PREMIER
GOLD MINES LIMITED (TSX:PG) is pleased to announce that
ongoing drilling at the Hardrock Project in Geraldton, Northwestern Ontario
continues to return high-grade gold mineralization in the Tenacity Zone, as
well as high grade narrow vein mineralization in a deeper target (KL Zone).
This drilling suggests that the Tenacity Zone may improve with depth as
confirmed by an intersection of 16.86 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au)
across 5.5 metres (m) in the furthest down-plunge section drilled to
date. Additionally, drilling has confirmed high grade gold in a deeper
target beneath Tenacity with intersections of 40.1g/t Au across 1.0m and
17.45g/t Au across 1.9m. Highlights of recent Tenacity drilling
include:
- Drilling suggests the potential to develop
both open pit and underground resources with apparent improvement in
grade and continuity down-plunge.
- Exploration drilling (three holes) confirmed
high grade gold mineralization within a narrow vein target with
intersections in excess of 17.14 g/t Au (>0.50 oz/ton).
Follow-up
drilling at Tenacity, as well as the testing of other target areas, is
on-going.
"Our success in drilling numerous target sites at Hardrock speaks
volumes of the quality of this Project", stated Ewan Downie, President
of Premier. "Gold mineralization found over appreciable widths in
multiple horizons support our view that a sizeable gold resource will be
delineated on the Project".
The Hardrock Project is operated under a joint venture with Roxmark Mines
Limited (TSX-V:RMK) (Premier earning a 70% interest). The Hardrock Project
is host to several past-producing mines which collectively produced more
than 2.0 Million ounces of gold from the same shallow deposits within 2000
feet (600 metres) of surface from 1938-1968. The mined zones remained open
at depth at the time mining ceased and developed historical resources were
left in place within the existing mine workings (a qualified person has not
done sufficient work to verify the historical resource, the company is not
treating the historical resource as a current resource and the historical
resource should not be relied upon).
TENACITY ZONE
Drilling at the Tenacity Zone has confirmed the potential for both open pit
and underground-style gold mineralization. Drilling has defined open pit-style
mineralization over a strike length of approximately 400 metres and is now
testing for higher-grade mineralization that could be amenable to mining
from a ramp below the potential pit workings. Mineralization remains open
at depth with the strongest intersection being seen in hole TN025, the
first hole with assays from the western-most (down-plunge) section drilled
to date. Tenacity intersections of more than 20 metres have been visually
confirmed down-dip from hole TN025, which returned 16.86g/t Au across 5.5m.
A longitudinal section of the Tenacity Zone, including historic intercepts,
is available on the Premier website or by pressing the following link, www.premiergoldmines.com.
Follow-up drilling continues to intersect strong vein zones including
several occurrences of visible gold. Highlights from recent drilling are
presented in Table 1 (Note that holes TN013, 016, 017, 019, 021 and 023
were drilled east of the main area under the ice with no significant
intercepts):
Table
1
Recent Tenacity Zone Intercepts
Hole No.
|
Grid Co-ordinates (m)
|
Dip/Azimuth
(degrees)
|
Intersection From-To
(m)
|
Interval (m)
|
Interval
(ft)
|
Au
(g/ton)
|
Au
(oz/t)
|
Zone
|
TN018
|
505449 mE
5502553 mN
|
-50/360
|
181.3-198.7
|
17.4
|
57.1
|
1.93
|
0.06
|
Tenacity
|
TN020
|
505449 mE
5502456 mN
|
-50/360
|
322.3-323.7
|
1.4
|
4.6
|
3.97
|
0.12
|
Tenacity
|
TN022
|
505449
mE 5502532 mN
|
-60/360
|
98.8-111.2
|
12.4
|
40.7
|
2.36
|
0.07
|
Tenacity
|
231.1-252.7
|
21.6
|
70.8
|
1.16
|
0.03
|
TN025
|
505400 mE
55502556 mN
|
-50/360
|
192.0-197.5
|
5.50
|
18.00
|
16.86
|
0.49
|
Tenacity
|
* True widths estimated at approximately 70% of
intersection widths
KL ZONE
Three holes have successfully tested a high grade narrow vein target (KL
Zone) below the main Tenacity Zone. This drilling confirms the potential to
define high grade underground gold mineralization and the zone remains
open, both up and down-plunge.
These intersections are also profiled on the longitudinal section of the
Tenacity Zone that is available on the Premier website.
Follow-up drilling to test for extensions of the KL Zone has started.
Highlights from this drilling are profiled in Table 2.
Table
2
Recent KL Zone Intercepts
Hole No.
|
Grid
Coordinates (m)
|
Dip/Azimuth
(Degrees)
|
Intersection
From-to (m)
|
Int.
(m)
|
Int.
(ft)
|
Au
(g/t)
|
Au
(oz/ton)
|
Zone
|
TN012
|
505749N
5502617E
|
-50/360
|
|
1.9
|
6.2
|
17.45
|
0.51
|
KL Zone
|
TN014
|
505749N
5502617E
|
-70/360
|
Assays
Pending
|
|
|
VG
|
|
KL Zone
|
TN015
|
505648N
5502605E
|
-45/360
|
|
1.0
|
3.3
|
40.20
|
1.17
|
KL Zone
|
* True widths estimated at approximately 70% of
intersection widths ** NSV � No significant assay values
These results in both the Tenacity and the KL Zones demonstrate continuity
and grade, supporting management's belief that historic and new results
will be utilized in a NI 43-101 compliant resource calculation, which is
expected to be completed in Q4 2009. The current program at Hardrock is expected to consist
of more than 50,000 metres of definition and exploration drilling.
Importantly, the Hardrock Project has the potential for defining several
styles of mineralization capable of hosting resources, with grades and
widths similar to many of Ontario's major gold mines including:
- Open pit-style
mineralization with grades exceeding 1.5 g/t Au (Timmins, Hemlo)
- Broad zones of
mineralization with grades averaging 5.0+ g/t Au (Musselwhite)
- Narrow vein zones
with higher gold grades often exceeding 7.0g/t (Red Lake, Pickle Lake)
Initial
drilling is focusing on delineating both open pit and underground resources
with the goal of defining a multi-million ounce gold resource that can be
moved quickly towards development (See references to historical resources
above). The Project offers development advantages with the Trans-Canada
Highway, Trans-Canada Pipeline, and major power lines running through the
center of the property. Significant potential exists for developing
resources in several areas including: 1) Open pit-style mineralization at
the site of the original discovery where a resource containing several
hundred thousand ounces of gold was partially drilled off by previous
operators; 2) Several newer high-grade discoveries have been made
throughout this large property package that have received little to no
follow-up; 3) Resource blocks reported to remain within the mine workings;
and, 4) The main mined zones which remain open below the 600m Level.
Stephen McGibbon, P. Geo., is the Qualified Person for the information
contained in this press release and is a Qualified Person within the
meaning of National Instrument 43-101. The assay results presented are from
core samples sent to Activation Laboratories, an accredited mineral
analysis laboratory in Thunder Bay, Ontario, for preparation and analysis
utilizing both fire assay and screen metallic methods.
Premier Gold Mines Limited is a well-financed Canadian-based mineral
exploration and development company with several projects and deposits in
Northwestern Ontario and a joint venture in Mexico. In the Red Lake gold
mining camp, two projects are operated in joint venture with Red Lake Gold
Mines, and another, adjacent to the Red Lake Gold Mines complex, is
operated on a 100% basis. The company also owns a strategic project located
on the main Musselwhite Gold Mine trend and is acquiring a 70% interest in
the Hardrock Project, an advanced-stage gold project in the Geraldton area.
For further information, please contact:
Ewan Downie, President & CEO
Phone: 807-346-1390
Fax: 807-346-0100
e-mail: Info@premiergoldmines.com
Web Site: www.premiergoldmines.com
The
statements made in this Press Release may contain forward-looking
statements that may involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual
events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations
and projections.