Categories: Base Metals / Precious Metals
Topics: General Base Metals / General Precious Metals

Millrock Resources (TSX-V: MRO) CEO Greg Beischer on Drill Results from La Navidad in Mexico & Plans for Summer Drill Programs in Mexico, Canada and Alaska

Gerardo Del Real: This is Gerardo Del Real with Resource Stock Digest. Joining me today is President and CEO of Millrock Resources (TSX-V: MRO)(OTC: MLRKF), Mr. Greg Beischer. Greg, how are you today?

Greg Beischer: Doing great, Gerardo. Good to talk to you again.

Gerardo Del Real: Well, listen. I know we're coming right off of PDAC. I want to talk about the environment and get some feedback from you because I know that we finally got some great exploration going on this year. Then I'd love to segue into the latest results from your La Navidad Gold Project in Sonora State, Mexico. How was PDAC for you?

Greg Beischer: Sure. It was the most upbeat and optimistic conference that I've been in in a long time, in quite a few years, Gerardo. I've seen it building over the last two years, but it really does look like a new bull market is underway. My yardstick for that is the interest that Millrock gets in its projects from future joint venture partners.

We just had a great series of meetings where we illustrated the potential on a number of our projects to some of the bigger mining companies in the world. They were favorably received. I anticipate that we're going to have several new funding partners for projects that Millrock's developed over the last couple of years in a short period of time. The whole sector just seems to be ramping up, and Millrock and its shareholders will be beneficiaries of that activity.

Gerardo Del Real: Well, a prime example of the project generator model, and you executing that model well, is your joint venture on the La Navidad Gold Project with Centerra. You have partner-funded drilling. I believe you just completed 2,130 meters, if I'm not mistaken, in 12 drill holes. The market didn't receive the news with a lot of enthusiasm, to be perfectly frank. This is the case for many junior exploration companies right now, but I thought that it was important to talk how the results were actually in line with what the model is, which is the San Francisco mine, which has an average grade of about 0.54 grams per tonne gold. Can we talk about the initial results from La Navidad and what's next there?

Greg Beischer: Sure thing. First, we had anticipated receiving these results at Christmas, or just after Christmas, and announcing them then. There was a possible issue with the assay lab. As you know, Millrock's very careful in this regard, and it took a little while to work through that, but we have very reliable results before we publish them and that was the delay.

One of the better intersections here is 20 meters of 0.75 grams per tonne. That's a fine grade for the type of deposit that we're looking for. You know, you understand that these orogenic gold deposits rely on economy of scale. They have to be quite large volumes of rock mineralized with just a little bit of gold, but they work. We were encouraged that we got mineralized rock with adequate grade. We were a little disappointed, frankly, that the mineralization did not extend and continue just as strongly over further to the west. We extended it 200 meters west, but then another 200 meters and it was starting to tail off. That was a bit of a disappointment because, if it had continued, it would have provided the sort of volume we were looking for.

But, by no means is this project over. We've had very good surface results indicating to the north and northwest continuations of the mineralization. Right now, we're doing the surface surveys to really delineate the drill targets there, and going on the assumption that we confirm the initial results that we've had last fall. Well now it's another drilling program in April, another couple of thousand meters at least to test those targets. We're still very, very encouraged about the project, as is Centerra Gold, the funding partner. We've just concluded a meeting with them in Toronto as well, and all is good. It's full steam ahead.

Gerardo Del Real: So assuming, Greg, that drilling moves forward in April, is the drilling going to target those gold soil anomalies over at the Crossover and the Cobre prospect? Is that where you're anticipating drilling?

Greg Beischer: Yep, exactly right. You've been looking at the maps I can see, Gerardo. Those really are quite encouraging soil anomalies. We've done induced polarization geophysical surveys to confirm and image the geology beneath the surface there. Now we are doing trenching and sampling the surface outcroppings where we can. Assuming that we get some good results from that, then we'll undercut those trenches with drill holes. We started at the most obvious spot, where we knew from prior work that drilling had been successful in the Anchor prospect, but now it's time to move on to the Cobre and the Crossover areas and, hopefully, connect them all together.

Gerardo Del Real: Excellent. Obviously you have multiple projects in the portfolio that are going to see significant drilling this year. Can we touch on those a bit, Greg?

Greg Beischer: Sure. Plans are rapidly falling into place for the Alaska Range copper-gold project joint venture with PolarX. A very aggressive drilling program falling into place there, roughly 10,000 meters. That'll run all summer long. You can look forward to results too, Gerardo, from the new resource calculation that PolarX is making regarding the Zackly high-grade copper-gold skarn. That's the one we drilled last year on their behalf. They've crunched all the numbers. You can look for that news next week. Also, Kinross funding our Liberty Bell gold project, those plans are coming together as well for a drilling program late in the summer. So Alaska's hopping. I think you can also look forward to a new partnership in Alaska on one of our gold projects there.

Similarly, in Mexico, in Sonora, we had strong interest last week on two different projects. Again, the money's starting to flow more readily. I anticipate we'll be busy working away with partner funding on at least two additional projects in Mexico. Things are moving forward quickly on all fronts.

Only other thing I'd like to mention is Sojourn Exploration. This is the junior company to which we vended in our three Golden Triangle BC properties and found a top flight technical team to execute and manage the company. They're kicking the company off doing their first financing, which will probably be announced imminently, I would think. Once that team gets going, I think it's really going to be to the benefit of Millrock shareholders. Millrock is a major shareholder of Sojourn, and if these guys have the success I think they'll have, then all Millrock shareholders will benefit very well.

Gerardo Del Real: It sounds like a busy rest of the year for you, Greg. I want to thank you again for taking the time, and I'm looking forward to details of new partnerships and, of course, the drilling kicking off back at La Navidad.

Greg Beischer: You bet. Okay, Gerardo. Good talking to you, and we'll update again soon.

Gerardo Del Real: Thank you for the update, Greg. Take care.

Click here to see more from Alaska Energy Metals