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Our involvement at Lantern began in July 2003 when we entered into a mining lease with Newmont Mining Corporation, covering 1,463 acres of patented and unpatented mineral claims in Pershing County. The lease, which provides for certain back-in rights to Newmont, covers multiple areas of near-surface gold and silver mineralization. Since 1980, several companies, including Santa Fe Pacific Gold Corporation and Newmont Mining Corporation, have conducted exploration programs within portions of the property. This work, consisting largely of geological mapping, soil and rock geochemical surveys, various geophysical surveys and drilling, identified low-grade areas of gold and silver mineralization with higher grade gold intercepts encountered in banded, epithermal quartz veins. Due to the nature of the previous exploration programs driven by the earlier fascination with low grade, bulk tonnage gold deposits during the 1980's and early 1990's, these high grade Bonanza gold values were never systematically explored with deeper drilling.
Lantern Property - Geology and Mineralization
The Lantern Project is located approximately 10 miles south of the formerly producing Hycroft gold mine and about 2 miles south of the closed Rosebud gold mine. The Hycroft mine produced approximately 1.1 million ounces of gold while Rosebud produced approximately 375,000 ounces of gold. The Hycroft and Rosebud mineralization is controlled by northerly trending fault zones at contacts between Tertiary volcanic rocks and younger lake sediments, a setting very similar to Lantern geology.
The property is underlain by Mesozoic phyllite in fault contact with Tertiary lake sediments accumulated in a fault bounded localized basin. In the immediate target areas, Tertiary volcanic rocks are also common. Alteration is abundant and includes sericitization, argillization, and silicification and is primarily focused in zones of deep seated fault zones. Several zones of highly anomalous gold have been identified and many have been drill tested at depths ranging from 60 to 600 feet deep.
Lantern Property - Recent Exploration
In October 2005, Zonge Geosciences Inc. of Reno, NV completed gradient array and dipole-dipole IP/resistivity geophysical surveys over a portion of the property. The target of the surveys was a generally flat, alluvium covered area containing several large banded quartz vein boulders with gold mineralization characteristic of the upper levels of epithermal gold systems. The gradient array survey identified a significant resistivity anomaly in the survey area and subsequent dipole-dipole IP lines confirmed the resistivity feature.
As a result of this work, we commenced a reverse circulation drilling program to test both the resistivity anomaly in the vicinity of the mineralized boulders and a second area along the southern flanks of SP Ridge, the focus of historic exploration on the property.
Three reverse circulation drill holes totaling 1,190 feet (363 m) were completed to test the resistivity anomaly; however, results were inconclusive due to the lithologic similarities between Tertiary sedimentary rocks and Quaternary alluvium.
Four drill holes (L-4 through L-7) tested the mineralized Auld Lang Syne (ALS) formation at the south end of SP Ridge near a previously drilled vertical hole (DPL-18) that assayed 0.017 oz/t gold over 45 feet. Holes L-4 (-50º), L-5 (-64º), and L-7 (-50º) were drilled at an azimuth of 270º along the same section as DPL-18 crossing the southern part of a zone of sub parallel, epithermal veins and veinlets that crop out to the north on the summit and east slope of the ridge. This zone strikes at approximately 345º, dips at a high angle, and remains open in all directions. Its minimum dimensions, based on historic and recent drilling, is approximately 760 m along strike and 300 m perpendicular to strike. Significant gold and silver mineralization was encountered in Holes L-4 and L-5 which crossed the above zone and bottomed within it near the lower part of DPL-18.
L-4 intersected two significant zones of mineralization. The first from approximately 180 to 200 feet and yielding 20 feet grading 140 gm/t Ag (4.1 oz/t), and the second, from approximately 580 feet to the bottom of the hole at 592 feet also assayed 140 gm/t Ag (4.1 oz/t) from 585-592 feet. The upper zone intersected in L-4 was again intersected deeper in drill hole L-5 from approximately 475-510 feet and although silver values were generally low in this interval, gold assayed 20 feet @ 1.29 gm/t (0.04 oz/t) from 490-510 feet.
Additional silver mineralization was intersected from 85-110 feet grading 168 gm/t Ag (4.91 oz/t); 185-205 feet grading 1289 gm/t Ag (37.63 oz/t) including 5 feet @ 4700 gm/t Ag (137.24 oz/t); and from 220-255 feet grading 170 gm/t Ag (4.96 oz/t).
Exploration Potential
Golden Predator geologists believe the Lantern project and specifically SP Ridge, offers excellent potential for the discovery of additional zones of high grade bonanza-style gold mineralization at depths below 500 feet. We intend to aggressively pursue this target in the coming months.
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