The CuMo Project deposit was first discovered by AMEX Exploration in 1963.
Originally staked by the Curwood Mining Company in 1968, the property was optioned by Midwest Oil Corporation in 1969. Between 1968 and 1972, Midwest drilled 8 (eight) holes totally 5,201 feet (162 meters) and did geological mapping, geophysical surveys and surface sampling. In 1973 AMAX exploration optioned the property from Midwest.
In late 1973 AMOCO absorbed Midwest Oil and became the joint venture partner with AMAX. Between 1973 and 1981 AMAX drilled 17 holes totaling 30,821 feet (9,394 meters), majority of the holes were large diameter diamond drill holes with three being reverse circulation holes.
The 1982, an AMAX computer generated, block model indicated a geological resource of 1.387 billion tons of 0.093% MoS2 at a 0.05% MoS2 cutoff, including a higher-grade core zone of 444 million tons of 0.135% MoS2 at a 0.10% MoS2 cutoff.
Several significant thick intersections of Molybdenum bearing mineralization were intersected. However, with the drop in Molybdenum prices to all-time lows, interest in the property waned.
In 1983 the property was returned to AMOCO who were in the process of divesting themselves of all mineral properties. As such the property was allowed to lapse.
In 1997, the property was staked by the CUMO Molybdenum Company. In 2004, this company optioned the property to Mosquito Consolidated Gold Mines Limited (currently Idaho Copper Corporation) at a very favorable price due to depressed metals markets.
As of December 31, 2022, a total of $52 million has been spent (2017 dollars) with a total of 37,094 meters (121,700 feet) in 68 holes having been completed.
| Year | Company | Holes | Footage | Meters | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Midwest | 4 | 378 | 115.2 | rotary holes shallow due to water |
| 1970 | Midwest | 0 | 653 | 199 | 2 rotary holes deepened with core to 400’ depth |
| 1971 | Midwest | 1 | 2251 | 686.1 | one core hole deepened further to 1884 ft |
| 1972 | Midwest | 3 | 1892 | 576.7 | one core hole deepened from 810-1416 ft |
| 1974 | Amax/Amoco | 1 | 805 | 245.4 | hole 9-9A |
| 1975 | Amax/Amoco | 1 | 2382 | 726 | hole 10 |
| 1976 | Amax/Amoco | 2 | 4343 | 1323.7 | one vertical, other 1340ft @-45 |
| 1977 | Amax/Amoco | 3 | 5861 | 1786.4 | 3 vertical DDH 1804-2124 feet deep |
| 1978 | Amax/Amoco | 3 | 6774 | 2064.7 | 3 vertical DDH 2132-2361 feet deep |
| 1979 | Amax/Amoco | 2 | 4823 | 1470 | vertical DDH to 2543 foot depth |
| 1980 | Amax/Amoco | 3 | 2630 | 801.6 | RC holes |
| 1981 | Amax/Amoco | 3 | 3204 | 976.6 | vertical DDH 1,000 to 1,193 foot depths |
| 2006 | Mosquito | 2 | 3,560 | 1,085 | vertical holes |
| 2007 | Mosquito | 6 | 13,152 | 4,009 | vertical and inclined holes, max depth 2416.5 ft |
| 2008 | Mosquito | 11 | 26,766 | 8,158 | vertical and inclined holes, max depth 3047 ft |
| 2009 | Mosquito | 9 | 18,661 | 5,688 | vertical and inclined holes, max depth 2847 ft |
| 2010 | Mosquito | 3 | 4,307 | 1,313 | vertical and inclined holes, max depth 2479 ft |
| 2011 | Mosquito | 2 | 3,795 | 1,157 | vertical and inclined holes, max depth 1910 ft |
| 2012 | Mosquito | 9 | 15,464 | 4,713 | vertical and inclined holes, max depth 2241 ft |
| Total | 68 | 121,700 | 37,094 |
*As this is a pre-2001 historical resource estimate (prior to NI 43-101), readers are cautioned that a Qualified Person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources. The issuer is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources and the historical estimate should not be relied upon. The historical resource estimate has been superceded by a current independent NI 43-101 compliant mineral estimate published in the “SRK Consulting’s Preliminary Economic Assessment & NI 43-101 Technical Report for the CuMo Project dated June 2020”