Mining's New Guard - Mike Blady & Golden Ridge Resources

Palisade Research July 4, 2017 Category: Research

It is no secret that Palisade Global Investments is young. But the companies youth and drive is what has resulted in their success. Since its inception in 2013 by co-founders Collin Kettell and Sean Zubick, the company has grown exponentially and has made its name in the junior resource sector. To date, Palisade has deployed over $30 million into mining, oil and gas, and technology, while building a formidable network of investors, bankers, and company-builders.

With its success, Palisade Global has been able to attract like-minded, young and driven individuals who have also been making a name in all facets of junior resources.

One such individual is Mike Blady, CEO, President, and Director of Golden Ridge Resources. Mike has two science degrees from Simon Fraser University with the most recent one being in Geology. He teamed up working with a securities lawyer early in his career from 2010 to 2012 working on structuring and building mining shells. During that time he put together 12 shells and vetted countless other projects and management teams. He was hooked. Realizing his networking and sales skillset were just as important as his geological talents, Mike went on a buying spree, amassing 16 projects in British Columbia. Seven projects of his projects have now been optioned off, with the other nine in differing stages of development. If that wasn't enough, he started his own geological consulting company, hiring the best and brightest of his colleagues to help advance the projects in his portfolio.

He is only 33, but there is no denying his drive and talent when it comes to scrutinizing investments and mining projects. That is why when he told us he found a great asset and an experienced and proven management team, including legendary mine finder Larry Nagy, we jumped at the opportunity to invest in him and his company.

Golden Ridge Resources (Current Ticker CVE:EEC, Will Trade As CVE:GLDN), The Hank Gold-Silver Property, & The Golden Triangle

Current Price: C$0.14 – currently halted
Shares Outstanding: 46.0 M*
Market Capitalization: C$6.4 M*
Cash: ~C$3.3 M*
*Post-RTO & Financing

The Golden Triangle is home to many high-grade gold mines, including Eskay Creek, which became Canada's highest-grade gold mine, producing 3.37 million ounces of gold, and 160 million ounces of silver, at an average grade of 49 g/t Au and 2,406 g/t Ag, respectively. The district also hosts other prolific mines including Snip (1 million ounces Au at 27.5 g/t) and the old Premier Gold mine, currently being re-activated by Ascot Resources.

Nonetheless, despite the grade, the remoteness of the Golden Triangle, along with depressed gold prices halted significant exploration during the late 1990s. The area remained stagnant until glacial retreat, a new highway (Hwy 37) and roads, and a high-voltage transmission line significantly opened the area back up.

The area has now undergone a renaissance, and is home to some of the most notable recent discoveries, including: Seabridge Gold's KSM project, Pretium Resources' Brucejack Gold Mine, IDM Mining's Red Mountain, and Imperial Metals' Red Chris Mine. (Source: Technical report)

When Barrick Gold acquired LAC Minerals in 1994, it also acquired the Hank Gold-Silver property located in the Golden Triangle.

The project, is just 15 kilometers from Highway 37 and the new 387kV Northwest Transmission Line. The Burrage Air Strip is located 15 kilometres east of Hank, providing 5-minute helicopter access for personnel and supplies. The Hank property has been a major benefactor of recent developments and was one of the first to take advantage.

The property has been intermittently explored since 1980, and from 1984 saw a total of 13,709 meters in 104 holes. Presently, the Hank property hosts an at-surface (maximum depth 50 meters), historical reserve of 50,000 ounces of gold, averaging 4.4 g/t contained within two conceptual pits, the "200 Zone" and the "400 Zone", both located within the Upper Alteration Zone (UAZ).(Hank Property location, Source: Corporate Presentation)

Historic drilling intercepted both high-grade, epithermal-style calcite-quartz-sulphide veins and lower disseminated mineralization. Significant drill results in the Upper Alteration Zone (UAZ) included:

? 9.39 g/t Au over 12.19 meters ? 3.74 g/t Au over 30.48 meters

The Lower Alteration Zone (LAZ) yielded:

? 10.98 g/t Au and 132.3 g/t Ag over 12.7 meters ? 66.19 g/t Au and 530.4 g/t Ag over 1.98 meters ? 1.98 g/t Au over 59.17 meters ? 2.2 g/t Au, 27.2 g/t Ag, and 0.42% Zn over 49.32 meters (Ag not assayed for most of sample) (The LAZ, UAZ, 200 Pit, and 400 Pit, Source: Corporate Presentation)

Golden Ridge Resources was able to lean on its board and network, and optioned the Hank Property from Barrick in a favorable deal. The option agreement spans four years to earn 100 percent, with staged exploration commitments. There are zero cash or share payments and the project is subject to a 2 percent NSR. Total exploration is $2 M, with $700,000 in 2017, and $1 M in 2018 remaining.

The company is chaired by Larry Nagy, a mining veteran who was part of the discovery team at both Eskay Creek (and the high-grade 27.5 g/t Au Snip Mine), the two most prolific mines discovered in the Golden Triangle.

Also on the Board is Dr. William Linqvist, who brings over 35 years of mining experience and has participated in several major gold discoveries, including the: Gosowong Bonanza gold deposit in Indonesia; Chimney Creek, Mule Canyon, Ruby Hill and the Gold Hill deposits in Nevada; Mesquite gold deposit in California; Ortiz gold deposit in New Mexico; Extensions of Eskay Creek gold-silver deposit in British Columbia, and Jeronimo Gold Manto deposit in Chile.

In Search Of Bonanza Gold

For the first two years of the option, Mike Blady and his team reprocessed and digitized the historical data, completed a deep-seeking 3D IP survey, sampled and expanded historic zones and core to get a better grasp on the larger picture.

Through conceptual models of the epithermal Au-Ag models and the advice of his serially successful technical advisors, Mike believes there are bonanza grades associated with elevation-controlled boiling zones. This theory is validated by a hydrothermal breccia pipe exposed on surface, surrounded by a large zone of intense clay-silica-pyrite alteration, with associated disseminated low-grade gold.

The plan is now to target the structural intersection of the breccia pipe with the dipping mineralized panels. In the past, the use of BQ sized drill core, inferior machinery equipment made it impossible to test this theory. Today using HQ drill core necking down to NQ, and the improvements in drilling technology and muds, the Company is confident in its ability to test this target. (Ore zone untested at depth and the bonanza target, Source: Corporate Presentation)

Upon closing of the RTO and financing, Golden Ridge Resources will have over $3 M in cash, and Mike plans on using $1.7 M of it in a full-on exploration program. As depicted above, the plan is to fan out drill six holes to test Bonanza-style feeder zone concept. Theoretically, the grades should increase at depth. The drill program will also expand the historical resource at the same time. The potential down-dip can yield as much as 1.3 million ounces of gold.

From the geophysical survey, the LAZ also yielded some very attractive targets, and another 2,700 meters will be dedicated to test the down-dip extension of high-grade Au-Ag-Pb-Zn veins found near surface through previous drilling.

Risk It For The Biscuit

Upon free-trading, Golden Ridge Resources (Current Ticker CVE:EEC, Will Trade As CVE:GLDN) will have a market cap of ~$6.4 M. Compared to other juniors exploring the Golden Triangle, this is a significant discount, especially with the clear-cut path to more ounces and potential up-side.

Currently, Mike's shell 88 Capital is halted as it finalizes the last of the RTO process. 88 Capital is acquiring all the shares of Golden Ridge Resources (GRR) for $1.5 M, and will assume the option to earn the 100% in the Hank. The concurrent financing of $3 M is almost full, with 45 old-timers from the Golden Triangle and the exploration game taking the lion's share. Mike is putting his money where his mouth is, investing $300,000 into this round as well.

The company also has a secondary asset in the North Canol Co-Zn-Ag Project in the Yukon. Originally acquired in 2011, the project sits adjacent to Hudbay Minerals' Tom and Jerry deposit. The property was re-evaluated in 2017, and identified extremely anomalous cobalt values. In fact, the cobalt holding company, Cobalt 27, assessed the property and acquired a cobalt royalty on it in preparation for its mega-IPO.

To follow a similar strategy to other Golden Triangle operations, Mike is currently evaluating other opportunities in 'warmer' jurisdictions to ensure steady news flow year-round. The exploration window in northern BC is very small, and talking to Mike, he is in the deal room for many attractive projects.

Golden Ridge Resources has a clear path to a million ounces of gold in one of the hottest mining jurisdiction in Canada. We appreciate Mike's candor, and the upside in the Hank. The stock will resume trading in the next few weeks, and we will be waiting for news flow to confirm the Bonanza-style feeder zone theory.

As mentioned earlier, 88 Capital is currently raising $3 M, $1 M through hard (8 M units at 12.5 cents, half warrant at 25 cents for 3 years) and $2 M through flow-through (13.3 M units at 15 cents, half warrant at 25 cents for 3 years). If you are interested, please contact Mike at [email protected]. The Placement is expected to close on July 14, 2017. Disclaimer, please read:

Palisade Global Investments Limited holds shares of 88 Capital. We receive either monetary or securities compensation for our services. We stand to benefit from any volume this write-up may generate. The information contained in such write-ups is not intended as individual investment advice and is not designed to meet your personal financial situation. Information contained in this report is obtained from sources we believe to be reliable, but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The opinions expressed in this report are those of Palisade Global Investments and are subject to change without notice. The information in this report may become outdated and there is no obligation to update any such information. Do your own due diligence.

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