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Bonterra Resources
Inc. (TSX-V:
BTR)
BonTerra Resources Inc. is a
Canadian-based exploration company with an advanced stage development
project listed on the TSX Venture
Exchange (ticker symbol BTR). The Company has come to our attention due,
in part, to the exceptional opportunity afforded shareholders as Seabridge Gold has agreed to take a potential equity position through a
$5,000,000 debenture in BonTerra
and sell BonTerra its Red Mountain gold claims near Stewart BC Canada.
The deal positions BonTerra with immediate gold resources of 650,000
ounces at Red Mountain. BonTerra has also negotiated an increase in its
ownership of their Willoughby project located adjacent to Red Mountain
from 51% to 100%.
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Figure 1.
Red Mountain/Willoughby Claim Group of the new BonTerra.
With the acquisition of
Red Mountain BTR.V now controls the whole
area. BTR.V has also acquired new claims shown in
blue. [Click
to see detailed PDF map] |
After closing on the two LOIs BonTerra will control 100% ownership of both the Willoughby claim
group and Red Mountain claim group whose gold systems are connected and ripe for resource expansion. BonTerra will also be
capitalized to advance the Red Mountain/Willoughby Claim Group towards a
3,000,000+oz gold resource target.
The Red Mountain claim group places
BonTerra in an enviable position with a high-grade deposit
(> 0.25 opt), 400,000 in measured and indicated categories plus an
additional 248,000 ounces in the inferred. It is important to note the
Red Mountain deposit was previously owned by a number of majors
including Royal Oak which had the resource up to 2,000,000
ounces gold at one point (pre NI43-101) and a Seabridge engineering
report makes note of there being inferred, indicated, and reserves of
1,400,000oz gold and 3,000,000+oz of silver. A 2003 SRK engineering study (link
to study summary) estimates an 8 year operation with life-of-mine cash
operating costs of US$213 per ounce.
The SRK engineering study placed a nominal
cap ex of ~CDN$62M to take a full underground mine & mill into
production there as it sits now. It seem obvious to Mining MarketWatch
that BonTerra will be taking the Red Mountain/Willoughby claim group to
a state of heightened attraction that should richly reward shareholders.
We asked Mitch Adam, BonTerra's President and CEO, what plans BonTerra
had going forward and he offered the following synopsis: "Bonterra
will have control of the whole area, 650,000 oz proven at Red Mountain, plus
the Willoughby claims with the results there -- We are going to
immediately drill both areas. The Seabridge report recommends infill
drilling in some of the zones and further expansion of the zones for
further potential. We think BonTerra can take this 650,000 oz to about 3,000,000 oz proven."
The price tag for BonTerra to acquire the
Red Mountain gold claims plus schedule of assets from Seabridge is CDN$12,000,000:
$50,000 already given, $6.950M cash plus BTR.V issuing a $5,000,000 convertible debenture.
It is important to note that Seabridge Gold Inc. (TSX: SEA)(AMEX: SA) is
a high growth gold major whose taking an
equity position in BTR.V is an obvious vote of confidence in Bonterra's
management, technical leadership, and the belief that BTR.V can take
the resource substantially higher.
Mining MarketWatch talked with BonTerra's
geologist, Dr. Gerald Carlson, P.Eng., on July 2, 2009 to get his
insight on the two properties and to
comment on the recently announced exploration/drilling program for
Willoughby. He explained the geology of the Red Mountain and Willoughby
properties is very similar; the mineralization appears to be related to
gold slide intrusive rocks which are the same age and carry the similar
types of minerals and alteration. Mineralization has been described in
earlier reports as porphyry style gold mineralization, the same as the
nearby Sulphurets-Mitchell camp to the north of Red Mountain, and these
deposits can be fairly sizeable. Dr. Carlson emphasized the high grades
found on both properties (see review of each property below) and said "the
fact that both Willoughby and Red Mountain have particularly high grades
associated with them is really important here, if you can start
increasing the size with those kind of grades then obviously
economically it becomes more and more attractive." Dr.
Carlson's insight into exploration developments and recently announced
plans for Willoughby may be seen in the "Willoughby Gold Project"
section further below."
The following is a synopsis of salient details
on each property that Mining MarketWatch has compiled in formulating its opinion:
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Red
Mountain Gold Project -
Stewart BC, Canada
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Figure 2. Red
Mountain
click to enlarge PDF

Figure 3.
Location Map |
Highlights:
•-650,000
ounce high-grade deposit (> 0.25 opt), 400,000 in measured and indicated
categories plus an additional 248,000 ounces in the inferred resource
category;
•-Approximately US $40 million spent by
previous owners;
•-Large complement of mining equipment
included in sale;
•-SRK engineering
study estimates 8 year operation with life-of-mine cash operating
costs of US$213 per ounce.
Summary:
Red Mountain is a structurally-controlled,
advanced stage gold deposit located 18 kilometers east of Stewart,
British Columbia. The deposit was originally drilled by Bond Gold in the
late 1980s, and was subsequently explored by Lac Minerals and Royal Oak
Mines. To date, approximately US$40 million has been spent by previous
owners at Red Mountain. Diamond drilling on the property has totaled
134,800 metres in 466 holes. In addition, 2,000 metres of underground
workings have been excavated, including a 1,000-metre production-sized
decline. Significant metallurgical testing has also been performed on
the deposit with results indicating that recoveries of 87-90% can be
achieved through conventional milling activities.
Numerous resource estimates have been reported by previous owners of Red
Mountain. In May 2001, WRM completed a comprehensive review and
validation of the project’s geological and environmental data. This
review included re-logging all drill core and the construction of a new
kriged resource block model for the Marc, AV and JW zones. Prior to
Closing, Seabridge commissioned D.L. Craig, Professional Geologist, to
perform an independent technical review of the new resource model for
the Marc, AV and JW zones, and in the process, satisfied the
requirements under National Instrument 43-101 for mineral resource
public disclosure. In late 2004 Seabridge commissioned SRK Consulting
(Canada) Inc. ("SRK Consulting") to address the 132 and 141 zones, which
are in close proximity to the Marc, AV and JW zones. In January 2005,
SRK Consulting completed their assessment and prepared a technical
report on these zones. The new model for Red Mountain, including the
Marc, AV, JW, 132 and 141 zones, estimates measured resources of 1.26
million tonnes grading 8.01 grams of gold per tonne (324,000 ounces)
plus an indicated resource of 0.34 million tonnes grading 7.04 grams of
gold per tonne (76,000 ounces) for a total measured and indicated gold
resource of 400,000 ounces. In the inferred category, the project
contains an additional 2.08 million tonnes grading 3.71 grams of gold
per tonne (248,000 ounces).
In January 2003 Seabridge engaged Steffen Robertson and Kirsten (Canada)
Inc. ("SRK") to complete an engineering and preliminary economic study
of the project. The objectives of the study were to build on previous
project work to identify the best project development approach, and to
assess the current economics of the project. The study was completed in
August 2003 at a cost of approximately $100,000.
Red Mountain: BONTERRA ACQUISITION AGREEMENT
As per
June 25, 2009 news
release (via 90 day Letter of Intent), BonTerra entered into
an agreement with Seabridge Gold Inc. ("Seabridge") to acquire a
100% interest in the Red Mountain project. At closing, BonTerra Resources Inc. will provide
$6,950,000 cash to Seabridge plus issue a $5,000,000 convertible debenture (the
Convertible Debenture shall have a term of three years and pay interest
in cash semi-annually at an annual rate of 3% (i.e interest payments
every six months of CDN$75,000). At any time during the three year term,
at its sole option, Seabridge may elect to convert any portion of or all
of the Convertible Debenture into common shares at a price equal to the
share price of BTR's public offering used to raise the CDN$6,950,000
cash portion of the Purchase Price) in exchange for a 100% interest in
the Red Mountain project which includes: (i) mineral claims; (ii) all
project data including an extensive, high-quality data base and drill
core repository; (iii) a schedule of assets including office/warehouse
buildings and a large complement of mining equipment at the Red Mountain
site; (iv) mineral exploration permits and (v) a related agreement to
reimburse Seabridge (or reimburse) a $1 million cash reclamation deposit
lodged with the B.C. Ministry of Energy.
Red Mountain: ENGINEERING STUDIES
In January 2003
Seabridge engaged SRK Consulting ("SRK") to complete an engineering and
preliminary economic study of the project. The report, entitled "Red
Mountain Project Engineering Study" (the "SRK Report"), was prepared by
or under the supervision of Ken Reipas, P.Eng., an employee of SRK and
an independent Qualified Person under NI 43-101. The objectives of the
study were to build on previous project work to identify the best
project development approach, and to assess the current economics of the
project. The following material summarizes information from the SRK
Report.
SRK reviewed previous studies and
evaluated the development alternatives relating to various aspects of
the project. The best development alternatives are:
• Road access to the site. A road was
designed by North American Metals Corp. in 2001 to access the project
site.
• A seasonal operation from May to October
was selected in favor of year-round operations on the basis of safety
and reliability.
• An on-site mill using a grinding and
cyanidation leaching (CIP) circuit was selected. The alternative of
using flotation to produce a sulphide concentrate for offshore marketing
was discarded on the basis of poor economics caused by lower overall
gold recovery and smelting costs.
• A conventional type of mill was selected
instead of a portable type due to the tonnage required (1000tpd) and the
very fine grind needed.
• The full use of backfill was selected to
optimize the mining recovery of the resources. Minimizing backfill was
considered to reduce costs, but the possible savings are not enough to
justify the lower mining recovery that results.
Based on an initial review of the project
economics, SRK utilized a cutoff grade of 6g/t Au (based on a gold price
of US$375/oz) to delineate contiguous zones of mineralization to assess
various mining and processing scenarios as part of the Engineering
study.
SRK decided to include inferred resources
in the study because of their high degree of confidence that additional
drilling will upgrade this material to the indicated category. The
measured resource above the 6 g/t Au cut off grade is 866,000 tonnes
grading 9.39 grams of gold per tonne. The indicated resource above the
6g/t cut off grade is 193,000 tonnes grading 8.43 grams of gold per
tonne. In the inferred category, gold resources above the 6g/t Au cut
off grade is 157,600 tonnes at a grade of 8.62 grams of gold per tonne.
Tonnes available for extraction shown in the following table were
estimated by a resource conversion process that applied dilution and
mining recoveries to the individual deposits comprising the resources
above the 6.0g/t cutoff grade. The parameters were based on preliminary
mining designs for different areas of the deposit that included both
longhole, and cut-and-fill mining methods.
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Resources Used in SRK Study - All Categories of
Resources (000´s)
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|
Tonnes |
Au
g/t |
Ag
g/t |
|
Mineral Resources (All Categories > 0 g/t Au) |
1,941.2 |
7.74 |
26.2 |
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Mineral Resources (All Categories > 6 g/t Au) |
1,216.6 |
9.14 |
28.7 |
|
Mining Recovery |
89% |
|
|
|
Recovered Tonnes |
1,081.2 |
9.13 |
28.9 |
|
Dilution Percent |
14% |
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|
|
Dilution Tonnes |
180.7 |
0.55 |
n/a |
|
Tonnes |
1,261.9 |
7.90 |
24.7 |
|
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Red Mountain: RESOURCES
Numerous resource estimates have been
reported by previous owners of Red Mountain. In May 2001, Wheaton Reiver
Minerals Ltd. completed a comprehensive review and validation of the
project's geological and environmental data. This review included
re-logging all drill core and the construction of a new kriged resource
block model. Prior to Closing, Seabridge commissioned D.L. Craig,
Professional Geologist, to perform an independent technical review of
the new resource model, concentrating on the Marc, AV and JW zones and
in the process, satisfied the requirements under National Instrument
43-101 for mineral resource public disclosure.
For the Marc, AV and JW zones, measured
and indicated resources at a cut-off grade of 1.0 gram per tonne are
estimated to be 1,594,000 tonnes grading 7.80 grams per tonne gold
(400,000 ounces of gold) and 29.27 grams per tonne silver (1.5 million
ounces of silver). An additional 346,000 tonnes grading 7.45 grams per
tonne gold (83,000 ounces of gold) and 12.36 grams per tonne silver
(138,000 ounces of silver) are classified as inferred. The mineral
resource estimate for Red Mountain in the Craig Report incorporates data
from 206 drill holes that were relogged in 2000 by North American Metals
Corp.
In late 2004, Seabridge commissioned SRK
Consulting (SRK) to address the 132 and 141 zones, which are in close
proximity to the Marc, AV and JW zones. In January 2005, SRK completed
their assessment and prepared a technical report on these zones. In
their report, SRK estimates an inferred mineral resource for these zones
of 1.73 million tonnes at a grade of 2.97 grams of gold per tonne
(165,000 ounces) at a cut-off grade of 1.0 gram of gold per tonne. Data
used by SRK in estimating the Mineral Resources for Zones 132 and 141
include a sub-set of seventy-eight boreholes totalling 28,711 meters.
Thirty-four of these holes have intersected gold mineralization in Zones
132 and 141. The remaining forty-four holes are peripheral to the Zones
and were used to assist the interpretation of geological data.
In both the Craig Report and the SRK
Resource Report, Gemcom software was used to create geological and
mineralization outlines in plan and section for a 3D block model. Gold
and silver grades were interpolated using ordinary kriging with
anisotropic search ellipses designed to fit the geology.
Surface diamond drilling programs were
carried out by Falcon Drilling Ltd. of Prince George, B.C., from 1989 to
1991, by J.T. Thomas Diamond Drilling Ltd. of Smithers, B.C., from 1992
to 1994 and by Britton Brothers Diamond Drilling Ltd. of Smithers, B.C.,
in 1996. Underground drilling programs in 1993 and 1994 were carried out
by J.T. Thomas Diamond Drilling Ltd. of Smithers, B.C. The spacing and
quality of drill hole data is reasonable for establishing the degree of
confidence necessary for estimating and classifying a mineral resource
according to NI 43-101.
Standard procedures for sample collection
and preparation were applied to all drill core collected on the property
since 1989. The Craig Report and the SRK Resource Report each state that
the author has no reason to doubt that the sample collection by previous
operators of the Red Mountain project was done in anything other than a
professional and workmanlike manner. As such, it is believed that the
sample quality is good and that they are representative of the
mineralization. The authors are also of the opinions that appropriate QA/QC
procedures were followed by previous operators of the Red Mountain
project, and that as a result of these procedures, there is no reason to
doubt the reliability of the assay results.
Red Mountain: EXPLORATION & POTENTIAL
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Figure 5.
Red Mountain Zones |
The Red Mountain project has been the
target of many geophysical, geochemical, mapping and drill programs over
the past 12 years. These programs were executed under considerable
pressure and time constraints and a complete compilation of exploration
data has not been performed to date. The resource data compiled by North
American Metals Corp. in 2000-2001 provided the first comprehensive
diagnosis of the Marc, AV and JW zones. Compiling this information in a
uniform database in conjunction with the proximal exploration data may
prove beneficial in providing vectors for further exploration.
Other mineralized zones on the property that were discovered by Bond
and/or Lac have not been seriously evaluated for potential. In the SRK
Resource Report, SRK Consulting concludes that there is excellent
potential to further expand the gold resource at Red Mountain with
additional exploration drilling.
History
Prospecting and small-scale mining took place near Red Mountain, in the
Bitter Creek Valley, as early as 1900 and persisted intermittently
through the first half of the 20th century. At this time much of Red
Mountain was covered with snow or glacial ice. Since that time the
glaciers have retreated significantly, exposing large portions of the
summit and surrounding bedrock.
Porphyry molybdenum and copper occurrences in the immediate Red Mountain
area were explored in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1965, molybdenum and
native gold occurrences were discovered at McAdam Point, on the south
side of Red Mountain. Additional small molybdenum showings were
subsequently located and explored in the central cirque of Red Mountain.
Significant gold values (up to 37 g/t) were obtained in 1973 from Lost
Mountain, a nunatuk immediately south of Red Mountain. Gold exploration
at Red Mountain then ceased as it was generally regarded as a setting
favorable for porphyry style molybdenum mineralization.
Evaluation of the Red Mountain area for gold potential recommenced in
1987. The Wotan claims were staked in 1988 by local prospectors and
optioned to Bond Gold in 1989. In that year, gold mineralization that
was the surface expression of the Marc zone was discovered and a drill
program was initiated.
From 1989 to 1991 Bond carried out exploration programs including 17,638
metres of diamond drilling, surface mapping and sampling and airborne EM
and magnetic surveys.
Lac Minerals acquired Bond in early 1991. Surface drilling on the Marc,
AV, JW, AV Tails and 141 zones continued in 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994,
totalling 48,000 metres. Underground exploration of the Marc zone,
including a total of 38,600 metres of diamond drilling, was conducted in
1993 and 1994 via the use of a 1,000-metre production-sized decline. By
1994, Lac believed they had identified a large enough resource to carry
out a feasibility analysis. A draft feasibility study was carried out in
1994 and intensive environmental baseline data collection and assessment
was undertaken in the latter half of 1993 and through 1994.
In September 1994, Barrick acquired Lac and the Red Mountain project
assets were transferred to Barrick. Barrick sold the project to Royal
Oak in August 1995. Royal Oak extended the underground workings,
undertook a drill program seeking extensions to the known deposits, and
worked on plans for the development of the project. In 1996, lacking
funds for exploration, Royal Oak virtually ceased all activity at Red
Mountain. By early 1999 Royal Oak was in serious financial difficulty
and an Interim Receiver was appointed to dispose of Royal Oak's assets,
including Red Mountain.
North American Metals Corp.’s ("NAMC") purchase of the Red Mountain
project was completed on 10 February 2000. During 2000, NAMC completed a
comprehensive review of the Red Mountain geological and environmental
data. NAMC also carried out geological work including the re-logging of
a substantial quantity of drill core in order to produce an improved
resource estimation model. Additional metallurgical testing investigated
the possibility of producing a saleable gold-bearing pyrite concentrate.
An access road route was designed from the end of the existing road to
the site. NAMC also met with local and provincial officials to discuss
the project, its history and some possible new development scenarios.
During 2001 new management at Wheaton River Minerals elected to dispose
of certain assets, including Red Mountain. Effective December 31, 2001,
Seabridge agreed to acquire the Red Mountain project.
In total, 466 surface and underground diamond drill holes totalling
134,807.24 metres have tested a variety of targets on the Red Mountain
property. Four hundred and six holes, totalling 105,129.20 metres, were
drilled by Bond and Lac between 1989 and 1994. The remaining 60 holes,
totalling 29,678.04 metres, were drilled by Royal Oak in 1996. No
drilling was carried out by NAMC. The majority of drilling has tested
the Marc, AV, JW and AV-JW Tails mineralized zones. A total of 368 drill
holes from the Bond and Lac programs, including 207 surface drill holes
and 161 underground drill holes, have tested this area.
Metallurgical testing has been performed by Lakefield Research (1991),
Brenda Process Research (1994) and International Metallurgical and
Environmental (1997), a derivative of Brenda Process Research. In the
spring of 2000, Dr. Morris Beattie, P.Eng. was asked to review the
historical work and conduct flotation testwork on Red Mountain samples
prepared by NAMC staff. The metallurgical test results indicate that
recoveries of 87-90% can be achieved through conventional milling
activities.
Regional Geology
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Figure 6.
Geology Map
click to enlarge |
Red Mountain is located near the western
margin of the Stikine terrain in the Intermontane Belt. There are three
primary stratigraphic elements in Stikinia and all are present in the
Stewart area: Middle and Upper Triassic clastic rocks of the Stuhini
Group, Lower and Middle Jurassic volcanic and clastic rocks of the
Hazelton Group, and Upper Jurassic sedimentary rocks of the Bowser Lake
Group. Many primary textures are preserved in rocks from all of these
groups, and mineralogy suggests that that the regional metamorphic grade
is probably lower greenschist facies.
Intrusive rocks in the Red Mountain region range in age form Late
Triassic to Eocene and form several suites. The Stikine plutonic suite
is comprised of Late Triassic calc-alkaline intrusions that are coeval
with the Stuhini Group rocks. Early to Middle Jurassic plutons are
roughly coeval with the Hazelton Group rocks and have important economic
implications for gold mineralization in the Stewart area, including the
Red Mountain gold deposits. Intrusive rocks of this age are of variable
composition. Eocene intrusions of the Coast Plutonic Complex occur to
the west and south of Red Mountain and are associated with high-grade
silver-lead-zinc occurrences.
Structurally, Red Mountain lies along the western edge of a complex,
northwest-southeast trending, doubly-plunging structural culmination,
which was formed during the Cretaceous. At this time rocks of the
Stuhini, Hazelton and Bowser Lake groups were folded and/or faulted,
with up to 40% shortening in a northeast-southwest direction. The Red
Mountain deposits lie at the core of the Bitter Creek antiform, a
northwest-southeast trending structure created during this deformation
event.
Property Geology
The oldest rocks, Middle to Upper Triassic mudstone, siltstone and chert
of the Stuhini Group outcrops over about two-thirds of the project’s
mapped area. The Triassic rocks grade upward into Lower Jurassic
Hazelton Group clastic and volcaniclastic rocks, which outcrop in the
northeastern portion of the map area. Rocks of both groups are folded
about axes that plunge towards 345° and dip steeply to the southwest. An
approximate contact between rocks of the two groups also follows this
trend and occurs along the projected trace of the Bitter Creek antiform,
a structure that has been mapped. Hazelton Group volcaniclastic rocks on
the southwest limb of this structure have been eroded away.
Three phases of the Early Jurassic Goldslide intrusions are exposed in
the map area. The Hillside porphyry, a fine- to medium-grained
hornblende and plagioclase porphyry, occurs near the summit of Red
Mountain and along the ridge to the southeast of the summit. The medium-
to coarse-grained hornblende, biotite ± quartz Goldslide porphyry, is
distinguishable from the Hillside porphyry by mineralogy and phenocryst
size. It is exposed along the Goldslide Creek valley, extending from the
surface expression of the Marc Zone to the southwest for two kilometres.
Finally, sills of the Biotite porphyry intrude Upper Triassic sediments
on the west side of Red Mountain. It is distinguished from the Hillside
porphyry by the presence of biotite phenocrysts and from the Goldslide
porphyry by the small size of hornblende and plagioglase phenocrysts.
Contact breccias and strongly disrupted bedding are common along the
contacts of these intrusions, particularly in association with the
Hillside porphyry. In addition, the Hillside porphyry contains rafts of
the sedimentary rocks ranging in size from one or two metres to several
tens of metres.
A Tertiary intrusion, the McAdam Point Stock, is exposed in the southern
portion of the map area adjacent to the Bromley Glacier. It is a medium-
to coarse-grained biotite quartz monzonite dated to 45 Ma.
Structural deformation at the property scale is consistent with the
observations at the regional and tectonic scales. Folds have been mapped
in the entire Triassic-Jurassic succession with north to northwest
plunging axes and generally steeply dipping limbs. Fold traces can be
complicated and difficult to trace, particularly near intrusive
contacts. The timing suggests that the folds are a manifestation of the
Cretaceous Skeena fold belt deformation. There is no evidence to suggest
that the intrusive units were affected by this folding event.
Brittle faulting has affected all rock units at Red Mountain. Two phases
of faulting have been recognized: northeast striking, steeply
northwesterly dipping faults; and north to northwest trending faults.
Faults of the former group are those that offset the mineralized zones,
such as the Rick Fault. The latter group is noted to contain more gouge
and have broader alteration envelopes than the former. Both of these
sets of faults are believed to be the result of a Miocene extensional
event.
Red Mountain: LOCATION & CLIMATE
The Red Mountain project is situated in northwestern British Columbia
near the town of Stewart, 880 km northwest of Vancouver and 180 km north
of Prince Rupert. The property lies in the Skeena Mining Division,
approximately 18 km east-northeast of the town of Stewart, at 55° 57’ N
latitude and 129° 42’ W longitude, between the Cambria Ice Field and the
Bromley Glacier at elevations ranging between 1,500 m and 2000 m.
Access to the property is currently by helicopter from Stewart with a
flight time of 10 to 15 minutes. Road access along the Bitter Creek
valley from Highway 37A was partially developed for 13 km by Lac
Minerals in 1994 to the Hartley Gulch-Otter Creek area. Currently this
road is passable for only a few kilometres from the highway. The
remainder is not passable, as sections have been subjected to washout or
landslide activity.
Climatic conditions at Red Mountain are dictated primarily by its
altitude and proximity to the Pacific Ocean.
Precipitation measurements taken at the Stewart Airport are considered
to be representative of precipitation at the Red Mountain site. The data
collected between 1974 and 1992 indicate yearly precipitation averages
188 centimetres with the bulk of this amount falling during the autumn
and winter months. At the Stewart Airport approximately 35% of this
total falls as snow. The proportion is even greater at higher
elevations, where snow may fall at almost any time of year.
Temperatures at Red Mountain are moderated year-round by the coastal
influence. Data were collected on site from June 1993 until June 1994.
The data collected indicated a mean average temperature of 0.1°C, with
temperatures dropping to –25°C in winter and reaching 20°C in summer.
Windy conditions, as discussed below, add a significant wind chill
factor at most times of year.
The relative humidity is generally high year-round due to the proximity
of the Pacific Coast. The relative humidity through 1993 and 1994 ranged
from 67.5% to 89.4% with an average of 78.4% based upon the one-hour
average relative humidity values.
Windy conditions are frequent at Red Mountain where hourly average wind
speeds regularly exceed 10 m/s and instantaneous wind speeds in excess
of 30 m/s have been observed. Measurements taken to date are from more
sheltered locations than the top of the ridge where much of the surface
activity takes place and significantly higher wind speeds are expected.
The topography in the Red Mountain area is extremely steep and rugged,
with elevations ranging from 500 m to over 2,100 m ASL. The gold deposit
lies under the summit of Red Mountain at elevations of between 1,600 and
2,000 m. Alpine glaciers are abundant and surround the property on three
sides. Lower elevations are forested, with the tree line occurring at
approximately 1,300 m. All current on-site infrastructure lies above the
tree line in alpine terrain.
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Willoughby
Gold Project - Stewart BC, Canada
Target: High
grade lode gold-silver deposit
The Willoughby project is the original
listing asset for BonTerra. BonTerra owns 51% of this asset from Copper
Ridge and has an agreement to acquire 100% of the property. BonTerra has
had some excellent intersections on Willoughby (see below) and the
geologists believe the gold system is connected to the Red Mountain
Deposit (now the subject of the aforementioned letter of intent from
BonTerra to acquire from Seabridge).
Project Description: The Willoughby property is located within a
well mineralized trend of the Hazelton Group volcanic rocks in the
Stewart-Iskut-Eskay Creek gold district. Highlights of historical
drilling on the property include:
-
11.7 m grading 39.8 gpt gold in hole
94-15
-
12.2 m grading 10.8 gpt gold,
including 3.0 m grading 32.9 gpt gold in hole 94-27
-
2.9 m grading 398 gpt gold in hole
95-36
-
5.9 m grading 16.2 gpt gold in hole
95-51
-
13.0 m grading 13.3 gpt gold,
including 3.0 m grading 31.1 gpt gold in hole 95-53
Other deposits of note within this trend
include Red Mountain, 7 kilometres to the west of Willoughby, which has
an inferred geologic resource of 1.9 million tonnes of 9.8 g/t gold and
38.1 g/t silver (BC Minfile 103P 086, 1991) and Silbak Premier, 28
kilometres to the northwest of Willoughby, which produced 62.2 million
grams (1.99 million ounces) of gold and 1,333 million grams (42.86
million ounces) of silver from 6.6 million tonnes of ore (BC Minfile
104B 054, 1997).
Gold and silver mineralization at Willoughby occurs within andesite
volcanics and hornblende feldspar porphyry intrusive rocks. Where
mineralized, the rocks have been subject to sericite-carbonate-chlorite-pyrite
alteration. To date, eight zones of gold and silver mineralization have
been located within a 500 by 1500 m area. Mineralization, consisting of
pyrite and pyrrhotite along with minor sphalerite, galena and rare
visible gold occurs in veins, stockwork and as fracture fillings. In
addition, pyrite and pyrrhotite occur as semi-massive to massive lenses
and pods.
Exploration History: Mineralization was first discovered on the
Willoughby property in 1941, but the majority of the exploration work on
the property was conducted during the period 1994 to 1997, including 90
m of exploration drifting, 2438 m of underground drilling and 6597 m of
surface diamond drilling. Much of this work was focused on the North
Zone and the Wilby Zone, where several high grade gold and silver
intersections were encountered. The structural complexity of the zones
made the interpolation and interpretation of the high grade zones
difficult. No resource has yet been calculated for the Willoughby
Property.
Recent Exploration: Bonterra completed a property examination at
Willoughby in August, 2007 and completed a compilation of historical in
December, 2007. Late in the 2007 field season, an airborne magnetic and
electromagnetic geophysical survey was completed over the property. Some
of the conductors detected by this survey correlated with a number of
the known mineralized zones. In addition, the survey identified a number
of other potentially mineralized conductive trends. A NI 43-101 report
has also been completed.
Future Plans:
June 30, 2009 NEWS: News
BonTerra Announces Willoughby Drill Program [Link
to News]
The contemplated work program will consist of geological mapping,
prospecting, and approximately 1500 metres of diamond drilling on
BonTerra's Willoughby property.
On July 2, 2009 Mining MarketWatch asked
BonTerra's geologist, Dr. Gerald Carlson, P.Eng., for some insight into
what went into selecting targets for the upcoming drill program. Dr.
Carlson pointed out that one of the first pieces of work BonTerra
performed on the property was to fly an airborne survey. The airborne
survey has shown anomalies in the airborne electromagnetics that appear
to be related to the known mineralization and there are unexplained
conductors a little bit to the SE of the zone and they appear to be on
trend, Dr. Carlson said "this suggests that the same style of
mineralization that we’ve seen in the existing drilling may extend to
the SE."
Another thing that BonTerra did last year
was have a geologist that is vey familiar with the geology of the area
and particularly Red Mountain do some mapping on Willoughby, the
geologist has worked on Red Mountain and noticed similarities on the two
properties that will provide valuable guidance. Dr. Carlson offered the
following synopsis "we have this gold slide intrusion
which is just at the edge of the known mineralization at Willoughby, so
given the fact that most of the mineralization at Red Mountain is
actually within the gold slide intrusions it opens up a whole new area
at Willoughby that needs to be explored. So our plan is to go in and do
the geological mapping and do some ground truthing on the geophysical
targets that we picked up on the airborne survey and also do some
detailed mapping and sampling on the gold slide intrusion that’s exposed
along strike to the NW and when the drill comes onto the property
we’ll do a combination of things -- one of the things we’ll do will be to
twin a couple of the old holes that we need to confirm the historical
results, we’ll look at geophysical targets to the SE and I hope we will
get a chance to drill some holes into the gold slide intrusion to the
NW."
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Zacatecas
North Gold-Silver Property - Huston BC, Canada
Strong potential for high
sulphidation epithermal silver-gold deposit
17 mineral claims covering an area of
approximately 7,724 hectares, lying within the Omineca mining district
of British Columbia. The properties are located adjacent to the old
silver Queen mine property in central BC, ~30 km south from Huston on
the Morice river-Owen Lake Forestry road, a good all-weather road which
branches south from Highway 16 three km west of Huston. the property is
situated north and east of Owen Lake. [May
2009 Technical Report on subject property 6.3MB PDF]
Based on the results of previous
geochemical and geophysical surveys performed by ASARCO, Place
Development and other companies, the Zacatecas North group of claims
appears to have strong potential for a high sulphidation epithermal
silver-gold deposit within the claim boundaries.
BonTerra Resources'
Management & Technical
Leadership:
Skip to top
Dr. Gerald Carlson, P.Eng., Director
Dr. Carlson has been involved for over 35 years in
managing mineral exploration and mining development
companies. His experience has focused on precious and
base metal deposits around the Pacific Rim, including
western North America, Mexico, Central America, South
America, Australia and Asia. This experience has
included independent consulting assignments, management
or major company exploration programs, junior mining
companies and university level teaching. He is currently
President of Copper Ridge Explorations Inc. and a
Director of several other junior mineral exploration
companies. He has taken an active role in professional
geosciences associations on both local and national
levels and is a past President of the British Columbia
and Yukon Chamber of Mines. Dr. Carlson's international
reputation and extensive experience in managing mineral
exploration and mining development companies throughout
the world lends BonTerra a high profile in mining and
investment communities.
Mitchell Adam, President & Chief
Executive Officer
Mr. Adam, is the president of MGA Capital Corp. which
provides management consulting services to public and
private companies and various other consulting services
including corporate finance and investor relations. Mr.
Adam attended undergraduate studies at Simon Fraser
University and in 1989 completed the Canadian Securities
Course and RR exam. Mr. Adam spent four years working in
the brokerage industry at Odlum Brown Ltd. and Nesbitt
Thompson Inc. and has been for working with various
public companies since 1993, holding the positions of
officer and director of several public companies.
Robert Coltura, Director
Mr. Coltura is a businessman with significant
entrepreneurial experience with over 20 years of
experience in a diverse range of industries. He is
President of Matalia Investments Ltd. Mr. Coltura
provides BonTerra with a broad range of marketing,
corporate strategy and negotiation skills. Mr. Coltura
is a director of Amera Resources, a Grosso Group
company.
Jerry Minni, C.G.A., Director
Mr. Minni has accomplished record in business
investments and corporate reorganizations. He was one of
the founding partners of Minni, Bella & Co, Certified
General Accountants in Vancouver, BC. Over the past 22
years, Mr. Minni has been active in the venture capital
markets and has held various positions as officer and
director of various reporting companies such as Amera,
IMA, Raytec and Weststar Resources.
Note: This list is not intended to be a complete overview of
BonTerra Resources Inc. or a complete listing of BTR.V's projects, Mining
MarketWatch urges the reader to contact the subject company and has
identified the following sources for information on Journey Resources
Inc.:
For more information
contact BonTerra's head office:
Ph (604).290.6152
E-mail:
info@bonterraresources.com Company's web site:
www.bonterraresources.com
SEDAR Filings:
URL
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