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Fischer-Watt's La Balsa CuOx project in Michoacan is on the fast track. It looks like a winner.

Fischer-Watt Gold Company Inc.   FWGO   (OTCBB)

Operates in Mexico through 100% owned Mexican subsidiary Cia. Minera Montoro S.A. de C.V.            

La Balsa Project, Michoacan. Picked up 5 concessions from the Mexican Government covering a CuOx property just 15 km North from Lazaro Cardenas where previous work by other companies including 42 diamond drill holes has determined a reserve base of 3,112,995 tonnes of 1.32% Cu at a 0.15% Cu cut off. It is closed laterally , but open at depth. Regardless, this comes to 82,180,433 lbs of contained Cu. Metcon Research Inc. of Tucson has conducted some favorable column leach tests on this material. Note this is what Nevada Star Resources used to call the La Virgin Cu-oxide Property (see La Virgin below). Claims actually went caduco on July 10, 2000 and were re-staked a month later by Fischer-Watt. BDW International contracted for some diamond drilling in Sep 2001. Resources Geosciences de Mexico providing geological and logistical support. 

Press Release 26Sep01
Press Release 23Aug00

A preliminary feasibility study on its La Balsa copper project has been finalized.  This study, the first step in the creation of a bankable feasibility study was completed by K.D. Engineering, Mintec Inc, and Golder Associates, all of Tucson, Arizona. K.D. Engineering was the lead agency in this effort. The La Balsa project as modeled in this preliminary study is an open pit with an SX/EW processing plant capable of producing 14 tonnes per day of copper cathodes at a cash cost of $0.54/lb (US). Total production will be approximately 78,000,000 lbs of cathode copper with a value of $66.5 Million at $0.85/lb (US). Total capital cost is estimated to be approximately $11.0 Million (US) with a mine life of 7.5 years.  The financial results from this study are positive at the present and forecasted price of copper. Therefore the Board of FWGO has directed management to advance with its plan to create a bankable feasibility study. Included in this plan is a drilling and trenching program to expand the measured and indicated reserves and lengthen mine life to a minimum of 10 years. 

The La Balsa project is located approximately 9 miles East of the city of Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan, Mexico, and is approximately 170 miles Northwest of Acapulco. The area infrastructure is conducive to industrial development. The city of Lazaro Cardenas was constructed in the 1970's as a government improvement project to industrialize this area of Mexico. The city has two steel manufacturing facilities, steel fabricating plants, and a deep-water port. The port has both container and bulk commodities capabilities. The city has approximately 300,000 residents and contains all of the facilities necessary to support an industrial complex. The area is served by the TFM railroad, which passes through the La Balsa property, and Federal Highway 200. Electricity for the project will be supplied from a hydroelectric plant located at nearby Lake Jose Maria Morales. The lake will also provide water for the mine and plant facilities. In addition to the hydroelectric plant a coal fire generating plant is also in the area. 

When the drilling and trenching program has been completed and the new measured and indicated reserves established, bulk metallurgical tests will be preformed. These tests will be guided by the results of preliminary acid cured column leach tests prepared by Metcon Research Inc. for a previous owner of the La Balsa property. These tests were made on La Balsa copper ore recovered from drill core and drill cutting samples. The results of this preliminary testing are as follows: 

Ore Type     Head Assay   % ns      Extraction    Acid Consumption
Description     % Cu   % ns Cu        Percent         lb/ton      lb acid/lb Cu
Clay Oxide     1.72      1.36               79.26         146.50    5.57
Rock Oxide    2.25      1.90               86.10         148.43    3.78
Rock Sulfide   2.24      0.11               51.78         157.18    5.80

The bulk metallurgical tests will be designed to profile the ore characteristics expected to be found in the heap during the first four or five years of production when most of the oxide clay and oxide rock will be mined and then the later years of mine life when the sulfide rock will be more prevalent. 

Exact time schedules are not established at this time but FWGO is anticipating that the bankable feasibility study and financing will be completed by the first quarter of 2002 and that production will begin early in 2003. 

Press Release 12Feb00

La Balsa was previously known as the La Virgen Cu-oxide Property, Michoacan and was worked on by Nevada Star Resources. Property is located 16 km N of Lazaro Cardenas. Optioned 4Jun96 from Minera Virgo S.A. de C.V. VSE accepted terms in late 1996. Property is 600 Ha of mineral rights and 200 Ha of surface ownership and was originally explored from 1971-1991 by Minera Cuicuilco, the Mexican subsidiary of Cyprus (now CyprusAmax). They guestimated a resource potential of more than 200 million pounds of Cu in ore grading more than 1.5 % Cu. Mineralization occurs in a series of breccia pipes in a quartz monzanite porphyry. More drilling and metallurgical testing planned for 1997 with a full feasibility study planned for later in '97. Signed letter if intent to option a 50% interest to Quadrant Financial Corp. in May '97 subject to VSE approval. A total of 16 core holes totaling 4,560 feet were completed in the 2Q97 program. Prior to the 97 drill program the measured and indicated resource stood somewhere between 3.5M and 4.5M tonnes at 1.14% Cu. Column leach tests were also underway in 1997. Thirteen of the 2Q97 holes tagged robust ore intercepts. Highlights reported include a 190 ft intercept of 2% Cu and a 250 footer of 1.65% Cu. The 1997 work confirmed the presence of a near-surface oxidized copper zone underlain by a chalcocite blanket underlain by primary chalcopyrite ore, however an announced reserve or resource update integrating this latest drilling was never released by Nevada Star. Not much information has come out on this puppy in 1998. (The Old Prospecter kinda figures that 20-year low Cu prices can take the gloss off a lot of apples - no matter how sweet.)

GCN #187 29Sep97
GCN #131 9Jul97
GCN #87 6May97
CSW 24Feb97
GCN #1 2Jan97
CSW 3Jan97

Mercedes Mine, Sonora. (Optioned from Meridian) The acquisition of the Mercedes property was announced on October 15, 2002. It has taken longer than expected to complete the assignment of property rights agreements to the company but that has now been accomplished. A request for proposal has been issued to several testing laboratories to perform preliminary metallurgical tests on a portion of the rotary percussion drill samples obtained by Minera Meridian. There is reason to believe that a significant portion of the metal values in this vein can be recovered by simple gravity methods requiring low capital expenditure. An early answer to this question can be useful in shaping exploration policy on this property. In addition to metallurgical testing, the company plans to drill confirmation diamond drill holes in the vicinity of the previous rotary percussion drill work performed by Minera Meridian.

Press Release 24Feb03

Drilled a continuous vein zone of 600-700 m and about 1.5m of true width in 2Q01. Zone defined by 12 holes average grade of 16 gpt Au equivalent. The best hole, M7, intercepted 2 zones: 2.3m of 32.5 gpt Au and 386 gpt Ag and 0.8 m of 20.9 gpt Au and 263 gpt Ag. As of 3Q02 Meridian has explored this area for 4 years. Optioned it out to Fischer-Watt Gold. This was an Anaconda project in the 1930's. 

Press Release 15Oct02
Press Release 8Aug01

Au-Ag Tailings Project, Durango. Reached agreement with the owner on a gold - silver tailings project in the northern part of the Mexican state of Durango. Under the terms of the agreement company will be allowed up to sixty days to complete it's due diligence and begin work on the property. During this time they will complete land ownership studies, identify state and federal environmental issues, and survey the tailing pile in order to design a drill program, which will verify the volume and grade contained in the pile. Previous work has indicated a resource, suitable for leaching, of 250,000 tons grading 1.75grams (0.06 oz.) Au. and 120 grams (3.84 oz.)Ag.. Using $280 and $5.00 for the price of gold and silver respectively, the gross value of this resource is $9.0MM. In addition there are several other tailing piles, which exist within 2 km of this project, and negotiations with their individual owners will begin immediately. Plant and equipment purchased for this first project, will be available for successive projects.  Financing for this project has been arranged contingent upon the production of a bankable feasibility study. Discussions have begun regarding the production of this study, with a recognized international consulting group that specializes in the recovery of precious metals from tailings. 

   Press Release 22Jun00

Los Verdes Cu Property, Sonora. Acquired property from Cominco and terms not disclosed. Located around 200 km E of Hermosillo (near Yecora?). Advanced OP/HL SX/EW copper project containing 5.3 MM tonnes of mineable ore grading 0.94% Cu. The company expects to develop a 530,000 mtpy operation producing 8.8 MM lbs of Cu annually.

MBD October, 1997

COMPANY's HISTORY:   Merged with Great Basin Exploration & Mining in January, 1996. Formed Cia. Minera Montoro S.A. de C.V. in October, 1989 of which Fisher-Watt owned 49% in accordance to Mexican Mining Law at that time. FWG increased its interest in Montoro to 65% in July, 1996. Appointed Jorge C. Ordonez as a director of Cia. Minera Montero. Pumped up with a $2 million investment from Kennecott in mid-1990 (through purchase of stock), company explored for Au, Ag and Cu in Baja California. FWG controlled 7 Baja California properties as part of its portfolio in 1990: Santa Lucia (which was optioned to Amax / Fresnillo in 1990); San Borja (which was optioned to Cominco in 1990), El Amarillo, El Cerrito, Patria-Mayor, Tinejas and Tina. Company also owned key interests in San-Pedro - Guanacevi Au-Ag district in Durango. Mexico properties of Great Basin Exploration and Mining were then acquired by Gencor of South Africa via their Mexican operating company GatroMex. Many were evaluated and dropped. Present retained interests in Mexico include the Cerrito property which was farmed out to Minera Cuicuilco S.A. de C.V. in October, 1994. They drilled it and dropped it.

SEC Documents 31Jan96
GCN #119 19June96
GCN #96 16May96
MBD March, 1994
MR 06/09/93
NMN 1/18/93
MBD (Fischer-Watt) January, 1993
Annual Report, 1991