Location Map
The 100% owned Moonlight Project is located 21 miles northeast of Lovelock, Nevada and about five miles north of the Coeur d'Alene Rochester silver-gold mine. The Rochester Mine has produced over 125 million ounces of silver and well over one million ounces of gold in its 24 year history and has recently returned to production. Additionally, the Moonlight Property adjoins, on the north side, the Barrick Gold Corp. / Midway Gold Corp. joint venture of the Spring Valley Project (Spring Valley is between Terraco and Coeur Rochester). The Spring Valley project, operated by Barrick, has announced a NI 43-101 resource of 4,100,000 ounces of gold. Barrick's 2009 and 2010 drilling confirms the gold mineralization is open to the north (towards Moonlight) and at depth.
History
The Moonlight project area was identified and the initial claims were staked by Cordilleran Exploration Company ("Cordex"), on behalf of Metallic Ventures (U.S.) Inc ("Metallic") in 2004. Terraco entered into their original Exploration Agreement with Metallic in March of 2006. TCG Holdings, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Terraco Gold Corp, via a Purchase Agreement with Metallic Ventures (U.S.), Inc., acquired 100% of the rights to the Moonlight Project in June, 2007. Additionally, the underlying royalty position held by Cordilleran Exploration ("Cordex") was also purchased at the same time. The Cordex principals are John Livermore, who is credited with the discovery of the Carlin deposit in Nevada and the discovery and development of the Pinson and Dee mines, and Andy Wallace, who is credited with a major role in the discoveries of the Marigold and Stonehouse/Lone Tree gold deposits as well as the Daisy (Secret Pass) mine.
Geological
The Moonlight property, in the central part of the Humboldt Range northeast of Lovelock, is underlain by a Late Paleozoic to Early Mesozoic sequence of intermediate to felsic metavolcanic rocks known to host nearby, significant silver and gold deposits and prospects. These include the Coeur Rochester mine, which has produced 107 million ounces of silver and 1.3 million ounces gold to date, and the Spring Valley gold prospect which is currently the focus of a major exploration program. These and other mineral properties and deposits in the central part of the Humboldt Range are spatially related to a regional-scale structural system that extends through the Moonlight property.
According to the Midway Gold website, gold mineralization on the Spring Valley property, immediately south of Moonlight, is associated with volcanic vents which are part of a larger system of structurally-controlled volcanic pipes, vents, shallow intrusives, and breccia zones. Spring Valley was a blind discovery beneath significant thicknesses of alluvium within an intermontane basin.
The central part of the Moonlight property features a similar alluvium-filled basin marginal to which are two precious metals prospects including Moonlight mine which was reportedly one of Nevada's highest grade silver producers (NBM&G Bulletin 89, 1977, M Johnson, pg. 61).
Midway Gold's NI 43-101 Technical Report for Spring valley, dated 25 March 2009, states: "The Spring Valley deposit is hosted in bimodal volcanic rocks of the Permo-Triassic Koipato Group. The deposit is aligned along the Black Ridge fault which is a steeply dipping, normal fault. The Rochester and Nevada-Packard Silver-Gold Mines and the Relief Canyon Gold Mine are also found along this fault. MGC has defined a zone of mineralization that is 5,000 feet long, 2,500 feet wide, and extends to a known depth of 1,400 feet. Known mineralization remains open to the north, southwest, and at depth."
Gold and silver mineralization are known to be controlled by northerly-trending structures at Moonlight. Current evidence suggests that the Black Ridge Fault Zone is a complex structural zone, estimated to be locally greater than 1,000 feet wide, whose eastern boundary controls the eastern margin of precious metals mineralization at Rochester and Spring Valley. Mapping at Moonlight indicates that this district-scale fault system continues northward through the Moonlight Project properties. An aero-magnetic survey conducted in 2006 supports this conclusion.
Exploration
To date, Terraco has completed an aero-magnetic survey of the project area, collected and analyzed more than 400 rock samples, and drilled twenty-eight (28) reverse-circulation drill holes ranging in depth from 400 to 800 feet, partially tested only two (out of eight) current target areas.
Geologic mapping and sampling are ongoing. Plans for additional work include proposed, detailed ground geophysical surveys and a soil geochemical survey leading to final target delineation in preparation for the completion of Phase 1 and initiation of a Phase 2 drilling campaign in 2011.
