Newrange Gold advancing highly prospective assets in Nevada and Ontario

Pamlico is new gold discovery in virtually unexplored area of Nevada Nevada rated fifth-largest gold producer and number one mining destination in the world Exciting ground in Ontario too What Newrange Gold does: Newrange Gold Corp's (CVE:NRG) flagship project is the high-grade, near-surface gold discovery at Pamlico in mining-friendly Nevada, USA. The company boasts a large footprint, covering 2,548 hectares, which also encompasses a past gold producing area (with old mine workings) but has been unexplored and in private hands (three families) since 1896 so it has seen almost no modern exploration techniques. Newrange is earning into 100% of Pamlico, which lies along US Highway 95, via staged annual payments up to 2044. There are around 8,000 meters (m) of tunnels scattered throughout the district and 300 adits (entrances) in the old workings but no maps and data. The state of Nevada is a well-known mining hotspot and the world's fifth-largest producer of the yellow metal, with an eye-watering 169.1 million ounces having been generated from the state between 1835 and 2018. In June last year, the group revealed it had agreed to sell its Colombian assets (consisting of the El Dovio and Anori exploration projects) to Australia’s Andean Mining Corp for US$1 million to focus on the Pamlico group of mines, which includes the Good Hope, Gold Bar and Sunset mines nearby. In September,  Andean made its first-anniversary payment of US$250,000 for the purchase of the El Dovio exploration project in Colombia. And in November last year, it emerged that a subsidiary of GoldMining Inc (CVE:GOLD) would buy Newrange's Yarumalito gold project in central Colombia for $1.2million in shares and cash ($200,000 in cash). The asset covers 1,456 hectares of highly prospective ground a few kilometres north of the famed Marmato district. Newrange retains a 1% net smelter returns (NSR) royalty, which can be bought by GoldMining at any time before the completion of a feasibility study for $1 million. The firm also holds the 3,850 hectare North Birch Gold project (the new name for its optioned Western Fold Property and H Lake property. The ground lies around 100 kilometers (km) northeast of the town of Red Lake, Ontario. How is it doing: On April 30, 2020, Newrange updated on its exploration plans in Nevada, where it is now planning a 5,000 to 10,000 meter drill program at Pamlico. In the light of coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions, the firm said it had made some adjustments to its programs and schedules in a bid to start as soon as possible while ensuring the safety of employees and contractors. The group said it expects to begin road work and site preparation within the next two weeks. Reverse circulation (RC) drilling will then be used initially, with diamond drilling expected on some targets later in the program, it added. Underground channel sampling on the 5546 level of the historic Gold Bar mine on the Pamlico Ridge has identified a near-surface zone of gold mineralization containing high grades, averaging 6.88 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 22.19 g/t silver, Newrange noted. At North Birch, applications for permits have been submitted but the authorities have placed a 'Temporary Hold' on all applications until COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. Newrange said that once this happens and the permits are granted, it intends to conduct line cutting, geological mapping and sampling and Induced Polarization (IP) geophysics. This work will be used to generate targets for future drilling, it added. In January this year, to augment the Nevada asset, Newrange enlarged its footprint in the famous Red Lake area of Ontario with a new option agreement to earn 100% of the H Lake property from Bounty Gold Corp. The new project is contiguous to the western boundary of the firm's Western Fold property (now called the North Birch gold project) in the Birch-Uchi greenstone, which Newrange optioned from AurCrest Gold Inc late in 2019. Together, the two properties encompass 3,850 hectares and cover the entire iron formation package. What the broker says: In April, Roth Capital repeated an 'outperform' rating Newrange following the company's update on exploration plans. It also maintained a price target of US$0.14 on the shares, against a current share price of US$0.09. Exploration efforts at the Pamlico project were "poised to accelerate", the broker said, and it also noted that drilling could commence in mid-May. What the boss says: On May 1, Newrange chief executive Robert Archer confirmed that the firm thinks drilling work at Pamlico should be able to get going within weeks as restrictions ease. "We're fully funded for the year for our exploration so we anticipate that as soon as we get going, it will pretty much be business as usual," he added, referring to the group's overall plans in the US and Canada.