LAKEWOOD, Colo., Oct. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Pershing Gold
Corporation (OTCQB: PGLC) ("Pershing Gold" or the "Company") is
pleased to announce that state and federal regulatory authorities
have approved the final permits needed to start mining at Pershing
Gold's Relief Canyon Mine in Pershing
County, Nevada. The permits issued by the Winnemucca
District Office of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") and
the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection/Bureau of Mining
Regulation and Reclamation ("NDEP") authorize mining within the
existing open-pit mine. These agencies had already issued permits
for the heap leach mineral processing facilities at Relief
Canyon.
"This is a landmark event in the history of the Relief Canyon
Mine," stated Stephen D. Alfers,
Pershing Gold's Chairman and CEO. "For the first time in nearly 25
years, the Relief Canyon Mine has all of the permits needed to
begin mining the deposit and to operate the heap leach gold
processing facilities."
Mining has not occurred at Relief Canyon since 1989. In 2008,
the previous owner permitted and built new heap leach processing
facilities but did not seek permits to resume mining. Consequently,
the new heap leach facilities have remained largely unused and
currently have roughly 21-million tons of capacity on the permitted
leach pad.
"Now that we have all of the permits in place, we are in an
ideal position to optimize our mine plan and fine-tune our
processing facilities," commented Alfers. "Securing these permits
puts us in the driver's seat in deciding when to start the mine and
enables us to make an informed decision based on a thorough review
of all of the pertinent technical and economic parameters."
While preparations are underway to start mining and mineral
processing, the 2014 exploration and development drilling programs
are ongoing. Pershing Gold anticipates that the 2014 drilling
results will increase the gold resource at the Relief Canyon
deposit. The Company is planning to incorporate the results from
the 2014 drilling program into an updated third-party National
Instrument 43-101 resource estimate later this year or in early
2015.
Pershing Gold worked closely with BLM and NDEP regulators during
their review of the Company's plans to start mining. "We would like
to thank BLM and NDEP for their efforts in reviewing our plans and
evaluating the reclamation bonding requirement for the project,"
said Alfers. "We look forward to working with them during the
start-up phase of the mine."
The newly issued BLM and NDEP permits require Pershing Gold to
increase its reclamation bond for Relief Canyon by about
$150,000. The Company is in the
process of increasing its current $5.0
million bond to satisfy this requirement. Pershing Gold is
planning to modify these permits in the future to increase the size
of the open-pit mine. The permitted heap leach facilities will not
require additional permitting because they have adequate pad space
to support mining operations for the next several years.
Qualified Person
Debra W.
Struhsacker (CPG 8259), a qualified person as defined by
National Instrument 43-101, has supervised the preparation of the
information that forms the basis for this news release and has
approved the disclosure herein. Ms. Struhsacker has designed,
implemented, and managed the Company's efforts to secure permits
for the Relief Canyon Mine. She is not independent of Pershing
Gold, as she is the Senior Vice President and holds common shares
and incentive stock options.
About Pershing Gold Corporation
Pershing Gold is an
emerging Nevada gold producer on a
fast-track to re-open the Relief Canyon Mine, which includes three
open-pit mines and a state-of-the-art, fully permitted and
constructed heap leach processing facility. Pershing Gold's
landholdings cover over 25,000 acres that include the Relief Canyon
Mine asset and lands surrounding the mine in all directions. This
land package provides Pershing Gold with the opportunity to expand
the Relief Canyon Mine deposit and to explore and make new
discoveries on nearby lands.
Legal Notice and Safe Harbor Statement
This press
release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements,
other than statements of historical fact, including, without
limitation, those with respect to the objectives, plans and
strategies of the Company set forth herein including the potential
reopening of the Relief Canyon Mine under the currently held
permits, anticipated increase in the Relief Canyon gold resource
based on 2014 drilling results, planned third party update of the
Relief Canyon mineral resources and the timing thereof, mine plan
and processing facilities optimization, technical and economic
analysis of mine start-up, planned future permit
modifications to increase the size of the open-pit mine at Relief
Canyon of and those preceded by or that include the words
"believes," "expects," "given," "targets," "intends,"
"anticipates," "plans," "projects," "forecasts" or similar
expressions, are "forward-looking statements." Although the
Company's management believes that such forward-looking statements
are reasonable, it cannot guarantee that such expectations are, or
will be, correct. These forward-looking statements involve a number
of risks and uncertainties, which could cause the Company's future
results to differ materially from those anticipated. Potential
risks and uncertainties include, among others, whether the Company
will be able to obtain external financing to fund the development
of plans for and the reopening and commencement of production at
the Relief Canyon Mine, results of planned exploration and infill
and step-out drilling, interpretations or reinterpretations of
geologic information or unfavorable exploration results that could
negatively affect estimates of mineralized material and gold
resources at Relief Canyon; delay or failure to obtain a third
party update of the Company's resource estimate, delay or inability
to obtain permits required for potential mine expansion, including
permits to mine the deposit below the water table, for exploration
and other activities; general economic conditions and conditions
affecting the industries in which the Company operates; the
uncertainty of regulatory requirements and approvals; decreases in
gold and other mineral and commodity prices; risks of junior
exploration and pre-production activities; and maintenance of
important business relationships. Additional information regarding
the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from
these forward-looking statements is available in the Company's
filings with the SEC including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the year ended December 31,
2013. The Company assumes no obligation to update any of the
information contained or referenced in this press release.
www.PershingGold.com
SOURCE Pershing Gold Corporation