Russ Steele
My Uncle Fred Whitford was a mining engineer at the Empire Mine before it closed in the 1950s. The mine closed due to the low price of gold and the high cost of operations. According to my Uncle, there was still a lot of gold to be mined under Grass Valley when the Empire closed down. That was in the 1950s. Now the price of gold is soaring and the gold still in the ground under Grass Valley grows more valuable every day.
Our local liberal blogger just announced that the Newmont Mining Corporation has closed escrow on the 740-acre North Star parcel this week Why would a mining company buy the North Star Property? Not to build houses? According to the Newmont webpage:
Newmont Mining Corporation is primarily a gold producer, with significant assets or operations in the United States, Australia, Peru, Indonesia, Ghana, Canada, New Zealand and Mexico. Founded in 1921 and publicly traded since 1925, Newmont is one of the world’s largest gold producers and is the only gold company included in the S&P 500 Index and Fortune 500. Headquartered near Denver, Colorado, the company has over 34,000 employees and contractors worldwide.
Newmont recently acquired several gold mines in Nevada from an Canadian company. In April Newmont acquired Vancouver-based Fronteer Gold for roughly $2.3 billion, expanding their development opportunities in Nevada according to the company webpage:
Fronteer holds interests in three Nevada gold projects, which currently have 5.7 million ounces of measured, indicated and inferred resource. Its flagship property, Long Canyon, is located on a gold trend that is similar to the Carlin Trend in terms of its characteristics and potential. Based on exploration potential, the current 2.2 million ounces of measured, indicated and inferred resource at Long Canyon could double or triple in size.
The North Star property was originally being developed by Sandy Sanderson’s North Star/Grass Valley LLC which filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008. Sanderson was planning a housing development.
One has to wonder if maybe Newmont has their eye on another Canadian Mining company that holds the Idaho Maryland Mine property. There is plenty of room on the North Star property to establish a mining operation, and access the gold still under the Idaho Maryland property. More space that is avilable to IMM.
As the price of gold soars, the value of gold under Grass Valley soars as well. It is not if that gold will be mine, only when and by whom. It may be the Newmont Mining Corporation.
Exit Question: Did Newmont buy the property to build houses?
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