The equation which equals a profitable gold mining investment has four components.

• First, there must be gold in the mine in sufficient quantity to make it worth extracting from the rock. This is described as the grade and is measured by how many ounces of gold are found per ton of rock. Ray notes that the average grade for the world's underground gold mines is one-quarter ounce of gold per ton of rock mined.

• Second, the reserve or the vein of gold-bearing rock must be large enough to justify the initial cost of developing the mine.

• Third, the cost of extracting and processing the gold must be less than the value of the gold being extracted. A mine which spends $100 to extract $75 worth of gold will soon be out of business.

• Fourth, the price of gold on the world market must be high enough to repay the company for the expense of acquiring the property and extracting the gold.

It is the balance between the gold in the mine and the cost of extracting that gold which makes Lapon Canyon Gold Mine such an enticing project. Located just south of Reno in Nevada, this lightly worked 3800-acre property could earn up to $15 million U.S. profit annually if the initial indications of gold are proved by further geological surveys and underground tests.

Add a projected increase in the price of gold, and the potential rewards increase dramatically.

• Evidence of favourable geological conditions for gold deposits;
• underground workings already partially developed and a reported history of high grade gold-bearing rock being sampled from existing tunnels;
• Established road and water access;
• An available custom mill within trucking distance which could be used for processing the gold-bearing rock, thus eliminating the expense and delay of constructing an on-site processing plant.