The Verbena Project is a precious metals mining project, consisting of 533 acres located in Chilton County, Alabama, at the southern end of the Piedmont Uplift, in the region known as the Alabama Gold Belt. The 1.4-mile northern border of the property is Chestnut Creek, where the first gold deposits in Alabama were located around 1830. The property is home to a former gold mine and the ruins of what was once a gold mining and milling operation can be found alongside the northern end of a tributary that dissects the property. In addition to two old underground mines located there, are stone footings from a mill and a sluice run, an unloading ramp, and a water control dam on the tributary.
In 2008, gold was rediscovered on the property by Sandy and Dusty Wadsworth, owners of 1027 Processing Company, while searching for a merchantable mica deposit. However, the completed assays showed there was gold and precious metals locked up in the ore. Intrigued, the Wadsworth’s completed over 180 assays across 40 locations and at varying depths. These assays revealed that precious metals are abundant here, prompting them to proceed to complete extensive studies, using several precious metals consultants from around the country.
In a letter report dated May 28, 2009, from our Advanced Analytical consultant, Gary Schmitt made the following statement. “The assay results turned out extremely well, to the point that we are amazed that no one has been commercially mining this site since the 1850’s. The Roeser property particularly is one of the most significant precious metals properties we’ve observed east of the Mississippi and most promising that we and/or our Firms have observed in many years.”
This eluvial deposit has a hard rock deposit underneath that consists of free gold, free micron gold, and complex gold. The testing data completed to date has established mapped reserves of 3.2 million tons of precious metals ores, and an estimate that the property holds 15 million tons of gold rich ore in total. The assay value of the mapped area is 20 million troy ounces of gold, and over 28 million ounces of platinum group metals.
The conclusion of the consultants was that if an economical process could be developed to extract the precious metals from this ore, then mining the Verbena project would be highly profitable. After 14 years of work and testing, the project partners have developed a system and proprietary process that can profitably recover 5% of the gold assay values (1 million ounces) in an environmentally friendly and safe way. We anticipate being operational by by the end of 2027.
Current Status – Developing MOP, testing pilot plant, actively raising capital
Exploration – 20% of the property has been mapped, showing 3.2 million tons of ore
Assays – Extremely high values of precious metals, including free, micron, and complex
Legal Review – Mineral Rights researched from original land grant and verified current ownership
Pilot Plant – Preliminary studies completed, pilot plant testing scheduled in Mexico
Mineral Rights – Owned by SPM
Surface Access – To Be Negotiated
