Yales Resources’ Successes South of the Border¬¬
By: Barry Miller
Mexico is the world’s leading producer of silver, at almost 100 million ounces per year (17% of the worlds annual supply), although it does produce a number of other base metals. However, despite the country’s rich mining history dating back over 500 years, much of it remains to be explored. With a stable political and social structure by Latin American standards, Mexico boasts infinitely strong potential for exploration and development.
Yale Resources Ltd. (TSXV: YLL) specializes in the acquisition, exploration and development of natural resource properties in Mexico. Based in Vancouver, BC, Yale’s management intends to keep the focus of its company simple. The company has acquired and plans to develop a variety of properties in Mexico to the production stage.
However, a prospective industry creates prospective investors, and Yale faces the problem of creating shareholder value in a business where speculation can be both a driver and deterrent of interest.
So how does Yale evaluate prospective projects before spending valuable shareholder dollars? According to their company website (www.yaleresources.com), Yale’s program to increase shareholder value rests on a few important initiatives before a project undertaking, including:
1. Significant “blue sky” potential
2. Previous production
3. Proximity to active mines or major projects
4. Good access and infrastructure
With Yale’s current operations in Mexico, the management team plays an important role in the reliability and credibility of the company. Although foreign countries such as Mexico can present a number of hurdles and setbacks, the management team has countered this problem with know-how derived from individual experience, both industry and region specific. The talented roster at Yale includes such notables as President and Director Ian Foreman, with prior work as a chief geologist in Peru; director Dr. Luca Riggio, with a multitude of pioneering development work in Venezuela and throughout South America; and director Lindsay Bottomer, who brings more than 33 years of global mineral exploration and development experience to the project.
Although Mexico already exhibits world class potential, Yale has not based its exploration on this factor alone. Yale is exclusively interested in projects that satisfy the criteria the company uses to identify successful candidates. As President and CEO Ian Foreman, P.Geo. tells it, factors such as “favourable tax structures” and a “strong government commitment to natural resource development” will also strongly contribute to the success of the project.
Initial expansion into Mexico was led by the Urique Project, which eventually led the company towards a number of other unique business opportunities in the same region, the Carol Property and The Zacatecas Venture. Each property has had production in the past and is within 10km of a currently producing mine, important prerequisites for a successful venture.
The Urique project (gold & silver) is 290 square kilometres in size, and currently consists of ten mineralized targets in the Sierra Madre Gold Belt of Northern Mexico. This region truly does have a “rich” history of successful gold mining with numerous one million ounce-plus gold deposits stretched along the 300km region. Yale has numerous drill targets located “on strike”, prepped and ready to go; three out of a total of ten targets are at the drill ready stage.
The Zacatecas Venture (silver) includes four distinct properties in the Zacatecas Silver District, one of the largest in the world historically. With this venture, Yale has partnered with IMPACT Silver in an agreement to purchase up to 80% interest in the Zacatecas, Salvador, San Sabino and San Jose properties. This relationship has already proved to be key with IMPACT’s recently announced purchasing option in the Veta Grande processing plant, a mere 8km from all three properties, undoubtedly strengthening Yale’s presence in the region. The Phase 1 drill program at Zacatecas, now completed, includes a highlight intercept of 1,340 g/t silver over 0.80 metres, with all drilling encountering at least some level of notable mineralization.
In a June 11, 2007 press release, Yale announced it had, as a result of phase 1 drilling, already earned its 65% interest in three of its four Zacatecas properties. The recent drill results satisfied all exploration requirements as outlined prior to the phase one drill program; phase two drilling is slated to begin this fall.
The Carol Property (Copper, Zinc, Silver & Gold), slightly southwest of Urique, is 100% owned by Yale Resources. Consisting of six mining claims and 3 distinct zones (the Balde Skarn, Escondida and Epithermal Vein) and spanning over 700 hectares, the property also boasts proximity to Frontera Corp’s Piedras Verdes deposit and established road access and infrastructure.
Since entering Mexico last year, Yale Resources has already succeeded in the optioning of two massive projects and has purchased 100% of a third. With a number of successful drillings and additional discoveries on the cusp of development, Yale has also begun the process of creating a wholly owned Mexican subsidiary, Minera Alta Vista, to better serve and direct their business needs.
With the creation of the Mexican subsidiary, new management has been brought in to direct operations on the ground in Mexico. Ezra Jiminez, LLM, MBA, is now Yale’s Manager of Operations. Jimenez specializes in aspects of Mexican law such as arbitration and negotiation, environmental and tax law, which will help the company circumvent unnecessary legal tangles that have slowed or stopped operations at so many other South and Central American projects, such as Century Mining in Peru or Columbia Metals in Columbia.
As Director and President Ian Foreman states, “Qualified people must look after the day-to-day operations in Mexico”, referring to the lack of local management often given to foreign operations. He adds, “I don’t want to be involved in the day to day running of the Mexican properties, I want to be looking after the bigger picture of what we are doing in Mexico in general”.
This article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered as a recommendation to buy stock in any company. Although the author has made efforts to verify the information contained herein, the accuracy of all the information cannot be guaranteed. As always, it is recommended that you commit considerable time to completing your due diligence before buying stocks in publicly traded companies. A fee has been paid for the creation and distribution of this article.
