Premier Gold Mines (TSX: PG; US-OTC: PIRGF) has released an updated resource for the Getchell gold project in Nevada. Last month, the company announced a definitive purchase agreement for the asset with Waterton Global Resource Management.
Measured and indicated resources at Getchell consist of 21 million tonnes at 2.16 grams gold per tonne for 1.5 million oz. gold, with an additional 2.8 million inferred tonnes at 7.23 grams per tonne gold for 646,000 oz. gold.
While the majority of these resources are pit-constrained, 562,000 measured and indicated tonnes, at 10.49 grams gold, and 1.5 million inferred tonnes, at 11.9 grams gold, are modelled within underground stope shapes.
"The grades of both the open-pit and underground deposits rank amongst the highest in North America and our future focus will be to advance both to production," Ewan Downie, the company's president and CEO, stated in a news release. "Within our Nevada division, the Getchell project will become our largest resource, in terms of contained gold resources, and we are confident that it will quickly advance to potentially become our flagship Nevada project."
A number of zones with continuous mineralization, defined by historical drilling, were excluded from this latest estimate, as they were missing original assay certificates. All of the known gold zones at Getchell remain open.
Also in August, the company announced plans to spin out its Nevada-based assets to shareholders. If the spinout goes ahead, Getchell would be included in the transaction.
Getchell lies at the intersection of the Getchell gold belt with the Battle Mountain-Eureka trend, just south of the Nevada Gold Mines' Turquoise Ridge underground operation. Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD) owns 61.5% of the joint-venture, while Newmont Mining (TSX: NGT; NYSE: NEM) holds the remaining 38.5%.
At press time in Toronto, Premier Gold Mines was trading at $2.71 per share within a 52-week trading range of 86 ? and $3.04. The company has 237 million common shares outstanding for a $643-million market capitalization.
- This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal.