Bronco Creek Exploration Inc.
PROJECTS
BY STATE
Arizona
Copper
Springs
Courtland
East *
Hardshell
Skarn *
Jasper
Canyon *
Mesa
Well *
Middle
Mountain
Park-Sayler *
Red
Hills
Silver
Bell West
Superior
West
Nevada
Cathedral
Well
Richmond
Mountain
Yerington
West
Wyoming
Mineral
Hill
* Available for partnership
PROJECTS
BY TYPE
Alkaline Gold Projects
Mineral Hill
Carlin-Style Gold Projects
Cathedral
Well
Richmond
Mountain
Porphyry or Skarn Base-Metal Projects
Copper Springs
Courtland
East
Hardshell
Skarn *
Jasper
Canyon *
Mesa
Well *
Middle
Mountain
Park-Sayler *
Red
Hills
Silver
Bell West
Superior
West
Yerington
West
* Available
for partnership
Target
Commodity: Au
Partnership
Status: Eldorado
Gold Corporation lease/option
Land Position: 5,030 acres; 261 U.S.
unpatented lode mining claims
Property Location: Green Springs district of
southwestern White Pine County, Nevada (~60 km southwest of Ely), straddling
the western flank of the White Pine Range and adjacent Railroad Valley
·
In proximity of historic
Green Springs gold mine and cyanide heap-leach operation (1.1 million metric
tonnes of ore averaging 2.1 g/t gold)
·
Located in region
characterized by numerous jasperoid occurrences and past-producing gold mines —
including Green Springs itself, Illipah, Alligator Ridge, EZ Junior and Pan
prospect — regarded to be the southern continuation of the Battle
Mountain-Eureka trend
·
New mapping and
reinterpretation of district structural geology by BCE team reveal multiple targets
including:
Target
Commodity: Cu(-Mo)
Partnership
Status:
Land
Position: 5,056 acres; 216 U.S. unpatented lode
mining claims and one Arizona Mineral Exploration Permit
Property
Location: Globe-Miami mining district; Gila
County, Arizona, northeast of Pinal Mountains
·
Supergene and hypogene
porphyry copper-molybdenum mineralization targets in south-central portion of
world-class (production and resources of ~16 Mt copper) multi-porphyry-center
Globe-Miami mining district
·
Tertiary faults have
dramatically dismembered and extended district — a cluster of large porphyry
Cu(-Mo) systems centered on a Laramide-age granitic pluton
·
Fault-bound deposit pieces
include: Pinto Valley, Cactus-Carlotta, Copper Cities, Miami-Inspiration, and
Old Dominion (BHP, Quadra, Freeport-McMoRan, others)
·
Approximately 60% of
district remains covered by post-mineral sedimentary and volcanic rocks
·
Multi-year district-scale
structural reconstruction by BCE geologists has resulted in new understanding
of district’s mineralizing systems, structure, and the location of several
yet-undiscovered portions of the porphyry centers hidden beneath post-mineral
cover rocks
·
Copper Springs target is
fault-displaced middle-to-upper portion of large productive porphyry center
·
Drill sites selected to
test target area, and first-stage drill test permitting complete
·
See also Jasper Canyon
project description
Target
Commodity: Cu-Au
Partnership
Status: Under
lease/option agreement
Land Position: ~2,242 acres; 18 U.S.
unpatented lode mining claims, five Arizona Exploration Permits
Property Location: Courtland-Gleeson
district; Cochise County, Arizona; approx. 30 miles north of Bisbee; southeast
of Dragoon mountains
·
Historic district with high-grade
copper-gold replacement and skarn deposits district similar
to those seen in nearby Bisbee district and high-grade replacement ores of
Pima, San Manuel, and Silver Bell districts — all of which were later
recognized to be associated with nearby porphyry copper systems with
undiscovered porphyry source
·
Historic Courtland-Gleeson deposits are
fault-bound (rootless); porphyry source as-yet undiscovered
·
Multiple generations of faults have dramatically
dismembered and rotated stratigraphy to steep angles
·
New district interpretation
by BCE geologists brings refined perspective on mineralizing systems,
structure, and presumed location of porphyry source beneath post-mineral cover
rocks within BCE land position
·
New
geophysical data (seismic and NSAMT) supports BCE structural interpretation
·
Drill sites permitted and
ready to drill
·
Preliminary 2008 drill hole results
interpreted to be consistent with structural model; hole cased for continued drilling
in 2009
Target Commodity: Cu-Au-Ag
Partnership Status: Wholly owned by BCE and available for partnership
Land Position: 293 acres; 16 U.S.
unpatented lode mining claims
Property Location: Sunnyside area; Santa Cruz
County, Arizona; Patagonia Mountains
·
High-grade
copper-gold-silver skarn target located in historic mining district between
Sunnyside porphyry copper system and Hardshell silver-copper-manganese
replacement deposit (both with historic mineral resources defined by Asarco in
1970’s exploration)
·
Historic high-grade drill
intercepts of polymetallic skarn in Paleozoic carbonate rocks along BCE
property boundary
·
Significant thicknesses of
silicified and altered Paleozoic carbonate section outcropping on BCE property,
with series of faults stepping the unit up across BCE ground and presenting
opportunity to test multiple prospective stratigraphic levels
·
BCE geochemical and
structural interpretation defines property as key intermediate piece between drill-defined
deep skarn environment and the shallow, distal styles of mineralization
represented by Hardshell
Target Commodity: Cu(-Mo)
Partnership Status: BCE wholly owned and available for partnership
Land Position: ~3,186 acres; 160 U.S.
unpatented lode mining claims
Property Location: Globe-Miami mining
district; Gila County, Arizona, northwest end of Globe Hills
·
Supergene and hypogene
porphyry copper-molybdenum mineralization targets in northeast portion of world-class
multi-porphyry-center Globe-Miami mining district
·
Tertiary faults have
dramatically dismembered and extended district — a cluster of large porphyry
Cu(-Mo) systems centered on a Laramide-age granitic pluton
·
Fault-bound deposit pieces
include: Pinto Valley, Cactus-Carlotta, Copper Cities, Miami-Inspiration, and
Old Dominion (BHP, Quadra, Freeport-McMoRan, others)
·
Approximately 60% of
district remains covered by post-mineral sedimentary and volcanic rocks
·
Multi-year district-scale
structural reconstruction by BCE geologists has resulted in new understanding
of district’s mineralizing systems, structure, and the location of several
yet-undiscovered portions of the porphyry centers hidden beneath post-mineral
cover rocks
·
Jasper Canyon targets are
fault-displaced upper portion of productive porphyry center
·
Adjacent drill hole
demonstrates BCE interpretation of shallow cover with porphyry related
mineralization at depth
·
See also Copper Springs
project description
Target Commodity: Cu(-Mo)
Partnership Status: BCE wholly owned and available for partnership
Land Position: 3,872 acres; seven Arizona
Exploration Permits
Property Location: South of Klondike
district; Graham County, Arizona; Pinaleño Mountains western flank
·
Property lies along
regional trend of porphyry copper mineralization extending from Safford
district (Freeport-McMoRan) to San Manuel district (BHP-Billiton)
·
Adjacent to Klondike
district, a past producer of copper, lead and zinc mineralization from skarn
and replacement deposits in limestones and porphyry-like occurrences
·
Tertiary faults identified
across area have dismembered and extended a Laramide-aged intrusive complex,
exposing a dike swarm adjacent to BCE property, tilting young sedimentary rocks
to steep angles, and offsetting the deeper portion of system to area beneath
BCE property position along low-angle fault
·
BCE geologists have constrained fault vector and offset, and
interpret observed porphyry-related alteration, significant
geochemical anomaly, and remobilized copper on Mesa Well project land
interpreted to indicate location of productive portion of porphyry center
beneath low-angle fault on BCE property
·
Preliminary
2008 drill results interpreted to be consistent with structural model; holes
cased for continued drilling in 2009
Target Commodity: Cu(-Mo)
Partnership Status: Inmet Mining Corp. /Geo Minerals Ltd. option agreement
Land Position: ~7,066 acres; 44 U.S.
unpatented lode mining claims, 11 Arizona Exploration Permits
Property Location: southeast of Florence in
Pinal County, Arizona; west of Ninetysix Hills
·
Lies along broad belt of porphyry-copper mineralization that
stretches from Globe-Miami (Phelps Dodge, BHP-Billiton) westward through the
deposits at Ray (Asarco), Florence-Poston Butte (permitted by BHP in the
1990’s), and beyond
·
Extensive area of intense alteration representing the upper
portions of a large, sulfide-rich zone of hydrothermal alteration outcropping
within BCE land position in granitic rocks intruded by Laramide-aged stocks and
dikes
·
BCE geologists have recognized multiple lines of evidence that
suggest the area has undergone extreme degrees of crustal extension and
rotation, with crustal blocks having been rotated 90 degrees or more, and
prospective environments for copper mineralization located within the Middle
Mountain property beneath gravel cover
·
2008 drilling intersected what is interpreted to be the extension of a sulfide-rich, outer
portion of a porphyry copper system; additional sites are permitted and
continued drilling is slated for 2009
Target Commodity: Cu-Au-Ag
Partnership Status: Golden Predator lease/option agreement
Land Position: ~1,117 acres; 60 U.S. unpatented
lode mining claims (additional claims subject to pooling agreement with
neighboring claimant not included)
Property Location: Mineral Hill/Hurricane
gold mining district; Black Hills; Crook County, Wyoming
·
Targets are
epithermal-style gold deposits and porphyry copper-gold mineralization
associated with a Eocene-aged alkaline igneous complex
·
District mineralization
provides evidence for multiple magmatic events, including the emplacement of a
prominent central breccia pipe
·
Intense hydrothermal
alteration developed in portions of igneous complex along with gold-bearing
quartz veins
·
Placer gold deposits
broadly developed in and around the Mineral Hill intrusive complex, and many
historic mines and prospects are distributed throughout the district
·
Drilling by BCE in late
2007 intercepted porphyry-style copper-gold mineralization in an area of
stockwork K-silicate and quartz-sulfide veins
·
Additional drilling slated
for 2009 to better define zones of copper-gold mineralization
Target Commodity: Cu(-Mo)
Partnership Status: BCE wholly owned and available for partnership
Land Position: 152 acres; one Arizona
Exploration Permit
Property Location: Sacaton-Casa Grande area;
Pinal County, Arizona
·
Property encompasses approximately one-quarter of Asarco
drill-defined Park-Sayler orebody: 200 million-ton, 1% copper resource
(historic non-NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate) located between ASARCO-defined Sacaton ore body and Santa Cruz deposit
Target Commodity: Cu(-Mo)
Partnership Status: Inmet Mining Corp. /Geo Minerals Ltd. option agreement
Land Position: ~7,461 acres; 248 U.S.
unpatented lode mining claims, four Arizona Exploration Permits
Property Location: east of Florence, Pinal County, Arizona; west of
Tortilla Mountains
·
Lies along broad belt of
porphyry-copper mineralization that stretches from Globe-Miami (Phelps Dodge,
BHP-Billiton) westward through the deposits at Ray (Asarco), Florence-Poston
Butte (permitted by BHP in the 1990’s), and beyond
·
Upper portions of a
porphyry copper system outcrops at surface just east of BCE land position as
veins with copper oxide-minerals and intense quartz-sericite-pyrite (QSP)
alteration developed in and around a swarm of Laramide porphyry dikes that cut
older Precambrian granites (Unites States Geological Survey records report
historic non-43-101 compliant resource of 20,000,000 short tons with 0.8
percent copper, with a broader resource of 500,000,000 short tons with 0.1
percent copper)
·
New structural work by BCE
geologists demonstrates that Tertiary faults have dramatically dismembered and
extended district, rotating the mineralized crustal blocks ~90 degrees
·
BCE has interpreted the
location of deeper levels and more prospective portions of the porphyry copper
system to lie beneath gravel cover rocks on the BCE land position
·
2008 drilling intersected
210 feet (64 meters) of exotic copper mineralization and was terminated before
reaching bedrock due to loss of drill circulation; continued drilling at this
and other sites is slated for 2009
Target Commodity: Au+base metals
Partnership Status: Eldorado Gold Corporation lease/option agreement
Land Position: ~4,730 acres; 231 U.S.
unpatented lode mining claims
Property Location: Eureka mining district;
southeastern Eureka County, Nevada
·
Located in district of
combined production and reserves of approximately 5.5 million ounces of gold
with substantial silver, lead and zinc
·
Two styles of
mineralization dominant in district: (1) polymetallic (± gold) system(s)
developed in skarn and replacement bodies adjacent to early Cretaceous igneous
intrusions, and (2) younger Carlin-style mineralization that overprints the
older polymetallic mineralization
·
Extensive research by BCE
geologists has constrained petrologic, geochemical, and structural control on
spatial distribution of both mineralization types; both projected within BCE
land position
·
BCE has proposed a
two-phase exploration program slated for 2009-2010
Target Commodity: Cu
Partnership Status: Geo Minerals lease/option agreement
Land Position: ~3760 acres ; 188 U.S.
unpatented lode mining claims
Property Location: Silver Bell mining
district; Silver Bell Mountains, approximately 30 miles northwest of Tucson,
Arizona
·
Property immediately
adjacent to operating Silver Bell Mine (a 75% / 25% Asarco/Mitsui partnership),
which has produced more than 84 Mt at an average grade of 0.76 percent copper
from skarn, secondary enrichment blankets and porphyry ores since the discovery
of mineralization in 1865, and reports reserves greater than 185 Mt at 0.61 %
Cu (Long, 1995)
·
Multiple stratigraphic
units favorable for development of skarn mineralization and porphyry-style
copper mineralization are recognized within the BCE land position, where a
series of normal faults have down-dropped target rocks and lie beneath younger
cover
·
BCE is currently targeting
two areas for exploration:
(1) Paleozoic carbonate units likely to host copper-rich skarn
mineralization that underlie outcrops of copper-mineralized Laramide intrusive
rocks and copper-gold mineralized Mesozoic sedimentary rocks in the contact
aureole
(2) Trends of porphyry copper and skarn mineralization that project
beneath cover rocks
·
Ten drill sites in have
been permitted, and first-round drilling is scheduled to begin in 2009
Target Commodity: Cu-Au-Ag
Partnership Status: Freeport-McMoRan Exploration Corporation earn-in joint-venture agreement
Land Position: ~5,195 acres; 256 U.S.
unpatented lode mining claims, and 14 additional adjacent claims (280 acres) by
option agreement
Property Location: Pioneer mining district;
Pinal County, Arizona, approximately three miles west of Superior and 50 miles
east of Phoenix
·
District is setting of the
Magma Vein (a copper-silver-gold vein that produced 25 million tons of ore with
>4% Cu), and the giant Resolution Copper deposit (~1.3 billion tones
containing 1.5% copper)
·
BCE is targeting two styles
mineralization at Superior West: (1) the faulted, displaced and concealed
western extension of the Magma Vein, and (2), the yet-undiscovered porphyry
copper system that served as the source for the Magma Vein
·
Reinterpretation of district
structure and mineral/metal zoning patterns by BCE geologists predict location
of porphyry source beneath younger cover rocks on the BCE property position
Target Commodity: Cu-Au-Ag
Partnership Status: Entrée Gold Inc. joint-venture agreement
Land Position: ~4,350 acres; 214 U.S.
unpatented lode mining claims
Property Location: Yerington district; Lyon
County, Nevada
·
Supergene and hypogene
porphyry copper mineralization targets in southern portion of multi-porphyry-center
Yerington mining district
·
Tertiary faults have
dramatically dismembered and extended district — a cluster of large porphyry
Cu(-Mo) systems centered on a Jurassic-age granitic pluton
·
Fault-bound deposit pieces
include: past-producing Yerington and McArthur mines (Anaconda), and the
undeveloped Bear-Lagomarsino and Ann Mason deposits
·
Much of district remains
covered by post-mineral sedimentary and volcanic rocks
·
Extensive geologic work in
the district by Anaconda geologists in the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s produced
highly-constrained structural and geologic models for the district, and these
provide effective exploration tools and have helped illuminate additional
targets for exploration
·
Dike swarms and skarn
deposits in southern part of Yerington district highlight presence of another,
yet-undiscovered, porphyry center
·
Multiple lines of geologic
evidence supported by a refined structural interpretation points to
structurally offset porphyry center under volcanic and sedimentary cover on BCE
property
·
BCE has permitted a series
of drill holes across the property position, and is slated to begin drilling in
2009
