Tri-Valley forms mining company

Patricia Jones

Petroleum News contributing writer

Tri-Valley Corp., primarily an oil and gas exploration and producing firm based in Bakersfield, Calif., announced plans to spin off its gold exploration property in Interior Alaska as a stand-alone mining company.

F. Lynn Blystone, Tri-Valley president and CEO, told Petroleum News March 15 about his company’s plans for its 42-square mile land block some 65 miles south of Fairbanks, between the Richardson Highway and the trans-Alaska pipeline corridor.

“There’s been no recognition of the value of our gold property in our stock,” he said. “The market is at a point where we can raise the amount of capital needed for working the project.”

Blystone anticipates raising about $5 million initially in private offerings. He is also looking for a seasoned mining executive to lead the new company, which he has yet to name.Tri-Valley’s mining claims are highway accessible and have access to power infrastructure. The company, in a partnership with Moscow-based mineral research institute TsNIGRI, has explored some 250 square miles in the Richardson Mining District, identifying visible gold at 60 locations along a 20-mile swath, according to the company’s press release.

Tri-Valley has optioned the property to different partners in past years, Blystone said, a process that has not been fruitful. “The joint venture thing just never gets to the finish line,” he said. “They do some work for a season and then that’s the end of it.”

Past exploration has identified three definite hard rock targets, and some placer gold mining targets, he said.

On the energy side, Tri-Valley has several oil and gas prospects in various stages of completion and is preparing to drill exploratory wells in California and Nevada.