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Long Canyon Summary:
Mineral Resources: The March 2009 NI 43-101 Compliant Report represents the first NI 43-101 Mineral Resource estimate for the Long Canyon deposit. A cutoff grade of 0.30 g Au/T is used to tabulate the resources, which consists of oxidized mineralization potentially available for open-pit mining. Indicated Resources are 363,000 ounces Au (4,808,000 tonnes averaging 2.35 g Au/T); with an additional 459,000 oz Au of Inferred Resources (8,780,000 tonnes averaging 1.63 g Au/T). Results from preliminary metallurgical work suggest that mineralized material tested is readily amenable to extraction of gold by conventional recovery methods. To review the complete NI 43-101 Compliant Report, please visit www.auex.com.
Column leach tests on four bulk samples that were obtained from road cuts reported gold recoveries of 84.2% to 96.6% in 65 days for a -75 mm feed size. Mineralized material at 25 mm feed size returned gold recoveries of 85.6% to 96.3%.
Gold Mineralization: Gold mineralization at Long Canyon is best described as sediment-hosted, Carlin-type gold mineralization similar to that found in other areas of Nevada. Carlin-type deposits account for the majority of gold produced in Nevada.
Four northeast-trending zones of mineralization have been identified localized along the margins of competent dolomite blocks at the top of the Cambrian sequence. 1) The Discovery Zone outcrops in the southeastern portion of the resource area and extends 1,000 metres to the northeast where the mineralization remains open. 2) The West Zone has a strike length of 275 metres at present and consists of mineralization related to the east-facing edge of the westernmost dolomite block encountered to date in surface mapping and drilling. 3) The north-trending Shadow Zone is located west of the northern part of the Discovery Zone and has a sharp truncation on its southern end. 4) The Crevasse Zone mineralization appears to be related to an incipient break where the dolomite block is broken but has not completely separated. Few holes have been drilled into this high-grade zone and the mineralization remains open.
Conclusion: Long Canyon is perhaps Nevada's best example of a new, high-grade, open-pitable gold discovery. Venture partners, Fronteer and AuEx, have approved an $18 million budget in 2009. Their current plans are to confirm and expand the size of the deposit and look for additional gold deposits on the 12,000 acre property which is located in the Pequop Mountain Range.
Location: The Long Canyon Gold Exploration Project is located on the east flank of the Pequop Mountains, in northeastern Elko County, Nevada. It is approximately 23 miles southeast from the town of Wells, Nevada and 90 miles due east of the world-class Carlin Trend gold mines.
The property is a contiguous block of ground consisting of approximately 19 square miles of land including 477 unpatented mining claims (about 8000 acres), administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and approximately 3,851 acres of mineral rights.
Ownership: The Long Canyon gold exploration project is a joint venture between AuEx Ventures, Inc. 49% owner ("AuEx"), and Fronteer Development Group, Inc. 51% owner and operator ("Fronteer"). Both companies are publically traded and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The initial Letter of Intent agreement was signed with NewWest Gold Corporation ("NewWest"), in May 2006. Each party reserves a 3% net smelter royalty on lands contributed. To earn a 51% interest in the joint venture, NewWest was required to expend $5,000,000 on the joint venture properties within five years, with $400,000 committed in the first year. In September 2007, NewWest was acquired by Fronteer Development Group, Inc. Fronteer completed the earn-in of a 51% vested interest in 2008. As of November 2008, total project expenditures by the Venture participants exceeded $8.0 million. The Venture is managed by a technical committee comprised of members from each partner with proportional voting rights.
History: Exploration beginning in the early 1990's in the Pequop Mountains by Pittston Nevada Gold discovered gold bearing jasperoids on the west side of the range. Exploration subsequently located anomalous gold on the east side of the range near Long Canyon but was not acted upon until a land exchange had occurred with the BLM involving some of the anomalous ground. One phase of drilling was carried out by Pittston in 2000 that included 7 holes covering a small area of the northeast portion of the surface anomaly. Results were not very encouraging with the exception of one hole. AuEx acquired control of PNGC in 2004 and drilled another 7 holes in 2005 after a reinterpretation of the geology. The 2005 results were highly encouraging and in 2006, NewWest Gold and AuEx entered into a JV agreement. Sixteen additional holes were drilled in August 2006.
Geology: The Pequop Mountains form a horst of east-dipping lower Paleozoic carbonate and clastic sedimentary rocks bounded on the east and west by Late Miocene to Recent normal faults. Gold mineralization at Long Canyon occurs above and below the contact of the Late Cambrian Notch Peak Formation and the Early Ordovician Pogonip Group.
A dense, carbon-rich dolomite unit compromising the top of the Notch Peak Formation focused the development of dissolution breccias and meteoric and hydrothermal karst along its margins which accommodated hydrothermal fluid flow and the deposition of gold mineralization. Axial plane fractures in a set of open SE verging folds mapped in outcrop appear to impart a gentle NE plunge to the mineralization.
Alteration of rocks associated with gold mineralization as seen in outcrop, road cuts, and drill core include:
- Sanding and bleaching of dolomite.
- Proximal orange-red earthy hematite with late jarosite and scorodite as staining, coatings, and flooding of the altered rock.
- Yellow-brown limonite peripheral to gold mineralization.
- Sparse jasperoidal silica replacement in collapse breccias and along structures.
- Clay in zones of strong decalcification, dikes, and sills.
- Calcite veining superimposed on iron oxide.
Alteration is well developed in dissolution collapse breccias, bedding unit stratabound horizons, and the contact zone of the massive dolomite with thin-bedded limestone units. The geochemical signature of Long Canyon is typical of most Carlin-type gold systems with a very high gold to silver ratio, anomalous arsenic, antimony, and mercury. Base metal concentrations range from background to weakly anomalous concentrations.
AuEx Ventures, Inc. is a Nevada-based precious metals exploration company that is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol XAU. The Company's portfolio includes over twenty exploration projects in Nevada, two projects in Argentina and one project in Spain. In Nevada, they control about 167,200 acres of unpatented claims and fee land. Of the twenty-three projects, ten are in exploration/joint venture agreements with six companies who provide exploration funding. The Company applies the extensive Nevada experience and high-end technical skills of its founders to search for and acquire new precious metal exploration project that are then offered for joint venture.
9.30.2009
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