Reserves at South Arturo increased by 333%
with the addition of two deposits
THUNDER BAY, ON, Feb. 26, 2018 /CNW/ - PREMIER GOLD MINES
LIMITED ("Premier" or "The Company") (TSX:PG) is pleased to
provide an update of the Company's mineral reserves and mineral
resources (MRMR) effective December 31,
2017 at the Company's 40%-owned South Arturo Mine located in
the Carlin Trend of Nevada.
Results support an organic growth in MRMR through successful
exploration and technical de-risking of the Phase 1 and Phase 3
open pit projects as well as the El Nino underground project.
The South Arturo Mine is a joint venture between Premier and
Barrick Gold Corporation's wholly-owned subsidiary of Barrick Gold
Exploration Inc. ("Barrick"). Barrick is the operator and processes
ore from South Arturo at its Goldstrike facility located
approximately 5 kilometres to the south.
Highlights from the December 31,
2017 MRMR statements include:
- An increase of 333% in mineral reserves to 270,000 ozs gold
at 3.18 g/t.
- Initial Phase 3 Open Pit M&I mineral resources of
275,000 ozs gold (exclusive of reserves).
- El Nino underground resources and reserves are in excess of
9.00 g/t Au
"Reserve and resource growth was a key focus at the Project in
2017" stated Ewan Downie, President
& CEO on the Company's C-Suite Blog
(http://www.premiergoldmines.com/news/c-suite-blog). "The
substantial addition of mineral reserves and resources on several
deposits at South Arturo confirms our belief this project will be a
solid long-term producing asset that is expected to have a
significant impact on our goal to become a mid-tier producer."
Table 1: South Arturo mineral reserves for gold as of
Dec 31, 2017 (attributable to
Premier)
|
|
|
|
GOLD
(Au)
|
PROVEN
RESERVES
|
PROBABLE
RESERVES
|
PROVEN+PROBABLE
RESERVES
|
PROPERTY
|
Tonnes
(Mt)
|
Grade
(g/t
Au)
|
Au
Ounces
(000's)
|
Tonnes
(Mt)
|
Grade
(g/t
Au)
|
Au
Ounces
(000's)
|
Tonnes
(Mt)
|
Grade
(g/t
Au)
|
Au
Ounces
(000's)
|
South Arturo (Phase 1
O/P)
|
1.51
|
3.27
|
159
|
1.04
|
2.52
|
84
|
2.55
|
2.97
|
243
|
South
Arturo (El Nino U/G)
|
<0.01
|
12.85
|
1
|
0.08
|
9.57
|
25
|
0.09
|
9.70
|
27
|
TOTAL
|
1.51
|
3.30
|
160
|
1.12
|
3.04
|
109
|
2.63
|
3.18
|
270
|
SILVER
(Au)
|
PROVEN
RESERVES
|
PROBABLE
RESERVES
|
PROVEN+PROBABLE
RESERVES
|
PROPERTY
|
Tonnes
(Mt)
|
Grade
(g/t
Ag)
|
Ag
Ounces
(000's)
|
Tonnes
(Mt)
|
Grade
(g/t
Ag)
|
Ag
Ounces
(000's)
|
Tonnes
(Mt)
|
Grade
(g/t
Ag)
|
Ag
Ounces
(000's)
|
South Arturo (Phase 1
O/P)
|
1.14
|
3.27
|
615
|
1.04
|
14.97
|
500
|
2.18
|
13.60
|
1,115
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL
|
1.14
|
3.27
|
615
|
1.04
|
3.04
|
500
|
2.18
|
13.60
|
1,115
|
As reported
by Barrick Gold at www.barrick.com; See the Endnotes
at the end of this press release. Totals may not add
correctly due to rounding.
|
Premier purchased its interest in the South Arturo property in
mid-2015 and production commenced in August
1, 2016. Initially, the property hosted a mineral reserve
within the Phase 2 open pit of 155,000 ounces attributable to
Premier. Mined production (contained ounces) was more than 190,000
ounces. Premier estimates that some 30,000 ounces currently remain
stockpiled (ARSO and/or roaster) at Goldstrike, of which 5,000 and
10,000 ounces reside in the 2018 production guidance. Final
production at Phase 2 represents a 23% increase above the initial
reserve estimate.
Phase 1 open pit project
Development of the Phase 1 open pit is scheduled to begin in
mid-2018. This project will be one of the first North
American mines operated by Barrick that will include autonomous
mining equipment that could provide for reduced mining costs.
Open Pit (O/P) mineral reserves presented in Table 1 represent
Premier's portion of the current mine plan of the Phase 1 open pit
project.
Table 2: South Arturo mineral resources as of Dec 31, 2017 (attributable to Premier &
exclusive of reserves)
|
|
|
|
GOLD
(Au)
|
MEASURED
RESOURCES
|
INDICATED
RESOURCES
|
INFERRED
RESOURCES
|
PROPERTY
|
Tonnes
(Mt)
|
Grade
(g/t
Au)
|
Au
Ounces
(000's)
|
Tonnes
(Mt)
|
Grade
(g/t
Au)
|
Au
Ounces
(000's)
|
Tonnes
(Mt)
|
Grade
(g/t
Au)
|
Au
Ounces
(000's)
|
South Arturo (Phase 3
O/P)
|
1.95
|
1.19
|
74
|
5.58
|
1.12
|
201
|
0.50
|
0.45
|
7
|
South Arturo
(El Nino U/G)
|
<0.01
|
9.99
|
1
|
0.04
|
9.19
|
10
|
0.08
|
9.37
|
24
|
TOTAL
|
1.95
|
1.20
|
75
|
5.61
|
1.17
|
211
|
0.58
|
1.66
|
31
|
SILVER
(Ag)
|
MEASURED
RESOURCES
|
INDICATED
RESOURCES
|
INFERRED
RESOURCES
|
PROPERTY
|
Tonnes
(Mt)
|
Grade
(g/t
Ag)
|
Ag
Ounces
(000's)
|
Tonnes
(Mt)
|
Grade
(g/t
Ag)
|
Ag
Ounces
(000's)
|
Tonnes
(Mt)
|
Grade
(g/t
Ag)
|
Ag
Ounces
(000's)
|
South Arturo (Phase 3
O/P)
|
1.95
|
6.93
|
434
|
5.58
|
6.14
|
1,102
|
0.50
|
3.83
|
61
|
South Arturo
(El Nino U/G)
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
TOTAL
|
1.95
|
6.92
|
434
|
5.58
|
6.14
|
1,102
|
0.50
|
3.83
|
61
|
As reported by
Barrick Gold at www.barrick.com; See the Endnotes at the end of
this press release.
|
Resources that are
not reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability; Totals
may not add correctly due to rounding
|
El Nino underground project
Table 1 and Table 2 represent the underground (U/G) mineral
reserves and resources presented for the current mining scenario
envisioned for the El Nino deposit. The deposit is
essentially a down-plunge extension of the recently completed Phase
2 open pit that remains open on strike and at depth. Planning
is underway to drive a development/access ramp in the second half
of 2018.
Phase 3 open pit project
Open pit mineral resources presented in Table 3 represent the
resource detail related to a potential Phase 3 open pit scenario
that includes a high grade core comprised of 344,000 tonnes at 8.16
g/t Au and 90,000 ounces attributable to Premier. The Phase 3
deposit remains open for expansion where drilling is expected to
continue in
2018.
Table 3 Phase 3 M+I mineral resources for gold by process
type (attributable to Premier & exclusive of reserves)
|
|
|
|
GOLD
(Au)
|
MEASURED
RESOURCES
|
INDICATED
RESOURCES
|
M+I
RESOURCES
|
PROCESS
ROUTING
|
Tonnes
(t)
|
Grade
(g/t
Au)
|
Au
Ounces
(000's)
|
Tonnes
(t)
|
Grade
(g/t
Au)
|
Au
Ounces
(000's)
|
Tonnes
(Mt)
|
Grade
(g/t
Au)
|
Au
Ounces
(000's)
|
Arturo AMW
Stockpile
|
61,602
|
1.25
|
2,471
|
|
|
|
61,602
|
1.25
|
2,471
|
Mill Rte
1
|
174,407
|
2.67
|
14,997
|
691,140
|
2.85
|
63,240
|
865,547
|
2.81
|
78,237
|
Roaster Rte
1
|
86,183
|
9.30
|
25,760
|
257,506
|
7.77
|
64,352
|
343,689
|
8.16
|
90,112
|
Rom Leach Rte
1
|
486,495
|
0.44
|
6,923
|
1,964,553
|
0.44
|
27,866
|
2,451,048
|
0.44
|
34,789
|
Mill Rte
2
|
99,642
|
1.17
|
3,734
|
138,757
|
1.23
|
5,474
|
238,399
|
1.20
|
9,208
|
Roaster Rte
2
|
70,537
|
1.50
|
3,403
|
129,091
|
1.26
|
5,237
|
199,628
|
1.35
|
8,641
|
Rom Leach Rte
2
|
972,151
|
0.55
|
17,098
|
2,395,342
|
0.45
|
34,467
|
3,367,493
|
0.48
|
51,564
|
TOTAL
|
1,951,017
|
1.19
|
74,386
|
5,576,388
|
1.12
|
200,636
|
7,527,405
|
1.14
|
275,022
|
As reported by
Barrick Gold at www.barrick.com; See the Endnotes at the end of
this press release.
|
Resources that are
not reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability; Totals
may not add correctly due to rounding
|
Mineral Reserves and Resources Endnotes
- Mineral reserves ("reserves") and mineral resources
("resources") have been estimated as at December 31, 2017 in accordance with National
Instrument 43-101 as required by Canadian securities regulatory
authorities. Calculations have been prepared by Barrick Gold
Corporation ("Barrick"). Except as noted below, reserves have been
estimated based on an assumed gold price of US$1,200 per ounce, an assumed silver price of
US$16.50 per ounce. Reserve
estimates incorporate current and/or expected mine plans and cost
levels at each property. Varying cut-off grades have been used
depending on the mine and type of ore contained in the reserves.
Barrick's normal data verification procedures have been employed in
connection with the calculations. Verification procedures include
industry-standard quality control practices. Resources as at
December 31, 2017 have been estimated
using varying cut-off grades, depending on both the type of mine or
project, its maturity and mineralization types at each property.
For a breakdown of reserves and resources by category and for a
more detailed description of the key assumptions, parameters, and
methods used in estimating Barrick's reserves and resources, see
Barrick's most recent Annual Information Form/Form 40-F on file
with Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities.
- In confirming annual reserves at South Arturo, Barrick conducts
a reserve test on December 31 of each
year to verify that the future undiscounted cash flow from reserves
is positive. The cash flow ignores all sunk costs and only
considers future operating and closure expenses as well as any
future capital costs.
- The QA/QC system employed by Barrick at South Arturo included
the insertion of standard samples, blank samples, and duplicate
samples into the sample stream. Certified standards, blanks, and
field duplicates have randomly been inserted into the sample
stream. Assay results are electronically e-mailed from the assay
laboratory to the Barrick Exploration Office. Upon passing a QA/QC
protocol, the results are downloaded into Barrick's assay database.
Check analyses are done on pulps and/or rejects at American Assay
in Reno, Inspectorate in
Reno, and ALS Chemex in
Reno and Vancouver.
- Premier is not aware of any known legal, political,
environmental or other risks that could materially affect the
potential development of the mineral resources or mineral
reserves.
All abbreviations used in this press release are available at
this link. (click here)
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.
Premier Gold Mines Limited is a gold producer and
respected exploration and development company with a high-quality
pipeline of precious metal projects in proven, accessible and safe
mining jurisdictions in Canada,
the United States, and
Mexico. Premier's team is focused
on creating a low-cost, mid-tier gold producer through its two
producing gold mines; and two advanced multi-million ounce
development projects where permitting and pre-construction
initiatives are in progress.
This Press Release contains certain information that may
constitute "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian
securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but
is not limited to, statements about the estimation of mineral
resources and mineral reserves. Forward-looking information is
necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while
considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks,
uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results
and future events to differ materially from those expressed or
implied by such forward-looking information, including the risks
inherent to the mining industry, adverse economic and market
developments and the risks identified in Premier's annual
information form under the heading "Risk Factors". There can be no
assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as
actual results and future events could differ materially from those
anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not
place undue reliance on forward-looking information. All
forward-looking information contained in this press release is
given as of the date hereof and is based upon the opinions and
estimates of management and information available to management as
at the date hereof. Premier disclaims any intention or obligation
to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as
required by law.
SOURCE Premier Gold Mines Limited