- 71.4 g/t (2.08 opt) gold and 40.1
g/t (1.17 opt) silver over 5.9 m (19.4 ft) in hole N11U-032
- including 177.3 (5.17 opt)
gold and 120.1 g/t (3.5 opt) silver over 0.5 m (1.6 ft)
- including 103.7 g/t (3.02
opt) gold and 52.4 g/t (1.53 opt) silver over 3.2 m (10.5 ft)
May 16, 2011 Vancouver, Canada - Fire
River Gold Corp (TSXV: FAU) (OTCQX: FVGCF) (FSE: FWR) ("FAU" or the
"Company") is pleased to announce additional high-grade results
obtained from holes drilled during its 2011, 28,000 metre drill program
at the Nixon Fork Gold Mine, situated in Alaska's Tintina Gold Belt. The
Company has received and confirmed assay results from drillhole N11U-032
at the 3300 Zone. A complete list of the intercepts form the 2011 drill
program is provided in Table 1 & 2. The widths of the intercepts
are approximate to the true width of the mineralized intercept.
The Company is currently operating two drills continuously in the
Crystal Mine. They are primarily focussed on detailing mineralized zones
scheduled for the first six months of mining, beginning in June 2011.
This includes filling in gaps in mineralization and extending open zones
along strike and dip. Hole N11-U032 targets the 3300 zone at the 220
meter mining elevation, which will be mined in the first six operating
months. Mining has already begun on the 203 level beneath this
intercept.
Illustration: Drillhole N11U-032 relative to
the 3300 Orebody
Table 1. Results from Holes N11U-001 to
N11U-018
Location 3000 Zone
Table 2. Results from Holes N11U-019 to
N11U-034
General Update on Progress in the Mine
The mine has begun stockpiling ore for the mid-June start up. Mill feed
will be obtained from the upper levels of the mine for the first six
months as the down-dip extensions of the orebodies are being accessed.
Stopes will be established at depth on the 3000 and 3300 orebodies to
replace the upper stopes as they are depleted.
The existing mobile equipment is being used
while awaiting the arrival of several new units. Two 20 t trucks, two 4
ydł scooptrams, a drill buggy, and a utility forklift have all been
purchased and will be arriving sporadically over the next 2 to 8 weeks.
The mine has one drill jumbo and one "long tom" rig, but is actively
seeking to purchase an additional unit. The current payroll of 50
workers includes 24 miners and diamond drillers. This will be increased
to 42 over the next two months.
Two development headings are being advanced: 1) the ramp is being
extended to depth to access the down-dip extensions of both the 3000 and
3300 orebodies and 2) the connection drift between the Crystal and
Mystery Mines is being developed to provide secondary egress, combine
ventilation systems, establish underground drill platforms for the zone
between the mines, and to bring the Mystery Mine into production in nine
months.
The mine is currently dry. Slimes have been mucked from the bottom of
the ramp leaving 1 foot of water. Past operators experienced seasonal
inflows into the mine from the spring melt. This has not been our
experience over the past two seasons. A 200,000 gallon dammed reservoir
is being constructed at the 190 metre level and is nearing completion.
Seasonal groundwater inflow, if experienced, will be pumped into this
reservoir, which will then be used as the source of drill water
throughout the mine. The old ramp bottom will be used as a sump for both
development drives. Rather than extend the old ramp, the new down ramp
was located in the less permeable limestone as per the recommendations
of an existing Golder Associates report from 2006.
Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC)
Rigorous controls are in place to ensure the traceability of samples and
their results. Upon delivery core is prepped and logged with intervals
of interest and/or mineralization marked for sampling. The core is
subsequently photographed prior to cutting. Half the core is retained
for future reference and the remaining half placed in double poly bags
and sealed for shipment. Samples are delivered to ALS Chemex in
Fairbanks, AK where they are dried, crushed, and representative splits
are transported to ALS Chemex labs in either Reno, NV or Vancouver, BC
for assay. ALS Chemex complies with the requirements for the
International Standards ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 17025:1999. Analysis
includes Fire Assay with gravimetric finish for gold and ICP for 33
other elements. Gold assays results greater than 5 ppm are automatically
re-submitted for screen metallic analysis.
QA/QC is verified using external standards, blanks, and duplicates with
13% of all samples submitted being QA/QC check samples. Results are
examined ensuring control samples fall within 2.5 standard deviations of
certified values. Failed results are re-analyzed by the lab and/or
additional samples from the remaining core are submitted for analysis.
Nixon Fork Gold Mine
The Nixon Fork Gold Mine was acquired in September 2009. From 1995 -
2007, the project produced approximately 175,000 ounces of gold at an
average grade of 39 grams per ton (1.14 opt). The mining and processing
facilities at Nixon Fork are permitted and bonded. The deposit is a
gold-rich copper silver skarn typical of other skarn systems found
throughout the world. At Nixon Fork, the higher grades are found in
steeply plunging pipe-like bodies that are oxidized to depths of up to
350 meters below the surface. Oxidization of the system has resulted
both in secondary copper and gold, with high grades and a "nuggety"
distribution.
The Qualified Person for this news release is Richard Goodwin, P.Eng,
President & C.O.O for Fire River Gold.
About Fire River Gold Corp.
Fire River Gold Corp. is a near term production company with an
experienced technical team focused on bringing its flagship project, the
Nixon Fork Gold Mine, back into production in Summer 2011. The
Nixon Fork Gold
Mine is a permitted and bonded mine which include a ~200 tpd
processing plant with a gravity gold circuit, sulphide flotation circuit
and a gold recovery system (CIL circuit) that is scheduled to be
completed by Summer 2011. The mine also includes a fleet of surface &
underground mining vehicles, a self-contained power plant, maintenance
facilities, drilling equipment, an 85 person camp, office facilities and
a 1.2 km long landing strip.
Fire River Gold Corp is a member of the International Metals Group.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, I look forward to keeping you
updated with our corporate developments.
"Richard Goodwin"
Richard Goodwin
President and COO
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. The TSX Venture Exchange or its Regulation Services
Provider have not reviewed and do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of the contents of this news release, which has been prepared
by management. We seek
safe harbour.
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