MINING NEWS: Freegold nabs acreage for Golden Summit

Junior sees flat-lying tract as ideal location for sample processing plant, essential to long-term development of rugged property

By Shane Lasley

Mining News

Freegold Ventures Ltd. Jan. 28 said it has completed the purchase of a strategic parcel of land adjoining its Golden Summit property outside Fairbanks and less than 5 miles from the Fort Knox gold mine. The acquisition of the 301.5-acre tract of private ground, plus three additional state claims, is essential to any long-term development at Golden Summit, the company said.

Given the hilly topography of much of the Golden Summit property, the flat-lying tract had been identified as an ideal spot on which to situate Freegold’s existing bulk sample processing plant. The lease that had been in place to cover the portion of these private lands where the plant and tailings facilities are now located has been terminated, and production royalties that had been associated with the previous lease agreement have been waived as part of the larger land acquisition, Freegold said.

All 312 acres are directly adjacent to the Steese Highway and power lines, and represent the only practical access to gold mineralization currently identified in the Cleary Hill and Tolovana areas.

In addition to the broad expanse of flat-lying ground, the parcel is ideally situated at the confluence of a number of streams, providing an abundance of processing water as well as on-site gravel. Large stockpiles of sand and gravel on the property will be a valuable asset in any future project expansions, and Freegold will continue to investigate the sale of these gravels for local use as has been undertaken in the past, company officials said in a statement.

In 2007, Freegold discovered new high-grade veins in surface trenching at Golden Summit, which historically has produced more than 7 million ounces of gold. The Canadian junior has commenced small-scale test mining/bulk sampling on these new veins and is continuing to delineate additional strike length through ongoing trenching programs. The company also is exploring two other Interior Alaska properties, Rob and Vinasale.

Freegold also noted that any new royalty structure that might result from ongoing congressional efforts to reform the 1872 Mining Law will not affect the majority of its current land holdings.