Dec 19 2012
Colorado Goldfields Inc. announces that it has acquired the Silver Wing Mine, located within 6 miles of the Company's Pride of the Mill.
"This transaction makes Colorado Goldfields a complete turn-key operation for the production of gold and silver. From ore to doré, the Company controls the entire production chain."
"The acquisition of the Silver Wing Mine accomplishes two very significant milestones for Colorado Goldfields -- expands and diversifies the Company's portfolio of metals (especially into silver and copper), to swiftly capitalize on changing metals prices, and guarantees an immediate source of continuing feed stock for the Pride of the West Mill," stated Stephen Guyer, CFO of Colorado Goldfields.
"A thorough study of geological structures, past production, core drilling and extensive underground sampling records indicates that the total resource of the Silver Wing Mine could exceed $200 million in value with approximately 80% of the resource value composed of silver and copper minerals," stated Lee Rice, President & CEO for Colorado Goldfields.
The mine's poly-metallic ore contains recoverable metal values in gold, silver, lead, copper and zinc. Colorado Goldfields will develop a mining and milling operation and produce approximately 14,500 tons annually of gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc concentrates. After 1-year of ramp up work, production could reach 180 tons per day with full production of 360 tons per day achieved after two years.
The initial ore discovery and location for the first Silver Wing Mine occurred in 1874 on the Silver Wing claim itself. All ore production from early operations (1874 through 1909) was based on silver values. The early ore was so rich that it was direct-shipped to smelters on pack mules over mountain passes in excess of 12,500 ft. high.
In 1904 a railroad siding was built to the mine and lower grade ore was direct shipped to a smelter in Silverton. The mine was shut down in 1909 due to litigation. The last production from the Silver Wing Mine was between 1962 and 1965 when the ore was milled at the Pride of the West mill. Production ceased due to a prolonged smelter strike in 1965. Prior to 1900, a gold mine was considered viable only if the ore ran 1.0 ounce of gold or gold equivalent in silver, or better; recovery methods today are far more efficient.
The Pride of the West Mill ("Mill") is located 5.3 miles northeast of Silverton, Colorado. The Mill is located on approximately 120 acres of patented mining claims on San Juan County Road 2, within a nine air-mile radius of the Silver Wing Mine, the King Solomon Mine, and many other mine properties. The Mill is located within the famous "San Juan Triangle" mining center of southwestern Colorado, which also includes the historic mining towns of Telluride and Ouray, and encompasses one of the most richly mineralized areas of North America.
On October 31, 2012, the Company entered into a contract for purchase of the Silver Wing Mine. The terms of the contract provide that the Company issue 12,000,000 4-year restricted shares Class A Common Stock and pay the former owners a 5% Net Smelter Royalty ("NSR"), from the Champion Mining Claims. The complete purchase contract may be viewed in the Company' Form 8-K filed on November 6, 2012.