SILVER/GOLD – Silver Grail Resources Ltd. and Teuton Resources Corp. Aug. 13 reported the start of reconnaissance sampling at the Gold Mountain and Ram properties, located about 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of Stewart, British Columbia. The companies plan to carry out prospecting particularly around zones of glacial melt-back. New ground is expected to have opened up since the 1990s, the last time the claims were prospected. Previous work on the Gold Mountain property outlined a 200 by 300 meter zone of pervasive quartz calcite veinlets, carrying gold values up to 0.632 ounces per ton gold. On the Ram property, prospecting has led to the discovery of several mineralized occurrences. These include hydrozincite-stained limetstone-dolomite horizons, silver-bearing quartz veins, shears with minor sulfides, and a pyritic and chert horizon containing sporadic galena and sphalerite-hydrozincite. Prospecting is also planned for the nearby jointly-owned Konkin Silver and Fiji claims. On the Konkin Silver property several silver-bearing structures have been discovered in an exhalative horizon. One of these, the main Konkin Silver showing, returned trench results ranging from 14.8 feet (4.5 meters) grading 2.53 oz/t silver to 29.5 ft.(nine meters) grading 34.94 oz/t silver. Native silver was observed in some trench samples. Previous work at Fiji, located to the northwest of the Homestake property now being explored by Agnico Eagle, 2006 led to the discovery of two mineralized zones. Five out of sixteen samples from the zones returned gold values ranging from 0.327 to 1.27 oz/ton gold. One of the zones features fracture-controlled pyrite mineralization in what appears to be a highly altered intrusive. The second zone, in an area exposed by melt-back of a snowfield, features sphalerite, galena, tetrahedrite, pyrite and barite mineralization hosted in altered volcanic rocks.

FINANCE – Pretium Resources Inc. Aug. 13 announced that, further to its previously announced marketed offering of 8.28 million common shares at a price of US$7.25 per share, Scotia Capital Inc. notified Pretium of its intention to exercise the entire over-allotment option to acquire an additional 1.242 million shares at US$7.25 per share. Of the over-allotment shares, 1,024,650 will be issued and sold by Pretium and 217,350 will be sold by Silver Standard Resources Inc. The exercise of the over-allotment option is expected to add approximately US$7.4 million to Pretium’s gross proceeds from offering and Silver Standard will gain approximately US$1.58 million. Pretium’s net proceeds from the over-allotment will be used to fund environmental and engineering activities, permitting and continued exploration at the Brucejack gold project; and for general corporate purposes.

INFRASTRUCTURE – The Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia Aug. 12 hailed the opening of the Northwest Transmission Line in Terrace, northern British Columbia. “Today’s official commissioning of the Northwest Transmission Line gives us the opportunity to reflect on how so people from industry, First Nations, communities and the provincial and federal governments have worked together to make this nation-building infrastructure possible,” said AME BC CEO Gavin Dirom. “Today presents an opportunity to celebrate the hard-earned efforts of those who have contributed to this legacy project over the past ten years, to thank the provincial and federal governments for their leadership in providing funding, and to recognize and thank the hundreds of men and women who helped construct the power line over the past two years.” The Northwest Transmission Line connects much of northwestern BC with clean, renewable energy, taking communities off diesel power, and providing renewable energy to the BC Hydro electrical grid. The transmission line has the potential to serve communities as well as current and proposed mine projects in an area the size of France. This area, renowned to the mineral exploration and development community as the Golden Triangle, has more than 935 mineral occurrences, including ten potential new mines that could provide over 4,000 direct jobs and C$18 billion in capital investment. Glen Wonders, AME BC vice president, technical and government affairs, said, “We acknowledge that this transmission line is in the traditional territory of the Nisga’a Nation, Kitsumkalum First Nation, three Gitxsan Houses, Gitanyow Nation, Skii km Lax Ha, Kitselas First Nation, Metlakatla First Nation, Lax Kw’alaams Indian Band and Tahltan Nation. Many AME BC members have developed close business and personal relationships with aboriginal communities in the area that may be served by the Northwest Transmission Line, and it is our expectation that mineral exploration and development projects will continue to be a major source of employment for local First Nations. Canada’s mineral exploration and mining industry is the largest private sector employer of aboriginal peoples, and this is evident in the area served by the Northwest Transmission Line.”

NICKEL – Westhaven Ventures Inc. Aug. 12 reported that it has completed drilling on its 15,322-hectare (37,861 acres) Ben property, located about 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Williams Lake, B.C. A total of 11 diamond drill holes, totaling 1,257 meters, were recently completed on the Ben property. Six holes followed up drill hole BN-13-03 which intersected 70 meters of 0.31 percent nickel, and targeted related ground geophysical anomalies from the recently completed survey. Five holes tested several airborne magnetic anomalies discovered in the survey completed earlier in 2014. All samples have been submitted to ALS Minerals and results are pending.