$BFGC ~ About Bullfrog Gold Corp.
The Company’s prospective lands now include the entire Montgomery-Shoshone (M-S) pit and northern third of the Bullfrog deposit, from which Barrick Bullfrog Inc. recovered 220,000 ounces averaging 2.2 g/t from the M-S pit, 1.1 million ounces averaging 2.5 g/t from the northern Bullfrog pit and 690,000 ounces at 7.5 g/t from their underground mine. Barrick terminated mining in late 1998 and milling in early 1999, during which times gold prices averaged less than $290 per ounce.
BFGC is the only entity since 1999 to examine the Barrick electronic and paper data bases, which include 157 miles of drilling in 1,298 holes and more than 2,500 pounds of documents. BFGC recently estimated mineral inventories remaining around the Barrick mines at 470,000 ounces averaging 0.89 g/t, based on cross-sectional methods and a nominal cut-off grade of 0.3 g/t. These average and cutoff grades are higher than most heap leach projects proposed and operating in the U.S.A. The estimates are also supported by close-spaced drill holes upon which Barrick recovered a total of 2.3 million ounces from their proven and probable ore reserve estimates. As a result, these estimates could be readily and inexpensively upgraded in compliance with US and Canadian estimation standards.
BFGC has also identified significant additional mineralization and defined several exploration targets that could further enhance the project and add shareholder value. Although Barrick’s buildings and equipment have been removed, Project infrastructure and attributes include suitable access roads and pit ramps, main powerline and substation, a paved state highway that crosses the property, more water rights than foreseeably needed and a town less than 4 miles away that hosts a population of 1,000 with associated amenities and services.
Pilot heap leach tests performed by Barrick in 1995 on 844 tons containing 0.59 g/t and crushed to -1.5-inch recovered 67% of the gold in only 41 days of leaching. Cyanide and lime consumptions were less than 0.25 pound/ton and nil, respectively. Finer crushed material yielded gold recoveries up to 75%. In 1986 St Joe column leached a 22-ton composite of minus 12-inch material to simulate leaching large Run-of-Mine (ROM) sizes and remarkably recovered 49% in only 59 days of leaching. This would allow a ROM cutoff grade of 0.2 g/t or less. In this regard, Barrick did not have low cost heap leaching facilities and used cut-off grades of 0.5 g/t for pit ore and 3.0 g/t for underground ore.
The Company has a market capitalization per ounce of mineralization of less than $25 compared to $45 to $140 for most companies having similar heap leach projects. The Company recently reduced its debt from $3.3 million to $0.3 million.
