Valuation ICN, at a $2.6 million valuation, is being priced at about the valuation of their 35% cut of the the Hog Ranch JV with Pac Rim Mining. Recall that Pac Rim, for a 65% cut, is to do $8,000,000 worth of work on Hog Ranch.
The latest Hog Ranch update from Pac Rim was from 4-30-12:
Hog Ranch Gold Project, Nevada
The Company has now finalized a series of drill targets for the Hog Ranch Project, Nevada and environmental drill permits are in the process of submission. As part of its Phase 1 exploration program, Pacific Rim remapped the entire low sulfidation system at Hog Ranch between July 2011 and January 2012. The Company was extremely fortunate to locate, acquire, compile and subsequently re-interpret the vast majority of the previous drill data conducted through the years by various operators at Hog Ranch, including Western Mining who, as operators of a surface mine at Hog Ranch in the 1990's, conducted the lion's share of the historic drilling. The majority of this historic data was not available to previous explorers of the Hog Ranch property.
Surface mapping was led by Pacific Rim's Chief Geologist, David Ernst, who, interestingly, had made the original Hog Ranch gold discovery earlier in his career. In addition to the geological mapping and data review, further soil sampling was conducted by the Company in the lead up to the drill targeting process. The planned Phase 1 drilling program will focus on extensional structures that appear to control rhyolitic eruptions and high-grade vein emplacement.
"Results from this detailed targeting work, combined with our collective 90+ years of experience in these types of epithermal systems, have led us to conclude that bonanza-grade gold veins at Hog Ranch are most likely to occur along fundamental north-south trending extensional structures and structural intersections that were open during the emplacement of the Hog Ranch volcanic and hydrothermal system, but at depths greater than previous operators have tested," states Bill Gehlen, VP Exploration.
"Hog Ranch is exactly the type of deposit that has been Pacific Rim's sole focus for over a decade: epithermal gold systems with potential for high-grade underground veins," states Tom Shrake, President and CEO. "Northern Nevada hosts a number of high-grade vein-hosted epithermal gold deposits in rocks of the same geologic age as Hog Ranch, including the Midas, Sleeper and Ivanhoe/Hollister deposits. These systems typically offer large operating margins and low environmental risk, and have historically been the lowest cost producers in Nevada."
Reconnaissance
The low sulfidation systems of northern Nevada are of the same geologic age and are related to specific volcanic events. The region that contains these volcanic rocks and corresponding gold systems extends throughout northwestern Nevada, southeastern Oregon and southwestern Idaho. As such, Pacific Rim is focusing its grass-roots reconnaissance efforts in this expanded region.
This means that the remaining properties are being given zero value (of course the Hog Ranch JV could be worth "zero" as well, time will tell...)
Goldfield
Silver Cliff
Rockland - Pine Grove
AWA
Trout Creek
King's River
I also noticed that there are new Goldfield pictures posted to the ICN website, including one of the 1454 g/t rock:
https://www.icnresources.com/s/GoldfieldBonanzaMaps.asp
Things that should happen soon:
JV announcement for Trout Creek and/or King's River that, hopefully, creates $$$ for Goldfield drilling
Goldfield Phase 3 drilling start
Lode Star issued some more of their remaining 750,000 units (take advantage of cheap warrant issuance price)
Hog Ranch update from Pac Rim
Some other way to fund Goldfield drilling (share dilution (NO!), bank loan, etc)
Update from International Minerals next door; they are due to publish a Heap Leach Feasibilty Study in "Summer 2012" for Gemfield and McMahon Ridge, amazing that the 826,000 M&I ounces being attributed to these properties are circa 2005 numbers, incorporating none of the holes drilled since IMZ bought Metallic Ventures in late 2009. Page 25 of IMZ pres below states "Feasibility Study Update - Q2", so the update is overdue already. Resource could double on this, this will get major's attention. Also recall that IMZ's Goldfield Main resource, literally next door to ICN to the east is at 780,000 ounces M&I&I and all Goldfield Main updates ceased in June 2011.
See page 13,14,25,33,34,35,36,37 from IMZ 4-13-12 pres:
https://intlminerals.com/Pdf/IMZ%20presentation-April%202012-Final.pdf
Approaching 500,000 shares, inbox me anytime, I live and breathe ICN