A Different Approach To Exploring For Gold
This is the fourth junior mining company I've looked at here that is working on developing and exploring mining properties in Nevada. I did write ups on another three juniors that are in the gold exploration business in Nevada that have interesting projects on the go in that state. One of the reasons why I'm researching projects in Nevada is that I am trying to focus on mining friendly areas for present or future investments. Investing in mining friendly territories to me is number one. Aside from management expertise, cash on hand, the location is key. It doesn't matter if you have the richest deposit in the world, if the government or citizens of that country want it, they'll usually get it. And you are out your investment. Or maybe there are just rules and regulations that are too strick or review process's that take forever to complete.
The company today is kind of interesting because of what they say they do and how they go about prospecting for gold. Nevada Explration NGE is the company in question here. On the website they state:
A Different Approach to Discovery
Whereas much of the industry is focused on optioning, joint venturing, and re-examining the same properties that have been around for decades, we are focused on advancing the previously unexplored targets identified by our Groundwater Chemistry Exploration Program.
So what is Groundwater Chemistry anyways? Well after reading their website where there is quite a bit of information, I will try to break it down here in a more condensed form. Hopefully I get it right.
When you start to look for minerals you always keep an eye out for rock outcrops and solid rock areas. These rock formations are an easy place to grab samples and look for things like quartz veins, etc. But once those rock formation get covered by over burden or fill you can no longer see the rock. It's undergound and you need to drill. Drilling is expensive and a drill hole only gives you a small core sample of what is below. It doesn't tell you how big the area of interest is until you drill even more holes and plot them all out.
From their website now: Nevada's valleys are not only filled with alluvium, they are also saturated with groundwater. In contrast to alluvium, groundwater does interact directly with bedrock and its chemistry does relate directly to the bedrock it has encountered. Water is known as the "Universal Solvent". As groundwater flows and interacts with bedrock, groundwater gradually dissolves bedrock and assumes chemistry representative of it. When groundwater flows near a gold deposit, it retains a unique chemical 'memory' or 'scent' of the encounter; specifically, groundwater that has encountered gold mineralization contains elevated concentrations of gold and other associated trace-elements. Once identified, distinctive groundwater chemistry can be followed back up stream to its bedrock source through careful sampling and analysis.
Because groundwater moves, its chemistry can provide information about a much larger area than any other type of geologic sampling medium. Moreover, because of the mixing and dilution that occurs with groundwater, a distinctive groundwater chemistry plume loses its concentration away from its source. As a result, Groundwater chemistry can not only provide a larger, easier to find, target than conventional exploration techniques, but with multiple samples, groundwater chemistry can also provide a vector that points back towards its source.
In 2004, NGE began groundwater chemistry exploration across Nevada to identify new exploration targets. Because there were no established procedures for collecting and analyzing groundwater samples for mineral exploration, NGE developed new sampling procedures and custom software. NGE has now collected more than 3,000 samples from springs, wells, windmills, and other available sources of groundwater.
To orient the results of the survey, and most importantly the gold values, NGE has collected new groundwater samples at 31 known gold deposits. The average gold in groundwater concentration at the 31 deposits is three orders of magnitude (~1,000 times) greater than the observed median value of the reconnaissance samples, and the gold in groundwater concentrations at 27 of the 31 deposits fall within the top 10% (90th percentile) of all observed values. Once again, the data prove that Nevada's gold deposits are surrounded by recognizable and measurable groundwater chemistry signatures. With this data, NGE has improved its proprietary groundwater chemistry models and fine-tuned its exploration thresholds for gold and other elements.
As far as properties go, the company has five different property blocks in various stages of exploration. Let's go take a look at some of these claims now.
As always, use Due Diligence and see our Disclaimer and be sure to sign up for our free news letter located on the right hand side of this page.
GAdams