Pacific Gold keeps growing

Pacific Gold (PCFG-O) hopes to be a placer gold producer in Oregon and Nevada in the near future. It is a company to watch as the action unfolds.

The company has done a lot in the past year; they have set themselves up with placer gold properties and soon the physical work and production should begin.

Pacific Gold began its foray into alluvial gold exploration under the name Blue Fish Entertainment. In August 2003, Blue Fish bought Oregon Gold, which was in the process of acquiring properties.

In September, Blue Fish made an initial payment to the owner of the Defiance claims. The Defiance mine is in Josephine county, 20 miles from the town of Grants Pass. During the summer Oregon Gold completed a couple of trenches on the property, processed gravel on site, and recovered a bit less than 9 ounces of gold. Due diligence on the property resulted in ownership issues that required amendments to the purchase agreement.

Blue Fish Entertainment changed its name to Pacific Gold in September 2003. In a few months, the company had 4 subsidiaries including: Oregon Gold, Nevada Rae Gold, Fernley Gold and, most recently, Grants Pass Gold, all set up to work on different land packages.

In November, Oregon Gold staked claims in Josephine county, south-western Oregon, bringing the number of claims to 14. A test sample was performed on the Bear Bench. Two pits, about 25-feet-deep, were dug, and channel samples were taken through old adits close to bedrock. Samples were concentrated on site and then sent to an analytical firm in Reno, Nevada.

Highlights from 15 samples, include: 1.55 ounces gold per cubic yard, 0.032 ounce gold per cubic yard, 0.019 ounce gold per cubic yard and 0.009 ounce gold per cubic yard.

Oregon Gold has bought a drill, capable of drilling up to 300 feet, and has a permit that will allow drilling on the Bear Bench up until the end of May.

In October, Nevada Rae Gold, the subsidiary formed to work on the Crescent Valley project in Lander county, northern Nevada, staked 29 placer claims and leased adjacent land. The property is about 53 miles west of Elko, Nevada.

The project covers about 40% of a gold resource that has been estimated to contain a proven 1.98 million cubic yards of gravel grading 0.034 oz. gold per yard, as well as a probable 6.3 million cubic yards grading 0.031 oz. gold per yard.

A formal plan of operations was submitted to the Nevada State Division of Environmental Protection and the Bureau of Land Management in March. Environmental firm and permitting consultants Chemrox Technologies performed tests and prepared the data to be incorporated into the plan. An application for a water pollution and control permit for Crescent Valley was submitted in May. The government has 6 months to decide on the outcome.

This March, Nevada Rae bought water-producing wells and land adjacent to their property, and 2 miles from the known resource, to ensure a dependable water supply for the project. In addition, the land package was increased by 12 placer mining claims.

In April Pacific Gold received US$450,000 in debt financing. It has been actively acquiring more properties since then.

Fernley Gold was incorporated in mid-May. It has a lease agreement on the Butcher Boy and Teddy claims, covering 680 acres, 34 miles east of Reno, in western Nevada. The agreement has a 5-year term with a renewal clause. Fernley will make monthly payments that will be applied to a pre-determined fee structure, dependant on the spot price of gold. If gold remains below US$400 per ounce then the royalty is 6% of the gross value of the ore, less smelter-costs.

The Butcher Boy has an estimated proven resource of 58,000 ounces gold, another 87,000 indicated ounces and a potential resource of 300,000 ounces gold, in a total resource of about 20 million cubic yards grading 0.4 gram gold per cubic yard.

In late-May, newly-formed Grants Pass Gold completed the purchase of the Defiance mine and associated operating permits, a purchase cancelled by Pacific Gold in November. The mine is adjacent to Oregon Gold’s Bear Bench property. Oregon Gold performed a sampling program on the property last summer. The sale includes earth-moving equipment and a mill. The mine cost US$150,000; the equipment and mill another US$100,000 and a capped 5% net smelter royalty is payable to the former owners.