Marathon Gold Corporation (TSX: MOZ) Advances Valentine Lake Gold Project Located in Mining-Friendly Newfoundland with Drilling in Preparation for PEA Study
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By Dr. Allen Alper, PhD Economic Geology and Petrology, Columbia University, NYC, USA
on 3/29/2016
Phil Walford has excellent experience and is a strong professional geologist and he has a very capable team. Marathon Gold Corporation (TSX: MOZ) is currently completing drilling on the Valentine Lake project located in Newfoundland as they prepare to begin a formal PEA study. Initial results are promising.
 During PDAC 2016, Phil Walford, President and CEO of Marathon Gold Corporation (TSX: MOZ), offered readers an update on the progress that the company has made at their Valentine Lake gold property located in Newfoundland. Mr. Walford said, “Marathon Gold was formed out of Marathon PGM, which was sold to Stillwater. We have a gold project in Newfoundland that is coming along quite nicely.”
To date, the company has found a significant amount of gold at the project. Mr. Walford said, “It is over a million ounces of gold and the overall grade is over two grams, so we are continuing to find new gold and I think it is very prospective. We are moving ahead on a lot of issues and we are heading toward a PEA. Certainly this uptick in gold has really put us in the spotlight with a lot of people.”
Mr. Walford and his team are happy with the drill results and where they are working and see that as an asset to the company. He said, “What really helps us a lot is that the open pit grade is two grams and we are in a mining jurisdiction that is one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world. The Newfoundland government is very progressive and has assisted us in different things. They paid for 75% of our last metallurgical program and we are thinking of asking them for support again. We are looking at heap leaching some of the deposit. If that is successful, it would cut our capital costs down considerably. We are also looking at different layouts for a different mine at least for the PEA stage and we have completed a lot of environmental work, so we are in a pretty good stage to move forward.”
Mr. Walford’s background has helped him make good decisions about the property as a whole and choose projects wisely. He said, “I’m a professional geologist. I started my career quite a while ago with Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting as a geologist. I was a chief mine geologist for Panmore Porcupine Mines a long time ago. That is where I learned about gold. I was also the chief geologist for Lac Minerals before it was bought out by Barrick and more recently, after Lac Minerals, I joined a small company called GeoMac and helped to expand the resources at the San Francisco mine for Sonora and we actually put it into production. It was a heap leach process and we put another one in as well, so I really have a lot of mine experience and I only target those things that will potentially make a mine. I use my mining background to determine what factors to look at and whether this is a good property or not.”
In addition to his own expertise, Mr. Walford works closely with his other team members. He said, “Our VP of Geology is Sherry Dunsworth. She lives on the island of Newfoundland. She is well connected and she has a lot of experience. She has worked with me for over ten years now and we are really moving this project right along.”
Financially, the company is in a solid position for the short term. Mr. Walford said, “We have 2 million dollars in the bank with 93 million shares outstanding. It is a little more than I would have liked, but we have been facing the dilemma of dilution and fundraising. We haven’t had any trouble raising financing and that shows the quality of the project. We are attracting the attention of others right now.”
Geologically, Mr. Walford and his team find the Valentine Lake project to be almost unique. He said, “The geology is really interesting. It is part of the Appalachian Mountains and the gold that we have found is part of an intrusion where the rocks are older than the gold. There is a lot of fracturing and veining and that is what we are finding. We have found a strike length of 18 kilometers.”
During 2016, the company has plans to not only complete more drilling on the Valentine Lake gold project, but to prepare for a more formal PEA assessment as they move the project to the next stage. Mr. Walford said, “Our plans for 2016 are to do more engineering work before we do a PEA. We also want to do more exploration on more targets. We would like to bring the resource up to 1.5 million ounces of gold before we do the PEA.” One note on the reported ounces from the company that Mr. Walford felt was critical. He said, “I’d like to comment on the resources that we have that the ounces we have reported are measured and indicated, they are not inferred.”
Why should investors take a close look at the Valentine project or at Marathon Gold as an investment? Mr. Walford believes there are several good reasons. He said, “You have to look at where it is. It is on the island of Newfoundland. There are no land claims. It is close to the highway. It is truly going to be a mine at some point. The question is, how big will it be? We have an all-weather gravel road that connects us with Millertown and Buchans. There is a paved highway that takes about two hours to get to the site. There are no people around us, but there are people in the towns nearby. We have good services from the people that live along the highway.”
Overall, Mr. Walford is enthusiastic about this project. He said, “I think the potential of the property is very great. It is very early days for this despite it being in a new area. People are starting to see what we saw when we became engaged in the property.”
http://www.marathon-gold.com
Corporate Contact
Christopher Haldane
Investor Relations Manager
Office: +1 (416) 987-0714
Fax: +1 (416) 861-1925
chaldane@marathon-gold.com
Corporate Address
Marathon Gold Corporation
357 Bay Street, Suite 800
Toronto, Ontario
Canada M5H 2T7
Office: +1 (416) 987-2366
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