Mining News: Junior diversifies to improve odds for exploration

Copper Ridge Exploration Inc. got its start 10 years ago when Gerald Carlson and Mark Fields organized the company.

Prior to forming Copper Ridge in 1999, Carlson was president and CEO of La Teko Resources Ltd., which held gold claims near the Fort Knox Mine in Interior Alaska.

Fields also worked for La Teko until Fort Knox owner Kinross Gold Corp. acquired that junior. The geologist also was involved in the acquisition and development of the Diavik diamond mine for Rio Tinto Ltd., and has since moved on to other ventures. However, he still is a member of Copper Ridge’s board of directors.

Copper Ridge is considered a project generator, sort of a middleman between prospectors and well-capitalized companies that can develop mines on their own or in partnership with others.

“We like to retain 30-50 percent interest in our projects, but sometimes we sell a larger interest,” Carlson said. “But we obtain shares in the acquiring company or a net smelter interest to get some value for shareholders if there is a discovery.”

The company operates in four jurisdictions: Yukon Territory, British Columbia, Alaska and Mexico.

A publicly held junior with Canadians holding up to 90 percent of its stock and Americans and Europeans owning its remaining shares, Copper Ridge’s focus has evolved over the years with the opportunities that have come its way.

Today, it is focused on acquiring, exploring and developing diversified mineral resource properties including base metals, precious metals, uranium and tungsten. By exploring a broad array of projects and focusing on the right commodities, in areas of high mineral potential, in mining-friendly jurisdictions, the junior believes it has a greater chance for discovery to maximize shareholder value.

Part of the Vancouver, B.C.-based junior’s attraction to Yukon Territory is the mining-friendly jurisdiction’s low political risk and high mineral potential, Carlson said.

For Copper Ridge, the Yukon government’s mining incentive programs are very important.

“They have been very effective in keeping exploration going in Yukon by supporting the prospectors. A number of them have brought us some good projects,” Carlson said.

“We find Alaska a little more expensive to explore, but it also has great mineral potential,” he observed.

Carlson said British Columbia, the other jurisdiction where it operates, has its challenges with First Nations disputes.

Persistence can pay off

The Ogopogo property is located in the Goodpaster mining district, 90 air miles east of Fairbanks and about 4 kilometers, or 2.5 miles east of the 5.5 million-ounce Pogo gold mine, which is owned by Sumitomo Corp. Copper Ridge holds a 100 percent interest in seven mining claims and various prospecting sites in east central Alaska, including the Ogopogo project, which consists of 114 State of Alaska mining claims covering 8,040 acres.

No significant mineralization has been identified within the Ogopogo claim block. The target is gold within quartz veins as identified in the Pogo deposit or similar to the gold occurrences demonstrated by a number of deposits within the Tintina Gold Province, associated with auriferous Cretaceous intrusions, such as Fort Knox, True North or Ryan Lode. Copper Ridge recently completed a NI 43-101 report on the property, which concludes that potential exists on the Ogopogo property for significant grade-tonnage accumulations of intrusive and/or gneiss-hosted gold mineralization similar to that currently being mined in the Fairbanks District and at the Pogo Mine. The report recommended an IP geophysical survey and soil sampling followed by a 1,000-meter drill program.

Carlson said Copper Ridge is considering the possibility of another company coming in and doing exploration work at Ogopogo this year.

In addition, the junior will scout the state for other opportunities.

“We always have our eyes open and we probably will look at potential acquisitions this summer in Alaska,” he said.

“It’s interesting that it often takes 10s of years for a project to come together,” observed Carlson. “A good example is the Pebble deposit in Southwest Alaska. Cominco Ltd. drilled it and identified 1 billion (metric) tons of resource. Then it was farmed out to Hunter Dickinson and now it has 9 billion tons of resource.

“Sometimes it just takes persistence and knowing where to drill the next hole,” he added.

—Rose Ragsdale