Riverside Resources (CVE:RRI, PINK:RVSDF) is a gold and silver explorer focused on developing a portfolio of high potential projects in Mexico, and the United States. Riverside utilizes the Prospect Generator business model to ally themselves with strategic joint venture partners that will expose the company to substantial resource growth while limiting capital dilution.
Riversides portfolio includes the Sugarloaf Peak Gold Project in Arizona, and a number of Mexican properties including the Tajitos Gold Project, Clemente Silver-Gold Project, Libertad Gold Project, Cerro Azul Copper-Gold
\[Project, Penoles Gold-Silver Ppject and portfolio of Durango Gold Properties, Chapalota Gold-Silver Project, and the Cliffs IOCG Exploration Alliance.
The Sugarloaf Peak Project hosts a gold system that starts right at surface for easy open pit mining and has extensive alteration consistent with a large mineralized gold deposit. The project is located in the same region as open pit gold mines at Mesquite Mine (4 M Oz gold mine), Picacho Mine and Copperstone Mine. Sugarloaf has rich surface gold that is both placer and open-pit style mineralization. Riverside has drilled the project and found gold similar to previous work and will further progress the gold project toward a joint venture deal to continue to unlock value for company shareholders.
Riverside drilled 5 holes that identified mineralization in all holes, following up on more than 60 previous drill holes which had been used to document a historic resource. Riversides drilling from surface shows mineralization to greater than double the depth used to compile prior resource estimates and indicates the potential to expand the size of the gold deposit to a major open pit, low grade resource. Updated surface exploration traced an undrilled and potential gold bearing structural corridor for more than 3 kilometers across the property identifying numerous targets, in addition to identifying mineralization to the north, east and west of historically defined resources.
The Tajitos Gold Project is Riversides current lead gold property with a large 150 km² concession located on one of Mexicos most prolific gold trends, the Sonora Mojave Megashear Gold Belt. Chip samples of up to 34 g/t gold identified 3 zones for drilling, each of which has the potential to host a discovery and gold resource through further exploration which Riverside is undertaking in 2011. Riverside also acquired the Clemente Silver-Gold Project in Sonora, Mexico discovering high grade silver exceeding 2 kg/t in shear zone vein structures, with numerous samples returning silver grades over 500 g/t.
Geologix Explorations (TSE:GIX) can earn up to 85% interest in the Libertad Project located nearby Puerto Libertad, by paying $500,000 and spending $5 million within 6 years. Geologix has announced results from an initial 10 hole drill program with multiple holes returning significant grades over sizeable widths, including LIB 10-001 with 26.05 meters at 2.03 g/t gold equivalent from 45.65 meters.
Earlier trenching reported gold values over 1,250 meters of strike, and drilling in the northern section indicates that mineralization is widening at depth. The Libertad Project is a leading example of how Riverside uses the joint-venture business model to develop valuable assets in the Riverside gold portfolio while not adversely draining its financial resources.
Riverside retains a 40% interest in the Cerro Azul Copper-Gold Project and holds a significant ownership interest in Guerrero Exploration Inc. (CVE:GEX) where early exploration identified multiple high grade copper-gold zones.
These zones will now be subjected to prospect scale geological mapping, hand trenching, ground geophysics, and rock chip and soil sampling. Guerrero Exploration Inc. recently listed an IPO using the Cerro Azul Project as their flagship property with the hopes to commence drilling upon the successful completion of an initial work program with Riverside acting as the operator.
The Penoles Gold-Silver Property is a 350 km² concession located in the prolific Penoles Mining District and near recent discoveries by Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) at Penasquito, with a Measured and Indicated Resource of 4.45 million ounces of gold, and 391.0 million ounces of silver, and the MAG Silver (TSE:MAG) Juanicipio Silver Project, with an Indicated and Inferred Resource of 204.1 million ounces of silver and 708,500 ounces of gold. The major prospects at Penoles includes the El Tubo gold bearing vein system carrying multiple surface samples exceeding 0.5 g/t gold over a substantial area.
The second prospect is the Jesus Maria Vein System that produced historical mined grades of 300 to 2,000 g/t silver, 3-12% lead and 4-10% zinc to a depth of 200 meters. Recent exploration has identified drilling targets and assays from dumps and exposed surface veins have produced silver grades exceeding 255 g/t. The third prospect is the San Rafael Vein system, which was mined to a depth exceeding 100 meters, where recent chip sampling returned over 180 g/t silver, and drill targets have been identified along the vein.
El Capitan is the fourth prospect where recent drilling by Riverside supported prior results to define a shallow high grade gold zone that consistently exceeds 1g/t gold, contained within a much larger gold envelope averaging 0.4 g/t gold in oxidized rock. This mineralization links with a surface exposed gold rich zone with a strike line exceeding 1,000 meters that was drilled over a 700 meter by 200 meter area open to the northwest of the contact zone.
The Durango Gold Properties show potential for open pit, and in some cases, shallow underground resources. The properties are all located in Mesa Central Region of Durango, Mexico and each one stands on its own as a major exploration play that has favourable surface geology and geochemistry. They were all generated from an evaluation of 220 anomalous areas in an Alliance with Kinross Gold (TSE:K, NYSE:KGC) and have been advanced by Riverside to the point where each of the properties have drill targets.
The first is Catrina, which has geological characteristics similar to the Camino Rojo deposit recently purchased by Goldcorp. The second at Escondida has IP and soil geochemistry revealing a large open pit gold style target. The third at Pedernal has 4 northwest trending mineralized zones with up to 3.5 kilometers of continuous veining and total vein strike lengths of up to 12 kilometers.
Individual surface veins have a true thickness of up to 6 meters with contiguous zones showing clusters up to 30 meters in width. Following the Prospect Generator business model, Riverside has optioned off Catrina, Escondida and Pedernal to BCY Resources Inc. (CVE:BCY). The agreement, in addition to cash payments, includes a firm 3,000 metre drilling commitment in year one, and a commitment to drill a minimum of 6,000 total metres within the first 24 months.
The fourth is known as Maravillas which carries a large structurally controlled gold anomaly at surface with various centers of mineralization where chip samples assay up to 1.5 g/t gold, 77g/t silver, and 1.5% copper.
The Chapalota Gold Copper Project lies within the highly productive Western Gold Belt of Mexico and is an early stage exploration project and is under assessment to develop drill ready targets.
Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) is contributing $1.5 million to a 2 year exploration program that is utilizing Riversides extensive Mexican data base to define four Iron Oxide Copper Gold targets within a 1.5 million km² area that runs along the western side of the country. Cliffs can earn a 70% interest by investing $4 million into identified IOCG targets over a period of 4 years. A progress report to shareholders is expected in the coming months.
In 2011 Riverside expects to see to see the establishment of new joint venture relationships and will be drilling high priority targets in Mexico and advancing projects with near surface high-grade veins and open pit potential. The upcoming year will build upon 2010 where Riverside successfully delivered on its goals to raise shareholder value through strategic Exploration Alliances, property acquisitions and joint-venture partnerships.
Riverside has built a strong and broad portfolio of gold and silver projects, many of which are now drill-ready. Riversides share price appreciated approximately 74 percent last year, and the Companys portfolio growth in 2010 was accomplished while sustaining its tight share structure of under 25 million shares issued, with over $3 million cash on hand.
