Elko County project getting a fresh look

A Reno-based company that staked

new claims on a gold-mining property

abandoned two years ago is beginning to

see a payoff from its faith in the project.

William Henderson, president of privately

held Nevada Sunrise LLC, said his

company created a joint venture with

Lateegra Resources Corp. to work toward

development of the project near the

Nevada-Utah border in Elko County.

The property known as Kinsley

Mountain covers 69 unpatented claims on

two square miles about 55 miles south of

Wendover.

The gold property was discovered in

1984, and Alta Gold Co. produced about

138,151 ounces from a heap-leach operation

at the property from 1994 to 1999.

Alta Gold filed for bankruptcy protection

in 1999; it abandoned the Kinsley

Mountain mine in 2000. Nevada Sunrise

staked new claims and acquired the historical

records of exploration and production.

Last week's joint venture with Lateegra

Resources Corp. puts Nevada Sunrise into

position to take the next step toward

development.

Under the joint venture agreement,

Vancouver-based Lateegra can earn a 60

percent interest in the property by:

* Paying $100,000 to Nevada Sunrise

for a one-year lease.

* Issuing 300,000 shares of Lateegra to

Nevada Sunrise. The shares, which trade

on the TSX Venture Exchange in

Toronto, were quoted at 37 cents

(Canadian) last week, valuing the 300,000

shares at $111,000 (Canadian).

* Completing a feasibility report on a

potential mining operation.

Michael Townsend, president of

Lateegra, said his company can continue

its lease of the property for $150,000 in

the second year of the deal, and the rent

will increase by $50,000 a year after that.

The Kinsley Mountain deal fits well

with the business plan for Nevada

Sunrise.

The company was created in August

2000 to acquire mining claims that had

been abandoned. It now controls about

25,000 acres of gold and silver properties,

and Nevada Sunrise has been among the

largest holders of mining claims in the

state.

Nevada Sunrise looks to develop those

properties through leases, joint ventures or

creation of companies that can be taken

public.

Henderson, spent 20 years in the semiconductor

industry and launched a laboratory

to provide geochemistry data

before he began accumulating gold-mining

claims.

When the gold market cratered in the

late 1990s, Henderson began raising capital

much of it from associates in

California's technology industry to

acquire claims that had been left to gather

dust.

"When things are big in markets on

the way down, they're big on the way

back up," Henderson said last week.

Nevada Sunrise has only one employee

Henderson as it relies heavily on

contracts with geologists and other professionals.