Goldrea

The Goldrea (TSX.V:GOR) folks have their hands full developing the Daye mine in China right now. As if that weren't enough they just acquired a bunch of coal permits in Saskatchewan in partnership with the other two Reaugh Group companies. The Gold Rush/Gold Chain group of claims in Arizona are portfolio properties, likely to be developed several years out. But since I was in Kingman to see Rocher Deboule's Artillery Peak project, Tim Neal drove me around the Gold Rush and Gold Chain claims to take a peek.

The claims are about an hour's drive from Kingman in Mohave County, in terrain as rugged and distinctive as the men that staked them. Hilly rocky terrain with scrubby vegetation, and no respite from the intense sun or the strong winds that whip through. We turned off highway 68 at an incongruous new housing development, and continued for just a few hundred yards before the paved road ended. A few hundred yards further along the dusty road and we were passing old mining equipment from previous exploration efforts.

Gold Chain is in Section 34, Township 22 North, Range 21 West abutting Gold Rush (the Black Dyke Group) which is in Section 2 & 3, Township 21 North, Range 21 West, about 8 miles northeast of Bullhead City in Mohave County, Arizona.

Gold Rush - Gold Chain claims are unpatented claims, meaning the land is actually owned by the U.S. Federal Government, and Goldrea has the right to extract minerals from that land, using as much of the surface and its resources as necessary to extract the minerals.

image of terrain, courtesy of terraserver

The Gold Rush Claims trend northward toward the Gold Chain property. Gold Rush was formerly known as "Black Dyke" to previous explorer Western States Inc. who estimated over 40,000 ounces of gold contained therein.

The Gold Chain claims have been mapped, sampled and drilled by various operators between 1986 and 1990. Former lease-holders include Fischer-Watt, Anaconda, and ACNC who carried out diamond drilling and reverse circulation drilling. Anaconda estimated a minimum of 48,000 ounces of gold in the ground at Gold Chain. Goldrea purchased the claims from Jim Marin and Tim Neal, prospectors who had waited patiently for the claims to become available.

Jim and Tim, though rugged, are also kind-hearted. One day while driving to the claims they picked up a tortoise that was struggling around with one bad leg, and drove around for hours until they found someone to care for it.
 

 

 

 

Infrastructure is non-existent today but electricity may not be a problem by the time Goldrea is ready to develop the claims. Vancouver-based Western Wind Energy Corporation is planning a wind farm installation southwest of Kingman, according to the Kingman Daily Miner. Construction will begin in three to five years, and Western Wind is already eyeing other locations in the area for a second wind project and a thermal solar project.

With a a minimum of 88,000 ounces of gold combined, the Gold Rush - Gold Chain claims make a tidy portfolio property worth 80 million dollars or so today, less mining costs.

I do not own shares in Goldrea and am not affiliated with the company. This piece was written based upon observation, research, and Q&A with relevant parties, viewed from my perspective and filtered by my own limited understanding. Please do your own due diligence.

--Rebecca Bartlett, Montevideo, Uruguay
rebecca@silverloupe.com

This article is the second of a three-part series on Reaugh Group properties.
July 14, 2008: Rocher Deboule's Artillery Peak
September 15, 2008: Molycor's Tami-Mosi property