Ron Tremblay President and CEO of Levon Resources Ltd
For more than 20 years Ron Tremblay had been exclusively involved in mining finance. So when he was approached three-and-a-half years ago by Vancouver-based junior Levon Resources Ltd to oversee operations, it didn’t take long for the now-president and CEO to make what has become a pivotal venture into mineral exploration.
Upon accepting the offer in October 2006, Tremblay has been extremely successful in landing the funds necessary for reinvigorating Levon’s focus on intense exploration and thorough development of historically solvent gold-bearing areas in North America.
Not one to waste any time, he quickly bought up position in Levon through his own private company. Now with almost 30% of the shares and a team celebrating more than 150 collective years in the business, Tremblay swung the door wide to an opportunity for Levon to emerge on the scene as a contender.
“I decided since I own so much stock in the company it would now be necessary to track down a world class discovery or hopefully a world class deposit to try and strengthen Levon’s assets,” said Tremblay during a recent chat with Metalsnews.com.
Fortunately he didn’t have to look much further than to venerable Senior Vice President of Exploration Vic Chevillon, a man with approximately 40 years experience with majors such as Placer Dome, Noranda, Barrick and Homestake.
It also didn’t take long for Chevillon and company to find what they were searching for and established, only a year-and-a-half later, its flagship project Cordero-Sanson.
Located in north-central Mexico in two expansive, prominent belts of porphyry, the property has, according to Tremblay, “the potential to become that world-class polymetallic project we set out to institute.”
Silver, lead, gold, molybdenum and zinc reside within and far beyond the company’s 20,000-hectare purchase, a consideration that did not go unnoticed. Levon counts among its neighbors in the proven Chihuahua-Zacatecas region such contemporaries as Goldcorp and its Penasquito property, Silver Standard with its San Agustin operation, and perhaps the most inspirational to Tremblay, Canplats’ Camino Rojo. For it is the exhibited merits of this project alone that the president cites as crucial to meeting and exceeding Levon’s goal of founding a world-class site.
President Ron Tremblay (seated) and Mexico geological team reviewing trench data.
“They started that project one-and-a-half years ago and after a well-spent $10 Million ushered it through to the stage where now they’re being bought out for $300 Million,” Tremblay praised. “That’s not a lot of investment. And to get that kind of return; their stock went from 10 cents to $5! We anticipate the same type year and a half.”
Along a strike length of 8km by 3km, a well-mineralized interval grading 152 meters at Levon’s Cordero turned up last fall 80.64 g/T silver, 0.61 g/T gold, 1.41% zinc and 1.22% lead. Not surprising then that a press release issued only a few weeks ago announced the company has commenced diamond drilling there among the mineralized intrusive deposits, deposits that “tend to become very large, very quickly,” in the words of Tremblay. “It’s a large system, and with our drills already in the ground, the second round will commence in about 30 days, and the 3rd 30 days beyond that. We’re going, no pun intended, full bore with it”
Drill crew with fresh core from Hole #5
Another challenge being met by virtue of the property’s proximity to resources is the infrastructure supplying Cordero’s accessibility. Tremblay is confident to convey not only the ease of access the property has to paved roads within 10 km to a major highway, but also a chief mining community of approximately 250,000 slightly more than 20km away. Also notable is a paved airstrip just 10km south of the property.
“You could land a 737 on it,” exclaimed Tremblay before dishing on the laundry list of amenities. “We have private airstrips at our disposal, major power lines going thru there, dams just north of us, a rail service about 10km away, and a fully-owned smelter 20km away.” Even sweeter is nearby private ranch land featuring a giant, gravity-fed water tank on a hill.
“We’re in great shape,” added Tremblay, mentioning everything else they’re set up with from the office building, core shack and racks to the generators.
$3 Million in the bank after a recent financing and completion of their option to earn them a 51% interest in the project in collaboration with Valley High can’t hurt either.
Another way to expedite a project as economically as possible is to saddle up with a partner like Barrick Gold Corporation, which is precisely what Levon did at its Norma Sass property in Nevada. As Tremblay puts it, they are in currently drilling for “bonanza, Carlin-type ore-bodies” alongside Barrick's renowned Pipeline/Cortez gold mine.
Norma Sass claims and Pipeline Mine
Of the 300 hectares that make up this gold- and silver-bearing property, Levon has a 1/3, 2/3 split ownership deal, respectively with Coral Gold Resources. At the moment, exploration on the project is being conducted by Barrick under an option to earn upwards of 75% interest, before disbursements. Besides providing an innovative perspective on the Norma Sass property, coupled with a responsible devotion to providing for their own, Barrick’s reinterpretation of the open pit geology is wholeheartedly welcomed by Levon as a partner.
According to a Levon press release dated September 29, 2009 further regarding the terms of the groups’ agreement:
“Barrick may earn a 60% interest by incurring total exploration expenditures of at least US$3 million in annual installments by December 31, 2014. Barrick may earn an additional 10% (for an aggregate interest of 70%) by incurring an additional US$1.5 million by December 31, 2015. Barrick may earn an additional 5% (for an aggregate interest of 75%) by carrying Levon and Coral through to commercial production.
Barrick Gold begins drilling at Norma Sass
“Alternatively, at the time of earning either its 60% or 70% interest, Barrick may be given the option to buy-out Levon's and Coral's joint interest by paying US$6 million and granting them a 2% net smelter return royalty.”
At the 43-101-compliant and very promising Congress Project near the Bralorne Gold Mine in southwest British Columbia, the measured, indicated and inferred gold resource already totals more than 194,000 ounces within 2,433 hectares. Establishment of a feasible ore body will commence once the company’s first-stage hurdle of 500,000 ounces is surmounted.
Congress Property
“We’re a growth story with regard to increasing our resources,” concluded Tremblay in a nod to potential investors. “You’re going to witness this company grow very quickly within a year or two from now.”
For more information visit www.levon.com
Levon Resources Ltd.
Investor Relations
Luc Lesage
ir@levon.com
Suite 400, 455 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC V6C 1T1
Tel: 604.682.3701
Fax: 604.682.3600