F-Zone Delineation: 7.92 g/t Au across 114.5 m including 23.56 g/t Au across 31.0 m PREMIER GOLD MINES LIMITED (TSX:PG) is pleased to announce that drilling continues to delineate significant gold mineralization in multiple horizons at the Company's Hardrock Joint Venture Project in Northwestern Ontario.
There are currently eleven (11) drill rigs operational on the property testing for extensions of previously mined zones and exploring new target areas. Recent highlights include:
- 7.92 g/t gold (Au) across 114.5 metres (m) (0.23 oz/t across 375.6 feet) including 23.56 g/t Au across 31.0 m (0.69 oz/ton across 101.7 feet) in hole MM179C conducting initial resource confirmation drilling in the F-Zone.
- 18.49 g/t Au across 20.5 m (0.54 oz/t across 67.2 feet) in hole MM170 in step-out drilling located approximately 500 metres west of the limits of previous exploration.
- Recent exploration drilling has intersected strong mineralization in new areas on the property -- assays are expected in the near future.
"We have ramped up our drilling due to unparalleled success in multiple areas. Expansion of historically mined zones and multiple new discoveries are expected to add materially to the current gold resource at Hardrock" stated Ewan Downie, President and CEO of Premier. "This continued success demonstrates the potential to define a multi-million ounce gold deposit".
F Zone Resource Delineation The F-Zone is the largest of the past-producing mine zones at Hardrock which produced more than 1.4 million ounces utilizing bulk underground methods with widths often exceeding 30 metres (100 feet).
Importantly, when the mine closed in 1960's, a 600-metre plunge length of ore was left unmined. Hole MM179C is the first of several holes being drilled to confirm this mineralization and upgrade it to NI43-101 resource standards (see Figure 1 and Table 1) This intercept returned the following assays: Table 1 New Intercepts from F Zone delineation drilling (Mother hole with multiple wedge holes)
| Hole-ID | UTM
Coordinates
(m) | Dip/Azimuth
(degrees) | From (m) | To (m) | Interval
(m) | Grade
(g/tonne) | Interval
(ft) | Grade
(oz/ton) | Zone |
| MM179 | 5502965 N
502300 E | -82/360 | NSV | | | | | | |
| MM179A | 5502965 N
502300 E | -82/360 | did not reach target | | | | | |
| MM179B | 5502965 N
502300 E | -82/360 | did not reach target | | | | | |
| *MM179C | 5502965 N
502300 E | -82/360 | 616.5 | 731.0 | 114.5 | 7.92 | 375.6 | 0.23 | F Zone |
| including | 672.0 | 703.0 | 31.0 | 23.56 | 101.7 | 0.69 | |
| including | 688.0 | 689.5 | 1.5 | 329.00 | 4.9 | 9.61 | |
* Intersection includes 8m of mine workings at zero grade, which is part of the developed openings within the F Zone.
- True widths are estimated at approximately 60-70% of intersection. Western Mine Extension (F Zone) Recent drilling has intersected mineralization to the west of, and below the limits of historical mining at Hardrock which was mined to a maximum depth of 600 metres. This drilling is located in a previously untested area more than 500 metres to the west of the western-most mined area at Hardrock (See Figure 1).
Hole MM170, a step-out from previously released hole MM157, returned 18.49 g/t Au across 20.5 m (0.54 oz/t across 67.2 feet) including 348.00 g/t Au across 0.8 m (10.16 oz/ton across 2.6 feet). Wedge drilling in this new area has been completed with assays pending. New drill results from the western extension area are contained in Table 2.
Table 2 New Sub Zone Intercepts from Western Extension drilling
| Hole-ID | UTM
Coordinates
(m) | Dip/Azimuth
(degrees) | From (m) | To (m) | Interval
(m) | Grade
(g/tonne) | Interval
(ft) | Grade
(oz/ton) | Zone |
| MM170 | 5502819 N
501348 E | -80/360 | 958.3 | 978.8 | 20.5 | 18.49 | 67.2 | 0.54 | F zone |
| including | 960.0 | 960.8 | 0.8 | 348.00 | 2.6 | 10.16 | |
Figure 1: Longitudinal Section of recent F_Zone drill-hole pierce points
Other Hardrock Drilling Drilling continues to delineate mineralization within the NN Zone and the SP Zone target areas with results expected to be released in the future.
Additionally, drilling is testing several new exploration target areas on the Property, recently intersecting favourable structures and mineralization including visible gold in multiple locations - assays are pending. Follow-up drilling at these intersection sites is underway.
The Hardrock Project is operated under a joint venture with Goldstone Resources Inc. (TSX:GRC) (Premier holds a 70% interest in the project). The Hardrock Project is host to several past-producing mines which collectively produced nearly 3.0 million ounces of gold from 1938-1968 primarily from shallow depths within 600 metres of surface (considered to be shallow for an Archean gold deposit). The Hardrock Project benefits from development advantages with the Trans-Canada Highway, Trans-Canada Pipeline, and major power lines running through the center of the property. A revised resource calculation is expected to be completed following the 2010 drill program containing both open pit and underground style mineralization.