PREMIER GOLD MINES LIMITED (TSX:PG) is pleased to provide an update from ongoing exploration activities at several of the Company's project sites. Drilling is currently underway at the Hardrock, Rahill-Bonanza, and PQ North Projects in Northwestern Ontario and the Saddle Project in Nevada. Numerous developments in the first half of 2011 bode well for future resource growth on several company projects. Significant highlights so far in 2011 include:
- Premier announced its intention to acquire Goldstone Resources Inc.
- New discoveries have been made at Hardrock including the recently identified Tenacity South horizon where drilling has confirmed high-grade mineralization up to 10.89 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) across 10.0 metres (m) (0.32 oz/t across 32.8 feet) including 45.40 g/t Au across 2.0 m (1.33 oz/t across 6.6 feet) and 37.49 g/t Au across 2.1 m (1.09 oz/t across 6.9 feet).
- Drilling at the Rahill-Bonanza joint venture project in Red Lake continues to define high-grade gold mineralization within the "2E Horizon" with visible gold seen in recent down-plunge drilling.
- Drilling at the PQ North Project has intersected numerous gold-bearing shear zones in addition to mineralized iron formation units with alteration and mineralization similar to the nearby Musselwhite Gold Mine.
- Premier has three drill rigs active at the Saddle Project in the Carlin Trend. Several holes have intersected significant mineralization and a results update will be provided in the coming weeks.
"With a $25M exploration budget, and four active drill programs, we expect drilling success to continue throughout 2011", stated Ewan Downie, President and CEO of Premier. "The pending consolidation of the Geraldton-Beardmore Camp is expected to secure unprecedented growth for years to come."
Goldstone AcquisitionOn June 22, 2011, Premier announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement whereby Premier will acquire, by way of a plan of arrangement (the "Arrangement"), all of the outstanding common shares of Goldstone Resources Inc. (TSX:GRC). Under the Arrangement, each Goldstone shareholder will receive 0.16 of a Premier share plus $0.0001 in cash for each Goldstone share held.
The combination will consolidate 100% ownership of the Hardrock Project that is host to a multi-million ounce NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate, increasing Premier's district-wide measured and indicated gold resource by 1,172,000 ounces and inferred resource by 613,000 ounces. Additionally, this will add extensive property holdings in the Geraldton-Beardmore Greenstone Belt with a combined strike length of more than 50 kilometres. New property holdings include the Brookbank Deposit, that is host to a NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate of 345,600 ounces indicated (at 8.8 g/t gold) and 253,000 ounces inferred (at 7.2 g/t gold) utilizing a 3.4 g/t Au cut-off grade, the Key Lake project located proximal to Hardrock, and the past producing Leitch Gold Mine that produced 847,900 ounces of gold at an average grade of 31.5 g/t Au.
Hardrock ProjectThe Hardrock Project is currently operated under a joint venture with Goldstone (Premier holds a 70% interest in the project). Earlier in 2011, the partners released a NI43-101 compliant gold resource estimate with Measured and Indicated Resources of 2,492,000 ounces and Inferred Resources of 1,123,000 ounces.
Numerous zones remain wide open for expansion and the western-most hole drilled to-date (MM170) intersected 18.49 g/t Au across 20.5m or 0.54 ounces per ton (oz/t) across 67.2 feet.Ongoing 2011 drilling has realized numerous successes that are expected to add materially to the current resource. Expansion of the SP and F Zones, more recently identified horizons including the P and K Zones, and new discoveries including the high-grade Tenacity South Zone auger well for the future economics of the project. Highlights from the 2011 drill program include:
- The recent discovery of the Tenacity South Zone, where drilling has returned several high-grade intercepts including 10.89 g/t Au across 10.0 m and 37.49 g/t Au across 2.1 m
- Expansion drilling in the SP Zone with intercepts up to 11.25 g/t Au across 8.2 m and 6.02 g/t Au across 15.0 m
- Drilling continues to expand the F-Zone deposit with intersections of up to 6.97g/t Au across 5.0 m
- Continued success in the recently discovered K-Zone with new assays of up to 10.16 g/t Au across 3.1 m
- Several holes have returned high-grade vein style mineralization within the main porphyry unit (P Zone) with intercepts as high as 7.15 g/t Au across 6.0 m
The following tables provide highlights from the 2011 drilling thus far at Hardrock
| Hole-ID |
UTM
Coordinates
(m) |
Dip/Azimuth
(degrees) |
From
(m) |
To
(m) |
Interval
(m) |
Grade
(g/tonne) |
Interval
(ft) |
Grade
(oz/ton) |
Zone |
| MM203B |
5502700 N 501700 E |
-65/360 |
911.4 |
915.0 |
3.6 |
5.35 |
11.8 |
0.16 |
F |
| MM209C |
5502724 N 501806 E |
-70/360 |
879.0 |
894.5 |
15.5 |
2.88 |
50.8 |
0.08 |
F |
| including |
879.0 |
884.0 |
5.0 |
6.97 |
16.4 |
0.20 |
F |
| MM222A |
5502770 N 502148 E |
-72/360 |
867.2 |
871.3 |
4.1 |
4.13 |
13.4 |
0.12 |
F |
| including |
868.3 |
871.3 |
3.0 |
6.79 |
9.8 |
0.20 |
F |
| Hole-ID |
UTM
Coordinates
(m) |
Dip/Azimuth
(degrees) |
From
(m) |
To
(m) |
Interval
(m) |
Grade
(g/tonne) |
Interval
(ft) |
Grade
(oz/ton) |
Zone |
| MM203D |
5502700 N 501700 E |
-65/360 |
1005.0 |
1009.1 |
4.1 |
4.46 |
13.4 |
0.13 |
K |
| including |
1007.1 |
1009.1 |
2.0 |
8.60 |
6.6 |
0.25 |
| MM212 |
5502676 N 501599 E |
-70/360 |
1096.9 |
1104.3 |
7.4 |
3.16 |
24.3 |
0.09 |
K |
| MM221 |
5502900 N 502050 E |
-70/360 |
853.0 |
859.0 |
6.0 |
4.99 |
19.7 |
0.15 |
K |
| including |
854.7 |
857.7 |
3.0 |
8.67 |
9.8 |
0.25 |
| MM221E |
5502900 N 502050 E |
-70/360 |
679.0 |
680.2 |
1.2 |
14.70 |
3.9 |
0.43 |
K |
| MM225 |
5502875 N 501846 E |
-65/360 |
657.5 |
660.6 |
3.1 |
10.16 |
10.2 |
0.30 |
K |
* True widths are estimated at approximately 60-70% of intersection widths
| Hole-ID |
UTM
Coordinates
(m) |
Dip/Azimuth
(degrees) |
From
(m) |
To
(m) |
Interval
(m) |
Grade
(g/tonne) |
Interval
(ft) |
Grade
(oz/ton) |
Zone |
| MM189A |
5502941 N 501900 E |
-80/360 |
779.5 |
785.5 |
6.0 |
7.15 |
19.68 |
0.21 |
P |
| MM192B |
5502957 N 502200 E |
-75/360 |
699.5 |
714.0 |
14.5 |
4.89 |
47.6 |
0.14 |
P |
| including |
748.0 |
749.0 |
1.0 |
93.80 |
3.3 |
2.74 |
| MM192D |
5502957 N 502200 E |
-75/360 |
712.0 |
717.5 |
5.5 |
4.23 |
18.04 |
0.12 |
P |
| MM222 |
5502770 N 502148 E |
-72/360 |
797.0 |
808.5 |
11.5 |
4.36 |
37.72 |
0.13 |
P |
| Hole-ID |
UTM
Coordinates
(m) |
Dip/Azimuth
(degrees) |
From
(m) |
To
(m) |
Interval
(m) |
Grade
(g/tonne) |
Interval
(ft) |
Grade
(oz/ton) |
Zone |
| MM209 |
5502723 N 501806 E |
-70/360 |
869.0 |
873.5 |
4.5 |
6.90 |
14.8 |
0.20 |
SP |
| MM209A |
5502723 N 501806 E |
-70/360 |
836.5 |
851.5 |
15.0 |
6.02 |
49.2 |
0.18 |
SP |
| including |
845.0 |
851.5 |
6.5 |
10.91 |
21.3 |
0.32 |
SP |
| MM209C |
5502723 N 501806 E |
-70/360 |
847.0 |
851.0 |
4.0 |
6.17 |
13.1 |
0.18 |
SP |
| including |
849.0 |
851.0 |
2.0 |
10.30 |
6.6 |
0.30 |
SP |
| MM221 |
5502900N 502050E |
-70/360 |
676.9 |
685.1 |
8.2 |
11.25 |
26.90 |
0.33 |
SP |
| including |
676.9 |
680 |
3.1 |
18.80 |
10.17 |
0.55 |
SP |
| Hole-ID |
UTM
Coordinates
(m) |
Dip/Azimuth
(degrees) |
From
(m) |
To
(m) |
Interval
(m) |
Grade
(g/tonne) |
Interval
(ft) |
Grade
(oz/ton) |
Zone |
| HR053 |
5502370 N 504950 E |
-55/360 |
149.9 |
152.0 |
2.1 |
37.49 |
6.9 |
1.09 |
TNS |
| HR054 |
5502320 N 504950 E |
-55/360 |
275.0 |
285.0 |
10.0 |
10.89 |
32.8 |
0.32 |
TNS |
| including |
276.0 |
278.0 |
2.0 |
45.40 |
6.6 |
1.33 |
TNS |
| HR055 |
5502270 N 504950 E |
-55/360 |
Assays pending |
TNS |
| HR056 |
5502270 N 504950 E |
-55/360 |
340.1 |
346.7 |
6.6 |
6.43 |
21.6 |
0.19 |
TNS |
| Hole-ID |
UTM
Coordinates
(m) |
Dip/Azimuth
(degrees) |
From
(m) |
To
(m) |
Interval
(m) |
Grade
(g/tonne) |
Interval
(ft) |
Grade
(oz/ton) |
Zone |
| HR053 |
5502370 N 504950 E |
-55/360 |
416.4 |
420.3 |
3.9 |
4.08 |
12.8 |
0.12 |
TN1 |
| HR054 |
5502320 N 504950 E |
-55/360 |
495.3 |
498.0 |
2.7 |
5.53 |
8.9 |
0.16 |
TN1 |
| HR056 |
5502270 N 504950 E |
-55/360 |
Assays pending |
TN1 |
� True widths are estimated at approximately 50-70% of intersection widths
Red Lake Projects -- Rahill-Bonanza UpdatePremier's primary Red Lake projects include the Rahill-Bonanza and East Bay Joint Ventures, both operated by Red Lake Gold Mines Limited ("RLGM"), a partnership between Goldcorp Inc. and Goldcorp Canada Ltd. The marquis project is the
Rahill-Bonanza Project (PG:49%) that is strategically located in the heart of the prolific Red Lake "Mine Trend" between the Red Lake Gold Mines complex to the east, and the Cochenour (Bruce Channel) complex to the west. Ongoing drilling at Rahill-Bonanza is focused on further delineation of the 2E horizon, down-plunge of the historically mined Wilmar Gold Mine that is located on the Property and produced at an average grade greater than 10 g/t Au between 1967 and 1971 when mining at Cochenour ceased.
High-grade mineralization has now been intersected some 350 metres down-plunge of the historic mine workings and remains wide open for expansion. The first two holes (PG10082 and PG11090) drilled to test the 2E structure returned
68.87 g/t Au across 3.5 m (2.01 oz/t across 11.5 feet), including 207.43 g/t across 1.15 m (6.06 oz/t across 3.8 feet) in hole PG10082 and 46.15 g/t Au across 4.5 m (1.35 oz/t across 14.8 feet) in hole PG11092.
Additional drilling (PG11093 and 11094 -- assays pending) continues to extend this horizon farther down-plunge of PG10082 with strong structure, mineralization and visible gold. Future drilling will continue to test this area that has seen almost no previous drilling, and will fill-in the large gap between the Wilmar Mine and the PG70 Zone. The Wilmar Mine is linked to the Cochenour Mine, that is currently being rehabilitated by Goldcorp, and has been dewatered to the 1300 foot level where planning is underway for access and an underground drill program to be undertaken at Wilmar.
The true potential of the Rahill-Bonanza Project is expected to be unlocked by the high-speed tram that is currently being constructed to connect the Red Lake Gold Mines complex and the Cochenour (Bruce Channel) Mine complex. A portion of this tram is expected to pass through, or come in close proximity to, the joint venture project, providing an excellent exploration platform. This tram will intersect several kilometres of some of the highest potential and untested geology along the main Red Lake "Mine Trend" and is expected to become the focus of a substantial multi-year exploration program. The Red Lake Gold Mine is considered to be one of the world's richest gold mines with production of more than 18 million ounces of gold and nearly 10 million ounces of resources.
PQ North ProjectPremier's 100%-owned PQ North Property is strategically located on the PQ limb of the key Northern Iron Formation (NIF) that is host to Goldcorp's Musselwhite Gold Mine that has produced more than 2.0 million ounces of gold (average grade of approximately 5.6 g/t Au) and has reserves and resources totalling in excess of 3 million ounces. The majority of the ore being mined at Musselwhite occurs within the PQ Limb of the Northern iron formation which passes onto the PQ North Property as it trends north.
Two drills are active at PQ North, aimed at further delineating existing zones in addition to providing a full geological picture as the favourable horizon trends northward, particularly the deeper portions of the host iron formation. Previous drilling performed by Premier at PQ North has identified gold mineralization in a geological setting nearly identical to that at Musselwhite but did not test the deeper portions of the host iron formation where the more significant gold deposits, including the recently discovered Lynx Zone, are located.
The current program has confirmed the existence of
gold-bearing shear zones, that locally contain high-grade gold mineralization with assays as high as 21.4 g/t Au and 11.3 g/t Au across one metre sample lengths -- the projected intersection of these shear zones with the NIF remain key targets for identifying potentially significant gold zones. Additionally,
mineralization and extensive alteration has been intersected within the NIF similar to the main gold zones at the Musselwhite Mine. These zones have returned assays of 11.33 g/t over 1.0 m in PQ11038 from 1107m to 1108 m as well as 8.63 g/t over 1.5 m in PQ11038 from 1199.0 m to 1200.5 m. PQ11037 returned 8.04 g/t over 2.0 m from 824 m to 826 m and PQ11035B returned 21.40 g/t over 1.0 m from 396 m to 397 m. More recent drilling has intersected broad zones of similar mineralization, suggesting increased structure at depth, consistent with Premier's exploration model. Follow-up drilling is underway with two rigs.
Saddle ProjectThe Saddle Project is located in the heart of the Carlin Trend in Nevada, one of the world's most endowed gold districts. Saddle is located immediately adjacent to Newmont Mining Corporation's past producing Rain Gold Mine, which was previously mined by open pit and underground methods, and in close proximity to the Emigrant Springs deposit (where Premier holds a 1.5% production royalty). Emigrant Springs is an advanced-stage open pit project host to 1.5 million ounces of gold that is in the process of being built by Newmont.
Three drills are currently active at Saddle confirming and further delineating the Saddle Gold Deposit that was previously partially delineated by Newmont. The first hole in the current program that successfully intersected the Saddle Deposit, SA003, returned
0.25 ounce per ton gold (oz/t Au) across 40.0 feet (8.46 grams per tonne Au across 12.2 metres) including 0.31 oz/t Au across 22.9 feet (10.70 g/t Au across 6.98 m). Several additional holes have now intersected the target horizon and assays will be released in the near future.
Premier Gold Mines Limited cordially invites all shareholders to its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, today at 4:00pm, at the Toronto Board of Trade. Following the formal meeting, a presentation will be given at 4:30pm by President and CEO Ewan Downie, VP-Exploration Tim Twomey and Executive Vice-President Stephen McGibbon, providing a comprehensive corporate exploration and development update. This presentation will highlight your Company's substantial recent successes, and will provide guidance on Premier's future plans and initiatives. For those that are not able to attend in person, the presentation portion of the event will be webcasted live from the homepage of the Company's website (
www.premiergoldmines.com).
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. Assay results are from core samples sent to Activation Laboratories, an accredited mineral analysis laboratory in Ancaster, Ontario, or to Accurassay 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 Nevada. In the Red Lake gold mining camp, two of these are operated in joint venture with Red Lake Gold Mines.
For further information, please contact:
Ewan Downie, President & CEO
Phone: 807-346-1390
Fax: 807-346-0100
e-mail:
Info@premiergoldmines.comWeb 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.
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