The Del Oro Property is located approximately 46 km (29 miles) south of Winnemucca, in the East Range, Pershing County, Nevada. It is approximately 6.4 km (4 miles) northwest of the Goldbanks deposit held by Kinross/Desert Gold and about 90 m (300 ft) west and northwest of the Barrick held Rye Project.
Del Oro is 100% controlled by Columbus Gold subject to underlying royalties. International Minerals Corporation can earn an initial 51% interest in Del Oro by incurring US$2 million in exploration expenditures.
The area is underlain by Cambrian Harmony sandstone which has locally been thrust over Pennsylvanian-Permian Havallah clastic rock, chert, quartzite and silty limestone in the northern, Del Oro, portion of the property. The Havallah contains significant sections of greenstone in the southern, Pronto Plata, area. The sediments are cut by intermediate to felsic intrusive rocks locally. The thrusts generally trend northwest and are cut by northeasterly trending high-angle faults. This northeast fault trend is sub-parallel to the extensive Rye shear/vein system just to the southeast. This vein system is presently held by Barrick and is reported to contain ore grade up to 4.06 opt gold, with widths up to 30 m (100 ft) locally.
Bear Creek (Kennecott) drilled 17 holes in the Pronto Plata area of Del Oro in 1985. The best intercepts were 3 m (10 ft) of 0.04 opt and 15 m (50 ft) of 0.027 opt gold. The WX Syndicate staked the original 6 claims in 1986 mapping and rock sampling and drilled 12 shallow air track holes 330 m (1,083 ft). The best intercepts contained 0.01 opt Au over 3-15 m (10-50 ft). Discovery Consultants mapped and sampled the property between 1989 and 1992 but did no drilling. Equinox acquired the project in 1992 and expanded the claim block and leased it to Cameco Corp. who performed ground magnetics, rock sampling, minor soil sampling and drilled eleven RC holes totaling 1,400 m (4,610 ft). The drilling was consistent with earlier drilling and included 7.6 m (25 ft) of 0.012 opt gold.
Newhawk Gold Mines acquired the property in 1995 as part of a larger initiative in the Goldbanks district and completed a large soil survey and drilling of 3 angle RC holes totaling 560 m (1,850 ft) in the area of the original WX Syndicate drilling. The best intercept was 0.017 opt gold over 4.5 m (15 ft). In 2001, the original six claims, then held by Nevada Mine Properties II, were leased to Pacific Spirit Inc. No data of their work, if any, is available.
Northeast trending untested soil anomalies and northeast trending zones of breccias, and silicification north-northeast of the original WX drilling, are priority drill targets.
Andy Wallace is a Certified Professional Geologist (CPG) with the American Institute of Professional Geologists and is the Qualified Person under NI 43-101 who has reviewed and approved the technical content of this project description. Mr. Wallace is the President of Columbus Gold and the principal of Cordilleran Exploration Company ("Cordex"), which is conducting exploration and project generation activities for Columbus Gold on an exclusive basis.
