Categories: Base Metals / Precious Metals
Topics: General Base Metals / General Precious Metals

Millrock Resources (TSX-V: MRO) CEO Greg Beischer Kicks Off Drilling Program at the High-Grade Stellar Copper-Gold Project in Alaska

Gerardo Del Real: This is Gerardo Del Real with Resource Stock Digest. Joining me once again is President and CEO of Millrock Resources (TSX-V: MRO)(OTC: MLRKF), Mr. Greg Beischer. Greg, how are you?

Greg Beischer: Very well, Gerardo. Thanks for calling.

Gerardo Del Real: Thank you for taking the time. Exciting news release, we're finally getting some drilling at the Stellar copper-gold project there in Alaska. You and I have talked in the past about how excited I am about the drilling there. Can you give us the details? You just kicked off a drill program there and it's a high-grade copper-gold deposit that you're looking for extensions on and to verify some of the historic work. Exciting stuff. What can you tell us, Greg?

Greg Beischer: Yeah, it is exciting. It's all come together last minute. This is the end of August so it's a little late to be starting a major drilling program in Alaska but we've been preparing ourselves for it just in case the financing did come through. And sure enough it did and we're off to the races with two drills to drill 2,000 meters through September. One drill will be redefining exactly the high-grade copper-gold deposit that we've known from historical work dating back to the ‘80s. We're using a large diameter core and special equipment to make sure that we get really good core recovery through the mineralized massive sulfide zones, which was a failing of the prior operators.

I'm confident that we will be able to publish a compliant resource after this month of drilling, but I'm most excited about the second drill, which will be testing for extensions of the same deposit along strike. We did induced polarization geophysical surveys last year and we were pleased to see that there's chargeable zones along strike in both directions and we may be able to add to this resource substantially as a result of this program. From Millrock's perspective that's good news because we get certain cash milestone payments if a resource of a certain threshold is achieved. We're really pleased to be working on this project. We're the operator. Funding is coming from Coventry Resources, an Australian listed company. They did very well to raise in excess of $5.5 million Australian dollars over the summer and we're happy to be partnered with them.

Our property position has much expanded because we've essentially sold ours into their company for shares, but they own the adjacent Caribou Dome project. So now there's two copper-gold resources on the property and great exploration potential beyond. Yeah, this is good news for Millrock and potentially a value creation event for our shareholders.

Gerardo Del Real: Excellent. Now that value creation event, the potential there is important because although you're the operator on the project and Coventry Resources owns the project Millrock owns 10.6%, I believe, of the issued shares of Coventry, which is an interesting approach. Can you talk a bit about the strategy there, Greg?

Greg Beischer: Yeah. It's been more typical over our history to have done joint agreements with major mining companies, but I see the market turning and I think now is a very good time for investors and for companies like ours to invest in junior exploration companies. We've traded our property for a major share position that we expect to be able to monetize at some point in the future, hopefully after a major copper-gold discovery. Those shares should be worth a heck of a lot more than they are today if we're successful in helping Coventry Resources make that discovery.

Gerardo Del Real: Wonderful. Wonderful. Far from a one trick pony, you have a lot of irons in the fire. You also have some projects in British Columbia that I'd like to talk about, because the Golden Triangle area has seen a lot of activity here recently. What's going on on that side of the world there, Greg?

Greg Beischer: That sure is a hot area. Of course, Pretivm's Brucejack mine has gone into production and I think we'll see in the next month or two what those production results are like. I just love how high-grade deposits and prospects in this part of the world. It's just a really well-mineralized slice of the earth's crust and now there's been more exploration and there's been rewards. Exploration companies are finding new showings, new deposits, and it's got a head of steam. It was a bit fortuitous but Millrock acquired a major land position right in the heart of the district two years ago now, just about. Recently we've made another deal with a junior exploration company to earn in to the projects paying Millrock in shares for the value of the projects. We're executing the work on behalf of the other company so we know the work is being done well, and we're making a small management fee on top of that that helps us defer some of our overhead costs. We've got a team in the field now prospecting the edges of some glaciers that may reveal brand new mineral showings.

It's really a quite exciting area to work. High mountain terrain, so challenging, but on the other hand the glaciers that have been receding really rapidly over the last decades have revealed new mineralization. In our case no one's been on the Willoughby property, for example, for over a decade and so there could be brand new showings or even deposits sticking right out of the ground. Our guys are in the field right now walking along the edge of those glaciers.

Gerardo Del Real: Excellent. Millrock now owns 12.6% of Sojourn, is that correct?

Greg Beischer: That's right. We'll be receiving more shares in Sojourn over time and so potentially we could be at some point in the fairly near future a 20% owner of that company. Again, we hope to monetize by selling those shares at a great profit and especially after a discovery has been made. The shares of Sojourn just started trading last Monday. Started at 15 cents and I didn't look this morning but already late yesterday they were trading at 30 cents.

Melanee Henderson: Yeah, yeah. They were still 30 cents when I looked at it this morning.

Gerardo Del Real: Thank you, Melanee. That's Melanee Henderson there. Well, it's definitely an exciting time. I love the exploration work that's being done in the space right now. Millrock obviously positioned shareholders very well during the downturn and I think we're at the very beginning of what should be a very, very fun cycle here. Is there anything else, Greg, that you'd like to add?

Greg Beischer: No. I agree with you, Gerardo. Our share price has been pretty static, in the high 30 cent range. I think the thing that's going to make it move now is good drilling results. We should be drilling right on through the years and always having the chance to produce those good results that'll increase our share price substantially.

Gerardo Del Real: Excellent. I hope to have you back soon. I know you're doing a lot of work as well with Centerra Gold down in Sonora, Mexico at the La Navidad Project. We'll definitely save that for our next conversation because I know you're getting some good results down there.

Greg Beischer: Yeah. We're excited and it'll be the next area that comes to the forefront.

Gerardo Del Real: Fantastic. Well, Greg, as you start getting assays back from Stellar I hope to have you back on. I know you have a lot of high-grade copper-gold hits in the past. I'm looking forward to confirming those and obviously if you're able to hit on some of those extensions it should be interesting.

Greg Beischer: Sure would. Okay, Gerardo. Look forward to talking to you again soon.

Gerardo Del Real: Thanks again, Greg.