Bayan Springs North
The Project is located in the Northern Maverick Springs Range, south Elko County and north White Pine County, Nevada, USA. It is located approximately 85 km south of Elko and 105 km to the north-northwest of Ely. The Project area is accessible by paved Lamoille Highway and Harrison Pass Road to Ruby Valley from where is accessible by a well-maintained gravel road.
The Project area consists of rolling hills and low mountains, with elevations ranging from 2,000 to 2,400 meters above sea level. The average temperature in the winter months is around 4°C, while the average summer temperature tends to be around 33°C. Precipitation is sparse, with only about 150 mm of rain or snow falling annually.
The primary hosts for silver and gold mineralisation are the silty limestone and fine-grained calcareous clastic sediments of the Rib Hill Formation. These formations are exposed over a remarkable 40 km stretched zone, striking north-northwesterly.
Felsic to intermediate intrusive centres outcropping south and north of the project area is interpreted to have acted as feeder systems for Tertiary volcanic flows, potentially influencing the migration of mineralising fluids into surrounding favourable host environment.
Regionally, the Project area lies within the tectonically active Great Basin province and in proximity to the Carlin Trend, a significant structural feature that demarcates a deep-seated fault. This fault line separates thicker, stable continental crust to the east from a zone of thinned, transitional crust to the west, providing structural conduits favourable for migration, concentration and deposition of gold and silver mineralisation. Historical exploration in this geologic setting reveals structural trends and faulting that may play a role in localising mineralisation within the Project area.
Locally, the Project area lies within a geologically diverse region dominated by carbonate formations that record a history of continental margin sedimentation. These include limestones and dolostones of the Permian-Pennsylvanian Rib Hill Formation, limestones of the Permian Pequop Formation, and carbonate strata of the Permian Park City Group. Locally, these sedimentary units have been intruded by Cretaceous and Eocene acidic to intermediate, biotitic igneous rocks, and subsequently overlain by Tertiary volcanic deposits, including rhyolites and Late Tertiary tuffs. This region’s combination of carbonate-rich sedimentary units and structural complexity makes it permissive for sediment-hosted gold and silver mineralisation. Carbonate rocks, especially in proximity to intrusive bodies, often provide chemically reactive settings conducive to metal deposition. The presence of deep-seated faults and proximity to the Carlin Trend, also facilitates the movement of mineralising fluids through these permeable carbonate units, increasing the likelihood of significant mineral accumulation. Collectively, these geological factors create a favourable environment for discovering substantial sediment-hosted precious metal deposits.
