Gold venture seeks funds, partnership
From our weekly issue dated February 4, 2009
Is there gold in them thar hills?
On the evening of Thursday, Jan. 29, some 35 people attended a presentation by the Ontario, Canada-based company, Southern Oregon Gold, at the Guild Building in Grants Pass.
Attendees included Josephine County Commissioner Sandi Cassanelli; a representative from the office of Oregon Congressman Greg Walden (R-2nd District); Jon Jordan, executive director of the Grants Pass Chamber of Commerce; and members of the Josephine County Chapter of Americans for Prosperity.
Jeremy Goldman, Southern Oregon Gold board member and Foundation Markets president and founder, began by discussing the region’s history in the mining industry. He said that gold has performed well in international markets, and characterized it as a resource that isn’t “being taken advantage of.”
Enrique J. Lopez De Mesa, president of Southern Oregon Gold, asked audience members for their help in making the venture a success.
“We’re looking to build a world-class company here,” he said. “That’s only going to happen if we have partners at multiple levels.”
Lopez De Mesa said that, if the company gets enough local support, “We’re going to spend a lot of money in this region.”
The company already owns the Greenback Mine in the Wolf Creek area, Lopez De Mesa said, and conducted soil and rock sampling and trenching there.
“No surprise, we found gold,” he said. “We’re excited with what we’re finding.”
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Lopez De Mesa said that the Greenback Mine has been expanded from 300 to 1,000 acres, and that the company has already started hiring local people for its operations. The company also has acquired 360 acres of property around Grouse Mountain in S.W. Oregon, he said.
Developing those properties will require between $40 million and $100 million in investments, he said, and may take from five to 10 years.
Lopez De Mesa said the company is looking to raise $1 million by March 1, and is seeking small investments to draw larger investments. Southern Oregon Gold plans to go public some time this year on the Toronto Stock Exchange, he said.
“We are poised and positioned to take advantage of this (economic) downturn,” Lopez De Mesa said.
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