Canada's Walker River Resources (TSXV: WRR) announced this week that it signed a letter of intent with Smooth Rock Ventures (TSXV: SOCK) to enter into an exploration agreement with option to form a joint venture on the Garfield Flats project, located in Mineral County, Nevada.
Smooth Rock can earn an undivided 50% interest in the property by funding $600,000 in exploration expenditures. Walker, on the other hand, would be the operator of the exploration during the earn-in period.
Mineral County, where the Garfield Flats property is located, is one of the most pro-mining counties in Nevada.The Garfield Flats project consists of 106 unpatented mining claims that occupy approximately 858 hectares near the town of Hawthorne and it covers several past-producing small-scale high-grade gold and copper mines such as Bodie, Aurora, Borealis, and Pamlico.
In a media statement, the companies said that the claims also cover altered and mineralized zones discovered by previous geological compilations. "Historical sampling on the project has revealed the presence of copper, bismuth, and antimony as well as pervasive lower grade gold mineralization, cut by vein structures (some previously mined) of higher-grade gold," the press brief reads.
According to Walker and Smooth rock, Garfield Flats has been held mostly by private interests so it remains very underexplored with potential for new discoveries on several targets.