Fronteer posts first drill results from Sandman for 2009

As part of its US$5 million work-program commitment on Fronteer Development Group‘s (FRG-T, FRG-x) Sandman project, a subsidiary of Newmont Mining Corp. (NMC-T, NEM-N) has completed drilling 30 holes so far this year and results for the first twelve are now out.

All 12 holes in the Southeast Pediment deposit intersected near-surface oxide gold mineralization with highlights such as 14.30 grams gold per tonne over 12.77 metres, including 72.36 grams gold per tonne over 1.86 metres (hole 55); and 139.03 grams gold per tonne over 2.35 metres (hole 57).

Other intervals included 8.41 grams gold per tonne over 2.13 metres (hole 62) and 5.93 grams gold per tonne over 1.22 metres (hole 60).

Silver was also present with assays of up to 121.03 grams silver per tonne over 1.52 metres.

The Sandman project is about 25 km west of Winnemucca in Nevada and has five identified gold deposits that are all open for expansion.The property’s high-grade gold mineralization occurs in multiple points along a 16-km trend. The deposits are near-surface and potentially amenable to open-pit mining.

Sandman sits along the King River Rift structure, a regional feature that hosts multiple high-grade vein-related gold systems, including the Sleeper gold mine and the Goldbanks deposit.

Sandman is within trucking distance to Newmont’s Twin Creeks mine, which would mean that if the project moves into production, Fronteer might not need to build a stand-alone mill.

Under the terms of the Sandman option and joint-venture agreement, Newmont can earn an initial 51% interest in the project by making a positive production decision by June 2011, spending a minimum of US$14 million on exploration and development, making a commitment to fund and construct a mine, and completing a feasibility study.

In Toronto at presstime, Fronteer was trading at C$2.83 per share. The company has traded in a 52-week range of C$1.55-$5.94 and has about 113.7 million shares outstanding.