Viscount Mining Corp. has entered a letter of intent (LOI) to conclude a lease to purchase agreement for a 96-claim property known as Silver Cliff located in Custer county, Colorado.
The terms of the LOI include a lease to purchase agreement with a renewable 12-year term for 100-per-cent ownership of claims, and includes a cash buyout clause with provisions for an exchange of common stock including warrants, and provides for a 2-per-cent net smelter royalty with optional buyout.
The property lies within an historic silver district, where high-grade silver production came from numerous mines during the period 1878 to 1894. Silver production was derived from both shear-vein zones in tertiary volcanic units as well as breccia pipes hosted in Precambrian rocks located within and adjacent to a tertiary caldera or volcanic centre. Lower-grade halos are reported to exist surrounding the high-grade pipes and vein zones.
In summary, Hecla Mining bought out the rights to the lands in 1993 from the previous owner, CoCa Mines. Low silver prices in the 1990s led to reduced activity and ultimately to the release of many strategic claims by 1996.
The company has access to historical data and other information on the property, including extensive maps of the district showing claims, old mines, exploration targets and prospects, locations of historic resource estimates drill holes, township and infrastructure data. Target models for the prospect provided in the available information include near-surface blanket-style mineralization and high-grade vein deposits which remain generally untested.
Based on the preliminary review of available data, the company is of the view that the property merits additional exploration. Viscount geologists will be visiting the property to determine next steps to verify the historical estimates as necessary to reclassify them as a current resource under National Instrument 43-101, as well as test for additional mineralization along known zones and explore for hitherto undetected zones. Additional information regarding the prospect lands and project activities will soon be made available on the company website, and in subsequent public news releases.
Technical information in this news release have been approved by Dallas Davis, PEng, FEC, an independent consulting geologist and a qualified person as defined in NI 43-101.