Reno, Nevada, July 20, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
Dakota Territory Resource Corp prepares for Drilling in Prolific Homestake Gold District of South Dakota
Richard Bachman, President and CEO, Provides Update
Reno, Nevada, July 20, 2016 -- Dakota Territory Resource Corp (OTCQB: DTRC) ("Dakota Territory" or the "Company"), a gold exploration company with a portfolio of properties located in the prolific Homestake Gold District of the Black Hills of South Dakota, today provides shareholders with a corporate update.
After four lean years, a nearly 30 percent rise in gold prices off the late December low of $1,050 per ounce has finally provided some much needed optimism in the gold industry. This optimism has already been reflected in the valuation of the “Majors”, who must now begin to address the question: “what comes next”?
In general, all Miners have now been engaged in prolonged cost cutting measures that were simply not part of the mine planning that existed in 2012 when prices began to fall. As a result, these cost cutting measures, such as “high-grading”, couldn’t help but destroy marginal reserves and ultimately shorten the lives of producing mines. The reduction in mineral inventories has been further exasperated by the fact that exploration budgets designed to generate replacement reserves were slashed as one of the earliest cost cutting measures implemented.
Debt reduction through the sale of non-core assets to improve balance sheets has also been a common theme through this cycle, which has further depleted the reserves on the books of many of the larger mining companies. While it is often difficult to predict the factors that might influence the demand for gold in the coming years, it is clear that supply is down and that it will take considerable time for production to recover.
So, what does come next? Recent industry communications are already beginning to address the need for companies to get busy replacing reserves, with the caveat that new replacement reserves be profitable in the current price environment. In the near term, finding those reserves will be a tall order given the fact that there has been very little exploration conducted by junior exploration companies over the past four years and the availability of projects sitting on the shelf with favorable economics at the current gold prices is simply a matter of slim pickings. As gold prices improve, the pressure for companies to at least maintain current production rates will eventually give way to even greater pressure for production growth.
Given the lag between increased demand for gold and the ability of the industry to create supply, there exists tremendous opportunity for low cost gold projects that could be viable at current prices. We believe that what comes next in gold exploration will be a strong demand for projects located in safe low cost jurisdictions with the potential for large high grade deposits with good metallurgy. At Dakota Territory, we have come to believe this is what will come next; not because we are thinking outside the box, but rather because we have already seen this cycle played out at least 3 times over the past 40 years. What is unique about Dakota Territory is that this Company was founded 5 years ago entirely on the belief that this day would eventually come.
Dakota Territory has been patient. We have kept our overhead costs to an absolute minimum while we continued to technically advance our projects until we could secure financing on terms favorable to the Company and its shareholders. The Company is owned by a relatively small group of investors that have also patiently demonstrated their commitment to Dakota Territory’s long term business strategy.
Dakota Territory Resource Corp maintains 100% ownership of the Blind Gold, City Creek and Homestake Paleoplacer Properties that cover more than 3,057 acres of the 44-million ounce Homestake Gold District in the Black Hills of South Dakota. All three of Dakota’s properties were previously owned, explored and drilled by Homestake Mining Company under the direction of Richard Bachman, Dakota Territory’s President and CEO.
Dakota Territory’s first drill program will be undertaken on the Homestake Paleoplacer Property because the project provides a relatively low cost and low risk drilling opportunity with huge upside and the potential for near term production. This first program is designed to validate Homestake’s historic high grade drill intercepts (up to 15 grams Au per ton) in the northern channel extension and to confirm historic gold resource calculations in the area of the past producing Gustin, Minerva and Deadbroke Mines.
We are more convinced than ever that Dakota Territory is in the right place at positively the right time with the right projects.
About Dakota Territory Resource Corp
Dakota Territory Resource Corp. is a Nevada Corporation with offices located at Reno, Nevada. Dakota Territory is committed to creating shareholder value through the acquisition and responsible exploration and development of high caliber gold properties in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
In terms of total historic US gold production, the Black Hills ranks second only to the Carlin District of northeast Nevada, with the gold production of the Black Hills concentrated in a 100 square mile area known as the Homestake District. Dakota Territory maintains 100% ownership of three mineral properties including the Blind Gold, City Creek and Homestake Paleoplacer Properties, all of which are located in the heart of the Homestake District and cover a total of approximately 3,057 acres. The Blind Gold Property is located approximately 4 miles northwest and on structural trend with the historic Homestake Gold Mine. Through its 125 year production history, the Homestake Gold Mine produced approximately 40 million ounces of gold and is the largest iron-formation-hosted gold deposit in the world
In the 1980′s and 1990′s Homestake Mining Company undertook a $70 million exploration program managed by Richard Bachman, president and chief executive officer of Dakota Territory that was focused primarily on the search for a repeat of the Homestake Mine. This program successfully discovered significant new gold mineralization beyond the confines of the producing mine, demonstrating repeatability and the potential for additional gold deposits in the Homestake iron-formation host. This program also proved the continuous extension of the Homestake iron-formation to a distance of approximately 4 miles from the producing mine and under the Blind Gold Property.
Dakota Territory Resource Corp is uniquely positioned to leverage Management’s extensive exploration and mining experience in the Black Hills of South Dakota with Homestake Mining Company. For more information on Dakota Territory, please visit the Company's website at http://DakotaTRC.com/.
Investor Relations
Investor Relations Contact: For more information, please contact Dakota Territory Resource Corp (775) 747-0667
Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) limits disclosure for U.S. reporting purposes to mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract or produce. Our property currently does not contain any known proven or probable ore reserves under SEC reporting standards. Our reference above to the various formations and mineralization believed to exist in our property as compared to historical results and estimates from other property in the district is illustrative only for comparative purposes and is no indication that similar results will be obtained with respect to our property. U.S. investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our latest reports filed with the SEC. You can review and obtain copies of these filings at http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions about future events. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and the assumptions upon which they are based are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations and assumptions will prove to have been correct. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by the use of words like "may," "will," "should," "could," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "intend," or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as these statements are subject to numerous factors and uncertainties, including but not limited to: adverse economic conditions, competition, adverse federal, state and local government regulation, inadequate capital, inability to carry out research, development and commercialization plans, loss or retirement of key executives and other specific risks. To the extent that statements in this press release are not strictly historical, including statements as to revenue projections, business strategy, outlook, objectives, future milestones, plans, intentions, goals, future financial conditions, events conditioned on stockholder or other approval, or otherwise as to future events, such statements are forward-looking, and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. Readers are advised to review our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that can be accessed over the Internet at the SEC's website located at http://www.sec.gov.
