Deadly Lode (Trace Brandon Book 1) Read Free Page B

him in on my staking program. I told him I needed the staking done as quickly and quietly as possible , with a maximum of documentation.
    “ Expecting problems, Trace? ”
    “ Could be, Ken. I always worry about some jerk over - staking me and claiming he was there first. ”
    “ Cyrus the Virus? ”
    “ He ’ s on the top of the list. ”
    “ Don ’ t worry, Trace . B y the time my crew is done staking, we ’ ll have the claims documented to where they ' ll stand up in any court. ”
    “ Perfect. When can you start? ”
    “ Send me the proposed claim locations and give me a few days to get all the location forms and claim tags prepared. Today is Wednesday . H ow does this coming Monday sound? ”
    “ Sounds good . I ’ ll head back to my office today and e - mail you the claim data. It will also give me a chance to send some samples of f to the lab for assays. ”
    “ Okay, see you on Monday, Trace.
     
     
    The next morning I was back in my office , e- mailing Ken the claim data. I picked up the phone and called Will.
    “ Will, it ’ s Trace . C an you come over for a couple minutes ? ”
    “ I can be there in about fifteen minutes . W hat ’ s up? ”
    “ I want to show you some samples I grabbed at the Sullivan. ”
    While I waited for Will, I split the samples from each bag into two equal parts . O ne for the lab to assay , and one for safe keeping.
    In about fifteen minutes, there was a knock on my door , and Will stepped into my office.
    “ Take a look at these, Will. ”
    “ Holy crap , they look like pure sulfides . . . and m an , are they heavy. ”
    “ Right on both counts, amigo. According to the old production reports, the Sullivan ran about three - quarters of an ounce gold with about one and a half percent copper . ”
    “ What ’ s the kind of pitchy - looking black mineral? ”
    “ That , my friend , is why the samples are so heavy . I t ’ s pitchblende uranium.
    “ Damn, are they hot? ”
    “ About off scale. Best I ’ ve ever seen. ”
    Will quickly put the samples down on my desk and wiped his hands on his trousers. “ Hmmm, very interesting , ” Will said , looking at his hands . “ I ’ ve been reading commodities reports pr edicting uranium may take off again. ”
    “ Yeah, it looks like the beginning of a new cycle. Since Three Mile Island, the price of uranium has been in the crapper . But with all the new reactors forecast to com e on - line , the commodity traders are back in the uranium market . ”
    “ A perfect time to bring a new uranium deposit on - line. ”
    “ Exactly so, pard . ”
    “ So, what ’ s the plan? ”
    “ The plan is to meet Ken Hodg es and his survey crew on Monday in Winthrop . His crew will ge t all the claim location monuments staked . And I ’ ll file the location notices at the Okanogan County courthouse. Once we do that, the cl aims are valid. W e ’ ll have thirty days after we file to get the corner posts in. ”
    
    “ Sounds good. So what can I do to participat e in this fine new venture ? ”
    “ You start looking for a clean Vancouver, B . C ., public shell. If this thing pans out like I think it will, I want to vend the claims into a public Canadian company . We ’ ll s tart trading on the Vancouver Stock Exchange , an d raise some serious developmental capital. ”
    Will nodded. “ I have an attorney buddy named Wally Wilkins . We went to law school together, and he lives and offices in Vancouver . He does mergers, acquisitions , and securities law. And he always knows of a few good shell companies . ”
    “ I ’ ll get you a nice block of shares for your time , and the new company will reimburse you r expenses. ”
    “ Perfect . T hanks, Trace. ”
    “ Hey, that ’ s what friends are for. And you never know . W e may need a tough, ex-football player turned lawyer, if we run into any trouble. ”
    “ Cyrus? ”
    “ Damn, you ’ re the second guy in two days to mention t he Virus. ”
    “ Yeah, well, he