Seabridge
Gold Moving Courageous Lake Towards Preliminary
Feasibility
Seabridge Gold's 100% owned Courageous
Lake project as part of a $7.3 million exploration program designed to (i)
upgrade inferred resources within the current FAT deposit pit plan, (ii)
complete geotechnical drilling required to move towards a Preliminary
Feasibility Study ("PFS") and (iii) look for new targets along the 53
kilometers of the Matthew's Lake greenstone belt held by Seabridge.
The 2011 program will include approximately 20,000 meters of core drilling,
divided into a winter program which is now in progress and a summer program
commencing in June.
Seabridge President and CEO Rudi Fronk said that
"we expect to announce the results of a new Preliminary Economic
Assessment for Courageous Lake which is now scheduled for late May which is
about one month later than originally planned. The work to take this study to a
PFS level in 2012 must begin now with the key focus being further additions to
the FAT deposit's 6.8 million ounce measured and indicated gold resource from
which reserves will be calculated. Last year's 22,000 meter drill program
successfully increased measured and indicated gold resources by 2.5 million ounces."
Results from the updated PFS on the KSM project are expected to be released on
schedule in late April.
For a
detailed summary of the resource model see http://www.seabridgegold.net/readmore.php?newsid=312.
Gold resource
estimates included herein were prepared by Resource Modeling Inc. under the
direction of Michael Lechner, who is independent of Seabridge and a Qualified Person as defined by National
Instrument 43-101. Mr. Lechner is a highly regarded
expert in his field and frequently undertakes independent resource estimates
for major mining companies. The independent technical report detailing the
Courageous Lake resource model has been filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Exploration
activities by Seabridge Gold at the Courageous Lake
gold project will be conducted under the supervision of William E. Threlkeld, Registered Professional Geologist, Senior Vice
President of the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by National
Instrument 43-101. A rigorous quality control/quality assurance protocol will
be employed during the 2011 Courageous Lake drill program including blank and
certified reference standards inserted by the Company at a rate of not less
than one of each type in every 30 samples. Repeats and re-splits of the sample
rejects will be analyzed at a rate of not less than one sample in every 25 for
each type. Samples will be assayed at Acme Laboratories, Vancouver, B.C. using fire assay atomic adsorption methods for gold and
total digestion ICP methods for other elements. Cross-check analyses will be
conducted at a second external laboratory on at least 10% of the samples.
Mr. Lechner and Mr. Threlkeld have
reviewed and approved this news release.
Seabridge holds a 100% interest in several North American gold projects. The
Company's principal assets are the KSM property located near Stewart, British
Columbia, Canada and the Courageous Lake gold project located in Canada's
Northwest Territories. For a breakdown of Seabridge's
mineral reserves and mineral resources by category please visit the Company's
website at http://www.seabridgegold.net/resources.php.
All reserve and resource estimates reported by the
Corporation were calculated in accordance with the Canadian National Instrument
43-101 and the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Classification
system. These standards differ significantly from the requirements of the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission. Mineral resources which are not mineral
reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
This document contains "forward-looking
information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This information and these
statements, referred to herein as "forward-looking statements" are
made as of the date of this document but many of them relate to estimates and
projections prepared in 2007, 2008 and 2011. Forward-looking statements
concerning the expected completion of a Preliminary Economic Assessment or a
PFS relate to future events or future performance and reflect current
estimates, predictions, expectations or beliefs regarding future events and
include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: (i) the amount of
mineral reserves and mineral resources; (ii) the amount of future production
over any period; (iii) cumulative pre-tax net cash flow of the proposed mining
operation; (iv) capital costs; (v) operating costs, including credits from the
sale of other metals; (vi) mining rates; (vii) mine life; (vii) planned
expenditures; and (viii) upgrading inferred resources. Any statements that
express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations,
beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or
performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as
"expects", "anticipates", "plans",
"projects", "estimates", "envisages", "assumes",
"intends", "strategy", "goals",
"objectives" or variations thereof or stating that certain actions,
events or results "may", "could", "would",
"might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the
negative of any of these terms and similar expressions) are not statements of
historical fact and may be forward-looking statements.
All forward-looking statements are based on Seabridge's or its independent consultants' current beliefs
as well as various assumptions made by them and information available to them
on the date the statements are made. These assumptions include: (i) the
presence of and continuity of metals at the Project at modeled grades; (ii) the
capacities of various machinery and equipment; (iii) the availability of
personnel, machinery and equipment at estimated prices; (iv) exchange rates; (v)
metals sales prices; (vi) appropriate discount rates; (vii) tax rates and
royalty rates applicable to the proposed mining operation; (viii) financing
structure and costs; (ix) anticipated mining losses and dilution; (x) metals
recovery rates, (xi) reasonable contingency requirements; (xii) receipt of
regulatory approvals on acceptable terms; and (xiii) the negotiation of
satisfactory terms with impacted First Nations groups. Although management
considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently
available to it, they may prove to be incorrect. Many forward-looking
statements are made assuming the correctness of other forward-looking
statements, such as statements of cumulative pre-tax net cash flow, which are
based on other forward-looking statements and assumptions. The cost information
is also prepared using earlier values, but the time for incurring the costs
will be in the future and it is assumed costs will remain stable over the
relevant period.
By their very nature, forward-looking statements
involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks
exist that estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking
statements will not be achieved or that assumptions do not reflect future
experience. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements as a number of important factors could cause the
actual outcomes to differ materially from the beliefs, plans, objectives,
expectations, anticipations, estimates, assumptions and intentions expressed in
such forward-looking statements. These risk factors may be generally stated as
the risk that the assumptions and estimates expressed above do not occur, but
specifically include, without limitation, risks relating to variations in the
mineral content within the material identified as mineral reserves from that
predicted; variations in rates of recovery and extraction; developments in
world metals markets;, risks relating to fluctuations in the Canadian dollar
relative to the US dollar; increases in the estimated capital and operating
costs or unanticipated costs; difficulties attracting the necessary work force;
increases in financing costs or adverse changes to the terms of available
financing, if any; tax rates or royalties being greater than assumed; changes
in development or mining plans due to changes in logistical, technical or other
factors; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; risks
relating to receipt of regulatory approvals or settlement of an agreement with
impacted First Nations groups; the effects of competition in the markets in
which Seabridge operates; operational and
infrastructure risks; and the additional risks including those described in the
December 31, 2009 Corporation's Annual Information Form filed with SEDAR in
Canada (available at www.sedar.com) and in the Corporation's Annual Report Form
40-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on EDGAR (available
at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml). Seabridge cautions that
the foregoing list of factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive.
When relying on our forward-looking statements to make
decisions with respect to Seabridge, investors and
others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties
and potential events. Seabridge does not undertake to
update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made
from time to time by Seabridge or on our behalf,
except as required by law.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
"Rudi Fronk"
President & C.E.O.
For
further information please contact:
Rudi P. Fronk, President and C.E.O.
Tel: (416) 367-9292 • Fax: (416) 367-2711
Email: info@seabridgegold.net