Burnstone Gold Project: Execution of Mining Right and Environmental Management Program
February 25 2009 - 8:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
VANCOUVER, Feb. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Great Basin Gold Ltd,
("Great Basin Gold" or the "Company"), (TSX: GBG; NYSE Alternext:
GBG; JSE: GBG) announces the execution of its mining right, and the
approval of its environmental management program by the Department
of Minerals and Energy ("DME") for the Burnstone Gold Project in
South Africa. A mining right to allow the Company's wholly owned
subsidiary, Southgold Exploration (Pty) Ltd ("Southgold"), to mine
gold, silver and aggregate in the Burnstone mine area was initially
granted on October 28, 2008. This mining right was notarially
executed in the name of Southgold on February 17, 2009 by the DME
Regional Manager: Mpumalanga. The mining right is valid for an
initial period of 18 years from date of execution and gives
Southgold the right to mine for gold and silver in the mining area
known as Area 1. The Company will apply for an extension of the
licensing period, and will do so in terms of section 24 of the
Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 ("MPRDA"),
which makes provision for the renewal of the mining license for
periods not exceeding 30 years at a time. Simultaneously with the
execution of the mining right, the environmental management program
for Area 1 of the Burnstone Mine was approved by the DME. In terms
of section 23 (5) of the MPRDA, a mining right comes into effect on
the day the environmental management program is approved. The
mandatory legislative Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA") for
Area 2 has commenced. It is envisaged that the EIA will be
completed by September 2009, after which the DME will be approached
for approval to access this mining region by way of a twin decline
shaft. Currently approximately 7.5 million tonnes in Area 2 is in
the mine plan, which will initially extract approximately 50 000
tons of ore per month. Although Area 2 would be accessed by a
dedicated twin decline shaft, mining operations would share the
surface infrastructure currently established for Area 1, with the
exclusion of ventilation shafts. To date, 80 surface boreholes have
been drilled on Area 2. In addition to exploration drilling in Area
4, a further phase of surface drilling is planned to begin during
the second half of 2009 in Area 2, to evaluate the area of the
decline in more detail as well as confirm extensions of the
Kimberley Reef. Ferdi Dippenaar, President and CEO, commented:
"This is another important milestone in the history of Great Basin
Gold, as it clears the way for commercial mining at the Burnstone
project. We wish to extend our appreciation to the DME for all the
guidance and assistance over the past year which resulted in the
Company obtaining the mining right and thereby initiating the start
up one of the few new gold mines in South Africa in the past 30
years. We look forward to delivering a commercial mining operation
by June 2010." Johan Oelofse, PrEng, FSAIMM, Chief Operating
Officer for the Company and a qualified person, has reviewed this
news release on behalf of Great Basin Gold. Ferdi Dippenaar
President and CEO No regulatory authority has approved or
disapproved the information contained in this news release.
Cautionary and Forward Looking Statement Information This release
includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking
statements". All statements in this release, other than statements
of historical facts, that address possible future commercial
production, bank loan arrangements, reserve potential, exploration
drilling results, development, feasibility or exploitation
activities and events or developments that Great Basin Gold expects
to occur are forward-looking statements. Although the Company
believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking
statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are
not guarantees of future performance and actual results or
developments may differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results
to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements
include market prices for precious metals, credit availability,
development and exploration successes, continuity of
mineralization, uncertainties related to the ability to obtain
necessary permits, licenses and title and delays due to third party
opposition, geopolitical uncertainty, changes in government
policies regarding mining and natural resource exploration and
exploitation, and continued availability of capital and financing,
and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are
cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future
performance and those actual results or developments may differ
materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.
For more information on the Company, Investors should review the
Company's annual Form 40-F filing with the United States Securities
and Exchange Commission and its Canadian jurisdiction filings that
are available at http://www.sedar.com/. DATASOURCE: Great Basin
Gold Ltd. CONTACT: For additional details on Great Basin Gold Ltd.
and its gold properties, please visit the Company's website at
http://www.grtbasin.com/ or contact Investor Services: Tsholo
Serunye in South Africa, +27 (0)11 301 1800; Michael Curlook in
North America, 1-888-633-9332; Barbara Cano at Breakstone Group in
the USA, (646) 452-2334
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