Golden Goliath
Golden Goliath Resources Ltd. is a junior exploration company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (symbol GNG). The Company is focused on exploring and developing the gold and silver potential of an historic mining camp located in the world famous Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains of northwestern Mexico. Unlike most juniors, which have an option to earn an interest in a single property or a few scattered properties in various areas or countries, Golden Goliath controls an entire old mining camp, or district, that covers an area of 15 by 25 kilometres, with numerous past producing gold and silver mines dating back to the time of the Spaniards. Golden Goliath’s Uruachic claims are owned 100% by the Company and are fully paid for with no property option or purchase payments to make.
Golden Goliath Resources – An Emerging Mining Goliath in Mexico?
Currently, Mexico is the world’s largest producer of silver, celetite and bismuth accounting for 17%, 37% and 30% of world production respectively. Mexico also has gold, copper, zinc and lead. Its vast mineral riches have attracted numerous mining companies such as Grupo Mexico, Industrias Penoles, Newmont Mining and Pan American Silver. Mexico offers stable politics, favourable regulatory and tax regimes in addition to a wealth of mineral resources. There is no dearth of mining companies seeking a foothold in Mexico, emboldened by rising commodity prices. Since 2000, gold has been buoyed by falling mine production, rising demand—in particular from China and India, weakening US dollar, low interest rate regimes, the threat of inflation and political instability. Silver has also been a stellar performer during the same period and has been a beneficiary of improving world economies and the consequent demand from the industrial and jewellery sectors.
GNG is an exploration and development company with assets in the prolific Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains. This historic mining camp is known for its great wealth of minerals including iron ore, lead, silver, and gold and hosts hundreds of old workings dating back over 200 years. GNG’s exploration strategy is to develop its prospects portfolio by using modern day geological exploration techniques looking for mineralization near old workings. From geophysical, geochemical, surface sampling and drilling completed since 2000, management is convinced that a significant resource potential exists. The old timers lacking modern day science, technology, knowledge, skills, infrastructure and economics focused only on high grade deposits including for example the 28.35 kilos/tonne silver ore mined from the Arbolito shaft. They ignored lower grade ore which by modern day standards is attractive.
Paul Sorbara, President and CEO, has worked on calderas in the Sierra Madre Occidental where he worked for Cominco Ltd. Paul was one of the first Canadians to go to Mexico following changes in the country’s foreign investment laws which made direct investment feasible in 1992. With help from his numerous Mexican geological contacts he started his own private Mexican exploration company, Minera Delta, to assemble the Uruachic land package which he took public as GNG in October, 2000. Paul is backed up by a diverse board of directors that bring decades of mineral exploration and exploitation experience to the table, including Daniel Nofrietta who has worked as exploration manager for several large international companies throughout Mexico and has an in-depth knowledge of the Sierra Madre Occidental region.
The Company now believes that it is ready to focus its efforts going forward on diamond drilling and underground rehabilitation and sampling to establish a mineral resource in several different areas of the Uruachic camp, possibly as early as in the first half of 2008.
GNG is also committed to developing partnerships through option agreements, including the two agreements with Comstock Capital Corp. which gives Comstock the right to earn a 60% interest in both the Corona and Chamizal properties. The Company plans to seek further option or joint venture agreements that will allow GNG to focus on its own drilling programs primarily in the La Reforma, Las Bolas and San Timoteo areas.
So what makes GNG an attractive investment opportunity? To begin with, GNG has 100% ownership of its Uruachic claims and are fully paid for with no further property payments to make. This contrasts with the asset ownership of other junior mining companies, which usually are governed by option agreements with hefty payments to make in order to earn an interest in a single property. GNG’s 8400 hectares of land are located in the heart of one of the most prolific gold and silver producing regions of the world. The camp hosts some of the largest and most intense alteration zones in the Sierra Madre. There is a ready work force, year round road access and infrastructure in place, and a prolific mining history with numerous past producing high grade gold and silver mines. In addition, it is home for both important past producers, new producers and new discoveries. This historic trend has produced approximately 1,244,000 kilograms of gold and 6,200,000 kilograms of silver over the last 400 years and has become cynosure of the search for new precious metal deposits. Those who are familiar with the Mexican mining industry know the Sierra Madre Occidental well enough to take GNG’s Uruachic claims seriously.
The Company has an diverse portfolio of gold and silver prospects in the prolific Uruachic camp and other unique prospects at Chamizal and La Cruz in central Chihuahua State. All of the properties have attracted the attention of major exploration and development companies.
Since 2002, GNG has undertaken extensive surface exploration and drilling (18,216 metres) within the Uruachic Camp, identifying multiple prospective opportunities. GNG’s San Timoteo property contains some of the main underground workings dating back over 100 years. Its high grade precious and base metal mineralisation was confirmed through drilling with some samples yielding 334 g/t silver and 4.19 g/t gold (average grade 132 g/t silver and 1.09 g/t gold).
Drilling is also underway at the Las Bolas property just 5 km south of San Timoteo. Samples during the 2004 drill programme have yielded 515.5 g/t silver and 11.1 g/t gold (average grade 154 g/t silver and 3.22 g/t gold). This zone lies close to the Arbolito shaft where a sulphide sample found in an old dump returned 71,817 g/ t silver (2,082 oz/t). The newly opened underground zone at Las Bolas had a weighted average from 127 chip samples of 412.30 g/t silver and 0.21 g/t gold over 180.71 metres.
The Nopalera claim carries the largest and strongest alteration zone in the Uruachic camp and hosts several old mines. Mexican mining heavyweight Penoles has recently made a significant gold discovery about 5 km south of Nopalera along the Rio Oteros and has staked their own claims adjacent to Nopalera.
GNG’s La Cruz silver prospect is located 150 kilometres southwest of Chihuahua City and hosts several old underground workings and dumps and is on the extreme eastern edge of the Sierra Madre Occidental. Assays from 17 chip samples ranged from 11 to 832 g/t silver with an average of 237 g/t silver. This prospect has also attracted the attention of some large silver mining groups.
Located 85 kilometres from Chihuahua City GNG’s Chamizal property is playing a lone hand. Like La Cruz, Chamizal is not in the Uruachic camp. This region however hosts the famous Santa Eulalia and Naica mining districts. Santa Eulalia has produced over 40 million tonnes of 15% lead-zinc, up to 1% copper and 320 g/t silver. The Naica district, located 65 km east of Chamizal, has produced over 21 million tonnes of 5.5% lead, 4.3% zinc, 0.34% copper, 194 g/t silver. Chamizal is also to be developed through a 60% option agreement with Comstock.
GNG is supported by Sprott Asset Management and Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX: AEM), who both have extended their holdings in GNG during a recent $6.6 million financing. Sprott and AEM now hold 18.4% and 14.5% of the outstanding GNG common shares respectively, on a partially diluted basis. Post fundraising GNG has over $7 million in the treasury, as well as warrants exercisable at $0.45 that would bring the Company over $7 million. Almost all of these funds are earmarked for drilling – so expect plenty of news flow from the drill bit.
Other Golden Goliath articles
Other Golden Goliath news
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03/12/08 Golden Goliath Intercepts High Grade Silver And Initiates Mineral Inventory Estimation At Las Bolas, Mexico
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19/11/08 Paul Sorbara of Golden Goliath Resources talks to Proactiveinvestors
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11/04/08 Golden Goliath provides exploration update