LAKEWOOD, Colo., Nov. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Pershing Gold
Corporation (OTCQB:PGLC) ("Pershing Gold" or the "Company") is
pleased to announce that the Winnemucca District Office of the U.S.
Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") has approved an expanded drilling
program in the North Target Area at Pershing Gold's Relief Canyon
Mine in Pershing County, Nevada.
As shown on Figure 1, the North Target Area is located north
of the North Pit in a zone where the Company has already drilled
numerous holes this year with high-grade gold intercepts.
The permit authorizes Pershing Gold to construct 48 new drill
sites and associated access roads in the North Target Area.
Multiple holes can be drilled from each site, which gives the
Company optimal flexibility to drill holes at different angles and
in different directions from a single drill site to define the gold
mineralization in this part of the Relief Canyon deposit while at
the same time minimizing surface disturbance.
"Given our recent success drilling high-grade gold intercepts in
the North Target Area, additional drilling in this zone is an
important and exciting component of our deposit development
strategy at Relief Canyon," stated Stephen
D. Alfers, Pershing Gold's Chairman and CEO. "This permit
will allow us to systematically drill this area where there is
significant potential to increase the gold resource."
Key objectives of the North Target Area drilling program include
the following:
- Extend mineralization to the west where the deposit remains
open and largely untested;
- Drill core holes in several gold-bearing structural zones that
are only partially tested and delineated with historic reverse
circulation holes;
- Demonstrate continuity of the high-grade ore shells, which
management expects to increase the number of high-grade ounces and
improve project economics; and
- Confirm the grade and extent of gold mineralization by drilling
core holes in areas defined mainly by historic reverse circulation
holes, which has the potential to increase the overall resource as
well as to upgrade ounces classified as inferred in the current
resource to the measured and indicated resource
classification.
"Our aggressive drilling campaign at Relief Canyon will continue
as we steadily upgrade and expand the deposit," commented Alfers.
"We are very pleased to be in a position to step-up our efforts to
define the deposit through additional drilling and appreciate BLM's
review of our proposal for the drilling program in the North Target
Area." In addition to the North Target Area drilling program,
drilling is underway to test promising targets in the southwest
part of the deposit. The Company is planning to drill into 2015 and
has adequate funds for the planned drilling program, which is
anticipated to cost approximately $1.1
million.
Pershing Gold is planning to incorporate the results from
drilling completed since 2013, including the holes drilled in the
North Target Area, into an updated third-party resource estimate,
scheduled for completion in 2015. Once the new resource estimate is
published, the Company plans to complete an independent Preliminary
Economic Assessment on the Relief Canyon Project.
Scientific and Technical Data
All scientific and
technical information related to drill and surface samples for the
Relief Canyon project has been reviewed and approved by
Larry L. Hillesland, Certified
Professional Geologist, who is a Qualified Person under the
definitions established by Canadian National Instrument 43-101.
Drill core at Relief Canyon is boxed and sealed at the drill rig
and moved to the Relief Canyon logging and sample preparation
facilities by trained personnel. The core is logged and split down
the center using a typical table-fed circular rock saw. One half of
the core is sent for assay to Skyline Assayers & Laboratories
of Sparks, Nevada, while the other
half is returned to the core box and stored at Relief Canyon in a
secure, fenced-off, area. Pershing Gold Corporation quality
assurance/quality control (QA/QC) procedures include the regular
use of blanks, standards, and duplicate samples.
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 is
currently permitted to resume mining at Relief Canyon under the
existing Plan of Operations.
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.
Cautionary Note to United States Investors Regarding
Estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resources
We
use certain terms, or refer to reports that use these terms, in
this press release such as "measured", "indicated" and "inferred
resources", that are defined in Canadian National Instrument
43-101; however these terms are not recognized under the U.S. SEC
Industry Guide 7. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume
that any or all of measured, indicated or inferred resources are
economically or legally mineable or that these resources will ever
be converted into reserves. "Inferred mineral resources" have
a high degree of uncertainty as to their existence and it cannot be
assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will
ever be upgraded to a higher category. U.S. investors are
urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Annual Report on
Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other SEC
filings. You can review and obtain copies of these filings
from the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
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 planned
reopening and recommissioning of the Relief Canyon mine and
processing facilities, anticipated additional drilling and other
exploration on Pershing Gold's Relief Canyon properties and the
cost of planned drill programs, anticipated expansion and upgrade
of the Relief Canyon deposit as a result of drilling, planned
update of estimates of mineral resources and preparation of a
Preliminary Economic Assessment, interpretations of exploration
results and other geologic information at Relief Canyon, 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, inability to obtain external financing to fund the
development of plans for and the reopening and commencement of
production at the Relief Canyon Mine, planned exploration, or to
maintain property rights; higher drill program costs than
anticipated; interpretations or reinterpretations of geologic
information or unfavorable exploration results that could
negatively affect estimates of resources or completion of a
Preliminary Economic Assessment; delay or inability to obtain
permits required for planned production, 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.
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SOURCE Pershing Gold Corporation