Pretium’s record-breaking grades at Brucejack

VANCOUVER — Pretium Resources (PVG-T, PVG-N) continues to pull incredibly high gold hits from its Brucejack project in northern British Columbia.

On July 25 the company rushed out the results of a 3-metre section of hole SU-452 to publicize a record-breaking intercept of half-a-metre grading 41,582 grams gold and 27,725 grams silver uncut starting at 201 metres downhole.

The company has since followed up with the full results from the hole and by incorporating that record half-metre intercept, is reporting a 10-metre interval grading 2,393 grams gold per tonne and 1,605 grams silver per tonne uncut.

Overall hole SU-452 hit seven separate intervals grading over 20 grams gold, starting from a 0.5-metre interval grading 22.30 grams gold and 47.70 grams silver at 26 metres downhole and ending with a 1.4-metre interval averaging 30.20 grams gold and 35 grams silver starting at 307 metres downhole.

Other results from the latest round include hole SU-445 that hit 0.6-metre carrying 5,242 grams gold and 2,120 grams silver from 66 metres downhole; hole SU-447 that returned 0.5-metre averaging 3,660 grams gold and 1,750 grams silver; hole SU-434 that hit 0.5-metre carrying 2,400 grams gold and 1,610 grams silver from 291 metres downhole; and hole SU-440 that cut 0.5-metre carrying 1,140 grams gold and 665 grams silver.

The results all came from the Valley of the Kings, collared at the far western and eastern margins of the area, which now extends over 550 metres in length and remains open along strike and at depth.

On news of the highest-ever grades at Brucejack on July 25 Pretium’s share price jumped $1.18 or 8.9% to $14.49 with 757,000 shares traded. When the company outlined the full extent of the hole’s riches several days later its share price climbed 65¢ or 4.6% to $14.66 with 351,000 shares traded.

Other hits in its 25,000-metre 2012 surface drilling campaign include hole SU-407 that hit 0.5-metre grading 11,06 grams gold, hole SU-393 that returned 0.5-metre averaging 3,440 grams gold, and hole SU-376 that cut 0.65-metre carrying 6,142 grams gold.

Pretium has 88.1 million shares out following an $80.5-million financing in May at $14.50 per share.

The company plans to have an updated high-grade resource out in the third quarter and a feasibility study out in the first quarter of 2012. Pretium also plans to start an exploration decline from the West Zone historic works over to the Valley of the Kings sometime this year and start further surface step-out drilling.