Developing a new mine is expensive and resource-intensive, to say the least. Those basics underscore information from the Census Bureau’s Business Dynamics Statistics, highlighted in an article in Small Business Trends in 2012 that showed about half of all mining companies don’t survive five years from inception. Most of that do survive, don’t ever make it to production before their doors are closed.

Jon Gardiner, President and CEO of Taranis Resources, Inc. (TRO)(TNREF), succinctly hits the nail on the head in explaining, “Only a handful of exploration projects make the transition to mines. Not having a strong resource base is a recipe for failure!”

Seems simple, but too many exploration companies get the cart in front of the horse. They underestimate what it takes to develop of property and fail to follow the proper process, including proving resources, incrementally securing funding, etc., ultimately going broke before they reach the finish line.

Gardiner and the team of seasoned industry vets at Taranis are demonstrating how to follow the successful miner’s handbook. Since acquiring the Thor gold-silver-lead-zinc-copper mineral deposit located near Trout Lake in southeastern British Columbia in 2006, the company has aggressively, yet systematically, executed on a development plan.

In addition to early surveys and exploration lending to the property’s potential, Taranis has now drilled more than 200 holes delineating near surface mineralization and a mineral deposit for anlow-cost, open pit mine. Cumulatively, the datasuggests that Thor is comprised of not only the gold-silver-lead-zinc-copper sulfide deposit, but also several high-grade gold zones.

So far, the Thor deposit has a National Instrument 43-101 Resource (Indicated and Inferred) containing 6.9 million ounces of silver, 35,000 ounces of gold, 57 million pounds of lead, 79.4 million pounds of zinc and 3.3 million pounds of copper. In aggregate, that equates to 14 million ounces of silver equivalent (AgEq).

From mid-2016 on, the plan is really taking shape, including acquiring and taking possession of a gold processing plant at Thor and garnering approval for a tailings discharge permit in record time. The permit allows Taranis to run a 1,000 tonne gold recovery sample test for ore extracted from the SIF Zone. As soon as weather allows this spring, Taranis will begin running ore through the crusher, hammer mill, shaker table and discharge pit.

In the meantime, the company has continued drilling, with a string of announcements disclosing cuts of mineralization at Thor. Intersects have been impressive, including 1,558 grams per tonne (g/t) AgEq over 7.22 meters, 465.8 g/t AgEq across 2.2 meters, 459 g/t AgEq over 9.05 meters and 407 g/t AgEq over 9.14 meters, to site just a few cut results.

In the short time so far in 2017, Taranis has made additional headway at Thor, as well as increased its footprint in the region. To kick off the first trading day of the year, the company disclosed acquiring the 840-hectare (2,075 acres) Sambo Property adjacent to the Thor. The acquisition was made based upon analysis of drilling at the perimeter of Thor pointing towards mineralization at Thor continuing throughout Sambo, which has the potential to add significant tonnage to corporate resources.

On Tuesday, Taranis hit another milestone with the receipt of the mining permit for the SIF pilot plant at Thor. With all the processing equipment erected on the mill site, Taranis is just waiting for the weather to break to be producing gold as it continues to collect metallurgical information on the SIF zone.

“We are making steady progress at Thor, particularly with respect to the large sulphide deposit. Taranis is completing state-of-the-art processing of the ground and borehole magnetic surveys, as well as a re-examination of the deep-penetrating EM-37 survey completed in 2008,” said Gardiner in the latest news release. He continued, “Age dating is being completed on volcaniclastic rocks that will be instrumental in refining our exploration model for the deposit. Taranis will announce the results of this work as it becomes available.”

Revenue is invaluable to a young miner and, in the case of Taranis, speaks volumes to how following a tight business model bears fruit and greatly increases the odds of future success in transitioning from an explorer to a full-fledged producer.

In the interest of full disclosure, we call the reader’s attention to the fact that Equities.com, Inc. is compensated by the companies profiled in the Spotlight Companies section. The purpose of these profiles is to provide awareness of these companies to investors in the micro, small-cap and growth equity community and should not in any way be considered as a recommendation to buy, sell or hold these securities. Equities.com is not a registered broker dealer, investment advisor, financial analyst, investment banker or other investment professional. We are a publisher of original and third party news and information. All profiles are based on information that is available to the public. The information contained herein should not be considered to be complete and is not guaranteed by Equities.com to be free from misstatement or errors. The views expressed are our own and not intended to be the basis for any investment decision. Readers are reminded to do their own due diligence when researching any companies mentioned on this website. Always bear in mind that investing in early-stage companies is risky and you are encouraged to only invest an amount that you can afford to lose completely without any change in your lifestyle. Equities has been compensated with cash, common shares and/or warrants for market awareness services provided.