineralization is typical low-sulphidation style, with veins consisting of white massive to banded recrystallized fine-grained amorphous silica and massive to thinly bladed calcite often replaced by silica to form typical bladed carbonate replacement textures, indicating that only the upper level of the mineralized system is exposed . Drilling to depths of over 200 metres has encountered similar vein material and textures. The veins are best developed within a coarsely porphyritic massive andesite, which is overlain by less porphyritic andesite, volcanoclastics, and sediments which contain sinters with anomalous (up to 300 ppb) gold values. The veins outcrop over an area of 1800 meters by 360 meters in a northwest trending zone, which the regional aeromagnetics show is situated along the western portion of a much more extensive alteration zone, covered by shallow alluvium and post-mineralization cover. The two principal vein zones, Zone A and Zone B, trend northwest and are spaced approximately 150 meters apart, with individual vein zones varying along strike from one or two discrete veins/breccia zones up to 5 meters wide, to a series of narrower veinlets dispersed over widths of up to 60 meters. Drilling to date has focused on a central 500 by 300 m portion of the vein system, around the old Highland shaft, and has not systematically explored more than 200 meters below surface.
Past production during the 1930’s from shallow workings (less than 80m) is believed to have produced approximately 10,000 ounces of gold, with presumably very selective high-grade samples from a 2 meter wide vein reportedly running up to 79.8 opt (2,735.5 grams per tonne) gold with 133.2 opt (4556 grams per tonne) silver and 9.0 opt (308 grams per tonne) gold with 56.4 opt (1993 grams per tonne) silver. Fortune Minerals have reported that a 5 meter chip/channel sample across one of the strands of the Highland vein system assayed 0.16 opt (5.58 grams per tonne) gold with individual quartz veins assaying over 0.3 opt (10.28 grams per tonne) gold. Drilling within the central 500 meters by 300 meters area, has generally intersected mineralized intervals of 1 to 2 meters averaging between 0.5 and 2.0 g/t gold. However, in localized areas, particularly in proximity to northeast trending cross-structures, higher grades have been encountered. These include;
H03013 1.5m @ 66.9g/t Au and 397.7g/t Ag within 12.2m @ 9.5g/t Au and 109.4g/t Ag H03015 1.5m @ 6.1g/t Au and 8.2g/t Ag
H02010 3.05m @ 20.26g/t Au and 24.1g/t Ag within 15.7m @ 5.42g/t Au
MHH-02 0.3M @ 9.46g/t Au and 414g/t Ag within 2.1m @ 2.04g/t Au and 182.6g/t Ag
The scattered high-grade gold/silver intercepts within a wide zone of high-level low-sulphidation veining indicates that the system is interpreted as fingers of high-grade mineralization which may coalesce into a more coherent body at depth. Part of the initial exploration program will be to refine our understanding of the geological and structural controls on the vein mineralization and design a limited program of deeper drilling to test the deeper part of the system for a bonanza-grade epithermal gold deposit. The initial work will consist of re-logging all previous drill-holes, in order to further refine the 3D geologic and structural model. In addition, the 2006/7 drilling intersected a blind splay of the A Vein which assayed 0.24m of 15.98 g/t gold, the significance of this and other possible splays will also be investigated.
The Highland project area, outside the central zone of historic drilling, has not been systematically explored. This underexplored area, much of which is covered by relatively thin alluvium, holds other targets that have received little or no drilling. District scale geological and structural mapping will also be undertaken during the first year of the program to provide a better exploration framework for ongoing work.
Christopher James can earn a 51% interest in the property by spending $ 4,000,000(USD) on exploration over a six-year period, including paying underlying annual minimum royalties and claim-holding fees. The schedule for exploration expenditures for Christopher James Gold is as follows;
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$ 100,000 (USD) to be incurred within 12 months of the Effective Date,
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an additional $ 250,000 (USD) to be incurred within 24 months of the effective date,
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an additional $ 250,000 (USD) to be incurred within 36 months of the effective date,
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an additional $ 1,000,000 (USD) to be incurred within 48 months of the effective date,
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an additional $ 1,200,000 (USD) to be incurred within 60 months of the effective date,
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an additional $ 1,200,000 (USD) to be incurred within 72 months of the effective date
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Christopher James can earn a further 19% interest, for a total of 70%, upon
production of a bankable feasibility study by the end of year six. This option can be extended for up to two years by paying Fortune River US$100,000 and spending a minimum of US$1,000,000 per year. The project is subject to an underlying royalty of 3% NSR, of which 1% can be purchased for US$1,000,000. Fortune River will be project manager initially, the arrangement continuing as long as mutually agreed. |
