PREMIER GOLD MINES LIMITED (TSX:PG) is pleased to announce that drilling has now intersected two of the main targets of the current program, the main Wilmar Mine stratigraphy at depth and the Wilmar West Granodiorite Zone. While assays from the main horizons remain pending, a potentially new zone has been discovered in the hanging wall of the structure with an intersection of 49.00g/t Au (1.43 oz/ton) across 1.0 meters. Two surface drills are currently on the Project, and one drill is currently drilling on the Project from the workings of the Red Lake Gold Mines. The "Rahill-Bonanza Project" is being operated under a 50/50 exploration joint venture with Red Lake Gold Mines, a affiliate of GOLDCORP INC. (TSX:G, NYSE:GG).
The new intersection is from the first deep hole (PG07015W4) drilled to test the Wilmar Mine horizon and is hosted within a mafic volcanic flow containing quartz -- carbonate veinlets at a depth of approximately 1240 metres below surface, some 630 metres beneath the mine workings. In addition to the 49.0 gram intersection, anomalous gold was intersected over an additional five meters with 1.0 meter sample intervals returning up to 4.42g/t Au. The geological setting shares many similarities to the Red Lake Gold Mines, located in the same suite of rocks to the east, and the Cochenour Mine-Bruce Channel discovery to the northwest. Due to limitations of the current drill, the hole did not pass through the entire horizon and was stopped short of the main target, but will be extended once a larger drill is available to the Joint Venture.
The Rahill-Bonanza Project is strategically located along the main Red Lake "Mine Trend" between the Red Lake Gold Mines to the east and the Cochenour Gold Mine and Bruce Channel discovery to the west (See Figure 1 & 2). The current drilling is part of a major, two year, exploration program ($5 Million budgeted for 2007) that will test several prospective targets. The Property is host to two known deposits: (1) the Wilmar deposit that was developed during mining at the adjacent Cochenour Gold Mine, with 203,256 tons being mined at an average grade of at least 0.3 oz/ton Au (10.3 g/t Au) and where historical data from the Wilmar Mine indicates that the deposit remains open along strike and at depth; and (2) the Bonanza deposit that will be the focus of drilling in the 3rd quarter of 2007 -- drilling in 2005-06 at Bonanza returned numerous high-grade intersections including 13.27g/t Au across 19.0 meters.
Current drill holes have now reached the target horizon in both the Wilmar and West Granodiorite zones. These initial holes have intersected several mineralized alteration and vein zones hosted within a similar stratigraphy to that recorded at the Wilmar Mine. Visible gold has been noted in several vein zones.
Additionally, a third drill has started drilling toward the Joint Venture project by collaring on the 41 Level (approximately 1,875 meters or 6,150 feet below surface) of the Campbell Complex (formerly Campbell Mine) of Red Lake Gold Mines. This drilling is testing for possible extensions and/or repetitions of fault structures, key rock types and vein material on the project area along strike to the west of the current mine workings. The initial hole had to be stopped due to drilling difficulties and a second hole is now underway and is expected to be completed in the next several weeks.
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A brief slideshow in ".pdf" format outlines key aspects of this press release and is available to be viewed on the "Home Page" and "Rahill-Bonanza Project" area of the Premier Gold Mines Ltd. website.
Matt Long, P. Geo., Red Lake District Project Manager of Premier, 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.
Premier Gold Mines Limited is a Canadian-based mineral exploration and development company with diverse property holdings that include several projects and deposits in Northwestern Ontario and a joint venture in Mexico. In the Red Lake gold mining camp, two of these are operated in joint venture with Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G). A strategic project is also located on the main Musselwhite Gold Mine trend (Goldcorp-Kinross).