Bullion River sells exploration unit

Battle Mountain Gold Exploration Corp., a Reno-based company founded to pursue a new exploration technology, last week completed its exit from the exploration business.

The publicly held company said it sold its gold-exploration subsidiary, Pediment Gold LLC, to members of its exploration team.

As part of the deal, Battle Mountain will cancel 7.8 million of its shares an 11 percent reduction in its shares outstanding and hold a 1.25 percent royalty interests in two of Pediment's exploration projects.

Battle Mountain's shares were trading at 80 cents when the sale was announced.

Privately held Pediment, headed by former Battle Mountain chief geologist Wade Hodges, is pursuing the belief that tiny samples of gold in groundwater can be traced back to deposits of the precious mineral. The company has pulled together a database of tens of thousands of records from water wells around Nevada.

Hodges noted that more than $1 million was spent on the technology by Battle Mountain in the past two years.

Battle Mountain, meanwhile, has focused on acquisition of royalty interests in gold properties.

It holds 12 royalty interests in eight countries. Its holdings include interests in four producing gold mines, three that are under development and five exploration-stage projects.