SADDLE
On June 15, 2010 Premier closed the acquisition of Saddle Gold Inc. Saddle Gold owned, among other things, the mineral rights in respect of a majority portion of the Saddle Gold Deposit and a 1.5% production royalty on large portions of the Emigrant Springs Deposit, currently under development by Newmont Gold Corporation on the prolific Carlin Trend. Premier has also acquired a key property along the strike direction of the Saddle deposit.
The Carlin Trend in northeastern Nevada forms one of the largest and most productive accumulation of gold deposits in North America and boasts +110 M ounces of production, reserves, resources and mineral inventory.
Location
The project is located in western Elko County, about 22km by road south of Carlin, Nevada, at the crest (2100m elevation) of the Pinion Range. Access is excellent by way of the Rain Road, an all-weather gravel road maintained year-round by Newmont and Premier.
Premier currently owns the mineral rights to 12 sections (totaling 31km2), four of which are leased to Newmont and two of which are leased to US Gold by previous agreements. Premier also controls the Blue Sage claims covering about half of one more section located along the mineralized trend.
Geologic Setting
The Saddle Property hosts the NW extension of the Rain Mine ("Rain") orebody that was previously mined by Newmont Mining Corporation ("Newmont") by open pit and underground methods. Up to 80% of the Saddle Deposit is located on the property, though the limits are untested.. The Saddle Deposit is one of several deposits discovered by Newmont during the 1990's to the northwest of, and down plunge from Rain.
Mineralization consists of brecciated and silicified pyritic Webb Formation siltstones and underlying Devils Gate Limestone adjacent to the Rain Fault which trends N70E across the property. This fault is separates an upthrown block on the southwest which places the carbonate rocks nearer the surface, resulting in a gravity anomaly which can be traced from the Rain Mine about 6.5km northwest across the Saddle deposit and on to the Blue Sage claims. At some places, the Rain Fault itself contains high-grade mineralization.
The acquisition of Saddle Gold represents a new chapter in Premier's strategy to build a significant presence in proven, accessible and low-risk jurisdictions that offer opportunities for the discovery of high grade gold deposits. Premier was attracted to the Saddle Gold opportunity for a number of reasons including:
- Premier would be the only company with core land packages and existing gold deposits, within Nevada's "Carlin Trend" and Red Lake's "Mine Trend", two of the world's most prolific and high grade gold mining districts.
- The Saddle Deposit ranks as a potentially significant high-grade gold deposit that remains open for expansion and is located proximal to existing surface and underground infrastructure.
- There is potential for additional discoveries, similar to the Saddle Deposit, to be made.
- Through the royalty in the Emigrant Springs Deposit, Premier would participate in one of Newmont's potential future mine development projects.
- US-based assets would be beneficial to Premier if the price of gold rises as a result of a relative decrease in the value of the US dollar.
The Emigrant Springs royalty consists of a 1.5% production royalty in Newmont's Emigrant Springs Deposit. Emigrant Springs is an advanced-stage project host to 1.2 million ounces (Source: Newmont Mining Corporation 2009 Annual Report, page 33, footnote (4)) of undeveloped reserves that represent a portion of Newmont's potential future production within its Carlin operations and is located only 1.5 miles east of Saddle. The Emigrant Springs royalty, when coupled with Premier's existing royalty in PC Gold's Pickle Crow Project, provides the opportunity for Premier to consider growing a "Royalty Division" with potential multiple income streams.
Maps & Sections
 |
 |
 |
 |
