Millrock Enters Option to Purchase Liberty Bell Gold-Copper Project, Alaska

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Oct. 13, 2015) - Millrock Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:MRO) ("Millrock") announces that it has entered into an agreement under which it has been granted the option to purchase the Liberty Bell gold-copper project located near the town of Healy, Alaska. The property is comprised of 188 claims covering 6,150 ha.

The Liberty Bell project is prospective for 

a) replacement-style gold mineralization, 

b) gold-bearing quartz veins, stockworks and shears, and 

c) intrusion hosted gold. 

The claim area is host to a small, former producing mine - the Liberty Bell Mine - which was operated by Eva Creek Mining. As reported in a U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin, production records for the Eva Creek Mining Company for 1932 and 1933 indicate that 8,400 ounces of gold were produced from 17,500 short tons of ore (Smith, P. S., 1933, Mineral Resources of Alaska in 1930: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 836-A, p. 1-83). In 1987 NERCO reported a resource estimate of approximately 150,000 ounces of gold in rock grading 0.08 to 0.10 ounces of gold per ton. (Freeman, L.K, Hannemann, N.L., and Flanders, R.W., 1988, Liberty Bell Joint Venture Report of 1987 Exploration: Resource Associates of Alaska Report 70p). 

Note: The resource estimate was produced prior to the institution of NI43-101 guidelines for reporting mineral resources. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves and Millrock cannot presently verify the relevance or reliability of the historical estimate. Millrock is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. Re-sampling and re-logging of existing drill cores and confirmatory and infill drilling from surface will be required to determine the significance of the historical resource. A qualified person has not verified the production reports or mineral resource data reported by NERCO.

Why Alaska doesn't trust BC

Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett visited southeast Alaska this summer, trying to calm critics of the province's aggressive push to build at least 10 mines close to the Alaska border.

"I understand why people feel so strongly about protecting what they have," Bennett said at a news conference in Juneau. "There's a way of life here that has tremendous value and the people here don't want to lose it. I get that."

Bennett's conciliatory tone was in response to an unprecedented outpouring of concern from a powerful alliance of Alaskan politicians, tribes, fishing organizations and environmental groups. They're perturbed by the modern-day gold rush alongside vital transboundary salmon rivers such as the Unuk, Taku and Stikine.

Indeed, long-held perceptions of Canada as a country with strict environmental standards and B.C. as a province that values natural beauty have taken a beating in southeast Alaska. Many now regard Canadians as bad neighbours who unilaterally make decisions that could threaten the region's two major economic drivers – tourism and fishing.

Drilling for gold: Inside the KSM’s exploration project

A KSM drill rig perches above a deep valley about 80 miles east of Wrangell. (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News)

British Columbia’s Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell mining project wrapped up its 2015 exploration season in late September. The KSM, about 30 miles east of the Alaska border, is the largest of 10 or so such projects near waterways that flow into Southeast.

Its owner, Toronto-based Seabridge Gold, has already spent close to $200 million searching for ore. We take you there, during the previous season, to learn about the exploration process.

A drill rig grinds into the bedrock of a high ridge, overlooking a wilderness of snow-capped mountains and lushly vegetated valleys. The bright blue rig juts up through the roof of a rough shack of sturdy tarps, sheets of plywood and heavy timber.

Inside, Jeff Skinner is setting up the diesel-powered, hydraulic drill rig for its next run.

“Well, we’re doing mineral exploration for these gentlemen. We’re drilling the hole, pulling the rock samples out of the ground and sending them down to the geologists and they take care of it from there,” he says.