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June 14, 2010. Vancouver, Canada - Fire
River Gold Corp. (TSX-V: FAU; OTCQX: FVGCF; FSE: FWR) ("FAU" or the
"Company") would like to provide this update regarding the progress of
work on the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the tailings
re-processing option at the Nixon Fork Mine.
The previous operator of the mine designed and partially installed a 250
tpd CIL circuit for the purpose of recovering gold from the impounded
tails and increasing gold recovery from ongoing mining operations (refer
to news release dated April 6, 2010 for an overview of the tailings
reprocessing program). The Company's original plan was to complete
construction according to the last operator's design with only minor
modifications and enhancements as required. This Base Case has no
provision for recycling cyanide in the circuit - all leaching solution
is passed to a cyanide destruct circuit at the end of the process. It
has become obvious through the course of work on the PEA that economics
of the Base Case will be significantly enhanced by recycling the cyanide
solution, reducing reagent consumption and the associated purchase and
transportation costs.
Three alternatives are being evaluated: 1) use an existing thickener
after the CIL process to recycle cyanide solution and thereby decreasing
the cyanide destruct circuit operating cost, 2) installation of a new
filter to further increase cyanide recycle and reduce cyanide
destruction requirements and associated costs, and 3) assess the
benefits of installing a Merrill Crowe system for gold recovery with
shipment of gold bars rather than loaded carbon off site.
To properly assess these enhancements additional test work is required,
which is being performed at the PRA Metallurgical Lab in Richmond, BC.
G.R. Rawsthorne and Associates is overseeing this work on behalf of the
company. The company is now projecting completion and release of the
preliminary economic assessment on the tailings program by late July.
High Grade Tailings
Due to a previous production average of 42 g/t (1.4 oz/t) and a recovery
rate of 83%, Fire River Gold is in the process of completing a resource
estimate on Nixon Fork Gold Mine's high grade tailings pond. In 2009 the
company began a $1.25M evaluation of the project to confirm the status
of the geological work, confirm both the gold grade from the tailings
pond, and further metallurgical assessment through test work. The
evaluation program is continuing into 2010, with key milestones
including a determination of a go, no-go decision for completing the CIL
circuit to process tailings by Fall 2010; defining exploration targets
for underground and surface drilling commencing in Summer 2010; the
preparation of a new resource estimate for the property by Fall 2010,
and the determination of a go, no-go decision for the resumption of
underground mining by the end of the year.
Past Production Averages
About Fire River Gold Corp.
Fire River Gold Corp. is a near term production company with a superior
technical team focused on bringing its flagship project: the Nixon Fork
Gold Mine, back into production within the next 12 months. The Nixon
Fork Gold Mine is a fully permitted and bonded gold mine with past
production values averaging 1.4 opt (42 gpt). Nixon Fork is located
within Alaska's Tintina Gold Belt, which hosts numerous world class
deposits. Fire River Gold is a member of the International Metals Group
(www.internationalmetalsgroup.com)
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
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"Harry Barr"
Harry Barr
President & CEO
Certain information regarding the Company including management's
assessment of future plans and operations, may constitute forward-looking
statements under applicable securities laws and necessarily involve risks
associated with mining exploration and development, volatility of prices,
currency fluctuations, imprecision of resource estimates, environmental and
permitting risks, access to labour and services, competition from other
companies and ability to access sufficient capital. As a consequence, actual
results may differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking
statements. A feasibility study has not been completed and there is no certainty
the disclosed targets will be reached nor that the proposed operations will be
economically viable. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange)
accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. We seek
safe harbour.
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