Oct 13 2010
Mineral Hill Industries Ltd has announced that it has entered into agreements to acquire a 50% Joint Venture participation in the Liberty Hill Gold Mine owned by Mining and Energy International Corp., a private company registered in Denver, CO, USA.
Mineral Hill completed its due diligence and negotiations based on a Letter of Intent, announced on June 28, 2010 by the Company. The Liberty Hill placer gold project encompasses the Lowell Hill and Liberty Hill properties, consisting of 127 mining Claims totaling approximately 2500 acres, located in southeastern Nevada County, California. The project is located in the historical Mother Lode area on the west side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, approximately 3.5 miles northwest of the Dutch Flat Exit on Highway I-80.
Mineral Hill entered into a 50:50 Joint Venture agreement based on fulfilling certain conditions of an Earn-In-Agreement, under which the Company is required to raise $1 million towards the acquisition price of the project, and $1.5 million towards processing a previously stockpiled bulk sample of about 40,000 cubic yards (yds) of gravel and the preparation for processing of a further 1.4 million cubic yards of previously exposed material within the gold-bearing channel. MEICO has applied for a renewal of the exploration and extraction permits, in order to carry out an immediate start-up of the joint work program as soon as Mineral Hill has received regulatory approval of the transaction.
The Liberty Hill Gold Mine was in production prior to 1999 but ceased operations due to the demise of one of the previous parties and the ensuing litigation, which was concluded in 2007 in favour of MEICO and its affiliates. Based on information obtained from Court documents, the size of the gold-bearing placer body in the Mine was estimated at 440 million yds. The historical reported gold concentration of 0.10 oz/yd was based on the presence of gold nuggets. These figures are historical in nature, have not been confirmed by the Company, and should not be relied upon for investment purposes. During its most recent testing of some 250 yds, MEICO reported that, in addition to the gold nuggets, the Mine may have a significant gold dust content. The goal of processing the first 40,000 yds is, among other things, to determine the accuracy of the reported concentration of both the gold dust and the gold nuggets.
With respect to its "Praxis Goldfield Project", located in northern British Columbia, Canada, Mineral Hill has entered into negotiations with a junior exploration company for a joint exploration program for 2010 and 2011.
Mineral Hill's discussions and exchange of information with Ascot Mining Plc are still under way in order to determine mutually acceptable terms for a contemplated business transaction. The Agreement with MEICO will not impact or delay any possible joint undertakings of both companies. A combined effort to develop Mineral Hill's promising lithium and gold assets is of great interest to both Ascot Mining Plc and Mineral Hill. Further details in this regard will also be announced in due course.
Dr. Stewart Jackson, PhD, P. Geol., a "Qualified Person" as such term is defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release on behalf of Mineral Hill Industries Ltd.
Source:
Mineral Hill Industries Ltd.