Rob McEwen, chief corporate architect of the runaway success that was Goldcorp prior to its merger with Wheaton River, has not been resting on any laurels since his departure from the helm of Goldcorp. In fact, one might suspect him of engineering Goldcorp 2. He has an idea that could ultimately see 3040% of the Cortez trend in Nevada united by a select group of junior companies, of which Nevada Pacific Gold is an archetypal member. In December, he invested CA$5 million into the company, and joined the board of directors.

Nevada Pacific was formed by executive alumini who were instrumental in the birth and evolution of Eldorado Gold, led by David Hottman in the role of executive Chairman. David's history in business development includes roles with Bema, HRC, Eldorado and Portal Resources.

Nevada Pacific is a gold producer, in that they are the owner and operator of the Magistral Mine in Sinaloa State in Mexico. At the end of July the inventory of recoverable gold on the heap pad was estimated to be approximately 11,000 ounces, though there is a CA$1 million exploration program underway on the surrounding property and estimated 500,000 ozs in resources and reserves. Magistral provides some cash flow, but is not the big story here.

Rob McEwen, in a recent interview, made clear his reasons for taking a position in both the stock and on the board of directors of Nevada Pacific;

'David Hottman visited me in Toronto in the early part of the year, and then again in the fall, and in between those visits, I had taken a position in White Knight Resources, as well as a 1/3rd interest in US Gold.'

'If you look at a claim map of the Cortez Trend, there are some very obvious land position synergies. Nevada Pacific had property within the boundaries of US Gold, and a number of properties in and around the Cortez, as well as in the Carlin Trend. In addition to that they have properties in Sinaloa Mexico and some of the adjoining states. So they have a property package that is very compelling, as well as a seasoned and successful geological team that knows Nevada and knows Mexico.'

A visit to the US Gold web site is very revealing (www.usgold.com). If you don't see the ghost of the old Goldcorp web site in this design, you're missing something. I asked Rob McEwen if his investment in the area might be construed as the advent of Goldcorp II.

'Well, that would be fun wouldn't it'?, he quipped

'But seriously, I think the mining industry is a great place to be right now, and we are still in the early stages of this gold bull market. There are a lot more people looking at the sector, and many more will be wanting to own gold and gold shares in the future. I see the price of gold reaching its old high of $850/oz over the net three years and then going significantly higher by 2010.'

'They have a choice right now. They can buy a senior, which is basically a proxy for gold. But even if a senior has a big discovery, there's very little leverage. If you look at Placer Dome, when they announced their Cortez Hills discovery, (10 M ozs. +), it added maybe $4 billion to the value of the company, or a 30% increase in the share price.'

'If a junior drills a hole that scrapes something that looks like it could be a Cortez Hills, the appreciation in share price is not going to expressed as a percentage increase in share price. We'll be talking multiples of share price. The juniors are the feed stock of this industry and Nevada is the backyard of the majors.'

I asked him again if it were possible that we might see a new mid-tier producer arise out of this flurry of positioning. His reply, though cryptic, is illuminating:

'If one could convince all parties that together, on the right terms, that we would be stronger and have better investor focus, greater market liquidity, a better chance of securing low cost capital and a better chance of making a discovery. Then, I think you'd have a very powerful story for the marketplace.'

'Such a company would have 3540% of the Cortez trend and it would be strategically sandwiched between the world's largest gold producers, Barrick and Newmont, at either end. Right now the seniors have excess capacity in their processing plants, and are actively staking ground in the area and trying to cut deals with the juniors. I believe the juniors are the place to be investing.'

Nevada Pacific's property portfolio certainly takes on a whole new light, when considered against the backdrop of this strategic positioning. And its merits underscore the compelling logic for McEwen's investment in the company. In detail:

1. Cornerstone Project - (Cortez Trend) Eureka County, Nevada
   The Cornerstone Project is located on the Cortez Trend 12 miles south of Placer Domes 10+ million ounce Cortez Hills and Pediment discoveries. The property covers 4.8 square miles located immediately adjacent to the 1.4 million ounce Tonkin Springs gold mine and is surrounded by McEwen's U.S. Gold property. Surface sampling has identified four zones. The Flag Zone, covering some 3,000 feet by 800 feet features impressive gold grades at surface in lower plate limestone. In preparation for drilling several road cuts (trenches) were sampled. Trench #1 showed 180 feet of 0.041 ounces per ton gold with the last 30 feet on the east side of the trench grading 0.204 opt gold, at which point the outcrop is covered again with gravel. A significant drill program of 15,000 feet of reverse circulation drilling will test these targets in 2006.

2. Keystone Project - Joint Venture Agreement Placer Dome U.S. (Cortez Trend)
   Eureka County, Nevada

The Keystone Project is located on the northwest flank of the Simpson Park Mountains approximately 12 miles south of Placer Dome's Cortez Hills discovery. Placer Dome U.S. has agreed to fund a US$5 million exploration program on the project to earn a 60% interest and a further 15% interest by completing a full feasibility study. Nevada Pacific retains 100% of the rights to explore for and produce any silver and base-metals, subject to Placer Dome U.S. interests.

1. Battle Mountain - BMX Project (Battle Mountain/Cortez Trend) Humboldt and Lander Counties, Nevada
   The project covers approximately 20 square miles, and lies between Glamis Gold's Marigold Mine, 5 million ounces, to the northeast and Newmont's Fortitude/Phoenix Complex, 12 million ounces gold and 15 million ounces silver, to the southwest. Existing mines within seven miles of the BMX property boundary have produced or have resources of over 25,000,000 ounces of gold.

During the 2004 fiscal year, Placer Dome U.S. drilled a total of 7,060 feet in ten reverse circulation drill holes. All ten holes drilled in this initial program encountered significant gold, trace and base-metal mineralization and have confirmed the presence of a major gold and copper system.

The Bluebird Property forms part of the BMX Project and covers an area of historic underground mining that shows the potential to host a gold/copper skarn system or a disseminated gold system.

1. Timber Creek (Battle Mountain/Cortez Trend)Ladner County, Nevada
   The 100% owned Timber Creek project, comprising 220 unpatented claims (approximately six square miles or 4000 acres), is located in Lander County, Nevada on the southwest flank of the Battle Mountain Range. It lies 5 miles to the southwest of Nevada Pacific's approximately 20 square mile BMX project, and 5 miles west Newmont's Fortitude/Phoenix Complex. With this addition to the portfolio, Nevada Pacific now controls the southern end of a major north-south structural zone that is responsible for localizing over 20 million ounces of gold deposition at the Lone Tree, Marigold, Redline, North Peak and Buffalo Valley deposits on the Battle Mountain/Eureka Trend.

2. South Carlin Project (Carlin Trend) Eureka County, Nevada
   The South Carlin project is centrally located within the Carlin Trend directly between two existing gold mines: the 20 million ounce Gold Quarry Mine located 7 miles to the northwest and the 1.5 million ounce Rain Mine located less than 3 miles to the southeast.

Approximately 11,000 feet of drilling was completed in 2002 with expenditures totaling approximately US$900,000 (funded by Placer Dome U.S.) bringing total expenditures at South Carlin to approximately US$2,000,000.

1. Limousine Butte Project - Joint Venture Agreement Placer Dome U.S. (Carlin Trend) White Pine County, Nevada
   The 30 square mile Limousine Butte project is situated along the projected southern extension of the Carlin Trend. The property is located 40 miles northeast of Ely, Nevada. The best hole drilled by NPG was 90 feet grading 0.17 ounces per ton gold, and that got Placer Dome interested.

In September of 2004 Nevada Pacific signed a joint venture agreement with Pacer Dome U.S. Placer Dome U.S. has agreed to fund a US$4 million exploration project over a five-year period. In exchange Placer Dome U.S. has the right to earn a 60% interest in the project by spending the allotted amounts over the five-year period. Placer Dome U.S. can earn a further 15% interest in the Limousine Butte project if it completes a full feasibility study.

1. Buffalo Canyon Project - Lander County, Nevada
   The Buffalo Canyon project comprises 33 unpatented mining claims located on the west flank of the Shoshone Range, approximately four miles south of the town of Ione, Nye County, Nevada. The project hosts an early stage drill discovery. Previous drilling of ten drill holes by a major mining company intersected gold mineralization from surface to 200 feet grading +/- 0.02 oz/ton gold. Subsequent surface work by Nevada Pacific has outlined some high-grade surface mineralized zones that may represent high-grade feeder zones within the broader area of low-grade mineralization. Drilling in the southern portion of the property indicates a large zone of low-grade gold mineralization up to 525 feet thick.

2. Clover Valley Project - Elko County, Nevada
   The Clover Valley property is on the western edge of the Spruce Mountain base-metal mining district and consists of 66 unpatented mining claims. Range front faulting has exposed calcareous sandstone and shale units of the Diamond Peak and Pilot Formations that have been locally altered and mineralized by the emplacement of several Tertiary intrusives. High angle structures containing semi-massive gossans and strong silica-iron stockwork crosscut the property. Mining occurred in the Spruce Mountain base-metal mining district from approximately 1869 to 1930, producing 825 ounces of gold, 21.6 million pounds of lead, 3.2 million pounds of zinc, 1.04 million ounces of silver and 779,000 pounds of copper. During the mid 1980's, both Gold Fields Mining Corporation and Santa Fe Gold conducted reconnaissance gold exploration in the district. Several drill holes were reported to have intersected gold mineralization: 80 feet grading 0.076 opt gold and an adjacent hole intersecting 40 feet of 0.037 opt gold.

3. Bat Ridge Project - Milford, Utah
   The Bat Ridge property was acquired in March 2005. The property is located eleven miles northwest of Milford, Utah in the Beaver Lake Mountains. The project consists of 200 unpatented claims and one State Lease (523 fee acres). Nevada Pacific believes that the Bat Ridge property holds the potential to be a large tonnage open pit style gold/copper system. In addition to the gold/copper potential the property features local concentrations containing significant silver, lead and zinc.

So there you have it. Over $6 million in the bank, Rob McEwen a major shareholder, joint ventures on two properties with Placer Dome ?Cnow Barrick Gold-, a producing mine in Mexico, seasoned management with the been-there, done-that resumes that make mines. No wonder the shares are up 300% in the last six months.