Millrock projects draw exploration funds

Millrock Resources Inc. July 18 said roughly US$5 million of partner-funded exploration is being carried out across its portfolio of mineral properties, including 10,000 meters of drilling at three projects in Alaska and Mexico.

"We have plenty of potential catalysts to improve the Millrock share price through the discovery of valuable resources," said Millrock President and CEO Greg Beischer.

Millrock Resources is a project generating mineral exploration company with five projects in Alaska, 16 in Mexico, three in New Mexico and three in British Columbia.

"Millrock continues to be a prolific generator of new projects that attract funding of major and junior companies alike," Beischer added.

Growing interest in Alaska

Millrock's Alaska portfolio – Alaska Range (gold-copper-silver); Liberty Bell (gold); Goodpaster (gold); Apex El Nido (gold); and Chisna (gold-copper-silver) – includes two projects with partner funded exploration and at least one other that is drawing interest from potential partners.

Alaska Range, a property that hosts a copper-gold-silver skarn deposit and is highly prospective copper-gold porphyries, is the most active property in Millrock's portfolio this year.

In 2017, Millrock sold its Stellar copper-gold-silver project to Australia-based PolarX Mining Ltd., which already owned the adjacent Caribou Dome copper project.

Following the deal, PolarX merged the two properties to form what is now called the Alaska Range project, which blankets a 22-mile mineralized trend that hosts Zackly, a high-grade skarn deposit with roughly 91 million pounds of copper and 213,000 ounces of gold; Caribou Dome, a sediment-hosted deposit with 280 million pounds of copper; and numerous exploration skarn, porphyry-style and volcanogenic exploration targets.

As a result of the transaction, Millrock owns 9.76 percent of PolarX' issued and outstanding shares, holds a royalty on portions of the property and is entitled to milestone payments.

Millrock is also the manager of exploration at Alaska Range.

PolarX Executive Director Jason Berton said the unique qualities Millrock brings to Alaska Range is a major factor in PolarX' exploration success there so far.

"Millrock is a professional outfit that knows the lay of the land both geologically and logistically which has enabled us the ability to plan and implement our programs efficiently and effectively," Berton told Mining News. "In my opinion it just would not have been possible for us to undertake Millrock's role ourselves without significant costs and disadvantages."

A 13-hole drill program carried out in 2017 outlined 3.4 million metric tons of inferred resource grading 1.2 percent (90.4 million pounds) copper, 2 grams per metric ton (213,000 oz) gold and 14 g/t (1.5 million oz) silver.

This year's planned 23-hole program is focused on expanding this skarn deposit at depth and along strike, as well as vectoring toward deeper porphyry mineralization indicated by geophysics and observations of mineralization.

While drills are turning at Alaska Range, Kinross Gold Corp. is funding a program to refine drill targets at Millrock's Liberty Bell, a road-accessible project about 70 miles southwest of Fairbanks that is prospective for copper-gold porphyry and associated gold deposits.

To earn the 70 percent stake in Liberty Bell, Kinross has agreed to invest US$5 million in exploration over five years; pay US$145,000 in advanced royalty payments over the same timeframe; and pay an additional US$145,000 in management fees if Millrock manages the programs over the duration of the agreement.

A program consisting of an induced polarization geophysical survey and geological mapping is planned for this fall. Drilling is expected in 2019.

Millrock says its Goodpaster project, a group of seven claim blocks near and adjacent to Sumitomo Metal Mining's Pogo gold mine, has attracted a lot of interest this year.

This spring, Sumitomo announced the discovery of Goodpaster, a new discovery north of the underground workings on the Pogo Mine property.

The first hole drilled at Goodpaster in 2017 tapped 22.8 feet averaging 0.103 oz/t gold and the second cut 17.5 feet of 1.739 oz/t gold.

Pogo Exploration Superintendent Gabe Graf said the core from these mineralized intercepts at Goodpaster looks identical to the ore being mined in the Liese zone at Pogo, providing evidence that the two zones may have once been contiguous and have since been separated by a fault that runs between them along the Goodpaster River.

Geophysics on the Pogo property indicate this mineralization extends eastward to Millrock's adjacent West Pogo property.

Millrock said two major gold mining and a junior exploration company are interested in forming a partnership on its Goodpaster claims.

Mexico, NM and BC

Millrock's portfolio outside Alaska includes 16 precious and base metals properties in Mexico; lithium, gold and uranium projects in New Mexico; and gold and base metals properties in British Columbia's Golden Triangle.

In Mexico, Centerra Gold Inc. is funding exploration to earn up to an 80 percent interest on two of the gold properties – La Navidad and El Picacho.

Centerra has funded a comprehensive and systematic exploration program that has delineated three major target areas on La Navidad. A recently completed 2,900-meter drill program tested two – Cobre and Crossover – and results are anticipated in early August.

Centerra Gold has also authorized a drill program to begin at El Picacho later this summer.

Millrock said it is entertaining offers for joint ventures on three of its other Mexico properties – Guadalcazar, which hosts a high-grade silver-zinc-lead skarn deposit with good drill intersections and historic mine workings; Batamote, where prior work has turned up some good geological signs of a porphyry copper deposit; and Los Cuarentas, a low sulfidation epithermal gold-silver project where drill targets have been developed and drilling permits are in place.

In New Mexico, Millrock has sold its recently staked Lordsburgh lithium project. In exchange for these claims covering the deepest part of a sedimentary basin that has the potential for the accumulation and entrapment of lithium bearing brines, Millrock is to receive US$50,000 in cash plus 19.9 percent of the issued and outstanding shares of Xinda International Corp.

Millrock's New Mexico portfolio also includes Antelope Pass, a gold property with geological features similar to the highly productive Carlin Trend in Nevada; and Red Basin, which hosts a uranium deposit discovered by Gulf Minerals in the 1970s.

Millrock's British Columbia portfolio included three gold and precious metals properties – Todd Creek, Oweegee Dome, Willoughby – acquired in 2015. Oweegee Dome and Willoughby were optioned to Sojourn Exploration Inc. last year.

Under a transaction proposed earlier this year, Millrock will vend Todd Creek to Sojourn and modify the terms of the existing option agreements on the two other Golden Triangle properties in a way that Millrock would be a 19.9 percent owner of Sojourn, and a royalty holder on the three northern British Columbia properties.

In a related transaction, Sojourn has joined forces and properties with Seven Devils Exploration Ltd., a private mineral exploration company owned by a renowned exploration team with a track record of discovery and a portfolio of exciting, early stage porphyry copper-gold projects.

Seven Devils' exploration team will form the management core of new Sojourn. This team includes Tyler Rusk, who will take over as CEO; Nigel Luckman, who will serve as COO; and Jeff Kyba, former B.C. Geological Survey District Geologist for northern B.C., is to be the vice president of exploration.

As an anticipated 19.9 percent shareholder, Millrock is expected to benefit from Sojourn's success in British Columbia as it focuses on its large portfolio of exploration properties in Alaska, Mexico and New Mexico.

–SHANE LASLEY