Company hopes to mine riches in inlet outside of Anchor Point

An international precious metals exploration company has announced interest in searching for gold offshore of Anchor Point.

Hemis Corp., incorporated in Nevada and headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, recently announced it had entered an agreement to acquire Aspen Exploration Corporation’s Anchor Point gold project.

Aspen did geologic research in the area during the 1980s, including an aeromagnetic survey and beach sampling, and filed for state offshore prospecting permits.

The company never pursued exploration and production because of declining gold prices at the time and uncertainties in the permitting process.

Hemis will acquire the survey data and rights to the permit applications.

According to a Hemis press release issued this week, Aspen was paid $50,000 at signing, and will be paid a like amount on each anniversary of the agreement to keep Hemis’ interest in the project. Aspen is entitled to a 5 percent production royalty, taken in kind or in cash.

Gold is known to exist along the beaches around Cook Inlet, and is associated with the mineral magnetite, identifiable in geophysical surveys, according to Douglas Oliver, chief geologist for Hemis.

“Our review of the existing aeromag data suggests that the potential exists for offshore gold deposits in the Anchor Point area,” he said in the press release.

Hemis is reviewing the data and has hired a Houston firm, Earthfield Technologies, to process newer aeromagnetic data covering lower Cook Inlet, and new oceanographic surveys over key areas of interest are planned, the company said.

Oliver said working in Cook Inlet’s radical tides would present logistical challenges, but the inlet’s proximity to Alaska’s largest population center — Anchorage — and the fact the offshore work would require no roads be built will be an advantage.

“The accessibility of this project was a key factor in our decision to pursue this,” Oliver said.

Hemis also holds what it calls “advanced stage exploration” properties in Mexico.

Hal Spence can be reached at hspence@ptialaska.net.