I’d like to recap what we are doing right now about activities we have mentioned in previous news releases as well as an overview of new quick turnaround precious metal, uranium and non-metallic targets.
In Summary:
- The S-1 is operational (NR 199), and gives us the ability to sell (draw down) up to $8 million dollars in shares over a period of 36 months to supply cash. We will continue to seek direct investments in the Company by selling treasury shares to the public as we have done in the past.
- We are continuing work on the Hay Mountain area, collecting vegetation samples for geochemical analysis to further refine our drilling targets and specifically determine potential for near surface copper oxide bodies, which we could put into production relatively quickly and potentially profitably.
- We are working with a potential funder to move on exploration at Hay Mountain and developing projects elsewhere that can be brought into production more quickly and less expensively than the massive copper targets that we believe are present at Hay Mountain. These other projects would be for precious metals and uranium, and a high demand, high price non-metallic product.
Let me discuss each point in more detail.
- With the activation of the S-1 line of credit and the ability to accept private placements, we can get important fieldwork done that will enhance our ability to attract large scale funding. The focus at Hay Mountain is to initiate a program that may lead to the discovery of an oxide copper deposit that may be mined by an in-situ copper leaching operation, or, perhaps a near surface open –pit copper heap leach, solvent extraction and electro winning operation known in the industry as OP-HL-SXEW. While we’ve mentioned these possibilities as early as mid-2014, we believe we can now make concrete plans to commence exploration planning and drilling for these bodies at shallow depth. From my travels and meetings with financiers, it has been made abundantly clear that in the current economic climate, a quick path of development is desired by all investors. We have been advised to tackle smaller projects with somewhat quick turnaround times. We are working in that direction, and when copper prices move higher we will be able to define, finance and mine the large ore bodies that we believe exist below and/or adjacent to the near surface oxide bodies.
- Our Field Manager, Jay Crawford, is an experienced geochemical sample collector having collected more than 14 thousand soil and vegetation samples using a defined sampling technique devised by our geochemical consultant, Shea Clark Smith. Jay will supervise field crews in vegetation sample collection in the Hay Mountain area for high sensitivity geochemical analysis. The sample collection protocol is recorded on an instructional video so that every sampler proceeds the same way, which is critical to the accuracy and precision of the following assay process. Jay will be collecting samples directly under (along the surface projection of) the flight lines of the 2013 ZTEM survey of the Hay Mountain Project area to more precisely focus where we need to drill for the best possible result in a near surface program. I can almost hear the groaning: “more geochem, why bother? ZTEM imagery is the treasure map we have in hand.” But truthfully, at the state of the science right now, there is no such thing as an above the ground (airborne) miracle technique that will deliver geochemical data from the ground, and give results guaranteeing the discovery of an ore body. It is the combination of vegetation geochem showing what metals are at depth below the surface, along with ZTEM which shows conductors associated with mineral bodies at specific depths: the two techniques combining to give specific targets. To find and define an ore body we must drill. Drilling is expensive and in a drilling program, it is essential that we make the best possible decisions about where to deploy the drill. ZTEM in combination with geochemistry gives us the best current tool to do that. This is why we need both with great accuracy.
- Clearly, changes to the funding requirements for Phase 1 exploration at Hay Mountain are in the works, and will continue to change as the world economic picture changes. While my understanding of the geology of the Tombstone Super Project remains the same, I also understand that the phased program must go in the direction of near surface exploration in the short term. We have readied Liberty Star for Phase 1, including having an efficiently equipped and functioning warehouse, about which I received positive comment yesterday from a senior managing field geologist who works for one of the global mining giants, with a similar facility in the same area. We have designed the revised program. Its execution is now under way and will proceed in a step wise process. It will take some time to finalize our redirected program at Hay Mountain, but I do have a general outline that will be posted Monday. Also, I will have a generalized description of the ten other projects that we are considering for development.
James A. Briscoe
CEO/Chief Geologist
8/14/2015
RISK FACTORS FOR OUR COMPANY ARE SET OUT IN OUR 10-K AND OTHER PERIODIC FILINGS FILED WITH THE SEC ON EDGAR.