A Reno-based company that staked
new claims on a gold-mining property
abandoned two years ago is beginning to
see a payoff from its faith in the project.
William Henderson, president of privately
held Nevada Sunrise LLC, said his
company created a joint venture with
Lateegra Resources Corp. to work toward
development of the project near the
Nevada-Utah border in Elko County.
The property known as Kinsley
Mountain covers 69 unpatented claims on
two square miles about 55 miles south of
Wendover.
The gold property was discovered in
1984, and Alta Gold Co. produced about
138,151 ounces from a heap-leach operation
at the property from 1994 to 1999.
Alta Gold filed for bankruptcy protection
in 1999; it abandoned the Kinsley
Mountain mine in 2000. Nevada Sunrise
staked new claims and acquired the historical
records of exploration and production.
Last week's joint venture with Lateegra
Resources Corp. puts Nevada Sunrise into
position to take the next step toward
development.
Under the joint venture agreement,
Vancouver-based Lateegra can earn a 60
percent interest in the property by:
* Paying $100,000 to Nevada Sunrise
for a one-year lease.
* Issuing 300,000 shares of Lateegra to
Nevada Sunrise. The shares, which trade
on the TSX Venture Exchange in
Toronto, were quoted at 37 cents
(Canadian) last week, valuing the 300,000
shares at $111,000 (Canadian).
* Completing a feasibility report on a
potential mining operation.
Michael Townsend, president of
Lateegra, said his company can continue
its lease of the property for $150,000 in
the second year of the deal, and the rent
will increase by $50,000 a year after that.
The Kinsley Mountain deal fits well
with the business plan for Nevada
Sunrise.
The company was created in August
2000 to acquire mining claims that had
been abandoned. It now controls about
25,000 acres of gold and silver properties,
and Nevada Sunrise has been among the
largest holders of mining claims in the
state.
Nevada Sunrise looks to develop those
properties through leases, joint ventures or
creation of companies that can be taken
public.
Henderson, spent 20 years in the semiconductor
industry and launched a laboratory
to provide geochemistry data
before he began accumulating gold-mining
claims.
When the gold market cratered in the
late 1990s, Henderson began raising capital
much of it from associates in
California's technology industry to
acquire claims that had been left to gather
dust.
"When things are big in markets on
the way down, they're big on the way
back up," Henderson said last week.
Nevada Sunrise has only one employee
Henderson as it relies heavily on
contracts with geologists and other professionals.
