Corvus Gold presents projects to Beatty board

Corvus Gold has discovered a “high-grade vein system” at “Yellowjacket” portion of their North Bullfrog Project property north of Beatty, company Carl Brechtel revealed in a presentation to the Beatty Town Advisory Board Sept. 22.

Brechtel said despite the fluctuating price of gold, this discovery “makes the project more robust financially.” The high-grade nature of the ore will also require a different method to extract the gold, so rather than just using a leach heap, the company will build a mill capable of crushing the ore down to a powder.

He said that the company spent $8.8 million on the project last year, and that by the end of 2014 they will have drilled almost 37,000 feet of core in exploring the site. They have also installed a number of monitoring wells.

Corvus has acquired a property on Sarcobatus Flat near Scotty’s Junction which has the water rights they need for the project. They will be applying to the state engineer to divert those rights to an area closer to their project for the drilling of wells. Brechtel said the diversion would be temporary and would revert to the original location when the project comes to an end.

He said that once the mine is up and running it will provide 150-200 “good-paying jobs.”

Beatty resident and businessman David Spicer said that Corvus is “interested in community involvement and development on a level we’ve never seen before.” The company plans to have a booth at Beatty Days to interact with locals.

Diane McGinnis told the board that a major Boy Scout event, the Mountain Man Rendezvous, will be coming to Beatty early next year. It is moving from Moapa to Spicer’s Boiling Pot Ranch. She said it usually involves about 3,000 Boy Scouts and adult leaders.

Spicer said this event was an example of ongoing efforts to develop “long-term partnerships with good partners” to benefit the community.

Karl Olson complained about the condition of a road on Sarcobatus Flat that was used by the race. He said that at one place there was a “30-50 yard path of destruction” involving deep poof dirt. He was afraid that “the lunatic fringe” would use it as an excuse for legal action that could get the area closed off.

Spicer, whose company blades some of the course after the race, said that the “road” in question is not actually a road, but a permanently designated race course approved by the BLM, and the wide spot is a designated passing area.

He said that the spot in question is “difficult to mitigate,” at least until there is sufficient rain to settle the dirt. He agreed to speak with race director Casey Folks about any complaints to see what might be done.

Board treasurer Erika Gerling brought up the question of Beatty’s portion of public safety sales tax funds. She said the money is divided up according to population, and Beatty’s share is estimated at about $52,000 per year for three years.

There are restrictions on how the money can be used, some of which she said were “confusing,” but she wanted the community to have input on how the money might be spent. Specifically, she wanted to hear from personnel at the local sheriff’s substation and from members of the Beatty Volunteer Fire Department and Volunteer Ambulance Service.

Other board members thought that deputies might not want to comment, and that it would be better to speak directly with the sheriff. Getting input from the fire department would be easy, and it was unclear if the money could be used by the ambulance service.

The board agreed to cover up to $300 in transportation costs for the College of Southern Nevada Veterinary Program for their scheduled visit to conduct a clinic in Beatty. The money will probably not be expended because State Assemblyman James Oscarson and Congressman Steven Horsford volunteered to cover the cost.

Town Secretary Carrie Radomski said the board had received a reply from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, one of the recipients of their letter complaining about the closure of the bank in Beatty.

The “licensing technician” writing the letter said, “The bank’s decision to close the branch is a business decision that does not require the OCC’s approval.” He said that the board’s comments would be considered when they review the bank in the future in connection with the Community Reinvestment Act.

Before the board’s meeting, there was a presentation on emergency and disaster preparedness by Darrin Tuck and Tina Landsberry from the Nye County Office of Emergency Preparedness. The brief presentation was attended by fewer than twenty people.