Lining Up the Ducks at Bayhorse Silver

As a general rule, I pay very little attention to the appointment of Directors at junior resource companies. While Boards certainly have a significant function in overseeing and advising management, their activities don’t usually affect day-to-day operations.

The appointment of Mark Abrams as a director of Bayhorse Silver is very much an exception to this rule. Abrams, a seasoned professional geologist, will have a very hands on role in BHS’s operations and exploration program. From the release,

Mr. Abrams also worked 11 years for Agnico-Eagle (USA) Ltd., where he established Agnico-Eagle (USA) Ltd's U.S. office and led his exploration team to a gold discovery in northeastern Nevada. Mr. Abrams also worked as Golden Predator Corp's Vice President responsible for exploration and acquisitions in the United States.

Since 2013, he has operated his own geological consulting business serving the mineral exploration community. Mr. Abrams earned BSc and MSc. degrees in Geology from Eastern Washington University. He holds an American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG) professional certificate and is registered as a professional geologist in Idaho, California, Oregon, and Alaska. Mr. Abrams is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.

Bayhorse CEO Graeme O'Neill, welcomes Mark, who brings a wealth of geological experience to the Bayhorse team. He will be active in advancing both the final stages of submission of the Operating Permit application on the Bayhorse Mine, as well as leading the exploration for a potential copper porphyry on the newly acquired Idaho claims.

Frankly, Bayhorse is very lucky to get a geo with Abrams background and experience particularly as the company embarks on a significant exploration program.

When I saw Graeme O’Neill, Bayhorse’s CEO, in Vancouver last week I was kidding him about BHS having done the junior resource program backwards - first a mine, then an ore sorter, then a mill and then, last, exploration. Which speaks to O’Neill’s own talent as a logistics expert and manager. He saw his role as bringing the Bayhorse Mine back into production knowing that, historically, there was a significant silver endowment at the mine. Re-opening the Bayhorse Mine has proceeded in fits and starts as O’Neill scrambled for money, miners and permits. Exploration was limited to underground drilling to figure out where best to mine.

All this changed with the Hercules Silver (BIG.V) copper porphyry discovery a few miles up the edge of the Izee terrane and across the Snake River. As I wrote in November, there is a very good argument from similarity to be made for the BHS ground in Oregon and its newly staked ground across the Snake in Idaho.

Largely on the strength of that similarity, BHS ran from $0.015 to $0.07. O’Neill took advantage of this revival and managed to raise 1.07 million dollars in an oversubscribed private placement which closed January 19. With a bit of money in the treasury, Bayhorse set about adding “exploration” to its portfolio.

O’Neill often mentions that he has been guided by several PhD geologists over the years. Drs. Ray and Conway are currently listed as consultants to the company and both have significant exploration experience. Adding Mark Abrams to this already formidable team might look like overkill, but Abrams has the singular advantage of being a registered professional geologist in both Oregon and Idaho.

There is really no substitute for a deeply experienced explorationist with feet on the ground to plan and execute a drilling program. Bayhorse will have the results of the VTEM survey flown early in the year to guide its drilling decisions. But it will have an initially limited drill budget. How to get the most bang for limited bucks is a huge challenge—one which Abrams has met over and over in his long career.

At this point, Bayhorse is waiting for the results of the VTEM survey. While O’Neill is confident that anomalies will be detected, the strength and size of those anomalies is entirely unknown. In a way, part of the value of a VTEM survey is that it can tell a geologist where not to drill. With a limited drilling budget that’s valuable information in itself.

Assuming, however, that targets do appear, how they should be drilled is a matter of judgment and experience. For the next couple of months, the VTEM results and the actual logistics of a drilling program will need to be examined and planned. The weather is a factor: right at the moment it is fine but that can change quickly in Winter in Eastern Oregon.

While this analysis and planning is taking place the plan is to begin drilling “short” holes from the underground drill pad at the Bayhorse mine. These holes are all about the Bayhorse Mine’s silver and, perhaps, gold, endowment. Because they are being drilled underground no permitting is required but the safety of the mine itself has had to be reviewed.

The short hole assays may have a quick turnaround time as there is not that much rock to process. News will flow. BHS shares should rise. If there are targets disclosed by the VTEM, BHS shares could rise a lot.

[Disclosure: Graeme O’Neill is a friend. I own shares in Bayhorse Silver (BHS.V), a lot of shares, and may buy more or sell some or all at any time. This is not investment advice. Do your own due diligence. ]