Golden Goliath Resources (CVE:GNG) not only owns assets in an area offering significant potential, but it is also led by a CEO with extensive knowledge of Mexico’s Uruachic mining district and has some high-profile shareholders.
This junior exploration company is focused on exploring and developing the gold and silver potential of an historic mining camp located in the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains of Mexico.
Unlike most juniors, Golden Goliath controls the heart of an old mining camp that covers an area of 15 by 25 kilometres, with numerous past producing gold and silver mines dating back to the time of the Spanish Empire.
“My history there goes back a long way,” Golden Goliath’s CEO Paul Sorbara tells Proactive Investors.
Sorbara’s career in the Sierra Madre Occidental region began in the 1980s with Cominco Ltd, which was Canadas largest mining company at that time. He was looking for calderas, which are volcanic features caused by the collapse of land following an eruption. Some calderas are know to host rich ore deposits.
He was one of the first Canadians to stake claims in the area after foreign investment rule changes in 1992, through his own private Mexican exploration company, Minera Delta S.A. de C.V. which eventually went public as Golden Goliath
Sorbara then brought in a Mexican partner, who told him of a mining town dating back to 1735, which had been overlooked by Mexican companies and “met all the criteria” for which he was after.
The Uruachic mining camp lies directly in the centre of the several hundred kilometre trend of important past producers and new discoveries that characterizes the Sierra Madre Occidental.
This historic trend has produced roughly 40 million ounces of gold and up to 2 billion ounces of silver over the last 400 years and has become an area of global focus in the search for new precious metal deposits.
“Our stand-out asset must be the Nopalera property,” says Sorbara. “It is a very similar asset to Fresnillo’s Orisyvo deposit.” Indeed, Nopalera lies adjacent to silver giant Fresnillo’s (LON:FRES) Orisyvo discovery, which is currently stated to contain 9.6 million ounces of gold and 13 million ounces of silver. It is roughly four kilometres squared in size and Golden Goliath says that about a third of the property has been explored to date.
“The Orisyvo story is being more widely read. That deposit is likely to be the biggest gold mine in Mexico. Our asset is very much like that. We want to put a drill program together for it as soon as we can.”
“The Las Bolas property also looks very promising,” Sorbara added.
Golden Goliath has the support of two major names in the resources space.
Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM)(TSE:AEM) inked an option agreement in late 2010 for the right to earn a 51 per cent interest in Golden Goliath’s Las Bolas/Los Hilos property. Agnico-Eagle is also Golden Goliath’s second-largest shareholder, with a stake of just over 9 per cent. A Senior VP of Agnico also sits on Golden Goliaths Board.
“Our history with Agnico-Eagle goes back to our IPO days,” Sorbara says.
Indeed, in a video interview on Golden Goliaths website, Agnico-Eagle’s CEO Sean Boyd spoke highly of Golden Goliath and its founder Paul Sorbara.
“We’re a little less than a 10 per cent shareholder. We have been a shareholder for many years and we look at it as part of our overall exploration strategy,” Boyd said.
“When we look at our position in Golden Goliath, we look at it as our most important, most exciting investment opportunity in Mexico today.
“Agnico-Eagle wouldn’t be involved with Golden Goliath unless Paul Sorbara was running it. It’s really the relationship with Paul and the fact that he was on the ground decades ago assembling a land package in the Uruachic region.”
And Golden Goliath’s largest shareholder is Sprott Asset Management, which holds around 12 per cent of the miner.
“It’s great to have a person such as Eric Sprott as a major shareholder,” says Sorbara.
Looking ahead, Sorbara says that investors should watch out for news form Agnico-Eagle’s activities at Las Bolas/Los Hilos.
“Agnico has just finished drilling and we now look forward to the results.”
