Golden Ridge Resources Ltd. [GLDN-TSXV] said Tuesday July 9 that it has signed an option agreement with Evrim Resources Corp. [EVM-TSXV] to acquire an 80% interest in the 52,442-hectare Ball Creek Project, located in British Columbia’s Golden Triangle region.
The Ball Creek Project fully surrounds Golden Ridge’s 100%-owned Hank property. Therefore, the agreement effectively increases the company’s land position in the Golden Triangle by 3,056%.
Golden Ridge shares were unchanged on Tuesday at 16.5 cents. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $0.08 and 54 cents. Evrim was also unchanged at 30 cents and trades in a 52-week range of 27 cents and $1.63.
Tuesday’s announcement comes after Golden Ridge recently reported a new porphyry copper-gold discovery on its Hank Project.
Golden Ridge is engaged in acquiring and advancing mineral properties in B.C. The company currently has an option to acquire a 100% interest in the 1,700-hectare Hank gold-silver-lead-zinc property, which is situated approximately 140 km north of Stewart. In order to exercise that option, Golden Ridge needs to spend $1.7 million on exploration work prior to the end of this year.
“We are extremely excited to expand the Hank property by such a significant amount around our newly discovered copper-gold porphyry target,” said Golden Ridge CEO Michael Blady. “With several gold-rich porphyry, epithermal gold and massive sulphide targets, the Ball Creek Project is rich with exploration potential,” he said.
Under the terms of the agreement, Golden Ridge can earn an 80% interest, subject to a 2% net smelter return royalty, by delivering a production notice to build and operate a mine before the 20th anniversary of the agreement. In order to keep the option in good standing, the junior must issue 1 million common shares, make cash payments of up to $300,000 and one additional cash payment of $1.75 million over a 15-year period.
Once the option is exercised, Golden Ridge and Evrim will enter into a joint venture deal.
Aside from the option on the Hank Project, Golden Ridge can earn a 100% interest in the Royalle gold-silver project in B.C.’s Bralorne mining camp. The company recently optioned its North Canol cobalt-silver-zinc project in the Canadian Yukon’s Macmillan Pass region to Fireweed Zinc Ltd. [FWZ-TSXV; FWEDF-OTC].
Golden Ridge recently intersected an alkali porphyry system in an area known as the Williams Zone prospect at Hank. The company said drill hole HNK-18-001 intersected 327 metres grading 0.31% copper, 0.35 g/t gold and 1.94 g/t silver. The new alkali porphyry discovery has been intersected in multiple holes along a 200-metre strike length to a depth of 585 metres below surface, the company said in a press release. The zone remains open along strike and at depth.
Assays are pending from additional drill holes.
“The size and grade of the Williams Zone discovery are remarkable,” said Chris Paul, vice-president of exploration at Golden Ridge. “Broad intervals of intense potassic alteration with bornite and digenite indicate the presence of a large alkali copper-gold porphyry system at surface,” he said.
“Indications are that only the top of the system has been intersected,” said Paul.
Paul went on to say that copper mineralization also extends for a considerable distance into the surrounding volcanic rocks, while the mineralized monzonite shows good continuity along strike and at depth.
“We are very excited to continue testing the extensions of the system both along strike and at depth,’’ he said.
On July 3, 2018, the company said a minimum of 6,000 metres of core drilling is planned for 2018, a program that is designed to test five new high priority targets. The 2018 program will satisfy the remaining $100,000 in exploration expenditures that are required to earn a 100% interest in the Hank property from Lac Properties Inc., a subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corp. [ABX-TSX; GOLD-NYSE].