Today, Belmont Resources Inc. announced the acquisition of a gold project, formerly known as the Pathfinder Property, located in the Greenwood Mining Division of southern British Columbia, Canada.
This acquisition, which the company’s CEO Jim Place explained with “an opportunity that Belmont could not pass up”, comes a week after the landmark announcement of having obtained a water rights permit for its Kibby / Monte Cristo Basin Lithium Project in Nevada, which Jim Place described as “a very important milestone in the development of the Kibby Basin lithium property”.
Obtaining water rights is crucial for the development of a lithium project located in areas with limited water resources. Belmont has achieved a feat which many other companies in Nevada have been trying to achieve for many years without much success.
Last week, Belmont also announced that drilling of hole KB-4 was completed at a depth of 840 ft (256 m) and that water sampling from a gravelly layer (in general, highly prospective for lithium brine accumulations) near the bottom of the hole “is currently underway”. Sampling results will be released upon completion of laboratory testing and compilation of the data.
As the Kibby Basin Project is currently under joint venture agreement with the lithium brine processing company MGX Minerals Inc., it can be considered a logical step for Belmont to acquire another project at which it acts as operator, because MGX may soon become the operator of the Kibby Basin Project. MGX has currently earned a 25% project interest and, at its discretion, may increase to 50% by spending $300,000 in exploration expenditures by April 30, 2019, in which case MGX would become the operator.
According to last week’s news-release on the Kibby Basin Lithium Project:
“The two well permits to develop groundwater (brine) in the Monte Cristo Groundwater Basin may be the first of their kind in Nevada. This news comes at a significant time, when other lithium companies and explorers are realizing the importance that Nevada’s legislators and regulators place upon the natural resources of their state.”
In the near-by Clayton Valley, Pure Energy Minerals Ltd. announced in January 2019 to have received a water rights permit to only extract the lithium-bearing brine needed for the operation of a planned pilot plant, a so-called finite-term water right with the total withdrawal not to exceed 50 acre feet over a 5-year period. The Clayton Valley is said to be over-appropriated in terms of water use as it is home to the North America’s only lithium brine operation – Albemarle Corp.’s Silver Peak Mine, which uses large amounts of water for its large evaporation ponds.
The permits obtained by Belmont are so-called open-ended, firm water rights allowing for the extraction of up to 2,895 acre feet annually (around 944 million US gallons, or 3.6 billion liters) of groundwater (brine) for brine processing and production of lithium compounds. The total combined consumptive use of groundwater allowed in the permits is 261.71 acre feet annually (85.3 mga). That is, 9% consumptive use at the surface is allowed at full development and 91% will be returned to the source via injection wells or infiltration galleries.
KB-4 is targeting a potential fault in the sub-surface layer, where lithium brine may have accumulated as being the case in the near-by Clayton Valley.
The Pathfinder Gold Project
Today, Belmont announced the acquisition of around 253 hectares of mineral claims which are part of the former Pathfinder Property located in the Greenwood Mining Division of southern British Columbia. Belmont‘s CEO, Jim Place, stated in today‘s news-release:
“This was an opportunity that Belmont could not pass up. On the heels of a very positive Vancouver Resources Investment Conference (“VRIC”); the Prospectors & Development Association of Canada (“PDAC”) and with the optimism in the market surrounding growth in gold prices, mergers and acquisitions, and mine development; we were presented with a portion of the Pathfinder property. Other exciting gold news from companies exploring the historic Greenwood area mining camp have received much investor’s attention recently.”
In light of the promising developments in the Greenwood Mining Division by other public companies (see recent news releases from Ximen Mining Corp., GGX Gold Corp. and Grizzly Discoveries Inc.), Belmont believes that the Pathfinder Property provides another major opportunity for the company and its shareholders, while continuing to focus on its flagship Kibby Basin Project until MGX may become the operator.
Full size
The Pathfinder Property is surrounded on 3 sides by claims held by KG Exploration (Canada) Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Kinross Gold Corp. Kinross, through its subsidiary, has also entered into a option to earn a 75% interest in approximately 27,000 hectares from Grizzly Discoveries Inc. on claims adjoining Kinross. Grizzly recently announced that “Kinross is planning further exploration within the Greenwood option area for 2019.”
The Pathfinder Property is located in proximity to the Gold Drop Property held by Ximen Mining Corp. (currently optioned by GGX Gold Corp.), where shallow drilling recently made headlines with assays of “129 g/t gold and 1,154 g/t silver over 7.28 meter core length“, which ranks as the world‘s 7th best drill intercept of 2019.
In a December 2000 report (historic; non-compliant with NI 43-101) on the Pathfinder Property, R. C. Wells (P.Geo.) of Kamloops Geological Services Ltd., stated that the Pathfinder Property “is easily accessible by road” and “covers a highly mineralized area”. The report provides further details of historic mining and exploration activities on the Pathfinder Property and adjacent properties, such as:
Small-scale historic production from the Pathfinder sulfide zone (several sulfide bodies up to 6 m in width that were developed at shallow depth with an adit, 3 or more shafts and over 800 ft / 244 m of tunneling) was recorded, mainly in 1916, at 239 tonnes averaging close to 3.12 g/t gold, 16.91 g/t silver and 1% copper. Also, historic production from the Little Bertha quartz vein system between 1900 and 1939 is reported to have totaled 876 tonnes averaging 15.1 g/t gold and 137 g/t silver, with the main vein developed by several tunnels, raises and surface workings.
Adjacent to the Pathfinder Property, gold-silver-copper bearing quartz veins were mined on the Gold-Eagle Property between 1904 and 1941, with 1905 production recorded to have averaged 8.1 g/t gold, 74 g/t silver and 1.39% copper.
A great deal of historical prospecting, outcrop sampling, undocumented diamond drilling, and, more recently, magnetic survey and soil sampling has been carried out throughout the Pathfinder Property and there is evidence of old mine workings in several locations on the Property, some going back to the late 1800s and early 1900s. In the late 1990s, more systematic and integrated exploration programs by Cassidy Gold Corp. resulted in the discovery of several vein and skarn showings/zones with geophysical and geochemical anomalies on the Pathfinder Property, however none of these were tested by trenching or drilling.
Following up on Cassidy’s work, Conlon Resources Corp. optioned the Pathfinder Property in May 2000 and carried out more thorough soil sampling and geochemical analysis. The work by Conlon, carried out and documented by R.C. Wells, P.Geo. of Kamloops Geological Services Ltd. (AR #26498 – December 28, 2000) identified several prospective targets and recommended further study, including core drilling of high-probability areas. Historic sampling in 2000 returned gold values up to 50.9 g/t, 3.7% copper and 99 g/t silver. The 2000 exploration results were “highly encouraging” and began to outline several polymetallic, gold-copper targets.
Full size / Historical production and exploration successes until 2000 in the Greenwood, Republic and Rossland area (adapted from R. C. Wells, P.Geo., December 28, 2000)
R.C. Well’s report states that, “The results to date indicate that the mineralization is probably more extensive than previously reported” and that, “The gold-silver mineralization at Pathfinder has several features in common with the past producing mines in the Rossland mining camp, 60 kilometres to the southeast. This camp was historically the second largest BC gold producer. Sulfide-rich ores consisted of massive pyrrhotite-rich replacement “veins” averaging close to 0.5 oz/t [17.1g/t] gold, with significant copper and silver.”
All previous work is of a historical nature, and may not have been conducted under NI 43-101 standards, therefore assay results cannot necessarily be relied upon. Belmont intends to confirm the reported mineralization on its claims with an own sampling program. Significant historical information/ data will be compiled by Belmont as soon as possible to assist in the 2019 exploration program and completion of an updated geological report.
Technical Perspective
Link to updated chart (15 min. delayed): https://schrts.co/gateeyXB
Company Details
Belmont Resources Inc.
Suite 600 - 625 Howe Street
Vancouver, BC, V6C2T6 Canada
Phone: +1 604 683 6648
Email: gmusil@belmontresources.com
www.belmontresources.com
Shares Issued & Outstanding: 90,979,906
Chart
Canadian Symbol (TSX.V): BEA
Current Price: $0.045 CAD (03/27/2019)
Market Capitalization: $4 Million CAD
Chart
German Symbol / WKN (Frankfurt): L3L1 / A1JNZE
Current Price: €0.028 EUR (03/27/2019)
Market Capitalization: €3 Million EUR
Previous Coverage
Report #20 “Belmont Re-Starts Drilling at Kibby Basin Nevada Lithium Brine Project with MGX Minerals; Adds Two New Key Members to the Board of Directors"
Report #19 “Belmont to Start Drilling for Lithium Brine at Kibby Basin in Nevada after Thanksgiving"
Report #18 “Belmont reports final lithium assays from first hole of 2018 and gets ready for continued drilling at Kibby Basin in Nevada"
Report #17 “MGX-Belmont Announce Next Round of Encouraging Lithium Drill Results from Nevada"
Report #16 “MGX-Belmont sample up to 580 ppm lithium in sediments at Kibby Basin Nevada Joint Venture"
Report #15 “MGX-Belmont Drilling Finds Multiple Brine Prospective Zones at Kibby Basin Lithium Joint Venture in Nevada"
Report #14 “The Drills are Turning at MGX-Belmont‘s Kibby Basin Lithium Joint Venture in Nevada”
Report #13 “MGX and Belmont to Start Drilling at Kibby Basin Lithium Project in Nevada on Saturday”
Report #12 “MGX and Belmont Form Nevada Lithium Joint Venture at Kibby Basin”
Report #11 “Ohm-m! The Divine Sounding of Resistivity”
Report #10 “Belmont Resources (BEA.V): Cheapest US lithium play may just be what others promised”
Report #9 “It‘s Time For Belmont To Shine In Nevada”
Report #8 “Bingo! Belmont finds striking drill targets for lithium brine deposits at Kibby Basin in Nevada”
Report #7 “The Missing Puzzle Piece to Discover Lithium Aquifers in the Kibby Basin of Nevada?”
Report #6 “Belmont on track to eclipse the Clayton Valley”
Report #5 “Belmont getting ready to drill for untapped lithium brines at Kibby Basin in Nevada”
Report #4 “The perfect lithium basin?”
Report #3 “Prominent gravity low identified on Kibby Basin Lithium Brine Property in Nevada”
Report #2 “Dark clouds over Clayton Valley and green lights for Belmonts Kibby Basin Project”
Report #1 “Early Report on Belmont Resources”
Contact:
Stephan Bogner (Dipl. Kfm., FH)
Rockstone Research
8260 Stein am Rhein, Switzerland
+41-44-5862323
info@rockstone-research.com
www.rockstone-research.com
Disclaimer: This report contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "potentially" and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. Rockstone Research, Belmont Resources Inc., MGX Minerals Inc. and Zimtu Capital Corp. caution investors that any forward-looking information provided herein is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking information as a result of various factors. The reader is referred to the Belmont´s and MGX Minerals´ public filings for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects which may be accessed through the Belmont´s and MGX´s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Please read the full disclaimer within the full research report as a PDF (here) as fundamental risks and conflicts of interest exist. The author, Stephan Bogner, holds a long position in Belmont Resources Inc. and MGX Minerals Inc., and is being paid by Zimtu Capital Corp. for the preparation, publication and additional distribution of this report, whereas Zimtu Capital Corp. also holds a long position in Belmont Resources Inc. and MGX Minerals Inc. Belmont pays Zimtu for the preparation, publication and additional distribution of this report. Any mentioned historical information is relevant only as an indication that some mineralization occurs on the properties, and no resources, reserve or estimate is inferred. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical information as current mineral resources or mineral reserves; and neither Rockstone, Belmont nor Zimtu Capital is treating the historical information as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. For any mentioned technical information see Belmont´s Qualified Person’s review of such in the respective news-releases.