Searchlight Minerals Corp. (SRCH)

[CosmicRambler]

Wow, GOLD, Maybe they should just put some boots on the ground and go up in them thar hills.

Testing and nice paychecks. Maybe that is why them thar boys ain't tromping them thar hills. Don't have to break a sweat. Leave them picks and shovels in the shed.

Maybe time to raise some more Capital. Sign up another foreign consultant. Wonder how the Big Boy is doing on that golf course in Florida??? Got to keep the important stuff in mind. Get all that GOLD in good time. Check out that #9 hole, dog leg left.

[gitreal]

7 year low. No gold. No interest. Congrats....!!

[SevenTenEleven]

SRCH - Watching for a bounce.

[gitreal]

Yup, Searchlight is still rolling along, although they seem to have run out of the never-ending supply of gullible and naïve investors. They'll need to do something this year to make this interesting - the "bear is hungry". (And by "bear", I mean the BOD - they have gotten used to having a million bucks a year thrown at them.) And still not an ounce of gold produced.

I have read through the entire court case (BLM vs. Pass Minerals, et al) involving Ager, Gunnison, Matheson, and all of the other co-scammers. The BLM made them look pretty damn silly! Of course, that was in the past and is of no relevance to current SRCH management (and if you believe that, I have a bridge for sale!)

[scamsrevealed]

Every now & then I check in on the Searchlight site.
I've been doing this since a broker gave me a "hot tip" that the stock was going to soar.
That was back when it traded at $2.35.
Luckily I did some research & backed off.
You all should go back to the beginning of Searchlight & before.
Of particular interest would be the BLM case filed against Search's founder, relative to a previous "mine" site. It reads like a comedy, if you aren't an investor.
Follow the trail; it smells. Search for Arakis-BLM Hearing.

[gitreal]

What do you think, Cosmic, do you think SRCH is sustainable at the new low closing price of 33 cents? How are these guys going to "feed the bear" (their management and board of directors)? Those boys have gotten very accustomed to their annual compensation for doing such wonderful testing year after year.

Maybe someone who doesn't get what they feel is due to them will roll over and expose this fraud for what it is.

Or maybe they can go on a PR blitz and suck in a new round of investors?

[gitreal]

Autoclave testing results are meaningless, since they have never proven there is any gold in the slag. Point the way to a single report they have released in 7 years of running this scam. Nope, nothing.

[drew08]

A few quotes from it I find interesting...

"To date we have conducted 5 pilot autoclave tests which have resulted in the processing of approximately 1,000 lbs of slag. The greater quantity of PLS able to be generated with the large batch autoclave allows the use of multiple resins and multiple stages to more closely model a full-scale commercial system and optimize recovery of gold from solution."

"Most recent test results suggest that electrowinning may be the most commercially viable method of recovering gold from solution."

"A decision on allocating additional funds for Phase II of the Clarkdale Slag Project will be forthcoming if and once the feasibility study is completed and analyzed. The Phase II work program is expected to include the preparation of a bankable feasibility study, engineering and design of the full-scale production facility and planning for the construction of an Industrial Collector Road pursuant to an agreement with the Town of Clarkdale, Arizona."

[gitreal]

Annual report - no gold, and more testing. Same old, same old.

Only this time, they estimate they need $7 million to do the next year of testing (bankable feasibility study, sure, no problem - LOL). That amount of dough ought to keep their consultants fat and happy (and quiet), and pay for their BOD salaries.

How are they going to raise that kind of money? Maybe they can raise the lease amount for the Verde Valley Railway, or charge the Town more to dump their treated sewage on their land. Or, raise the A/S?

[CosmicRambler]

Well these boys got to get into seawater. That is where a fortune can be made. Gold, bromine, metals up the gumshoot. Lots of manganese.

All of it for real, maybe not too much testing required. Forget that tricky slag stuff. Just take the seawater, wring out the fresh water, pump that to Arizona, (you can take seawater out of the ocean in the USA, very difficult to put any of it back).

Once you do that just skim off the GOLD. These boys need a new way of walking and talking. Write some reports and watch the cash pour in. Be close to the beach, good golf, lil sailing in the afternoon.

[Dunphy777]

This link provides a good explanation of how much gold and other precious metals might be contained in copper ore.

http://mines.az.gov/Publications/circ003ptinaz.html

[Dunphy777]

You do understand how the copper smelting process works I presume?

[gitreal]

Fly ash is plentiful, with few good uses. One of the scam companies related to SRCH is Royal Mines and Minerals (RYMM), and they have a proprietary process to remove gold from fly ash (not that anybody can prove there is any gold in fly ash to begin with!) RYMM's metallurgist, Bob Gunnison, was one of the originators of the scam involving the slag pile at Clarkdale. He sold out of the slag deal (although I think they are still making payments to him), and is now working his charms with fly ash at RYMM. For a person convicted of securities fraud, he seems to have pretty good staying power in the "gold business".

Another related scam is Ireland, Inc. (IRLD), which is run by Douglas Birnie and Robert McDougal. McDougal is also a director of SRCH and apparently thought he could start his own gig with the knowledge he obtained by watching the pros at SRCH. Ireland's claim to fame is their gold deposit in a Nevada lake bed, pretty much the last place in Nevada you'd expect to find gold.

So, between fly ash, copper smelter slag, and lake bed clays, you have three, very unlikely places for gold that eager investors have bought into. However, IRLD and RYMM seem to be on their last legs. SRCH is still going, but with the big drop in stock price in the last month or two (almost 50% down), one has to wonder if they are running out of new investors.

Eagerly awaiting SRCH's Annual Report......!!

[CosmicRambler]

You can't get that steel plant slag for free. All that nasty stuff kills rats, grass and maybe bad neighbors. Brick plant ash works but is even more nasty.

The limestone gravel is useless, breaks down in a couple years. Them boys can always sell the slag. I probably be needing some in a few years.

[gitreal]

What startup company pays out that kind of money every year, with nothing to show for it? They don't last long, unless you have the ability to keep pulling investors in. Gold fever, pulls a new crop in every year!

Copper smelter slag was used as railroad ballast across much of central and southern Arizona. Cheap, ready supply, and very durable material. And all the value removed (including gold).

Not the same for steel foundry slag - it has a lot of bad stuff (arsenic, lead, PCBs) in it, and I have seen where it was given away as free gravel. Where it was used ended up with big environmental problems.

[CosmicRambler]

Yeah, you are right, I've seen all that stuff. Them boys do live quite well. Golf and then high tea on the veranda.

Time to "Raise more capital". Don't forget about that preferred stock. I don't really want to buy the stock, but might take a job minding the store. Ah, for the good life.

Going to be crazy if there ain't no gold in that slag. Maybe I can get some for my driveway. We can't get no more slag from the steel mills. Very valuable stuff these dazes. Ah, for the good olde dazes when they dumped the good stuff.

[SevenTenEleven]

SRCH - Very strange. Will mention something to techies tomorrow morning. Possible problem with feed from market provider today.

[gitreal]

SRCH up $0.07 to $0.49, according to Yahoo. And on 124,000 volume. Not sure why Ihub has no trades showing.

[gitreal]

Okay, here's part of their last Quarterly report (since they are late with their annual report). If you wade through this, you will see the following interesting things.....

1) $15K a month to NanoMinerals Corp. (Charles Ager). Nice way to funnel money back to the company founder without actually having him be part of the company due to his checkered past (Delgratia, etc.). That's over $180K a year plus other expenses.
2) Total operating expenses of $5mil for nine months. Man, that is quite the impressive burn rate for an outfit that has yet to produce an ounce of gold!
3) $2 mil to their consultants in 9 months. Yup, that buys some loyalty, for sure. When that dries up, we'll finally hear some stories, is my guess.
4) $2 mil for admin fees (includes officers and directors) in 9 months. Good work if you can get it. A lot of mouths to feed.

Nine month period ended September 30, 2012 and 2011. Operating expenses decreased by 5.2% to $5,655,519 during the nine month period ended September 30, 2012 from $5,968,801 during the nine month period ended September 30, 2011. Operating expenses decreased primarily as a result of a $536,479 loss recognized on equipment disposal in 2011 partially offset by higher mineral exploration and evaluation expenses.

Mineral exploration and evaluation expenses increased to $2,056,634 during the nine month period ended September 30, 2012 from $1,949,572 during the nine month period ended September 30, 2011. Mineral exploration and evaluation expenses increased primarily as a result of performing substantial autoclave testing in the first quarter of 2012.

Mineral exploration and evaluation expenses - related party increased to $188,429 during the nine month period ended September 30, 2012 from $143,203 for the nine month period ended September 30, 2011. The increase is due to Nanominerals Corp. ("NMC") providing additional consulting to the Company related to the acquisition and installation of the batch autoclave and other research activities for the nine month period ended September 30, 2012. NMC is one of our principal stockholders and an affiliate of Carl S. Ager, our Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and director. We utilize the services of NMC to provide technical assistance and financing related activities. In addition, NMC provides us with use of its laboratory, instrumentation, milling equipment and research facilities. We pay NMC an advance royalty payment of $15,000 per month and reimburse NMC for actual services provided and expenses incurred.

Administrative - Clarkdale site expenses decreased to $190,778 during the nine month period ended September 30, 2012 from $240,738 for the nine month period ended September 30, 2011. Administrative costs at the Clarkdale site decreased due to a significant change in our work program for the Clarkdale Slag Project from preproduction activities to autoclave testing conducted primarily by outside independent laboratories resulting in less on-site activity. In addition, a larger portion of the site manager's time was allocated to exploration and evaluation expense.

General and administrative expenses increased to $2,067,725 during the nine month period ended September 30, 2012 from $1,947,822 during the nine month period ended September 30, 2011. General and administrative expenses increased primarily due to restoring director fees and officer salaries to their contractual amounts and to increased stock based compensation related to the following events in the nine month period ended September 30, 2012: (1) modification of 200,000 stock options, (2) immediate vesting of 100,000 stock options upon the resignation of one of our directors and (3) increased vesting expense related to 615,000 stock options granted in the third quarter of 2011. Additionally, our SEC filing fees increased due to compliance with XBRL . .

[SevenTenEleven]

SRCH - Zero volume today? Very strange.

[CosmicRambler]

Well they ain't all at the BOD level. What are them testing guys making? If there ain't no gold period, must get pretty dicey getting to sleep some nights if you are saying we got gold in solution and all is well. And you are supposed to be the test guru.

At some point somebody got to come knocking on your door. Lies and damn lies. I would quit that job, they ain't paying enough if what you say is true. At some point somebody gets thrown under the bus.

Interesting that the website is the same old rag. No volume today, are folks waiting for the other shoe to drop??? Whatever I did say a while back it would not be quick. And it hasn't been.

[gitreal]

Why would they get involved??

MONEY

Why hasn't anybody come forward?

MONEY

As long as the money flows, nobody will say anything. Look at how much goes into the pockets of the BOD and their consultants - it is not chump change! Where else can a person make $100K a year for doing essentially nothing? Who is going to rock the boat when that kind of money is flowing? Now that the stock price is taking such a big hit, either they will issue more stock or do some promoting to bring in new money. If not, they will go down because someone will feel left out and blow the whistle. This can't last forever.

[CosmicRambler]

You have a very interesting theory.

How do you explain these dudes who are supposed to be doing this "Test Program"? If anything you say is remotely true, they for sure know there is nothing in the slag. These dudes are active participants in what can only be described as a form of criminal enterprise. Why would they get involved??

Anyone of them could become a whistle blower, happens all the time. How are the various peeps (including anybody that ever touched it over time) getting more than chump change? Anytime you put together a scam with too many peeps chuckle stuff happens, especially when somebody thinks they did not get theirs.

Doesn't make sense from a lot of angles. Have you ever reported your feelings to some authority that could look into the matter??? Maybe some type of reward money could be there.

At this point, I just keep wondering how the game will end. I hope it does not take forever, these bleacher seat are hard and not very comfy. Ain't really got the guts to try it again myself, least not with any real amount of money.

[gitreal]

They were not that good, the ore was too rich, they were making their money, who cares if a lil of this or that slips by.

I disagree. Phelps Dodge, being the best in the business at copper ore smelting, did not let a "lil of this or that" slip by. They had the best metallurgical engineers of the time working on their process to extract every penny of value, including the gold. To think they would let any appreciable amount gold slip by in the slag is ludicrous. They were profit driven, just like any other mining company, and they did not let stuff slip through, or heads would roll.

Also, and I have said this before - the direct smelting ore that was processed in Clarkdale, never ran half an ounce per ton in gold. Maybe a tenth of that (0.050 oz/ton gold). There is no reason to think that a waste product would somehow have ten times as much gold as the original ores. That is also ludicrous, but the fine folks at SRCH would like investors to believe that lie because it is the basis for their scam.

What's in the slag - the usual iron, silicon, magnesium, some sulfur, etc. Maybe some detectable gold, probably not, I have not seen any reliable assays (and certainly not from SRCH). Probably a little copper too, but not much of that either. Again, the old-time smelters were pretty damn effective - they were not dumping valuable minerals out as slag.

What's in it for Luxor? Maybe discounted stock in lieu of cash? That's how it usually works with toxic financiers.

[CosmicRambler]

Well Gitreal, you do have a point.

But how do you answer that burning question, I've asked before?

What is in it for Luxor? They apparently have forked out a few million a number of times. How does that part of it work? How do they get off the hook?? Scams have winners and losers. How are they a winner???

The thing about the samples could be they claimed to drill so many test holes way back when. Each hole yielded something in the 60-70 pounds of materials and yes, you could claim that would be very representative of what is in the pile overall as a total.

So they might have had a ton or two of suitable test material. Not much of a "Test Program". (Chuckle)

A scam is potentially one possible explanation. But just using a phone and calling saying you have won the lottery might work better.

I sort of always have come down on the side of the question, I think there is some gold in the slag. Just the nature of the business, the old timers never got all the minerals out of it. They were not that good, the ore was too rich, they were making their money, who cares if a lil of this or that slips by. It would be more surprising to me if they did manage to get every drop of gold, just not how it worked in them dazes.

If there ain't no gold, what would you speculate is the make up of the slag??? Remember they did also give a list of minerals in addition to gold. Is that part of it also wrong??? It was a smelter and not the most World beating technology by today's standards. For a lot of its history it probably took the ore directly, volume was king.

[gitreal]

Maybe you can't say it is a scam in a pure sense, but I can. It's a scam.

None of what you talk about is relevant if the gold is simply not there to begin with. They have never presented a report certifying the gold is there. They can paraphrase their "consultants" report all day long but without a signed, stamped report from a registered PE or RG, it is for naught. It is a scam.

Speaking of their consultants, it appears that Arrakis only does work for other scammer outfits (e.g. El Capitan). Guilt by association - sure! The elder Ager's consulting company (Nanotechnology) is most certainly a front set up just to receive some of the proceeds from SRCH's investors. SRCH is a scam.

240 pounds is not much, and wouldn't leave an obvious hole in the top of the slag pile. But yes, you bring up a good point - disturbing old mine waste (whether it be a waste dump, a tailings pile, or a pile of slag) would require a determination of applicability from the ADEQ Aquifer Protection Program. Do they have one? Do they need an APP? I doubt they do, because they are not really processing a significant amount of ore, and never will. It's a scam.

The management's ties to know scams is well documented (Google Charles Ager and Delgratia, etc. and see what you get). Bob Gunnison, one of the founders of the slag pile project, is a documented felon (securities fraud). He now works for Royal Mines and Minerals, another scam outfit, who claim to be able to extract gold from common fly ash (cinders left from burning coal). SRCH is a scam.

The board of directors pay themselves a massive salary every year. For what? It's a scam.

Did I mention SRCH is a scam?

[CosmicRambler]

Well Gitreal, you might need more than being brave.

I sort of see them painting theyselves in a type of corner. They claim to be processing 240 pounds of slag in one of these test runs. How long does that take??? At some point they should have produced some amount of real gold. How many of these test runs do you do in a month??? What happens to the gold in solution??? Should be able to generate some type of small revenues.

And where are they getting all this slag. How many tons we talking here?? Are there any holes showing in the piles where somebody has been digging?? After all there should be a consideration how do you get representative samples. Typically this means moving / blending a bit of materials about. Is it legal to disturb the pile???

I think it even could get worse. At what level of production do you have to get to convince some banker to give you many more millions to complete a 200 TPD module. They are calling it a pilot program, shaky choice of words. More like a lab bench type test at best. If the "Process" is so complex and fragile, always that question will it scale up. You can't have it all different ways.

What is the cash burn??? It all makes no sense to me from a business point of view, even less from a technical / engineering view. Plus I see zero reasons for any big secrets. No other slag piles similar laying about, the more disclosure the better. Do they allow visitors, give tours, why not???

I can't say it is a scam in a pure sense but I also got no real explanation for how it could be a real project in any sense of the word. Bottom line you probably need some guy standing there holding a gold bar, even a very tiny one and saying that it comes from their machine. You need something that somebody can go to jail if it eventually proves out to be false.

So even at this SP, I ain't brave. More like get the popcorn and watch the show. At some point in the real World you either get results or fold the tent. About like one of them soap operas. The series of episodes never ends and none of the plots make any sense.

[gitreal]

If I felt there was more than a trace of gold in the slag, yes. If I didn't know the history of the management of this company as documented scammers, maybe. If I had ever, just once, seen an actual report their consultants have produced, maybe.

On the other hand, buying at these prices might be an interesting play for those of you brave enough to try to outguess the company insiders. Only they know what their Annual report will say, and exactly when it will be released. Only they know what promotions are going on, when they will start, and when their insider shares will be dumped.

[CosmicRambler]

Ah Gitreal here is your big chance to get some cheap. You know you want it.

Yes, the fine art of testing is not done quickly. The angle of the ion is most important. Careful calibrations are a must.

Them boys need to show Gold in Them Thar Slags. How low can she go?????

[gitreal]

Dumping in advance of (bad) news?

[SevenTenEleven]

SRCH - Venue Change

Thu, Mar 21, 2013 12:00 - Searchlight Minerals Corp. (SRCH: OTC Link) - Venue Change - The symbol, SRCH, no longer trades on OTC Link/FINRA BB. As of Thu, Mar 21, 2013, SRCH trades on OTC Link. You may find a complete list of venue changes at otcmarkets.com.

[gitreal]

Yup, a Friday after-hours filing. Not a quarterly, but a notification from SRCH indicating their report would be late. Must be compiling more testing data to include in the report. Maybe more garbage from their mysterious unnamed Australian consultant....??

[gitreal]

Last year's was on March 6th. I imagine they are waiting for after-hours on Friday (for the usual reason). Can't wait to read about another three month's worth of testing.

[drew08]

Where is their quarterly report? Isn't it due soon?

[willlbone]

Dumpola day.

[SevenTenEleven]

SRCH - Good to see volume.

[85k5]

Lot of movement lately. Maybe good things coming soon for srch??

[gitreal]

There are several puzzling things about SRCH. Why has no big stockholder pitched a fit about the lack of credible reports? What does someone like Kunter, who has great qualifications, stand to gain from his involvement? How has this gone on so long without some disgruntled employee spilling the beans, or an inquisitive newspaper aggressively pursuing them.

As for Kunter, I just wonder if being at the end of his career, he has gone all-in, and thinks the payoff from SRCH is worth more than the possible damage to his reputation. And, maybe he just enjoys playing with the autoclave equipment, etc. and the big paychecks come in handy.

I have seen other, obviously retired mining folks lend their names to some pretty shaky mining outfits as board members or advisors. Again, maybe its a decision on their part to take the money and write off their reputation. Who am I to judge them if their financial situation requires it? Someday I might be in their shoes.

As you know, I am pretty sure there will never be an ounce of gold produced from that slag pile because it just ain't there! And yes, they're about due for another round of promos and more stock dilution - a lot of mouths to feed!

[CosmicRambler]

Sometimes I don't know what to think.

Them new boys (Kunter and Aho) seem to be real folks. Why would they want to risk their own reps if there is no gold for sure?? Got to be an easier way to make a living, why get involved??

But the whole deal makes no business sense, definitely no focus. They never say anything a tad useful. Impossible to put a normal scenario together, least anything that makes any sense in terms of normal mining type developments. Like who really owns this prototype lash up? Where is pixs of recovery of lab amounts.

Long ways to go if they ain't just running a form of fraud. If that was the case, they are getting too many folks involved, everybody wants to get paid. Them new boys actually have to know what the potential is. Can't see the insiders paying them enough to play what could become / is just a form of criminal game if there is no gold in the slag for sure.

Chart is saying lower. How do they ever do a real normal mining development? Can't see it from many angles. Just play it if gets real cheap. Don't think I will risk very much.

Lord, how could it end if there really ain't no gold, at some point somebody would spill the beans. Strange business from many angles. They got to be running out of money again shortly, another dillution cycle. Yeah, wowzer sign me up. Insane.

[gitreal]

What do the banker boys get out of it? Cheap shares, which they then dump into the market, at the expense of existing shareholders. Might explain the current share price.

Nothing has to be true or real

Yup, you got it - nothing is true or real! As long as they don't get too greedy, they can keep stringing investors along for another 8 years. And a smart investor like you can play the bounces in the price, and make a few bucks too!

As for pictures of gold, I think they posted a few as part of past filings. A little bead of gold - no telling what it really means, never a real, third-party report to explain the testing or the process.

[CosmicRambler]

Well now Gitreal you could be on to something there.

Test, test, and test some more

A-Yup them boys do know how to test. Almost a science to it.

But at some point you can also tend to drift into something more in the criminal area if not careful. The chuckle part is always answering that question what is the banker boys getting out of it???

If we ain't super careful will be able to pick it up at extra bargain prices. Nothing has to be true or real, just need a good pump to make the money. I ain't believing anything any more. We need a super low bottom and then rig it for a move up.

Would be nice to see pixs of the Gold. What do they do with all that produced from this testing???? Come on, got to be significant amounts. Grins!!!!

[gitreal]

Working on Year 8 of this very successful scam. Not an ounce of gold produced. Others could learn a lot from these seasoned veterans of the mine scam world.

Formula for success..... find an old washed up mine, or pile of slag or tailings, but make sure it is on private land so those nosy feds don't get involved. Spend some money on new buildings, and complicated-looking equipment. Don't ever issue an actual report for the investors to read. Don't ever issue an assay sheet from a certified lab. Don't even think about using a State-registered mining engineer or geologist to evaluate your "deposit". Find an out of state consultant that specializes in servicing other scams like yours.

And best of all - test, test, and test some more. Some investors seem to have infinite patience when there are billions in gold at stake.

[CosmicRambler]

Come on Gitreal they are running pregnant leach solutions and planning to plan.

Could be critical, they might actually show real GOLD coins from slag sources in living color. That after striking GOLD coins stamped from slag piles and raising a lot more money to test more.

They do say at some future undetermined point they will conduct another study to determine whatever. Boy, you could be eating crow if they ever prove real Gold in Them Thar slag piles.

But why quit now, them thar boys are getting pay checks. There is Gold in Them Thar Labs. Could a pix of that be coming next, the GOLD that is????

Ain't saying it can't happen but Christ Almighty it won't be soon. They will wear the new equipment out fine tuning the process to a razor edge. And they still have to scale the size up a bunch. A-Yup, more testing in a slightly disclosed location will have to occur. H,mmm wonder how cheap it will get. Sure glad I ain't counting on it to retire. My Grandma is slow but she has a reason. Slow and steady, wonder what sort of work week these boys put in???

[gitreal]

More testing - great! Maybe they can milk this yet another year. And maybe they can go yet another year without issuing a technical report on their process (just endless PR's).

[SevenTenEleven]

SRCH - Searchlight Minerals Corp. Announces Successful Start-Up of 240-Gallon Pilot Autoclave

Searchlight Mine (OTCBB:SRCH)

Today : Thursday 20 December 2012


Searchlight Minerals Corp. (OTCBB: SRCH) ("Searchlight" or the "Company") today announced the successful start-up of its pilot autoclave system and the initial processing and production of pregnant leach solution ("PLS") derived from slag material extracted from the Company's Clarkdale Slag Project in Clarkdale, Arizona.

The Company also announced that it has hired Richard Kunter as Senior Corporate Metallurgist and Doug Aho as Autoclave Process Engineer on a full-time basis. Together, these highly experienced engineers will manage and execute the Company's pilot autoclave testing program.

The Company's goal in acquiring and operating the pilot autoclave system is to finalize the commercial-scale autoclave design by generating multiple large batches of PLS, under a variety of test conditions, in order to determine the optimum process system parameters for the ultimate extraction of precious metals from the slag material. It is anticipated that this information will then be used to move forward into a bankable feasibility study.

The 240-gallon (908 liters) titanium and tantalum pilot autoclave has been undergoing installation and calibration over the past several weeks at Arrakis, Inc.'s facility in Denver, Colorado. Arrakis is an independent consultant that has been closely involved with the Clarkdale Slag Project since 2010. Photos of the autoclave and support system are attached.

In a single run, the initial test of the autoclave system produced approximately 170 gallons of PLS from approximately 230 pounds of slag material. The Company believes PLS produced from this autoclave will allow definitive recovery of gold from solution by producing a sufficient quantity of metallic gold to permit gravimetric determination of the amount of gold extracted from the slag by various methods. These methods include ion exchange resin, carbon, electro-winning and others. It is expected that this pilot-scale testing will continue through the first quarter of 2013.

Mr. Kunter is an extractive metallurgical engineer, with a B.S. and M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Idaho. He is a member and Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, a Chartered Professional Metallurgical Engineer, and a member of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Inc. (SME-AIME), the Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society (TMS-AIME), the American Society for Metals, the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America, as well as the Extractive Metallurgy Chapter of Denver, Past Chairman (ASM, SME and TMS). Mr. Kunter is a designated Qualified Person for Metallurgy and Environmental. His extensive career in precious and base metal metallurgy has included the successful execution of assignments for nationally and internationally recognized mining companies and mining consulting firms including Western Mining, Newmont and Homestake Mining, among others. Of particular relevance to the Company is his extensive experience in Pressure Oxidation via autoclave in which he holds two patents.

Mr. Aho is a mechanical engineer with a B.S. from the University of Colorado. He has over 20 years of experience in process engineering and precious metals analysis and instrumentation. His career assignments include engineering, technical and analytical positions with Barrick Mining, Hazen Research, the Colorado School of Mines, and most recently Samuel Engineering. Mr. Aho has operated the bench test autoclave used for numerous tests conducted for the Company and has had engineering design oversight of the Company's recently commissioned pilot autoclave system.

"We are very excited about the start-up of the pilot autoclave and our ability to produce PLS in larger quantities," stated Martin Oring, Chief Executive Officer of Searchlight Minerals Corp. "We are also very encouraged that Mr. Kunter and Mr. Ahoo, both of whom have been intimately involved in our autoclave test work as consulting engineers over the past two years, have expressed their confidence in our project by joining the Company's technical team on a full-time basis. We believe their metallurgical and autoclave processing experience will help us finalize the commercial-scale autoclave system design and optimum process parameters as we move towards our goal of completing a bankable feasibility study."

About Searchlight Minerals Corp.

Searchlight Minerals Corp. is an exploration stage company engaged in the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties and slag reprocessing projects. The Company holds interests in two mineral projects: (i) the Clarkdale Slag Project, located in Clarkdale, Arizona, which is a reclamation project to recover precious and base metals from the reprocessing of slag produced from the smelting of copper ore mined at the United Verde Copper Mine in Jerome, Arizona; and (ii) the Searchlight Gold Project, which involves exploration for precious metals on mining claims near Searchlight, Nevada. The Clarkdale Slag Project is the more advanced of two ongoing projects that the Company is pursuing. The Searchlight Gold Project is an early-stage gold exploration endeavor on 3,200 acres located approximately 50 miles south of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Searchlight Minerals Corp. is headquartered in Henderson, Nevada, and its common stock is listed on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol "SRCH." Additional information is available on the Company's website at www.searchlightminerals.com and in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Forward-Looking Statements

This Press Release may contain, in addition to historical information, forward-looking statements. Statements in this Press Release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's periodic filings with the Commission. When used in this Press Release in discussing the recent developments on the Project, including, without limitation, the resolution of certain issues relating to the operation of the production module, the words such as "believe," "could," "may," "expect" and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. The risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements include, but are not restricted to technical issues on the Project that may affect the production module and its primary process components, challenges in moving from pilot plant scale to production scale, the risk that actual recoveries of base and precious metals or other minerals re-processed from the slag material at the Clarkdale site will not be economically feasible, uncertainty of estimates of mineralized material, operational risk, the Company's limited operating history, uncertainties about the availability of additional financing, geological or mechanical difficulties affecting the Company's planned mineral recovery programs, the risk that actual capital costs, operating costs and economic returns may differ significantly from the Company's estimates and uncertainty whether the results from the Company's feasibility studies are not sufficiently positive for the Company to proceed with the construction of its processing facility, operational risk, the impact of governmental and environmental regulation, financial risk, currency risk volatility in the prices of precious metals and other statements that are not historical facts as disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's periodic filings with securities regulators in the United States. Consequently, risk factors including, but not limited to the aforementioned, may result in significant delays to the projected or anticipated production target dates.

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For Additional Information, Please Contact:



RJ Falkner & Company, Inc.

Investor Relations Counsel

[phone]

or via email at Email Contact

[CosmicRambler]

Could have been that they got additonal expenses moving a test machine to an undisclosed location. How do they string the guys along financing it all????

[gitreal]

Another couple days, and those dozen Robo calls a day will be finished! Then, it will just be the salesmen for insulated windows and fake veteran's charities. Guess I should get renewed on that no-call list.

Why do you suppose SRCH took a tumble last week? Their 8K was just to extend the deadline on some warrants - did that have something to do with it?

[CosmicRambler]

They can't get no glossy brochures. Every plum one is being had by that Obama or Rob-Me guys. My mail box is full. Got to wait till after election day.

[gitreal]

Probably about time for some new glossy brochures or maybe a paid pump somewhere. Gotta keep that board of directors fat and happy.

[CosmicRambler]

Wow these boys got it good and that ain't all.

Price just about back to that $.60 level. They seem to do mostly financing and testing. No reports required if you are mostly testing.

A-yup good work if you can get it. I knew whatever was coming would not come quick. H,mmm do they know Xmas is coming????