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Mineral Hill, WY
Property Overview
The Project is located in Crook County, Wyoming, approximately 14 miles (23 km) east of Sundance, WY, and consists of 69 unpatented lode mining claims and 20 patented claims which are leased and 113 unpatented claims owned by Golden Predator Royalty & Development Corp.
Historical Exploration
The Mineral Hill Mining District is ringed by drainages that contain alluvial gold, and placer mining has taken place since the 1870's. Lode mines were subsequently developed on high grade epithermal style gold veins, and milling operations were active in the district in the 1890's through the 1930's. Even with the history of placer and lode production, only limited drilling and exploration has taken place in the District, and little is known about the subsurface environment. Since most of the district is covered by vegetation and thick soils, much of the district has yet to be explored.
Mineralization and Geology
The Mineral Hill Mining District is one of the few known alkaline gold systems in Wyoming, where gold mineralization is associated with the rare class of alkaline igneous rocks. Similar systems in Wyoming include the Rattlesnake Hills, currently being explored by Evolving Gold Corp., the nearby Sundance Property, which is currently being explored by Newmont North America Exploration Limited and Rare Element Resources Ltd., and Goldcorp Inc.'s active Wharf Mine which is currently producing gold associated with alkaline rocks 15 km (9.3 miles) east of the Mineral Hill Mining District. The link between gold mineralization and alkaline rocks is well established, as some of the world's largest gold deposits such as the Cripple Creek deposit in Colorado, Porgera in Papua New Guinea, and Ladolam on Lihir Island exhibit this relationship.
The intrusive complex at Mineral Hill is one of numerous Tertiary alkaline intrusive centers in northeastern Wyoming and west-central South Dakota, and gold mineralization and hydrothermal alteration are well developed in several of those complexes. Production from nearby alkaline systems across the state border in South Dakota has taken place for over a century and continues today.
The Mineral Hill Mining District consists of a ring-shaped, muti-phase alkaline intrusive complex with a central diatreme complex. The diatreme pipe in the center of the District exhibits intense potassic and sulfide alteration, and gold and copper mineralization appear to be best developed in zones adjacent to the diatreme pipe. High grade epithermal style gold veins that were the targets of historic mining activity were hosted in breccias along the western margin of the pipe, but the newly recognized zones of copper and gold mineralization are located in monzonitic intrusive rocks along the north side of the diatreme. The alkaline rocks at Mineral Hill include very mafic rock types, which distinguishes the complex from others in the area, and may explain its apparent endowment in copper, a characteristic shared with other mafic alkaline complexes in the world.
The styles of mineralization and alteration observed during the Property's limited exploration history are typical and characteristic of mineralization associated with alkaline systems. Porphyry systems related to alkaline intrusions tend to contain significant gold in addition to base metals, and thus represent a promising exploration target. Pending issuance of permits, drilling is slated to begin this fall. Initial drilling will be focused in the area of newly recognized porphyry-style gold and copper mineralization as well as the epithermal style high grade gold veins targeted by the historic mining operations in the district. Additional drilling will be directed at several structural targets developed by Bronco Creek geologists.
Current Work
Golden Predator is planning to commence drilling in the 2nd quarter of 2010 to test the presence of the porphyry-style gold-copper conceptual model.
Summary of Results
While historic mining activities in the Mineral Hill district have focused on high grade epithermal style gold veins and alluvial gold deposits, drilling by Bronco Creek in 2007 demonstrated the presence of porphyry-style gold-copper mineralization in the district, which will be a target of the Company's upcoming exploration program. This style of mineralization has not been previously recognized in the region, but appears to be similar to other gold-copper deposits known to be associated with alkaline igneous systems around the world. The discovery of previously unrecognized porphyry style gold and copper mineralization in 2007 underscores the lack of previous exploration and potential of the district.
Travis Schwertfeger, BSc, MAIG & the Company's Vice-President, Exploration (US) is the Qualified Person for the Mineral Hill Project and has reviewed the technical content of this web summary.
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