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If past performance is any indication, expect Pete Bernier and his highly skilled Prosper Gold (PGX, TSX-V) team to start with guns blazing and a sense of urgency – on the ground and in the market – as they take aim at the promising Sheslay Copper-Gold Porphyry Project approximately 60 miles west-southwest of Dease Lake and 30 miles northwest of Telegraph Creek in northern British Columbia. If there’s any group in the junior exploration sector that can nail down a major new discovery in this part of B.C., and provide a much-needed spark for the Venture Exchange, it’s most certainly Prosper Gold.  And the Sheslay has all the geological ingredients to become one of the hottest Copper-Gold exploration plays in the world, very quickly.

Bernier’s Brigade includes all of his key personnel from Richfield Ventures including award-winning geologist Dirk Tempelman-Kluit.  Richfield, of course, rose from pennies to more than $10 a share as it was bought out by New Gold Inc. (NGD, TSX) for half a billion dollars in 2011.  Tempelman-Kluit was able to unlock the mysteries of the Blackwater Property in central B.C., resulting in a multi-million ounce Gold discovery.  Equally impressive was how Bernier and Tempelman-Kluit then went about finding a new project.  Strategically and methodically over the next couple of years, they reviewed countless properties.  Then with surgical precision, they cut a highly favorable deal with a rather desperate Firesteel Resources (FTR, TSX-V) near the bottom of the market 4 months ago.  Final approval for the “qualifying transaction” was granted by the Exchange at the end of last week, and Prosper Gold will begin trading tomorrow (Tuesday) at the open – armed with a $3.6 million financing (80% “hard” dollars).

So what’s so special about the Sheslay Project and the immediate surrounding area? Regionally, the property sits within an under-explored part of the Stikine Arch, a highly mineralized, prospective belt of rocks that features numerous important deposits.  It’s right on trend with major systems to the southeast.  And Firesteel’s work from 2003 until 2011, combined with results of exploration activity going back to the 1950’s, clearly suggests that there’s something very special about the Sheslay.  It exhibits great potential both in mineable size and grade. Many current operating mines in the world went through multiple ownership groups during their exploration stages before the right people with the right strategy came along to figure out the geological puzzle.  That’s what we suspect the Sheslay story will be, as the right people have finally arrived.  Bernier and Tempelman-Kluit have a vision for this project.  This is an exceedingly good property which shows all the characteristics of an alkalic porphyry Cu-Au deposit (or series of deposits).  In addition, infrastructure at the Sheslay (airstrip, road and trail access, permanent camp) suggests that exploration costs and ultimately the capital costs to develop a mine in this area could be significantly less than at other remote properties in northern B.C. – an important part of Bernier’s calculation in selecting the Sheslay.

The Targets

As Prosper Gold reported July 18, the Sheslay features 5 permitted and drill-ready Copper-Gold-bearing porphyry bodies – the Star (most advanced), North Star, East Star, Copper Creek, and Pyrrhotite Creek.  The first 4 are clustered within a 12 sq. km area while the Pyrrhotite Creek porphyry is located in what appears to be a 2nd distinct multiple target area 4.5 km to the southwest.

Firesteel drilled a total of 26 relatively shallow holes at the Star target (all angled holes, and 18 of them were less than 150 metres in length), primarily testing the zone within an area of just 300 m by 400 m.   Each and every hole was mineralized from the collar to the bottom of the hole, such as CC2004-05 which returned 242.3 m grading 0.44% Cu and 0.32 g/t Au (it ended in strong Cu-Au mineralization, as did most of the other holes).  Based on historical geophysical, geochemical and drill data, the Star target covers an approximate 700 m x 500 m area and is open at depth and laterally in all directions.  Mineralization is not restricted to specific rock types; the porphyry intrusive and bounding volcanic rocks are mineralized.

Outstanding Surface Showings

Below is a picture of a supergene gossan from the Copper Creek area (2.5 km to the southeast of the Star).  “Massive mineralization” has been found in the outcrops on the west side of Copper Creek.  Prosper Gold’s technical report stated, “The area has encouraging historic (1969-70) results from surface rock sampling and limited shallow drilling, plus a large coincident Copper-Gold soil geochemical anomaly – lacks any modern geological mapping, rock chip sampling, trenching or drilling.”

The Potential

It’s incredible that after 60 years of intermittent exploration at the Sheslay, detailed geological mapping has been completed over only isolated portions of the property as PGX stated in its technical report.  This underscores the untapped potential this property has.  One can be certain that Bernier’s team will utilize every tool and technique at its disposal, and turn the Sheslay upside down if they have to, in order to find the bulk tonnage deposit they’re after at the right grade.   

But there’s even a bigger geological story here. The Sheslay is 6,800 hectares.  It is surrounded on its western and southern borders by Garibaldi Resources’ (GGI, TSX-V) Grizzly Property which is 2.5 times larger than the Sheslay (17,500 hectares).  Combined, the 2 properties total 240 sq. km – the scale of which is being taken into consideration, no doubt, by Bernier and Tempelman-Kluit. While the Grizzly is much less advanced from an exploration standpoint than the Sheslay, it nonetheless appears to be a critical piece of the overall puzzle and offers its own “blue sky” potential.  The Kaketsa pluton rests on the northwest corner of the Grizzly and is believed to be an important “heat engine”, driving mineralizing fluids in the area.  The Grizzly covers the western and southern contacts of the Kaketsa intrusion with the surrounding Stuhini Group volcanics, and shows many of the characteristics of alkalic porphyry Copper-Gold mineralization.  The possibility of a high-grade Gold system at depth somewhere on this property also can’t be ruled out, according to some geologists we’ve spoken to.  The Garibaldi group is solid, as we’ve been reporting, and they have the working capital, the expertise and the desire to take full advantage of this unique opportunity.  While GGI already has impressive assets in Mexico, and hasn’t had to do a financing in 4 years due to success down there, the Grizzly could yet have an immense impact on this company and its valuation.

Following Friday’s news that the Venture Exchange has given its final blessing to the Prosper Gold qualifying transaction, BMR was finally able to get some brief comments from Garibaldi President and CEO Steve Regoci who has promised us an extended interview in the “very near” future.  “The Sheslay River Valley holds immense exploration potential,” Regoci told us, “which is why we’ve always been excited about the Grizzly, holding on to every square inch of this large property over the last several years while advancing our significant assets in Mexico and creating value there.  The work that we have done at the Grizzly since we acquired it has been extremely encouraging.  We’re delighted to see that Prosper Gold has successfully completed its QT with a significant financing to allow Pete and his group to exploit the opportunity at the Sheslay.  Yes, this has certainly changed the dynamics in the area.  We’re looking forward to updating investors in the immediate future with regard to the Grizzly and our Mexican properties.”

Below is a BMR produced map that approximates the property boundaries and current exploration targets at both the Sheslay and the Grizzly.

Exploration.  Discovery.  Wealth.

Bernier has branded Prosper Gold with 3 simple but powerful words – exploration, discovery, wealth.  That’s what this company is all about.  And rest assured, Bernier is motivated – even after coming off a huge win with Richfield – to deliver on the brand promise.  If only one-third of Venture companies took Bernier’s approach and had his drive to succeed and produce shareholder value, we’d have a rip-roaring bull market right now.

We firmly believe there are historic opportunities in the junior resource sector at the moment.  But investors must be selective and focus on the 10% to 15% of companies who have the properties, the cash, the expertise, and the determination to execute effectively both on the ground and in the market, and make discoveries that majors want to buy.  With Pete Bernier and Dirk Tempelman-Kluit behind it, Prosper Gold has the potential to deliver incredible returns to shareholders as exploration at the Sheslay ramps up.  While there are never any guarantees in this business, we like the risk-reward ratio with PGX and we wish Bernier and his team the best of luck.

More on this exciting story as the week unfolds.

Note: Both John and Jon hold share positions in GGI.  As always, perform your own due diligence.  Please read our disclaimer. Our stock coverage is for informational and entertainment purposes only and must not be viewed or interpreted as “buy”, “sell” or “hold” recommendations. No investment opinion or other advice is being rendered on any stock or company.