Bullion River Gold Corp. - Wenban Springs

Location

The Wenban Spring Property consists of 293 unpatented Wenban Spring (WS), Cortez South (CS) and Gold Valley (GV) lode claims which are located immediately adjacent to the southwest of the Cortez Joint Venture (CJV) which contains current and historical gold resources in excess of 25 M ounces. The 239 WS claims are wholly owned by Bullion River Gold Corporation (BRGC) and the CS and GV are under option from Senator Minerals. The claims control approximately 10 square miles (21 sq km) of mixed outcrop and shallow pediment directly adjoining CJV claim block. Placer Dome Inc./Barrick) is operator and 60% owner of the CJV, with Kennecott Minerals Company (subsidiary of Rio Tinto plc) owning 40%. Cortez Hills-Pediment deposit is a world-class, bulk-mineable Carlin-type gold system (~ 9 Moz gold @ ~ 4.4 g/t Au) discovered in 2002 and is located 6 miles (9.6 km) northeast of the claim block. It is covered by post-mineralization alluvium at the north end of Grass Valley in Cortez Canyon. Wenban Spring is on the west edge of the same valley and situated along southern extensions of a major, through-going NW trending structural corridor which contains the Pipeline, Gap and Gold Acres deposits.

Regional Setting and Gold Mineralization

Wenban Spring lies along the west side of the northwest-trending Battle Mountain - Eureka Mineral Belt, which is defined by a number of productive, bulk-mineable, sediment-hosted and volcanic-hosted gold deposits, including Pipeline (16 Moz Au), Cortez Hills (9 Moz Au), Cortez, Gold Acres, Tonkin Springs, Horse Canyon, Gold Bar, Ruby Hill, Toiyabe and Buckhorn. The Cortez portion of the mineral trend is becoming recognized as a premier gold belt which has the potential to surpass the productivity of the Carlin trend. The Cortez/Battle Mountain - Eureka trend is within a pronounced northwest trending structural linear which is clearly delineated by regional satellite imagery, through-going breaks in the mountain ranges and disruptions in geology, airborne geophysical magnetic and gravity surveys and broad regional stream sampling (NURE) programs. The Wenban Spring Project lies within this prolific belt, close to its heart.

Project Geology

Regional structural analysis and project-scale geologic data indicate that a north-northwest trending range-front fault zone and prominent WNW trending normal faults pass through and intersect within the property. Fault systems of this orientation are the dominant control to gold deposits in the Cortez region, both Carlin-type sediment-hosted and volcanic-hosted epithermal systems. Satellite TM imagery shows strong, through-going structural linears which cut older Paleozoic sediments and Eocene Caetano volcanics which can be traced from Gold Acres to Eureka. Rocks exposed in the range on the west side of the structure are upper-plate siliciclastic rocks which overlie potentially productive carbonate units like those that host the Toiyabe and Cortez Hills gold deposits. Windows of favorable Wenban Formation calcareous siltstones are exposed below the Roberts Mountain thrust just three miles to the west. Preliminary field work has identified an altered northwest-trending dike on the property. In addition, a major NW fault cuts through the Caetano tuffs at the northwest corner of the property at Wenban Spring where it uplifts the tuffs on the east to where the basal Tertiary conglomerates and basement sediments are exposed. These are further indication that the northwest fault zone is significant, potentially forming a deep-seated, long-lived mineralizing conduit.

Intersecting the northwest fault on the north side of the property is a regional east-trending fault separating the upper-plate rocks to the south from Tertiary volcanic rocks to the north. The volcanics (Caetano Tuff, 35 Ma) are syn- to post-mineralization with respect to the Carlin-type gold systems, and are older than the productive volcanic-hosted systems in the region (e.g., Buckhorn). The intersection of the two structures under alluvial cover is considered a favorable setting for mineralization.

2005 Work

In 2004, Bullion River Gold completed some geologic mapping, sampling and a controlled-source audiomagnetotelluric geophysical survey (CSAMT). Results confirm that the alluvial fill in the valley on the east side of the property is relatively thin (<500 ft thick) for up to 1.5 miles east of the range-front fault. Further, faults have been mapped and inferred from the geophysical survey that support the structural model reported above. The Bureau of Land Management approved and accepted the bond for a first-phase drill plan, scheduled for three 1200-foot holes. Unfortunately, poor drilling conditions did not allow for a deep test. Hole WS-1 was drilled to 960 feet and did not penetrate the upper plate rocks. Hole WS-2 was lost at 265 feet in alluvium because of problems setting casing. Hole WS-3 was collared further west up slope and hit bedrock at 115 feet. Rig breakdowns caused the rods to become stuck and the hole was lost at 640 feet in upper plate rocks.

2006 Work Plan

Discussions were initiated with Placer Dome Exploration (PDX) and the CJV to pursue a JV on the property but the Barrick acquisition has postponed any further talks.