Quaterra said it is looking for a partner with which to explore the Butte Valley system, including a program of data compilation and geophysics to define targets for several deep drill holes
Quaterra Resources (TSXV: QTA) signed two option agreements providing its subsidiary Six Mile Mining with the right to purchase a 100% interest in 678 unpatented mining claims associated with the Butte Valley prospect.
The prospect is a large, partially explored porphyry copper-gold system located in eastern Nevada about 40 miles north of Ely in north-central White Pine County.
According to Quaterra, Butte Valley was discovered in the 1960s through the drilling of a large magnetic anomaly. The sulfide system, which covers an area of at least two square miles, is totally blind and is buried below approximately 2,000 feet of gravels and a gravity slide block.
To acquire the claims associated with the project, Quaterra paid $5,000 to lease the property until August 2020. Thereafter, Quaterra will pay $595,000 in different instalments until August 2024. The Vancouver-based miner has the option to purchase the property at any time for $600,000, less previous amounts paid.
“With these agreements, we have the opportunity to acquire a strategic land position over the Butte Valley copper-gold target on very reasonable terms and with no onerous long term financial obligations,” Quaterra’s president and CEO, Gerald Prosalendis, said in a media statement. “Butte Valley fits our acquisition profile. It hosts a large porphyry copper-gold system in a mining-friendly state with well-developed infrastructure and where it is feasible to permit, develop and build a mine. It can also be moved to a drill-ready stage relatively quickly because of previous exploration work.”