Above is a regional map showing the Carlin Trend with past/current gold producing districts to the north and two newer districts to the south.
The Poker Flats property comprises approximately 3,600 acres of lode mining claims and leased private ground. The claims are located 33 kilometres south-southwest ofElko, on the eastern edge of the Piñon Range. From Elko, access is by the paved Bullion Road for 7 Km., a further 32 Km. on the graded-dirt Bullion Road, then 7 Km. on unimproved "two track" dirt trails to the Property. The Property is in generally flat sagebrush-covered desert, with elevations gradually increasing westward. The climate is favorable for year-round mining, with all supplies and services needed for successful exploration and mining programs available in the area.
Mexivada has optioned up to 75% of its POKER FLATS Nevada Carlin-style gold property to Spartan Gold Ltd to which Sphere Resources owns a controlling 53.46% interest.
Gold Standard Venture’s Railroad Property immediately adjacent and to the west of the Poker Flats property boundary announced on February 22, 2012 that Hole RR11-16 intersected 56.4m of 4.26 g/tonne gold from 169.2m to 225 and on April 3rd, 2012 it announced Hole RR11-18 intersected 77.8m of 1.63g/tonne gold.
Upon financing Spartan Gold Ltd will conduct an aggressive drilling campaign for a budget in 2012 of $1,200,000 and in 2013 of $2,400,000.
The Poker Flats property is situated within the north-northwest-trending Carlin gold trend, which hosts the Rain/Emigrant Springs, Gold Quarry, Carlin, and Blue Star / Genesis disseminated gold-silver deposits, as well as the Meikle, Rain, and Saddle / Tess fault-controlled vein-style gold-silver deposits. In 1979, Newmont discovered disseminated gold mineralization approximately three miles north-northwest of the Property, which subsequently became the Rain, SMZ, Gnome, and Emigrant Springs gold deposits. In the early 1980s, exploration delineated the Railroad gold deposit two miles southwest of the Property. Further exploration resulted in the discovery of the Trout Creek and Piñon (South Bullion/Dark Star) gold deposits three miles south of the Railroad deposit, and between five and six miles south-southwest of the Poker Flats property.
In 1984, Franco Nevada drilled four reverse-circulation holes in the northeastern part of the Property area, and the fourth hole intersected twenty feet of Webb Formation sedimentary rocks that contained anomalous gold mineralization.
Paleozoic Devils Gate and Nevada Formation limestones crop out in the northeastern claim block; Tertiary basalt and andesite in the northwest; and Tertiary rhyolitic todacitic ash-flow tuff in the southwest. Much of the Property is covered with Quaternary alluvium. Although not observed on the Property, Mississippian age Webb Formation sediments overlie Devonian age Devils Gate limestone. At the nearby Rain mine, gold mineralization at the Webb Formation/Devils Gate contact is controlled by northwest-trending faults.
Exploration focus on the Poker Flats property is for Carlin-type gold mineralization, exemplified by mineralization at the Rain and Emigrant Springs deposits. However, fault-controlled vein-style gold-silver deposits are also possible. The Poker Flats property is situated at the intersection of northwest- and northeast trending regional arsenic anomalies. The northwest-trending anomaly extends through the area of the Rain and Emigrant Springs deposits northwest, and continues through the major gold-silver deposits of the Carlin Trend. A geophysical interpretation suggests that the Poker Flats Property sits astride the southern extension of the Emigrant Fault, and a Rain Fault parallel structure intersects the Emigrant Fault extension in the southwestern area of the Poker Flats claims. Regional-scale structural interpretation suggests that the Property area could be underlain by deep-seated crustal structures instrumental in conducting mineralizing fluids for local gold-silver deposition. The presence of gold-silver deposits north and south of the Poker Flats property suggests the presence of a structural corridor on or near the Property area through which mineralizing fluids could have moved.
Below is a regional map showing the location of the Poker Flats property.
The exploration goal of Sphere's subsidiary Spartan Gold Ltd is to generate openpittable, heap leachable Carlin- or Meikle-Rain-Saddle type orebodies at shallow depths (80 to 150 metres), which could be mined and processed through NewmontMining's expected new mining operation to be started up soon at Emigrant Springs.
Below is a close view of the Poker Flats property in close proximity to Emigrant Springs Gold deposit.
