Overview
Nevada offers great discovery potential for mining companies and their investors. In addition to being one of the world’s top mining jurisdictions, Nevada hosts existing infrastructure, a skilled local workforce and favorable weather conditions allowing mining operations to operate nearly year-round.
Nevada Sunrise Metals (TSXV:NEV) is a junior mineral exploration company focused on exploring a robust portfolio of lithium, gold and copper projects, exclusively in Nevada.
Nevada Sunrise maintains interests in several highly prospective mineral exploration properties and water rights in Nevada. This portfolio includes the company’s flagship Gemini lithium project, the Kinsley Mountain gold project and the Coronado VMS copper project. The company also owns the Jackson Wash lithium project and the Badlands lithium project in Esmeralda County.
Nevada Sunrise Exploration Philosophy
Nevada Sunrise first staked claims at the Gemini Lithium Project in 2015 with no underlying royalties, and currently holds 100 percent interest in the project. Initial drilling in 2022 confirmed lithium-in-sediments of significant value. The results from Gemini represent a new lithium discovery in the western Lida Valley.
Kinsley Mountain operates as a joint venture with CopAur Minerals (TSXV:CPAU), with Nevada Sunrise holding a 18.74 percent interest in the project. In 2023, CopAur completed a series of seven reverse circulation drill holes and three diamond drill holes totalling 2,285 meters as part of the 2023 exploration program at Kinsley Mountain. Drilling at the Main Pit North zone intersected oxide gold intercepts higher than the resource cut-off of 0.2 grams per ton gold. Diamond drill hole KMD23-02, targeting resource infill at the high-grade Western Flank Zone, returned 15.28 grams per tonne of gold over 32.3 meters; including 24.07 g/t gold over 10.7 meters.
Operating in Nevada, the company understands the importance of water rights in conducting mining operations in the state. In 2017, Nevada Sunrise obtained water rights from the State of Nevada totaling 80.09 acre/feet per year for mining and milling in the Lida Valley, located adjacent to the Clayton Valley in Esmeralda County. This acquisition of water rights is an important step for an exploration company searching for mineral deposits in Lida Valley.
The company’s expert leadership and technical team apply world-class exploration experience and technical skills to acquire and develop new highly prospective mineral exploration projects. This combination of experienced individuals primes the company for growth and exploration success.
Company Highlights
Nevada Sunrise Metals (TSXV:NEV), formerly Nevada Sunrise Gold, is a Vancouver-based mineral exploration company focused on developing and acquiring highly prospective projects in the mining-friendly jurisdiction of Nevada.The company’s flagship asset, the Gemini lithium project, consists of 291 unpatented claims covering approximately 5,600 acres (2,266 hectares) located in the Lida Valley about 10 kilometers east of the town of Lida, Nevada. Nevada Sunrise holds a 100-percent interest in the project, with no underlying royalties.Maiden resource estimate for the Gemini lithium project includes an inferred resource of approximately 1.3 million tons of lithium, or 7.1 million tons lithium carbonate equivalent contained within 1,200 million tons of lithium-mineralized clay at an average grade of approximately 1,130 parts per million lithium.The company’s primary gold asset is its 18.74 percent share of the Kinsley Mountain gold project, a joint venture with CopAur Minerals holding a 79.99 percent interest.Current and NI 43-101 compliant resource estimates calculated in 2020 state Kinsley Mountain hosts indicated resources of 418,000 ounces of gold grading 2.63 grams per ton (g/t) gold, and inferred resources of 117,000 ounces of gold averaging 1.51 g/t gold.The company’s portfolio also includes the Jackson Wash lithium project and the Badlands lithium project, both located in the Lida Valley and the Coronado VMS copper project near Winnemucca, Nevada.The Coronado VMS copper project is prospective for volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits, with the past-producing Big Mike open-pit copper mine located nearby.The company owns valuable water rights within the Lida Valley basin to assist in the future development of the Gemini, Jackson Wash and Badlands lithium projects.
Key Projects
Gemini Lithium Project
The Gemini lithium project (Gemini) consists of 283 unpatented claims covering approximately 2,266 hectares located in the Lida Valley, about 10 kilometers east of the town of Lida, Nevada. Nevada Sunrise acquired Gemini by claim-staking in 2015 with no underlying royalties. The company currently holds 100 percent interest in the project. Gemini is situated adjacent to the Gold Point Solar Energy Zone, a Bureau of Land Management land reserve set aside for solar and wind power generation until 2033.
The primary exploration target for Gemini is lithium-in-sediments with the potential for a brine deposit at depth containing dissolved lithium. Detailed gravity survey results from 2013 indicated strong gravity lows within two faulted sub-basins approximately 7 kilometers apart and interpreted to be hundreds of meters deep. Likewise, the results from a 2016 time-domain electromagnetic (TDEM) survey interpret conductivity at depth, located well below the non-conductive alluvium (sand and gravel) at the surface.
Geophysical TDEM Model Showing Conductive Zones 2022 and 2023 Drill Holes at Gemini.
Still image from the Gemini animated 3-D Model, with TDEM and drillholes
On March 15, 2022, Nevada Sunrise commenced the inaugural drilling at Gemini of up to 615.85 meters of reverse circulation drilling to test targets for lithium brines and lithium-in-sediments. Lithium mineralization had been intersected over significant widths during that drilling program. Two boreholes were completed on drill sites located within a defined gravity low that hosts conductive layers detected by historical ground TDEM surveys.
The results from the first two boreholes at Gemini represent a new discovery of lithium-bearing sediments in the western Lida Valley, which has not been historically drill-tested for lithium mineralization. Lithium-in-sediment values were significant:
GEM22-01 averaged 1,203.41 parts per million (ppm) lithium over 176.83 meters, from 97.56 to 274.39 meters including 1,578.19 ppm lithium over 91.46 meters from 146 to 237.8 meters.GEM22-02 averaged 1,101.73 ppm lithium over 222.56 meters from 118.90 to 341 meters, including 2,217.69 ppm lithium over 39.63 meters from 301.83 to 341.46 meters and 3,304 ppm lithium over 15.24 meters from 326.22 to 341.46 meters.
Nevada Sunrise completed three additional boreholes from October 2022 to April 2023, with each intersecting lithium mineralization.
3-D View of Gemini Lithium Mineralization in Phase 1 & Phase 2 boreholes
Nevada Sunrise believes the southern and western parts of the Gemini basin are highly prospective for additional lithium mineralization and that further drilling could eventually define a large lithium resource. The company engaged ABH Engineering Inc. of Surrey, British Columbia, to calculate a National Instrument 43-101-compliant resource estimate leading to a preliminary economic assessment of the lithium-bearing zones at Gemini.
Still image from the Gemini animated 3-D Model, with TDEM and drillholes
Initial metallurgical tests carried out by Nevada Sunrise achieved a 90.2 percent lithium extraction rate from the Gemini clay mineralization, a rate which compares favorably with the average lithium extraction of 84 percent reported by Lithium Americas at its Thacker Pass lithium project (Source: Feasibility Study, National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report for the Thacker Pass Project, Humboldt County, Nevada, USA, by Roth, D., et al, dated November 2, 2022).
Follow-up testing of the resulting leach solutions at the facilities of McClelland Laboratories Inc. in Sparks, Nevada produced a sample that was near 100 percent lithium carbonate.
In January 2024, Nevada Sunrise announced a maiden resource estimate on the Gemini lithium project within the regulations of National Instrument 43-101. The inferred resource comprises approximately 1.3 million tons lithium or 7.1 million tons lithium carbonate equivalent contained within 1,200 million tons of lithium-mineralized clay at an average grade of approximately 1,130 parts per million lithium. We are very pleased that the maiden resource estimate has exceeded expectations,” said Warren Stanyer, President and CEO of Nevada Sunrise. “With only five holes drilled to date in just 15% of the project area.
Model constraints: Faults 3 and 4; a conceptualized 24 degree pit-slope, modelled from property boundaries, using a benchmark 24 degree pit-slope from several other Nevada lithium clay deposits.
Gemini Lithium Project – Block Model Cross Sections with Conceptualized Open Pit (Source: ABH Engineering Inc.)
The technical information contained in this disclosure has been reviewed and approved by Damir Cukor, P. Geo., who is a Qualified Person with respect to Nevada Sunrise’s Gemini Lithium Project, as defined under NI 43-101.
Kinsley Mountain Gold Project
The Kinsley Mountain Gold Project is located in Elko County, Eastern Nevada and consists of 513 claims plus five leased patents totaling 10,346 acres (4,187 hectares).
Kinsley Mountain hosts Carlin-style, near-surface mineralization as well as a past-producing open-pit mine with an extensive exploration database and numerous untested gold targets. Following exploration drilling carried out since 2011, current and NI 43-101 compliant resource estimates calculated in 2020 state Kinsley Mountain hosts indicated resources of 418,000 ounces of gold grading 2.63 g/t gold, and inferred resources of 117,000 ounces of gold averaging 1.51 g/t gold1.
1 Technical Report on the Kinsley Project, Elko County, Nevada, U.S.A., dated June 21, 2021 with an effective date of May 5, 2021 and prepared by Michael M. Gustin, Ph.D., and Gary L. Simmons, MMSA and filed under New Placer Dome Gold Corp.’s Issuer Profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).
These gold grades encountered at Kinsley Mountain point to exciting upside potential for further discoveries and development for the project.
In 2023, CopAur completed a series of seven reverse circulation drill holes and three diamond drill holes totalling 2,285 meters, as part of the 2023 exploration program at Kinsley Mountain.
Kinsley Mountain, Looking East: 2023 RC and Diamond Drilling Locations
Coronado VMS Project
The Coronado VMS Copper Project consists of 133 unpatented claims covering approximately 2,728 acres (1,104 hectares) over an interpreted trend next to the historic Big Mike open-pit copper mine. Discovered in the 1960s, Big Mike is today classified as a VMS deposit. As these deposits commonly occur in clusters along structural trends, there is good potential for the presence of other VMS deposits along trend from the past-producing mine.
The company concluded its second reconnaissance diamond drilling program at the property in November 2020. Drill targets were identified from the 2018 VTEM geophysical survey and a total of 250.76 meters was drilled in the two diamond drill holes. Each of the drill holes encountered difficulty penetrating through the overburden and viscous clay layers, and the bedrock targets were not intersected. An SGH soil sampling survey and the VTEM airborne geophysical survey show potential for sulphide mineralization that Nevada Sunrise intends to explore further.
Jackson Wash Lithium Project
Jackson Wash consists of 49 unpatented placer claims totaling approximately 980 acres (397 hectares) and is located in the Lida Valley. Nevada Sunrise owns 100 percent interest in Jackson Wash.
The exploration target for Jackson Wash is a brine deposit at a depth containing dissolved lithium. There is also potential for the presence of lithium-in-sediments at Jackson Wash. Past surveying revealed a layered sequence of unconsolidated, saturated alluvial sediments filling a deep basin beneath the valley floor. The next steps for the Jackson Wash lithium project include drilling and sampling the sediments and groundwater in the interpreted basin.
Badlands Lithium
In February 2023, Nevada Sunrise Metals staked the Badlands lithium project in the Lida Valley, Esmeralda County, Nevada. Badlands consists of 54 unpatented claims on Bureau of Land Management land totaling approximately 1,080 acres (437 hectares) and lies roughly halfway between the company’s Gemini and Jackson Wash lithium projects.
Badland’s general topography is similar to that of the TLC lithium property in Nye County, which led to a surface investigation by Nevada Sunrise in March 2022. Samples were collected in a reconnaissance prospecting program returning anomalous values of lithium ranging from 70 ppm to 165.8 ppm lithium.
Nevada Sunrise intends to carry out a more comprehensive sampling program at Badlands.
Management Team
Warren W. Stanyer – President, CEO and Director
Warren Stanyer is a mineral exploration industry executive with over 26 years of experience in Canadian public company administration. He previously served as an officer of Pioneer Metals, which was acquired by Barrick Gold in 2006, and as an officer until 2007 of UEX Corporation. Stanyer was president, CEO and a director of Northern Continental Resources when it was acquired by Hathor Exploration. in November 2009. In recent years Stanyer acted as an officer and director of Alpha Minerals , which was acquired by Fission Uranium (TSX:FCU) in 2013. He is currently chairman and CEO of ALX Resources (TSXV:AL).
Jonathan Fung – CFO
Jonathan Fung provides accounting, financial reporting and regulatory compliance services to publicly listed and private companies as a financial reporting manager at ACM Management. He obtained his Bachelor of Commerce degree in accounting from the University of British Columbia in 2013. Jonathan articled at D&H Group LLP Chartered Professional Accountants, where he provided accounting, assurance and income tax services to publicly listed and private companies. After working in Assurance Services at Ernst & Young LLP, he joined ACM Management. of Vancouver, BC, in 2019. Fung is a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia.
Christina Boddy – Corporate Secretary
Christina Boddy is a member of the Canadian Society of Corporate Secretaries and has acted as corporate secretary for many public companies in recent years, including Resinco Capital Partners, Teslin River Resources, Cue Resources and Prophecy Platinum. Boddy acts as a consultant to public and private companies through Rhodanthe Corporate Services, a BC-based private company.
Michael D. Sweatman – Director and Chairman
Michael Sweatman is a chartered professional accountant and has operated MDS Management Ltd., a Vancouver-based management consulting company, since November 1992. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and commerce from Simon Fraser University, gained his CA designation in 1982 and is a CPA in British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. He has served as a director and officer of several public companies over the past 30 years and is currently a director at Storm Exploration Inc. (TSXV: STRM). Sweatman is also the chairman of the Nevada Sunrise Audit Committee.
Charles E. Roy – Director
Charles Roy earned a B.Sc. in geology from Acadia University, Nova Scotia in 1972. Early in his career, Roy was employed by the mining engineering and geological consulting firm of David S. Robertson and Associates and worked in Canada, the United States and Africa. In 1979, Roy joined a predecessor company of Cameco Corporation (TSX:CCO) as a project geologist, thus beginning a career with Cameco that would span 33 years. In 1988, he transferred to Cameco Gold and managed an exploration office in Reno, Nevada from 1991 to 1994. Roy returned to uranium exploration in 1994 and over the next 18 years managed exploration programs in the Athabasca Basin area of northern Canada. During this period Roy oversaw exploration teams that discovered and delineated seven significant uranium deposits, including Millennium. Later at Cameco, Roy worked to negotiate new exploration opportunities and helped to consolidate and streamline its worldwide exploration portfolio. Roy also serves as a Technical Advisor of ALX Resources (TSXV:AL).
Suraj P. Ahuja – Director
Suraj P. Ahuja, M.Sc. is president of SKAN Consulting based in West Vancouver, BC. From 2001 until 2020, he provided consulting services to several major and junior exploration companies in Canada and overseas. Ahuja has over 50 years of multi-commodity mineral exploration and project management experience in Canada, USA, Australia, Mongolia and South America. He has designed, developed and managed several successful mineral exploration programs from grassroots to detailed property evaluations, including mine geology and feasibility studies. Prior to forming his own company Ahuja also worked in senior positions for SMDC, a predecessor company to Cameco Corporation and PNC, a Japanese uranium exploration company. Ahuja served as a director of UEX Corporation (TSX:UEX) from 2004 to 2022 until its acquisition by Uranium Energy Corporation. Ahuja is a member of the Nevada Sunrise audit committee.
Cory H. Kent – Director
Cory H. Kent has been a lawyer and partner at McMillan LLP since February 2003, practicing in the area of securities and corporate law with a focus on companies in the mineral resources industry. Kent has an LLB from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Arts from Carleton University.