Summary
Lookout is a sediment-hosted gold property located in Tooele County, Utah (Figure 1). Miranda Gold controls a 100 percent interest in the property. Lookout consists of 162 lode claims (5.2 square miles / 13.5 square kilometers) that cover a 2.7 square mile (7.2 square kilometers) area of hydrothermally-altered carbonate rocks in an under-explored, west-northwest striking fault / fold corridor. Altered carbonate rocks contain elevated gold, arsenic, antimony, mercury and thallium. These features indicate favorable geologic conditions known to be associated with sediment-hosted gold deposits.
Miranda Gold's exploration strategy in Utah is to identify early-stage, sediment-hosted gold opportunities in under-explored terrains. Miranda Gold geologists believe the Lookout project meets these criteria and systematic exploration is warranted.The Lookout project is located 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Tooele, Utah in the northern Sheeprock Mountains. The area is typified by rolling pine and juniper covered hills (Figure 2).
Property Sold
Location and Access
The Lookout project is located 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Tooele, Utah in the northern Sheeprock Mountains. The area is typified by rolling pine and juniper covered hills (Figure 2).
Lookout is in the eastern portion of the Great Basin physiographic province, an area hosting economic, sediment-hosted gold deposits such as: Mercur, Barney's Canyon and Melco. The property is 23 miles (37 km) southwest of the 3.5 million ounce Mercur gold mine, which was active until 1997.
Description
At Miranda's request, Mine Development Associates (MDA) reviewed drill and assay data collected during previous exploration programs at Redlich. The review consisted of a statistical analysis and examination of data in three-dimensional views. The intent of the review was to assess potential continuity of higher-grade mineralization, model the epithermal vein systems present on the property, and refine drill targets. MDA states in its findings that the data provides good insight into the project and that there is strong evidence for the existence of a real, and potentially substantial, epithermal deposit on the property.
MDA found that 55% of all drill-hole samples grading over 0.029 oz Au/t (1 g Au/t) line up roughly along an approximate east-west plane dipping 45 degrees to the south. The strike length of this plane is approximately 1,150ft (350m) long and extends down dip approximately 590ft (180m). All drill holes intersecting this plane as defined above have reported gold intercepts greater than 0.029oz Au/t (1 g Au/t). The best intercept in the plane is 1.945 oz Au/t (66.6 g Au/t).
Two high-grade drill samples of 0.438 oz Au/t (15 g Au/t) and 0.788 oz Au/t (27 g Au/t) occur to the southeast of the defined plane at a distance of 1,065ft (325m) and 5,000ft (1,525m), respectively. According to MDA, these high-grade drill intercepts remain open and represent potential for additional parallel vein sets.
By evaluating gold and silver grade changes by elevation, MDA found evidence for a favorable horizon for precious metal deposition. Gold values show an increase between 4,265ft (1,300m) and 4,755ft (1,450m) in elevation. For silver, the trend is more profound and suggests a lower horizon favorable for the deposition of this metal, a characteristic not unusual for epithermal precious metal deposits. Miranda's geologic team believes this favorable elevation represents the "boiling zone" at which gold was precipitated from hot fluids during mineral deposition.
MDA suggests that further exploration is justified and that it should concentrate on the orientation of the best-fit plane as well as around the two isolated drill intersections of +0.438 oz Au/t (15 g Au/t).
Geology
Published or publicly available geologic information is limited to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) 1979 Geologic Map of the Tooele 1 by 2 degree quadrangle. At Lookout, USGS mapping illustrates north-south trending mountain ranges that inflect into a west-northwest striking fault/fold corridor (Figure 1). Within this corridor, Cambrian through Mississippian-age carbonate rocks, dolomite and quartzite are exposed at surface. The Great Blue Formation, gold host at the Mercur gold mine, is exposed on the northern portion of the property.
Carbonate rocks are cut by west-northwest, northeast and north-south striking faults. The west-northwest orientation of the fault/fold corridor is unique to the Lookout project when compared to structural fabrics in adjacent mountain ranges. This structural fabric may represent an old, long-lived set of faulting. West-northwest faults are well-documented ore controls within economic gold deposits along the Carlin and Cortez Trends in Nevada.
Hydrothermal alteration in carbonate rocks includes iron oxides, decalcification, silicification, clay alteration, quartz and calcite veins, and carbon (Figures 3 and 4). Stibnite, stibiconite, and rare thallium oxide and sulfide minerals are exposed in historic prospect pits. These minerals also occur in sediment-hosted gold deposits at Mercur and other gold deposits along the Carlin and Cortez Trends.
History
Prior to Miranda's reconnaissance effort at Lookout, systematic property-wide exploration had not been completed. Field reconnaissance identified small-scale prospect pits developed along silicified and brecciated fault zones. Select pits expose stibiconite, stibnite sprays and rare thallium-bearing oxides and sulfides. An unknown exploration company in the 1980's, collected rock samples and drilled five rotary holes in two separate areas. Results are not known; however the program was likely conducted prior to the documentation of subtle geologic patterns associated with sediment-hosted gold deposits.
