Nevada Sunrise rallies 26% on first assays from historic cobalt mine

Nevada Sunrise Gold Corp. [NEV-TSXV] said samples taken from its Lovelock Cobalt Mine property in Nevada have returned assays of up to 1.81% cobalt, 3.05% nickel, and 5.99% copper. Investors applauded the news, sending Nevada Sunrise shares up 29.4% or $0.05 to 22 cents in early afternoon trading on Thursday January 18.

These results are from an initial geochemical rock sampling program and reconnaissance geophysical survey at the historic Lovelock Mine. Nevada Sunrise recently signed a definitive agreement to acquire a 100% interest in the Lovelock property, which is located roughly 150 kilometres east of Reno, Nevada.

Nevada Sunrise is a Vancouver-based junior with interests in gold, cobalt, and lithium exploration projects in Nevada. Its gold assets include a 100% interest in the Golden Arrow project near Tonopah. That project is subject to an earn-in transaction with Emgold Mining Corp. [EMR-TSXV]. It also holds a 21% stake in a joint venture with Liberty Gold Inc. [LGD-TSX] at the Kingsley Mountain gold project, near Wendover.

Its lithium asset portfolio includes a 100% interest in the Neptune, Jackson Wash, and Aquarius projects, a 50% interest in the Gemini project and the right to earn a 100% stake in the Atlantis project.

Under the terms of an agreement, Nevada Sunrise can acquire the 100% interest in the Lovelock Project by making cash payments and issuing shares to the vendor over three years, subject to a 2% net smelter return royalty.

Nevada Sunrise officials carried out two site visits to the Lovelock Mine in November and December 2017 and collected representative grab rock samples of historical mine waste, and various bedrock samples at the mine and in the areas of other nearby historical adits. Analytical results from several rock samples show strong enrichment in cobalt, nickel, copper and other metals, the company said in a press release.

“Our initial work at the Lovelock Mine is simply the first glance at an area with potential for hosting new cobalt, nickel and copper deposits,” said Nevada Sunrise President and CEO Warren Stanyer. “Our regional research is revealing a mineral-rich district that has been overlooked and underexplored for decades,” he said.

Nevada Sunrise said it intends to apply to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for an exploration permit within the next 30 days, and plans a first-pass drilling program in the spring of 2018 on targets defined to date. The Lovelock Mine property area consists of 35 unpatented claims in the Cottonwood Canyon area of Stillwater Range, covering 283 hectares. It was discovered by George Lovelock and Charles Bell around 1880. According to U.S. Government annual reports, the Lovelock Mine saw limited production of nickel, copper and cobalt, starting in 1883.

At the time, the primary cobalt mineral was identified as “cobaltite,” a compound of cobalt, nickel and arsenic. Records of a geochemical analysis from that era indicate that the average composition of the cobaltite contained 17.3% cobalt and 13.62% nickel. The mine operated from 1883 to 1890, with 500 tons of cobalt and nickel mineralized material shipped to England for processing, according to reports. An English company attempted to start a smelting operation in 1898 but did not succeed. There has been no further production from the Lovelock Mine for well over a century.

Stanyer has said Nevada Sunrise looks forward to applying modern exploration methods to the Lovelock Mine, which in today’s terms could be judged as artisanal workings.