The Mexican Hat property received successful exploration between 1989 and 1996. Notable companies working on the property included Placer Dome and Santa Fe Pacific Mining. During the early 1990's the property currently held by Auracle had fractionalized ownership and therefore multiple companies were active in the area.
In 1989, Oneida Resources Inc. optioned a portion of the property and subsequently entered into a joint venture with Placer Dome Inc "PDI" who during the period May 1989 - August 1990 spend $1.9 M (US) and subsequently earned a 60% interest in Oneida's property. Placer drilled a total of 18,939 metres (62,120 feet) that included 137 reverse circulation, rotary percussion drill holes and 17 diamond core drill holes. In 1990 PDI conducted geostatistical analyses and historical estimate calculations utilizing 120 percussion drill holes and 15 core drill holes to stay within the area influenced by the drill holes.
During 1990 PDI conducted bottle roll cyanide leach tests on composite drill hole composites from their program at their Golden Sunlight mine in Montana. They estimated that the gold bearing material was amenable to cyanide leaching. They reported gold recoveries averaging 93%, while NaCN consumption averaged 0.76 lb/ton and lime consumption averaged 5.43 lb/ton.
Additionally, in 1989 Santa Fe Pacific Mining, Inc. had a major exploration presence in the immediate area. Santa Fe acquired a portion of ground adjacent to the Oneida/PDI joint venture. In 1990 they conducted a 29 percussion drill hole program totaling 3,811m (12,500') to the west-south-east boundary perimeter of the property, which is now controlled by Auracle.
Little exploration has been conducted since this time. In December 1995, Oneida reported that Kalahari Resources Inc. of Vancouver, B.C could earn a 60% interest in Oneida's ownership of the property. In 1996, an 18 hole percussion drill program totaling 12,375 feet was completed by Kalahari. A follow-up three-phase program was planned that was to include a further 10,000 feet of PDH and 2,000 feet of CDH that was not completed due to lack of funding.
