Profiles in Mining: Millrock Resources Inc.
Moving from potential to production aids expansion
Company adds to its holdings with spotlight on Ester Dome SPECIAL TO THE ALASKA MINER Millrock Resources Inc. has expanded its presence in Alaska in the past year while working to develop new proj- ects in new territory. “Millrock previously avoided exploring in Fairbanks,” said president and CEO Greg Beischer. “There’s lots of competition, fractured, complicated mineral land ownership pattern and lots of smart geol- ogists and miners, no way to get in and no competitive advantage. But that changed several years ago when we saw unique opportunity created by an unusually prolonged down-cycle in the minerals industry.” Millrock defines itself as a project generator, finding resources and partners to move mineral deposits from po- tential to production. “We’ve partnered with a private Australian company that has been named Felix Gold, after Felix Pedroni (Pe - dro), the man credited with the original discovery of gold in Fairbanks.” he said. “Millrock is working in a joint arrangement with Felix Gold. We have established an excellent base in Fairbanks at an office/warehouse/yard on Davis Road, and have built the nucleus of a great team. Dave Larimer, former Chief Ge- ologist for Sumitomo at Pogo Mine has come home to lead the team for Felix Gold with a supporting cast of Millrock project managers, geologists and a host of Fairbanks area support staff and contractors. Millrock is a shareholder of Felix Gold and a royalty holder on the properties.” Millrock has also begun work to develop the known Es- ter Dome deposit. “Several years ago, Millrock made an agreement with Range Minerals concerning their lands on Ester Dome — from which more than 3 million ounces of placer gold is reported to have drained. We have added to the mineral tenure holdings by staking claims and making an agree- ment concerning the past producing Grant Mine with Fair - banks icon Roger Burggraf and are hoping to expand fur- ther. “We come into this area sensitive to the recreational (and residential) sensitivities. Modest underground oper- ations may be possible. We know there is high grade com- pact deposits that might be valuable and compatible. We’ve received initial drilling permits and are laying plans.” Beischer says Millwork is also working to develop an- other resource north of Fairbanks. “A year or so ago we made an agreement concerning a
core group of claims at Treasure Creek north of Fairbanks. There are sensitivities here, too — dog mushing commu- nities and trails, and Aurora viewing are all popular. “Treasure Creek produced quite a lot of placer gold from underground drift mining. We think we know the source of all that gold. We are applying some modern geophysical exploration methods along with tried-and-true boot and hammer geochemical and geological methods. We are very active in the field now with soil sampling — crews from Fox-based Metallogeny are doing auger soil sampling over a wide area. We look to drill test in the coming year. “Further east we’ve made agreements to explore some large tracts of land north and east of the Fort Knox Mine and in the vicinity of the new discovery made by Freego - ld Ventures. Fairbanks has produced more than 16 million ounces of gold. We believe that there is much, much more to find and we are setting out to do so. We intend to build an unparalleled team of Fairbanks experts, UAF, DGGS, Millrock personnel and Felix Gold personnel and their global industry-leading consultants and thereby make new discoveries. “In our view, through our work, we think that Fairbanks will become one of the great gold districts — measured with Val d’Or Quebec, Red Lake Ontario or the gold fields of Western Australia. The metals markets have turned favor- ably, and we are excited to be a part Fairbanks.”
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The Alaska Miner
Summer 2021
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