Atna advances Pinson project

Atna Resources (ATN-T) has begun underground drilling on the Range Front zone at the Pinson mine property in north-central Nevada.

The drilling is aimed at delineating the Range Front zone ahead of a bulk sampling program slated for late October. The company has established two underground drill stations to complete three diamond drill hole fans over a 100-ft. pierce-point pattern on the Range Front zone. The company has also begun cutting a hanging wall tunnel parallel to the strike of the zone.

The Range Front zone hosts a major portion of Pinson’s measured and indicated resources, which stand at 1. 8 million tons grading 0.3 oz. gold per ton, based on a cutoff of 0.15 oz. The balance of the resource lies in the sub-parallel CX zone about 600 ft. away. Inferred resources in the two zones weigh in at 4.2 million tons running 0.32 oz. per ton. Both zones remain open along strike and at depth.

Atna also has two core drills testing the upper portion of the Range Front zone from surface. Earlier this spring, pre-collar reverse-circulation drilling on the upper portion of the zone encountered some unanticipated zones of gold mineralization including:

• Hole 231 5 ft. (beginning 640 ft. below surface) grading 0.18 oz. gold per ton;
• Hole 232 — 15 ft. (from 305 ft.) of 0.11 oz;
• Hole 233 45 ft. (from 515 ft.) of 0.19 oz., including the first 10 ft. of 0.53 oz.; and
• Hole 236 5 ft. (form 280 ft.) running 0.37 oz., and 65 ft. (from 350 ft.) averaging 0.12 oz., including the first 5 ft. grading 0.45 oz.

In all, some 16,000 ft. worth of drilling, in 21 holes, is planned from surface; the core drilling is deepening the pre-collar holes with an eye toward converting the Range Front zone’s indicated and inferred resources to a measured resource.

Meanwhile, Atna plans to bring in a second drill to test the recently discovered Ogee zone, which was cut during adit development from earlier this summer The adit was collared in the lower bench of the CX open pit.

Channel sampling on the south and north walls of the Ogee zone earlier this summer (and more recent check samples) yielded up to17 ft. of 1 oz. gold per ton and 22 ft. of 0.9 oz., respectively. The Ogee zone trends nearly perpendicular to the adit and thus the widths are believed to represent true widths.

Atna plans to expand an existing stub for a future decline by about 300 ft. parallel to the zone to allow for better drill access.

Meanwhile, Atna continues underground development, and has completed a 28-inch dewatering well; piping work will soon begin. Power line and switchgear installation has begun to bring sufficient electric power to run underground drills, jumbo, and ventilation systems.

Atna has an option to earn a 70% interest in the Pinson project from Barrick Gold (ABX-T). The company intends to complete a prefeasibility study to meet it’s earn-in requirements before the end of the year.