Santa Fe Gold Appoints Thomas Laws as President & CEO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Dec. 15, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Santa Fe Gold Corp. (OTC:SFEG), a U.S.-based mining and exploration enterprise with emphasis on Gold, Silver, Copper, Precious, Industrial and base metals and owner of multiple claims, including the Malone Mines Complex incorporating 20 associated mine sites and in addition, the Playas Lake Bed area of Hidalgo County, New Mexico is pleased to announce the appointment of Thomas Laws as President & CEO of Santa Fe Gold Corp..
Since joining Santa Fe just four months ago, Mr. Laws together with his highly experienced exploration and acquisitions team has brought an incredible amount of drive and momentum to Santa Fe, assembling and delivering a formidable portfolio of exceptionally valuable properties, highly sought after mines and some notably high grade deposits. The company's intention is to begin monetizing these properties forthwith.
The company has been totally focused on rebuilding the company's value as quickly as possible and under Tom Laws' leadership and guidance, this has been accomplished over a relatively very short period of time wherein some half dozen properties currently under acquisition, could individually, or in of themselves, be 'company makers'. Santa Fe Gold has been exploring and acquiring properties in one of the richest areas of the South West which contain some of the highest mineralizations anywhere in the world. In particular Santa Fe has focused on the Knight's Peak region, where some 80% of all the gold discovered in New Mexico originated. The company has deftly secured most of this area and already has it under its control.
The area in general and its surrounds, has a history of exceptionally high grades, as was borne out by a previous high grade discovery, reported by Santa Fe Gold in 2012, where assays showed bonanza type high grades of 7.73 ounces of gold per ton and 269.75 ounces per ton of Silver. While such exceptionally high grades are rare and could be described as an anomaly, they prove that such grades exist and were in fact discovered relatively recently from a historical standpoint. A century ago, grades as high as 16 oz. per ton of gold were reported in the Malone Mines Complex, which Santa Fe now already owns and controls.
Santa Fe currently has under acquisition an additional notable high grade mine with huge upside potential.
High grade gold deposits are the best defense against a temporary dip in metals prices. Higher grades are able to lead to a significantly lower cost of production and much higher profitability than low grade mines.
To build upon these acquisitions and recapitalize the company as a precursor to resuming mining and production operations as rapidly as possible, the company recently engaged the services of International Monetary as its Banking and Strategic Advisor and is already in discussions to secure financing quickly.
As President and CEO, Tom will be a representative of stature and experience in dealing with Banking and Finance Institutions as the company secures the necessary capital to enable it to resume operations soon.
Tom Laws commented: “Having already achieved so much in laying the foundations for Santa Fe Gold to rebuild its value in the near term and position the company for strong growth, I am delighted to be taking these additional responsibilities and look forward to executing on everything that is required for Santa Fe to resume mining operations early in 2017,” Mr. Laws added: We very much appreciate all of your solid shareholder support and patience to date and are totally committed to making Santa Fe Gold a success.”
Mr. Laws also added, “By selecting only the very highest grade, quality and prospective deposits, we are laying the groundwork for a sustainable mining operation well into the future and that is our mission".
Tom Laws, age 58, is a metallurgist and mining analyst with over 40 years of experience in the mining industry. Mr. Laws’ mining career began in Alaska operating a Placer Gold Mine. He then joined Phelps Dodge Corp., at the time the world’s largest copper company. His role was a Metals Accounting Specialist and Cost Analyst at the Hidalgo Smelter located in Playas, New Mexico. He later moved to the Tyrone Mine in Tyrone, New Mexico. Eventually, Mr. Laws returned to the Hidalgo Smelter in Playas, New Mexico as controller.
Mr. Laws was then appointed to oversee costs and budget accounting at Chino Mines. He progressed to become a transaction specialist at Kennecott Mining. There he facilitated the Phelps Dodge Corp. purchase of Chino mines and related companies. After the transaction, Mr. Laws assumed accounting implementation and operational control of the Chino and Kennecott acquisitions for Phelps Dodge Corp., now part of Freeport-McMoRan Inc., one of the World's largest Copper and Gold Miners.
Mr. Laws is intimately familiar with mining operations in the Southwestern United States and in particular the Arizona and New Mexico environs. With a large client base in New Mexico, Mr. Laws has worked with a number of mining companies, right up to the present, helping them to evaluate materials, economic utility and the most effective processing methods, looking to develop and optimize their mining output. His extensive area knowledge, broad experience and understanding of the local mineralogy in the mining districts of the Southwest, combined with his many years with Phelps Dodge and Kennecott, gives him a unique perspective on where the most coveted and valuable opportunities are known to exist and specialized knowledge of both large and small projects in the region, with special access and rights to some sizable ore deposits, infrastructure and mines in the area. Since joining Santa Fe Gold, August 1, he has aptly demonstrated the importance of his connections, with the caliber and quality of his acquisitions and as a result, Santa Fe Gold now controls or owns approximately 53 million tons of valuable gold, silver, copper, precious and base metals and also some titanium ores. Additional acquisitions are in the pipeline.
The company also just announced a research report from D. Paul Cohen, one of the foremost micro-cap specialists and analysts on Wall Street, with some 50 years in the investment business and a history of associations with some of its largest firms and industry titans. A copy of this report can be downloaded from this link: http://www.cohengrassroots.com/Reports/Santa_Fe_Gold_12_12_2016.pdf
The report will be available by registering at www.santafegoldcorp.com or downloading from a direct link.
About Santa Fe Gold
Santa Fe Gold is a U.S.-based mining and exploration enterprise and owns the following mining assets: The Knight’s Peak region of Grant County, New Mexico comprising the Malone Mines, Patanka, Hillcrest Barranca and Principal Mines altogether incorporating some twenty mine sites and all located at Knight’s Peak together with an extensive expanded area surrounding the Malone Mines in the southern region of Burro Mountains, New Mexico. It also owns multiple claims in the Playas area of Hidalgo County, New Mexico. The company has also acquired considerable additional resources expected to be announced in due course.
Santa Fe’s Exploration and Development Team continues to analyze a number of attractive, economically viable opportunities and execute on the company's acquisition program that should enable resumption of mining and production operations as soon as practicable.
The company's financials are in the final stages of completion and review and although fully expected they will be announced soon: An enormous amount of data was necessary to be procured and collated from a variety of hard to access sources, which slowed the process. While the company has been diligent in its efforts to complete release of the financials as early and timely as possible: External factors could impede this. Approaching holidays and other encroaching aspects may be an impediment to the final release date.
For more information and to register please visit www.santafegoldcorp.com
Forward Looking Statements
Please refer to the Forward Looking Statements link at the bottom left of Santa Fe Gold's website for all relevant disclosures.
Contact
Frank Mueller, CFO
505-255-4852
info@santafegoldcorp.com