About the Bell Mountain mine:
The Bell Mountain property lies in the southeastern part of Churchill County in west-central Nevada (USA). It is located approximately 70 kilometers southeast of Fallon on highway 50 (Lincoln Highway). The project site is located at the north end of Bell Flat and is approximately 6 miles southeast of the Fairview Mining District.
The Bell Mountain Property includes the original 26 Globex lode claims covering an area of approximately 217 ha and 119 recently staked lode mining claims, increasing the land package to 995 ha.
The property consists of three zones of mineralization: The Spurr, Varga, and Sphinx within 26 lode claims located in ranges 34 and 35 east of townships 15 and 16 north, Churchill County, Nevada, USA.
Highlights of Bell Mountain
* The Bell Mountain Gold Project is contained entirely within the Fairview Peak caldera; its inter-caldera setting is a very favored environment for gold deposits in the region.
* Gold mineralization within the Property occurs as electrum (Au, Ag) and Acanthite (Ag2S).
* The mineralization forms an epithermal, low-sulfidation, volcanic-hosted, caldera-related deposit located in the prolific Walker Lane structural province of Nevada, which is the host to many major gold producing districts such as the Comstock (6.9 M oz of gold and 161 M oz of silver), Round Mountain(7.6 M oz of gold), Paradise Peak, Bullfrog, Tonopah, Goldfield, Rawhide and several others;
* Project previously permitted for production in 1992 by N.A. Degerstrom Inc. to process known ore resources of 2.1 Mt which amenable to open pit mining and heap leaching;
* Underground observations of the limits of the veins suggest that the resources of 2.1 Mt could be increased considerably;
* 96% of the known vein systems (on 26 lode claims) identified on the property remains to be tested, since only 0.09 km2 was drilled on a total of 2.34 km2;
* A study of abundant drilling data and underground workings from the Property suggests that the resource calculated by Degerstrom in 1991, is open to significant expansion and could be increased considerably, both laterally and at greater depth. The deposit is drill tested to a maximum depth of 75m with an average depth of 45m and is open along strike;
* Additional attractive targets have been identified on the Property with little exploration outside the known resource.
Geology and Mineralization
The Bell Mountain property is entirely contained within the Fairview Peak caldera that erupted 19 million years ago and is a complex assemblage of ash-flow tuff, basaltic andesite to rhyolite lava, rhyolite lava domes, and dacite to rhyolite dykes form a co-genetic suite that erupted from the Fairview Peak caldera.
The hydrothermal alteration was of argilic type, mostly kaolinization. Local hematization, gives the rock a pinkish color. Local silicification was encountered in most of the drill holes, mostly in the wall rocks along quartz veins, but also distant from such veins. Manganese alteration was also noted where the rock took a brownish color. Minor chlorite and epidote alteration was found in some drill holes, where fragments were chloritized and/or epidotized. Locally, fragments have been oxidized and jasperized.
The mineable ores at Bell Mountain are typically found as shoots within the Main Vein. Quartz and carbonate gangue are characteristic. The veins usually exhibit several stages of crushing and brecciation and carbonate gangue is usually replaced by quartz as brecciation and mineralizations proceed.
The Primary ore minerals are electrum (Au, Ag) and Acanthite Ag2 S. Small amounts of galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite and molybdenite are deposited with the gold and silver minerals, as is minor pyrite. At Bell Mountain these are now evidenced by psuedomorphs, patches and fracture coatings of indigenous limonite. One or more of the silver sulphosalts were probably deposited with primary ores.
The vein systems on the property cover an area of 0.9 square miles (2.3 km2), of which only 4% has been tested by drilling to an average depth of 25 metres, leaving a large area open to exploration.
Only two identified hydrothermal alteration zones have been explored by drilling, and only at shallow depths. In addition, the property's geological context, located near the Round Mountain and Comstock mines, is highly favorable for the discovery of major deposits.
All mineralization is structurally controlled in shear and fault zones found in extrusive rhyolites consisting of flows, tuffs, and welded tuffs. The ore is found in calcite or silica veins in these zones.
A recent review of the data identified the following non-43-101 compliant reserves as follows (proven and possible):
* 2.1 million tons, 1.39 grams/ton Au, 40.7 grams/ton Ag (Anthony Payne, 1982)
* 2.3 million tons, 1.08 grams/ton Au, 37.3 grams/ton Ag (Simons, 1982)
* 2.1 million tons, 1.29 grams/ton Au, 41.0 grams/ton Ag (Degerstrom, 1992)
All reserve data identified the strip ratio at approximately 2.5 to 3.0 to 1.
History and Background
The property was originally staked in 1914. In 1918, Tonopah Mining Co. conducted underground development and sampling with some additional sampling conducted in 1948.
A 270-metre long adit was driven in the 1970's.
In 1978, Bell Mountain Mining Company, a subsidiary of American Pyramid Resources Inc., did a substantial underground sampling program including driving the 180-metre Varga adit along the Stockton Vein (Spurr). A comprehensive feasibility study was completed in 1981, which returned positive metallurgical test results. In 1984, Santa Fe Mining Company drilled 51 reverse circulation holes principally in the Varga area and ten holes in the Sphinx area. In 1985, Alhambra Mines reopened and resampled the underground workings. Metallurgical tests were undertaken and 18 drill holes completed in the Spurr adit area.
Between 1988 and 1993, N.A. Degerstrom drilled 104 holes, completed a technical feasibility study and permitted the property for open-pit mining and heap leaching. Degerstrom reported 2.1 million tonnes grading 1.33 grams/tonne gold and 37.55 grams/tonne silver.
Falling metals prices made the development of the Property uneconomic at that time and the project was shelved.
Although the Degerstrom Report was completed by credible professionals, it was written prior to the enactment of NI 43-101 statute, thus a "Qualified Person" must complete sufficient additional work to reclassify this historical estimate as a current mineral resource and the historical estimate should therefore not be relied upon.
During the summer of 1996, ECU Silver completed a multidisciplinary study program. This program included detailed geological mapping, the collection of 235 samples, an electromagnetic and magnetic airborne survey, and the analysis of Landsat data. ECU also drilled five holes in three zones for 2,388 feet. Best results were returned by hole 96-5 which intersected a 189 foot-long mineralized interval of 0.03 oz/t gold equivalent (Au+Ag), which included a section grading 0.058 oz/t gold equivalent over a length of 82 feet.
In mid 2004, Globex optioned the property to Platte River Mines who undertook a program of surface and underground sampling followed in late 2004 by diamond drilling. This drilling while intersecting the gold localizing structure, failed to expand the resource.
The Bell Mountain property is owned by Globex Nevada, Inc. which a 100% subsidiary of Globex Mining Enterprises Inc. located in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec. Laurion has an option to acquire 100% of the Bell Mountain Property from Globex.
