|
|
|
« Back to news list... Madison Acquires Nevada Gold Property Madison Enterprises Corp. (“Madison”) is pleased to report that it has entered into agreements whereby it has the option to acquire up to a 75% interest in the Lewis Property, a contiguous block of 381 unpatented and 8 patented claims located in Lander County covering some 20 square miles in the Battle Mountain District of central Nevada. The Lewis Property is strategically located immediately adjacent to the north and northwest of Newmont Gold's Phoenix Property where reported past production and current mineable reserves exceed nine million ounces of gold. The Lone Tree deposit (53 million tonnes grading 0.061 oz/t gold), the Marigold deposit (11 million tonnes grading 0.03 oz/t gold) and the Trenton Canyon deposit (5 million tonnes grading 0.039 oz/t gold) are located, respectively, fourteen, eight and four miles north of the Lewis Property within the prolific Battle Mountain Trend. Previous exploration of the Lewis Property has outlined an identical geologic environment to that underlying the Phoenix Property, including a direct on-strike extension of the hosting stratigraphy, controlling structures and mineralization style of the Phoenix Property's Fortitude open pit immediately to the south of the Lewis Property boundary with Newmont Gold. The Fortitude deposit is reported to have produced in excess of 2.1 million ounces of gold and to host a remaining mineable reserve of 2.5 million ounces. The Phoenix Property is expected to resume mining operations with the commencement of Newmont’s planned pit expansions at the Midas and Fortitude pits. The Lewis Property hosts multiple zones of mineralization which have been explored to varying degrees over the years. The most advanced gold target on the Lewis Property is the Virgin deposit located immediately to the north of the Lewis-Newmont boundary within the Virgin Structural Zone. On the adjacent Phoenix Property and within the Fortitude deposit in particular, the Virgin Structural Zone acts as a major ore-bearing host and mineralizing conduit to the favorable calcareous stratigraphy hosting the majority of the reported reserves within the Antler Peak, Battle Mountain and Edna Mountain Formations. Surface exposures and preliminary drilling have traced the Virgin deposit for a minimum strike length of 1,500 feet north from the Lewis-Newmont boundary. The following table summarizes the significant drill hole results from the Virgin Structural Zone on the Lewis Property:
* FWL series are pre-1996; UTX series are 1996 drill holes. Past drilling at the Virgin deposit was of a preliminary nature as considerable additional potential exists to expand beyond the present dimensions. The mineralization remains open both down-dip and up-dip of the drilled area, as well as along strike to the north and along the undrilled 300 foot strike extent southward to the Lewis-Newmont boundary. The Hider Zone, located 1.5 miles north of the Virgin deposit and postulated to be the northern extension of the Virgin Structural Zone is also a high priority exploration target. Broadly distributed anomalous mineralization within the Hider Zone has been explored only to very shallow levels, well above the most favorable hosting stratigraphy, on the Lewis and Newmont Properties. A number of additional exploration targets are present on the Lewis Property. The Trinity Structural Zone, located approximately 1 mile northeast of the Virgin deposit, has been the subject of preliminary sampling. To date, only a limited portion of this extensive mineralized structural trend has been evaluated, with a reported average grade (from surface samples and drill hole results) of 2.1 g/t gold along the 2,000 foot strike length evaluated. Another structural zone of interest is the Buena Vista, located approximately 2,000 feet west of the Virgin Structural Zone and which also extends northward from the boundary with Newmont Gold’s Phoenix Property. Previous surface, underground and drill hole sampling along a 1,000 foot extent of the Buena Vista Structural Zone reportedly averaged 2.0 g/t gold. A number of other geophysical, geochemical, stratigraphic and structural targets occur throughout this extensive land holding, many of which have only been explored within stratigraphy above the most favorable host geology of the Antler Peak, Battle Mountain and Edna Mountain Formations. Madison, along with Great American Minerals Exploration LLC (“GAME”), are entitled, pursuant to an exploration and option to purchase agreement dated May 29, 2002 (the “Lewis Agreement”) with F.W. Lewis, Inc. (“Lewis”) to jointly acquire a 100% interest in the Lewis Property. In order to exercise their option, Madison and GAME must:
The Lewis Property is subject to an advance minimum royalty of US$60,000 per year commencing on the exercise of the purchase option, a 5% gross royalty on gold and a 4% net smelter returns royalty on all other metals in favour of Lewis. These royalties can be purchased for US$4,000,000 for a period of one year following the exercise of the purchase option. The purchase price for the royalties increases by US$500,000 per annum on each anniversary of the date of exercise of the purchase option. The rights of Madison and GAME concerning the Lewis Agreement are governed by a joint venture letter agreement between them dated May 23, 2002 (the “GAME Agreement”). Under the GAME Agreement, Madison can acquire a 51% interest in the Lewis Agreement by paying GAME US$25,000 on regulatory approval of the acquisition, paying the property payments due pursuant to the Lewis Agreement before December 31, 2004 as described (which total US$111,000) and spending US$650,000 on exploration by December 31, 2004, in accordance with the terms of the Lewis Agreement. Madison has an option to acquire a further 9% interest (60% in the aggregate) by paying the property payments due pursuant to the Lewis Agreement from January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2006 (which total US$72,000) and spending a further US$500,000 on exploration by December 1, 2006, with US$250,000 to be spent in each year. Madison can elect to keep its interest at 51% whereupon it will enter into a joint venture with GAME for future exploration and development of the Lewis Property, with all costs to be borne by the parties on a pro rata basis. If Madison elects to acquire the additional 9% interest (60% in the aggregate), GAME can elect to participate on a 60/40 joint venture basis or to allow Madison to acquire a further 15% interest (75% in the aggregate) by completing an industry standard bankable feasibility study and arranging on behalf of GAME non-recourse project financing for GAME's remaining 25% interest. Madison views the Lewis Property as an exciting gold exploration opportunity, well located within one of Nevada's most prolific mining districts. The proximity of the Lewis Property to Newmont Gold’s Phoenix Property Fortitude pit and the direct extension on to the Lewis Property of the hosting stratigraphy, controlling structures and mineralization present in the Fortitude pit offer excellent exploration potential. Madison’s initial program of exploration will focus on the expansion of the Virgin deposit and preliminary property-wide exploration of the Lewis Property’s other numerous mineralized targets, at an estimated cost of US $250,000.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of
"Chet Idziszek" |
 |
| Copyright © 2004 Madison Minerals Inc. All rights reserved. | Site designed by Stargate Connections Inc. |  |
About Madison