La Teko lands partners for Ryan Lode mine

With an attractive reserve figure at the Ryan Lode gold mine near Fairbanks, Alaska, La Teko Resources (NASDAQ) has granted an option to two small companies in an effort to reopen the operation.

The companies — KLS Enviros of Forth Worth, Tex., and Nevada Star Resource (VSE) of White Rock, B.C. — have 90 days to produce a prefeasibility study for the open-pit operation.

A new reserve calculation of 3 million tons grading 0.1 oz. gold per ton incorporates shallow, high-grade material and excludes the Curlew zone. La Teko has a total reserve of 14.6 million tons grading 0.056 oz., which is equivalent to 822,000 oz. of contained gold.

KLS and Nevada Star hope to complete a full feasibility study by August, 1996.

Given a positive production decision, the partners would then have the option of financing permitting costs and production facilities, which would earn them a half interest in the property. They would also reimburse La Teko for environmental and permitting costs incurred after August, 1995, and make a US$150,000 royalty payment before the end of 1996.

KLS and Nevada Star also have a joint-venture agreement in Mexico’s Sonora state.