Desert Star Resources (
TSX:V.DSR,
Stock Forum) is a junior exploration company being proactive in this market.
Last year they picked up six exploration projects in the U.S., each with big potential. Of particular note are their Red Top, Copper King and Copper Springs projects in Arizona, as well as their Oro project in New Mexico.
A map of their Arizona projects shows scores of copper mines operating or soon to be operating in the area by majors like BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Capstone, and KGHM. This is among the most productive copper mining regions in the world and $5 million market cap Desert Star has a hold on some of its strongest exploration targets.
Earlier today Desert Star closed a $1.051 million financing of $0.18 units with a full $0.25 warrant (exp. July 28, 2015) for general corporate purposes.
CEO Vince Sorace tells me the goal of the company is to find strategic investors, such as larger mining companies, to share the costs associated with advancing some of their projects.
Sorace and his team have the substance to pull it off. In 2011, Sorace was CEO of Providence Resources where he helped that company raise $4 million in exploration capital from Teck Resources at $4 per share. The exploration thesis for Providence didn’t pan out however Sorace learned what it takes to do a deal with a major miner.
Desert Star’s exploration team is also compelling. Sorace has been able to attract Dr. Al Wainwright, PhD PGeo, as chief geologist. Dr. Wainwright will be honoured at the AMEBC Roundup conference tonight, sharing the
H. H. “Spud” Huestis Award for excellence in prospecting and mineral exploration with his former colleagues at Kaminak Gold, for their role in the discovery of the 3.2 million ounce Coffee gold deposit in the Yukon.
Vancouver geologist Dan McNeil is also extensively involved with Desert Star’s project acquisitions and exploration strategy. Both Wainwright and McNeil have several years’ experience working for multiple major mining companies.
Desert Star has 29,091,744 shares outstanding, plus another 21,559,182 warrants and 1,852,500 options at exercise prices ranging from $0.15 to $0.80. The company’s shares last traded at $0.18, giving DSR a market cap of approximately $5.24 million.
As the mining industry enters its fourth year of a downturn, very few companies are actually doing any exploration; Desert Star is vying to be one of them, and boasts an impressive portfolio of exploration targets which may just attract a major miner to roll the dice.
Read the company’s
corporate presentation and keep an eye on DSR in 2014.
PLEASE SEE FULL DISCLOSURE AT CEO.CA