Gold Springs Resource Corp is a Canadian company that is pursuing the development of the Gold Springs gold-silver mine on the border of Utah and Nevada in the United States. Headquartered in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, the company is listed on the
Toronto Stock Exchange
The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX; french: Bourse de Toronto) is a stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the 10th largest exchange in the world and the third largest in North America based on market capitalization. Based in t ...
in Canada and the
OTCQX market exchange in the US. The company was founded in 2006 as the South American Silver Corporation, an
equity carve-out Equity carve-out (ECO), also known as a ''split-off IPO'' or a ''partial spin-off'', is a type of corporate reorganization, in which a company creates a new subsidiary and subsequently IPOs it, while retaining management control. Only part of the s ...
of the General Minerals Corporation, to pursue exploration and development of the Malku Khota and Laurani mineral properties in
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
and the Escalones property in
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
. Following the
nationalization
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
of the Malku Khota property by the
Government of Bolivia
The politics of Bolivia takes place in a tree of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the president is head of state, head of government and head of a diverse multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the govern ...
and the company's merger with the High Desert Gold Corporation for its Gold Springs project, the combined company renamed itself TriMetals Mining Inc in 2014. The company again renamed itself, this time to "Gold Springs Resource Corp", in 2019 after that project emerged as its principal asset.
Corporate history
Gold Springs Resource Corp was created as the South American Silver Corporation on September 28, 2006, as an
equity carve-out Equity carve-out (ECO), also known as a ''split-off IPO'' or a ''partial spin-off'', is a type of corporate reorganization, in which a company creates a new subsidiary and subsequently IPOs it, while retaining management control. Only part of the s ...
subsidiary of General Minerals Corporation (which later re-named to Sprott Resource Corporation). It held three mineral exploration properties: Malku Khota and Laurani mineral properties in
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
and the Escalones property in
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
. It underwent an
initial public offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
on the
Toronto Stock Exchange
The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX; french: Bourse de Toronto) is a stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the 10th largest exchange in the world and the third largest in North America based on market capitalization. Based in t ...
on February 19, 2007. While their exploration rights to the Laurani gold-silver-copper property in
La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
expired in 2009, and its expenses
written off
A write-off is a reduction of the recognized value of something. In accounting, this is a recognition of the reduced or zero value of an asset. In income tax statements, this is a reduction of taxable income, as a recognition of certain expenses ...
, the Malku Khota had a preliminary economic assessment completed demonstrating a high grade silver-
indium
Indium is a chemical element with the symbol In and atomic number 49. Indium is the softest metal that is not an alkali metal. It is a silvery-white metal that resembles tin in appearance. It is a post-transition metal that makes up 0.21 parts p ...
-
gallium
Gallium is a chemical element with the symbol Ga and atomic number 31. Discovered by French chemist Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran in 1875, Gallium is in group 13 of the periodic table and is similar to the other metals of the group (aluminiu ...
deposit. However, despite its community relations program, the Malku Khota project was locally divisive and opposed by several
indigenous groups
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
, resulting in intimidation and violence. After failed mediation efforts by the
Potosí Department
Potosí (; Aymara language, Aymara: ''Putusi''; qu, P'utuqsi) is a Departments of Bolivia, department in southwestern Bolivia. It comprises 118,218 km2 with 823,517 inhabitants (2012 census). The capital is the city of Potosí.
It is most ...
, the
Evo Morales
Juan Evo Morales Ayma (; born 26 October 1959) is a Bolivian politician, trade union organizer, and former cocalero activist who served as the 65th president of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019. Widely regarded as the country's first president to co ...
government
nationalized
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
the property in 2012 so that the mine would not be developed. Stock in the company had peaked in 2011 at over $2.00 a share but plummeted to $0.30 in 2012 after the loss of Malku Khota. The company sought US$385.7 million in compensation but the
Permanent Court of Arbitration
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is a non-UN intergovernmental organization located in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides services of arbitral tribunal to resolve disputes that arise ...
only, eventually, awarded them US$18.7 million plus interest, though the two parties settled for US$25.7 million in 2019 as part of a larger deal which included transferring exploration data.
After exiting Bolivia, the company acquired a 20% stake in
TSX Venture Exchange
The TSX Venture Exchange is a stock exchange in Canada. It is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, with offices in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal. All trading through the Exchange is done electronically, so the Exchange does not have a "trading f ...
-listed High Desert Gold in 2013 and the remainder of the outstanding shares in 2014. Soon afterwards, the company, then named South American Silver, changed its name to TriMetals Mining effective March 17, 2014. They continued exploration efforts in the Escalones property in Chile, but the Gold Springs property acquired from High Desert Gold emerged as their principal asset. They completed a preliminary economic assessment Gold Springs property and then renamed the company to Gold Springs Resource Corp. in 2019.
Gold Springs
Located in both western
Iron County, Utah
Iron County is a county in southwestern Utah, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 46,163. Its county seat is Parowan, and the largest city is Cedar City.
The Cedar City, UT Micropolitan Statistical Area incl ...
and eastern
Lincoln County, Nevada
Lincoln County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 5,345. Its county seat is Pioche, Nevada, Pioche. Like many counties in Nevada, it is d ...
, the Gold Springs project is an advanced exploration stage
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
and
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
project. It consists of 961 unpatented lode claims, 13 patented lode claims, four State of Utah leases, and one surface real estate deed parcel and right-of-way covering a total of approximately 7,470 hectares (ha). The Gold Springs property is held by TriMetals through Gold Springs LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of High Desert Gold Corporation (“HDG”). Prior to March 17, 2014, TMI was known as South American Silver Corp., which acquired 100% ownership of HDG on December 20, 2013. HDG is now a wholly owned subsidiary of TMI.
Other holdings
Located in
Santiago Metropolitan Region
Santiago Metropolitan Region ( es, link=no, Región Metropolitana de Santiago) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago. Mos ...
, the Escalones property is a
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
,
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
,
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
, and
molybdenum
Molybdenum is a chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42 which is located in period 5 and group 6. The name is from Neo-Latin ''molybdaenum'', which is based on Ancient Greek ', meaning lead, since its ores were confused with lea ...
porphyry and
skarn
Skarns or tactites are hard, coarse-grained metamorphic rocks that form by a process called metasomatism. Skarns tend to be rich in calcium-magnesium-iron-manganese-aluminium silicate minerals, which are also referred to as calc-silicate minerals ...
prospect. The property is located 35 km east from
El Teniente
El Teniente ("The Lieutenant") is an underground copper mine located in the Chilean Andes, above mean sea level. It is in the commune of Machalí in Cachapoal Province, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region, near the company town of ...
, the world’s largest underground copper mine, and 100 kilometers south-east of
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
, Chile. According to a detailed Feb 2012 NI 43—101 technical report provided withi
South American Silver Corp.’s 2011 corporate report Escalones possesses a newly defined Inferred Resource of 420 million tonnes of mineralized material contains 3.8 billion pounds of copper, 56.9 million pounds of molybdenum, 610,000 ounces of gold and 16.8 million ounces of silver.
References
{{reflist
Companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange
Silver mining companies of Canada
Mining in Bolivia
Mining in Chile