Tonogold Resources, Inc. - Coors

Arizona Coors Tonopah Divide Gold Project King Tonopah Gold & Silver Project Goldstrike Project Lithium Project Pictures

Claim Description

Tonogold Resources currently has staked 6 federal lode mining claims covering the areas of earlier mining near the Coors Mine. Three claims are located around the Coors shaft, which is the "Coors Mine" indicated in section 26 on the USGS topographic map. These northern three claims are designated Coors North (CN-1, 2, 3). Another three claims are located one half mile to the south on an abandoned area that has returned the highest in-place gold values to date (2.5 oz/t) (figure 3). These southern claims are named CS-1, 2, and 3. Tonogold plans to increase the claim block as part of the second phase of this property development.

Location and Access

The Coors Mine gold property is located in a mining friendly area of Yavapai County Arizona approximately 7 miles south of Bagdad and the Freeport McMoran open pit copper operation. The Coors Mine is indicated in section 26 on the Grayback Mountains quadrangle in Township 14 North, Range 10 West, referenced by the Gila and Salt River Meridian and Phoenix baseline. It can be accessed by Burro Creek Trail from state route 97 close to Interstate 93. The first 5 miles on Burro Creek trail is a well-maintained county road and the last mile or so is on a 4-wheel drive trail accessible by most vehicles with high clearance. Congress is 35 miles southeast and Phoenix is 100 miles away.

The Coors Mine area is located near 3500 feet in a high desert climate, in southwest Yavapai County, AZ. The annual rainfall is 16 inches/year with much of it coming down during shorter periods of intense thunderstorm activity capable of generating flash floods. The area is in the south portion of the "Eureka Mining District". The most notable nearby mining operation is the Bagdad open-pit copper operation 7 miles to the north where Freeport McMoran mines approximately 50-Mt Cu per year. The Current resource of the property stands at about 500-Mt grading 0.39% Cu and 0.02% Mo.

The following summarizes the earlier history of the district

"EUREKA DISTRICT: (Bagdad) is in western Yavapai County, 42 miles west of Prescott. Most of the mines are near Bagdad in the southwestern part of the district. Although the district is noted mainly for copper, its deposits were mined originally for silver, gold, and lead. The first claims were located in 1880, and mining began in 1887. Until 1917 most production was from ores rich in gold and silver, with subordinate lead and zinc, from the Hillside mine. Copper minerals were known in the district as early as 1882; however, sporadic exploration through the early 1900's failed to disclose any significant copper ore bodies until 1929 when the Bagdad mine began operations. Gold and silver production from the Hillside mine and several smaller properties continued until 1942, when the Hillside mine was closed. Meanwhile the Bagdad mine expanded due to the demand for copper during World War II. Large-scale activity continued after the war. The Hillside mine was reopened during 1948-51; open- pit mining increased the Bagdad mine production after 1947; and other properties were developed to mine tungsten and zinc. Copper output at the Bag- dad mine continued to be significant through the 1950's, and in 1959 it was the largest copper producer in the county. Total gold output of the district from 1887 through 1951 was 59,787 ounces, of which 58,748 ounces is attributed to the Hillside mine. From 1952 through 1959 the district produced only 179 ounces of gold. The copper ores at the Bagdad mine yielded insignificant amounts of gold.

From Mindat.org there is historic information about several smaller nearby mines (distance to: indicates from the Coors Mine on the USGS Grayback Mountains 7.5 minute quadrangle):

Bland Mine: (distance to: 1.2km (3900 feet), bearing 351° (N): A former underground Au-Ag-Cu mine. Produced 1901-1957. Mineralization is a vein deposit with a tabular ore body hosted in the Hillside Mica Schist (muscovite schist). Ore control was faulting and shearing. Ore concentration was oxidation at near surface. No alteration noted. Area structures include veins, often at low angles, dipping under 40 degrees. Foliation in the schist trends NE. Massive igneous rocks are present.

Southern Cross Mine: (Distance to: 3.3km, 2.1 miles), bearing 259° (W). A former surface and underground Au-Ag-Pb-Cu mine located in the N½ sec. 32, T14N, R10W on the Kaiser Spring SE 7.5 minute quadrangle map, south of Grayback Mountain. Produced 1932-1941. Mineralization is a vein deposit with a tabular ore body hosted in the Hillside Mica Schist, vertical muscovite schist; lenticular - thin seam to 4 feet thick. Includes unspecified copper carbonates. Ore control was faulting and shearing. Ore concentration was oxidation at near surface. No alteration was reported. Area structures include minor foliation in schist trends NE. Local igneous rocks are massive. Veins are often at low angles, dipping less than 40 degrees. Workings include a 70 foot inclined shaft; 2 short, near-surface drifts with small stopes.

Zannaropolis Mine: (Distance to: 3.6km, 2.3 miles), bearing 122° (ESE). A former surface and underground W-Mo-Cu-Zn-Fluorspar mine. Discovered 1941 by J.P. Zannaras and J. Robinson, Jr. Located on the USGS Arrasta Mountain NE 7.5 minute quadrangle map. Claims also in secs. 1, 2 & 11, T13N, R10W, and secs. 35 & 36, T14N, R10W. NOTE: Alternate coordinates provided: 34°28'49"N, 113°15'51"W. Mineralization is a metamorphic deposit with lens-shaped ore body(ies). Ore control was tourmaline-bearing pegmatite, lenses associated with epidote and quartz, and along fractures in silicified schist. An associated rock unit is the Lawler Peak Granite.

Pinafore Mine: (Distance to: 3.6km, 2.3 miles, bearing 152° (SSE). A former underground Cu-Zn-Pb-Ag-Au mine. Discovered by John Lawler. Produced 1935-1957. Located on the USGS Arrastra Mountain NE 7.5 minute quadrangle map. Mineralization is a lens-shaped ore body. Ore control was stratigraphy and igneous activity. Ore concentration was oxidation at near surface. Alteration was chloritization and pyritization. Area structures include massive sulfide lenses parallel to foliation and bedding. Foliation in the Precambrian metavolcanic rocks trends N20E to N30E.

Jeep Claims: (distance to 4.5km, 2.8 miles), bearing 198° (SSW)
A former surface and underground Be-Feldspar mine.

Of these nearby mines, the Bland Mine information is significant. It is located relatively close to the Coors and produced from lower-angle structures very similar to those found in recent fieldwork near the Coors Mine. These low-angle area-wide structures offer prospective fault controlled mineralization surfaces at relatively shallow depths that will make excellent drill targets.

Property Description

The immediate area around the Coors Mine has evidence of historical mining including shafts, tailings, tanks, processing facilities and arrastras for grinding rock materials. At one time high-grade gold was being processed from underground workings. There is evidence of earlier mining from the Coors shaft and from an area about a half-mile to the south. Placer gold was being recovered from the drainage just below the Coors Mine. In both of these areas there is a significant amount of moderate grade material (0.03-0.3 oz/t). In the south on claim CS-1 the shear zone mineralization is as high as 2.5 oz/t.

The Coors Mine area is in a northwest striking transition zone, which exists between the Basin and Range province and the Colorado Plateau. This zone is characterized by block faulted basement rock bodies, which are largely Early and Middle Proterozoic. These older igneous rocks have been intruded by Late Mesozoic to Early Tertiary igneous masses and locally covered with early Tertiary clastic strata and Late to Middle Miocene basalt flows.

The basement rocks mapped in the Coors Mine region include: Early Proterozoic granitic rocks (1600-1800 Ma), Early Proterozoic metavolcanic rocks (1650-1800 Ma), and Middle Proterozoic granitic rocks (1400-1450 Ma). In the local area of the Coors Mine the basement granitic rocks are intruded by felsic dikes and plugs. A large extrusion of Cretaceous/Early Tertiary lava is mapped on the Arizona state map located one mile to the north of the Coors. This was likely coeval with the porphyry-style mineralization dated at 76 Ma at eh Bagdad Mine.
The Precambrian rocks of the Coors Mine area have undergone several episodes of deformation and mineralization. Some mineralization might be Precambrian in age but field evidence indicates that epithermal processes acted along Mesozoic and/or Tertiary shear zones to deposit gold and other minerals. Hydrothermal activity and faulting have produced many areas of bleaching and brecciation, which appear along northwest and northeast striking structures.

Mineralization

Coors North. The rocks of the Coors Mine shaft (CN-2) are granitic and are intruded by overlapping 2-10 cm thick quartz veins. A 1.5 meter, steeply dipping, dike zone is what the Coors shaft follows as it dips 60 degrees to the south. These thin dikes have vuggy quartz and are oxidized with hematite and limonite. Two samples taken of this vein material on the Coors North claims indicate gold at 0.04 oz/t. Based on the extent of the workings there must have been higher-grade material that the early miners were chasing which this investigation did not find. There is no evidence of shearing, faulting or brecciation along this vein structure.

Coors South. On the southern claims a more significant body of mineralization is found at the surface . The abandoned shaft has a 1-2 meter zone of high-grade mineralization (1-3 oz/t), which is developed along a moderate to steeply dipping shear zone that has silicified gouge, breccia and hydrothermal related features. The gouge zone with the highest Au values also has associated Copper and Zinc sulfide mineralization. In some parts of this shear zone oxidation has occurred. Earlier miners were after the highest grade oxidized material and left large amounts of unoxidized material behind as well as the volumetrically more extensive lower grade rock. A thick 10 meter wide mass of brecciated-prophylite below the higher-grade zone has been mineralized with 0.03 oz/t gold. Though the high-grade rock (2 oz/t) that was left in place offers a mining possibility the lower grade material might prove extensive at depth and also presents an economic opportunity.

Structure

Structure in the Coors Mine area will play a very important role in exploration. Some preliminary details about the structure have been observed in recent fieldwork. Air photos and satellite imagery indicate several linear structures and recent field mapping has revealed the existence of high and low-angle faults with associated gold anomalies or proven mineralization. Faults appear to be normal and are most likely related to Miocene extension. Whether the faults are Early Tertiary or Late Tertiary the movement was likely accompanied by hydrothermal activity. Structures that show up from the air are the areas that have been bleached and in some cases mineralized by enriched fluids.

The fault that has the highest gold values found to date (2.5 oz/t) is located on CS-1. This structure has well developed fault gouge and brecciation along with syndeformational quartz veins and silicification. Shearing produced a thicker zone, up to 10 meters wide, of porphyllitic alteration characterized by intense brecciation, bleeching and low-grade mineralization. More detailed mapping is needed to define structures and enable cross section development.

Conclusion

The Coors Mine offers exciting possibilities for both for the small mining operator and for companies looking for larger, relatively shallow (-100 meters) high-grade underground targets. Sampling to date has been limited mostly to areas of early production.