Utilizing sound science to test innovative geological concepts in a search for new multi-million ounce deposits in the prolific gold fields of the Western US
21-Oct-08 - Sherbrooke Lunch Presentation Tuesday October 21st at 12pm Restaurant Da Toni 15 Belvedere Street, North Sherbrooke, QC
30-Nov-08 - Hard Assets Conference Evolving Gold will be presenting at the Hard Assets Conference, Nov. 30–Dec. 1 2008, San Francisco Marriott, San Francisco
Evolving Gold calls its geologists, explorationists and gold finders its “GeoScience” team, because combining the two words ‘Geology’ and ‘Science’ sums up the company’s strategic approach to finding gold. The approach combines the practical training, knowledge and experience of the Geologist with the rigorous, disciplined, thorough approach of the Scientist. The team is headed up by Quinton Hennigh, Ph.D. President and Chief Geologist, and Chief Explorationist, acknowledged by his peers as one of the most imaginative and visionary gold exploration geologists in the field.
One of Evolving Gold’s biggest strengths is that it is well financed with strong, knowledgeable institutional support behind it. That institutional support represents 67% of EVG’s shareholders. As of the end of June, 2008, cash in the bank was a healthy $22M, enough to finance activities for two more years. Evolving Gold’s institutional partners have invested because they are familiar with the business of finding gold, know the risks and the rewards, and believer in the team's ability to deliver. CEO Robert Bick says, “The team is our single biggest asset and that's why we have the money.”
The company’s short-term focus for finding gold is a Diatreme Complex historically known to have a significant gold deposit - Rattlesnake Hills in Natrona County, Wyoming. A potential elephant may lie at the company’s North Carlin District Properties in Nevada where the medium term objective is to find an extension of the famous Carlin Trend.
Evolving Gold is focused on finding multi-million ounce gold deposits to build long‐term shareholder value, utilizing sound science to test innovative geological concepts in our search for new deposits in the prolific gold fields of the western US.
Over the last 9 months, the Evolving Gold GeoScience team has acquired a portfolio of 10 properties and staked 100,000 acres of land. The portfolio now includes 8 properties in Nevada, 1 in Wyoming and 1 New Mexico, and can be sub-divided into 6 groups, 5 of which could each sustain a typical junior company’s exploration and development program:
Rattlesnake Hills, Wyoming – the company’s key short-term focus for finding gold, this is a Diatreme Complex that is known historically to have a significant gold deposit.
North Carlin Project, Nevada – a potential elephant with a medium-term time objective which is to find the extension of the famous Carlin Trend.
Sleeper District, Nevada – like it’s name, a potential sleeper between two known gold deposits
Fisher Canyon, Nevada – a sedimentary gold project that offers great potential
Malone, New Mexico – a gold./silver project that could be a hidden gem
Alpha Butte, Nevada – a property that is under review
The team currently has plans to drill all 10 properties over the coming year, as well as carry out the geo-physical and geo-chemical assessments required to plan future drilling programs.
1/ Rattlesnake Hills, Natrona County, Wyoming - the company’s key short-term focus for finding gold is a Diatreme Complex that is historically known to have a significant gold deposit.
Rattlesnake Hills gold prospect is located approximately 70 kilometers west of Casper, Wyoming and consists of 2,600 acres plus a further 682 acres of Wyoming State lease lands. The Company has a 100% undivided interest in the prospect, which has been drilled twice in the past, once by American Copper and Nickel (ANC) in the late 1980’s, and again in the mid-1990’s by Newmont. Each time extensive mineralization was found, and a historic resource of about 400,000 ounces of gold was identified in two zones 500 m apart. From surface mapping, it is clear that the extent of alteration associated with gold mineralization is more extensive than the areas drilled.
For various reasons, after conducting extensive drill programs, Newmont gave up the property. At a later date it then tried to get the property back but was unsuccessful in coming to terms with the leaseholders. Recently, Evolving Gold made a successful agreement with the leaseholders and obtained the rights to the property. The company’s strategy is to expand upon both of the zones and demonstrate they are connected at depth. If they are, Evolving feels confident they can bring the ore body up to a level of 1-2,000,000 ounces.
Rattlesnake Hills is a Diatreme Complex, meaning it is a composite of several vents of a certain type of volcano. Explosive eruptions occurred over a period of several thousand years as pulses of magma rose to the surface and came in contact with shallow groundwater. Upon contact, these waters were heated triggering eruptions and forming carrot-shaped vents extending deep into the ground. At Rattlesnake, these vents allowed deep, gold-bearing solutions to rise upwards where they precipitated gold at shallow levels. What makes Rattlesnake particularly intriguing is the alkaline nature of the magmas that formed the volcanic rocks. Simply put, these magmas were rich in potassium and sodium. Volcanic rocks such as these are associated with numerous large gold deposits around the globe. Examples include Porgera, PNG, the Emperor Mine, Fiji and Cripple Creek, Colorado. The Cripple Creek mine has been mined for about a hundred years and delivered at least 25,000,000 ounces of gold.
Two core drills recently went in to Rattlesnake Hills the 3rd week of June and will remain there till the end of 2008. The company anticipates drilling a minimum of 20,000ft to evaluate the true extent of the system. The first publicly available results should be released shortly after assays begin in late August, and additional results will continue to be released throughout 2008.
2/ North Carlin District Properties, Nevada - a potential elephant with a medium-term time horizon, the objective of which is to find an extension of the famous Carlin Trend.
Nevada is ‘Elephant Country for Gold’. The state is one of the most prolific high-grade gold vein provinces on earth and the 3rd largest producer (7-8 million oz/yr) of gold in the world. Only Australia (9 million oz/yr) and South Africa (12 million oz/yr) produce more gold. Nevada accounts for 78% of US production. Over 50 million ounces of gold have been produced from high grade veins, veins grading in excess of 0.25 oz gold per ton, since the first discovery in 1859. Seven of the world’s largest gold deposits, containing 80 million oz, were discovered in Nevada between 1985 to 1990. There are currently an estimated 64 million oz of reserves.
The North Carlin project builds on that rich mining tradition with a exciting, sophisticated, conceptual project that has high potential for finding significant goldfields. Simply put, the Evolving’s GeoScience team believes they've found the extension of the famous ‘Carlin Trend’. By way of explanation, the Carlin Mine is at the center of Newmont's eastern Nevada operations. In the early 1960s geologists began probing the high desert area around the Tuscarora Mountains. Newmont's first open pit mine and oxide mill began production in 1965. As additional gold was discovered and new mines opened, the faulted terrain running northwest to southeast from the town of Carlin became known as the Carlin Trend. This 50-mile long, 5-mile wide belt contains more than 20 major gold deposits and is the most prolific goldfield in the Western Hemisphere. Newmont's Carlin Trend operations include five open pit mines and three underground mines that supply ore to a variety of Nevada processing facilities. Newmont has 2,800 employees in these operations.
Because of Quentin’s background and strong relationship with Newmont, Evolving was fortunate in being able to lease 32,000 acres of prime exploration ground within the Carlin trend from Newmont, and the Company is currently in the process of drilling the properties. In addition to the Newmont properties, the company has also staked 39,000 acres north of Battle Mountain, Nevada in the Sheep Creeks project area, and another 7,200 acres in the Jake Creek area, near the prolific Getchell Trend.
Having assembled the properties, the company now has the opportunity to test several critical geophysical anomalies that may represent “pieces” of the Carlin Trend that became disarticulated during Miocene extensional tectonism. A new geologic model proposed by Evolving Gold, based on geophysical data and recognition of certain styles of faulting, suggests that the same rocks that host ore on the Carlin and Getchell trends are sub-cropping at permissible depth beneath a thin veneer of cover. The North Carlin District Properties include Sheep Creeks and Jake Creek, Boulder Valley, Carlin and Cottonwood.
The first phase of drilling in the North Carlin District commenced in November, 2007 and is ongoing. Initial drilling results have proven the merits of this new geological model which provides significant potential for future drilling.
3/ Sleeper District Project, Nevada - like it’s name, a potential sleeper between two known gold deposits.
Although many of the early vein districts in Nevada have been extensively prospected and developed, recent exploration has focused on looking for similar deposits buried under shallow gravel areas called pediment, near the foot of the many mountain ranges across the region. Evolving Gold has recognized one such area of opportunity between two buried epithermal deposits, Sleeper and Sandman, on the west flank of the Slumbering Hills in Humboldt County, Nevada. The Sleeper deposit, discovered in 1984 and recognized as being one of the highest grade gold deposits ever mined, produced over 1.6 million oz Au from ore frequently containing percent level gold. The similar Sandman deposit, approximately 16 miles south of Sleeper, is currently being explored by Fronteer Development Group.
Evolving Gold has staked 702 claims in the intervening ground between Sleeper and Sandman, covering approximately 14,500 acres and has undertaken a systematic geophysical program to test for indications of similar rocks to those at Sleeper and Sandman. As a result of successful magnetic, gravity and IP surveys over the property, several key targets for a follow-up drilling campaign were identified and a program of 34 reverse circulation holes has recently commenced on the property.
4/ Fisher Canyon, Nevada - a sedimentary gold project that offers great potential
Sedimentary rocks host in excess of 200 million oz of gold in Nevada. John Livermore, discoverer of the original Carlin deposit, got his start at the Standard Mine where he is credited as being the first geologist to recognize the importance of sedimentary rock hosted gold deposits. Although Livermore and his followers prospected the west side of the Humboldt Range, little exploration was ever undertaken on the east flank, the location of Fisher Canyon. The Evolving team believes the discovery of gold mineralization at Fisher Canyon may open up an entirely new prospective region for development. Further geochemical sampling was undertaken over the property in 2007, with positive results which assisted with target selection for the recent drilling campaign of 13 reverse circulation holes, completed in December 2007. Results are forthcoming.
5/ Malone Gold/Silver Project, Grant County, New Mexico - a gold./silver project that could be a hidden gem
The old, crystalline basement of the southwestern US and northwestern Mexico is increasingly becoming recognized as one of the most significant gold provinces in North America. In excess of 30 million oz gold are hosted by deposits within these basement rocks. Malone displays similarities to several other deposits in this region. The property is comprised of 80 unpatented lode mining claims covering about 1,500 acres. First phase core drilling of the Malone Property was completed in January, 2008 and results provided significant gold and silver shows. The team is very pleased with what has been found to date and will probably go back there in the fall. Malone could be a hidden gem.
6/ Alpha Butte, Nevada - on the bench and under review
Strong anomalous geochemistry, widespread indications of mineralization, and close proximity to several multi-million oz gold deposits led Evolving Gold to stake 62 claims over about 1,200 acres and conduct an intensive mapping and sampling program over the property. Development of the property is under review.
Evolving Gold has a collective term for the geologists, explorationists and gold finders charged with finding the gold that is the company’s raison d’etre. It calls them it’s “GeoScience” team because the combining of the two words ‘Geology’ and ‘Science’ really sums up the company’s strategic approach to finding gold. This strategic approach combines the practical training, knowledge and experience of the Geologist with the rigorous, disciplined, thorough approach of the Scientist. In its ‘GeoScience’ team, Evolving Gold considers it has the single best exploration team searching for gold in the Western United States.
There’s a saying in the gold world that “All the gold that’s easy to find has already been found.” So in order to find gold today, you need a different kind of smarts. You're not looking for an outcrop like in the old days, you're looking for many more subtle factors. You need a team that knows how to interpret data and how to make decisions based on that data. To making that hard task of finding gold easier, today there are all kinds of new techniques and technologies if you've got the financial power to purchase them, and your team has the knowledge to utilize them effectively. Fortunately, Evolving Gold has both.
The team is headed up by Quinton Hennigh, Ph.D. President and Chief Geologist, and Chief Explorationist. Quinton is acknowledged by his peers as one of the most imaginative and visionary gold exploration geologists in the field. He has made significant contributions to Newmont Mining, Newcrest Mining and Homestake Mining. He has experience working throughout North America, in Europe, Australia, Asia and South America. He possesses the invaluable ability to balance the pragmatics of business with bold innovation. Quinton has spent years developing regional concepts for the exploration for buried gold deposits, particularly in Nevada. Quinton is not only a brilliant scientist, he’s also bringing intuition, experience and passion to the process of finding gold. It’s his mission in life and he’s spent years doing it.
Quinton has put together a sophisticated, world class team to assist him, each of whom are focused on their own individual tasks as part of the company's overall quest. In many small companies, one geologist is charged with all or most of the responsibility for finding activities, and naturally, that person’s talents get spread pretty thin. That's not the case at Evolving Gold, where the comprehensive talents and experience of the GeoScience team can evaluate the multiple aspects of the complex task of finding gold. Furthermore, in contrast to the situation where the geologist is also the CEO of the company, and responsible for dealing with investors, at Evolving Gold, the ongoing running of the company and the task of investor relations is done by an experienced CEO, Robert Bick, leaving the geological team free to concentrate on the key task at hand which is finding gold. Robert says his job is to let the experts do their job of finding gold, and making sure they have all the resources necessary to do it efficiently and effectively.
The team’s members include:
Dr. Bob Barker, Ph.D., is Senior Geological Consultant and the first person who hired Quentin years ago. He is now thrilled to be working with him. He will implement Evolving Gold’s acquisition strategy and help manage Evolving’s drill program, and keep the machine running well so that Quentin can focus on creating the vision, analyzing the data, and using his network of people to locate other properties, scientists, geologists, geophysicists, geochemist's, etc.
Tom Weis, MSc., Consulting Geophysicist, has been a practicing geophysicist for over 30 years and is the world specialist on geophysics in Nevada, an expert in all aspects of the applicability of geophysical techniques to the exploration for buried gold deposits
Patty Rehn, MSc., Geochemist with 30 years experience has a proprietary methodology for mercury detection of gold beneath overburden, which provides a good indication of where to drill. She’s used this methodology for Newmont and Barrick and she's now working with a Evolving Gold exclusively
Finally, last but not least, complementing the GeoScience team are two people who make possible the GeoScience team’s effort:
CEO Robert Bick, a trained flautist and seasoned serial entreprenueur who says his job is to provide the financial and organizational resources for the others to do their jobs
recently appointed CFO, Vitaly Melnikov, who prior to joining Evolving Gold, held senior management positions with international resource companies operating in North America, Europe, Russia and Central Asia.
Evolving Gold’s ’s potential lies in its ability to lever the training, knowledge and experience base of it GeoScience team. It’s their disciplined, scientific approach and ability to filter reams of historical and current data that others have looked at before, and look for patterns, trends and anomalies in a new, different, creative way. It’s that combination of experience, imagination and intuitiveness in one package that CEO Robert Bick feels is the single biggest asset of the company. In fact, so well is the team and its capabilities and resources regarded that other companies are bringing properties with already demonstrated potential to Evolving Gold in the knowledge that Evolving could do more with their properties than they can.
The company’s primary focus is to find gold in the near-term, and there is no easier way to find gold than to look in a place where gold has already been found. As a result, the company’s short-term focus for finding gold is the Rattlesnake Hills project where gold has already been found before: 400,000 oz of it, though the deposit is not yet 43-101 compliant. Rattlesnake Hills is the closest in and the most later stage property, and the one where the company feels it will get results the fastest. Many holes have already been drilled by previous property holders Newmont and ANC. Evolving’s strategy is to twin many of these existing holes but to dig them much deeper. The plan is to drill at least 20,000 feet, and probably as much as 30,000 feet, with at least two drills for at least five months.
At the same time, Evolving is drilling some of the North Carlin properties. They have pulled back in terms of the amount of time and money being spent in order to conserve cash but they will continue to investigate those properties on an ongoing basis. The third area of concentration is the Malone property in New Mexico that the team will probably go back to in November. In total, the Company anticipates drilling 120 holes testing numerous targets on all 10 properties over the next 9 – 12 months.
In the last nine months Evolving Gold has created an enviable list of accomplishments:
Secured 10 properties that they have assembled into a group of 5 world-class properties
Staked 100,000 acres of land
Secured a property lease with Newmont to a property on the Carlin trend that is very hard to get access to
Raised $29 million to fund projects
Significantly raised the profile of Evolving Gold from one of 3,000 or so junior exploration companies to their present position as perhaps one of the top 20 or 30 significant players in the gold exploration market.
Finally, Evolving Gold has brought a fresh new approach to the ongoing business of starting, financing and running a gold exploration company. In marketing terms, they have built an EVG brand, and going back to Robert Bick's family beginnings as a premier pickle player with one of Canada’s great consumer brand names perhaps that's not surprising.
One of Evolving Gold’s biggest strengths is that it is well financed with strong, knowledgeable institutional support behind it. That institutional support represents 67% of EVG’s shareholders. These institutional shareholders include names such as Pinetree Capital, Tocqueville Asset Management, Passport Capital, StabilitasGold Fund, Prudent Global, Acker Finley, Sprott Asset Management, Eastbourne Capital Management, TD Asset Management, and Pate Capital Partners.
As of the end of June 2008, cash in the bank was a healthy $22M, enough at the company’s present burn rate to finance activities for two more years.
Evolving gold’s institutional partners have invested the money they have into Evolving Gold because they are familiar with the business of finding gold, they know the risks, they know the rewards, and they have invested in the management team because of their belief in the team's ability to deliver. Specifically, they have invested in the team's ability to find the right properties and figure out how to drill them effectively to find gold in the most efficient manner. As CEO Robert Bick says, “The team is our single biggest asset and that's why we have money.”
1/ Rattlesnake Hills, Natrona County, Wyoming - the company’s key short-term focus for finding gold is a Diatreme Complex that is historically known to have a significant gold deposit. 
The North Carlin project builds on that rich mining tradition with a exciting, sophisticated, conceptual project that has high potential for finding significant goldfields. Simply put, the Evolving’s GeoScience team believes they've found the extension of the famous ‘Carlin Trend’. By way of explanation, the Carlin Mine is at the center of Newmont's eastern Nevada operations. In the early 1960s geologists began probing the high desert area around the Tuscarora Mountains. Newmont's first open pit mine and oxide mill began production in 1965. As additional gold was discovered and new mines opened, the faulted terrain running northwest to southeast from the town of Carlin became known as the Carlin Trend. This 50-mile long, 5-mile wide belt contains more than 20 major gold deposits and is the most prolific goldfield in the Western Hemisphere. Newmont's Carlin Trend operations include five open pit mines and three underground mines that supply ore to a variety of Nevada processing facilities. Newmont has 2,800 employees in these operations.