The realization of a gold boom in Wendover and Wells took a major step closer last week with the purchase of upstart Fronteer Gold by the venerable Newmont Corporation.
“The acquisition of Fronteer Gold will contribute significantly to our anticipated growth profile in North America,” stated Richard O’Brien last week, Newmont’s President and CEO. “The Long Canyon project, with its Carlin trend-like metallurgical and geological characteristics, complements our existing project pipeline in Nevada. This combination of assets will allow Newmont to leverage our expertise and extensive infrastructure in the region. Based on the work conducted to date by Fronteer Gold, as well as our own due diligence, we believe that Long Canyon holds the potential to grow beyond 3 to 4 times Fronteer Gold’s current stated resource estimate, with an attractive average gold grade of approximately 2.3 grams per tonne. Additionally, we believe that Fronteer Gold’s wider portfolio of assets offers further upside potential for our portfolio.”
In layman’s terms O’Brien confirmed that the long ignored eastern Elko County had some smoking hot ore that could rival that of the long exploited Carlin trend, Newmont has been mining for over 40 years.
“We think this could have as much potential as the Carlin Trend,” said Fronteer’s Chief Geologist Moira Smith last year. “It is truly remarkable.”
What is even more remarkable is that the Carlin Trend mines are less than 80 miles to the west and are one of the most developed gold mining operations in the world with the most sophisticated equipment and a cadre of geologists that could a large department at any major university.
Still with all those no one bothered to look for more of the yellow stuff that was sitting less than a tank of gas away in eastern Elko County for almost 40 years since the Carlin Trend was first discovered.
In fact over the past 35 years most “experts” said that there was simply no gold to be found in eastern Elko County and that exploration would be a waste of time and money.
“In 2000 there were some promising digs out here,” Smith said. “But then the price of gold dropped to under $300 an ounce.”
Exploration was resumed in 2005 and with the price of gold at record levels the is a possibility that the east half of Elko County could join the western half with gold mines. Smith was however also at a loss to explain why an area so close and so similar geologically to proven and developed reserves was ignored for close to 40 years.
In addition to being having ‘smoking hot’ ore the area is a stones throw from Interstate 80, has no endangered species living anywhere near it and does not have any significant archeological sites located on it.
Like the geologists the recent past, ancient Native Americans also apparently ignored Long Canyon.
Ignored no longer, the mine has the potential to radically alter the economy and the lives of eastern Nevada, residents of Wendover and Wells. The two cities who once looked with jealously at the boom in Elko and Carlin could soon have a mine to call their own.
But while Fronteer officials were ecstatic about their find their mood visibly changed with the utterance of three letters– B-L-M. The Federal Bureau of Land Management is the agency that regulates the mining industry and many in the company looked at the three year long permitting process with the same amount of enthusiasm as one greets the prospect of root canal.
That dread is not shared by Newmont. Doing business with the BLM in Elko County for almost half a century, the company knows every in an out of the permitting process and has what was called an excellent working relationship with the agency.
In addition to its relationship with the BLM, Newmont is uniquely capable of developing Long Canyon faster and cheaper than almost any other mining company in North America.
With one of the largest gold mines operating not more than 60 miles to the west Newmont has the equipment and the manpower to begin full scale operations the day after it receives the final okay from the state and federal governments.