Hardrock returns rich grades for Premier Gold Mines

The past-producing mines that make up today’s Hardrock project in northwestern Ontario collectively turned out more than 2 million ounces of gold from shallow deposits within 600 metres of surface between 1938 and 1968.

Now, more than thirty years later, joint-venture partners Premier Gold Mines (PG-T) and Roxmark Mines (RMK-V) are taking a second look at the mined zones, which have remained open at depth since mining ceased in the 1960s.

Drill results from Hardrock’s Tenacity zone appear to warrant the second look. Results from the zone include intersects of 16.86 grams gold per tonne across 5.5 metres; 17.4 metres grading 1.93 grams gold and 12.4 metres returning 2.36 grams gold.

Drilling has also confirmed high-grade gold within a narrow and deeper vein target beneath the Tenacity zone called the KL zone. That zone returned intersections of 40.2 grams gold per tonne across 1 metre and 17.45 grams gold per tonne across 1.9 metres.

True widths in both zones are estimated at approximately 70% of intersection widths.

“Gold mineralization found over appreciable widths in multiple horizons support our view that a sizeable gold resource will be delineated on the project,” Ewan Downie, Premier’s president said in a statement.

Premier and Roxmark believe there are several options at Hardrock including the potential for an open pit at the site of the original discovery where previous operators drilled off several hundred thousand ounces of gold; newer high-grade discoveries that have not yet received follow up; resource blocks that remain within the mine workings; and the main mined zones that remain open below the 600 metre level.

The Hardrock project is in the heart of the Beardmore-Geraldton Greenstone belt, a highly prospective high-grade gold district that has seen relatively little exploration over the past several decades.

Premier Gold is the operator of the joint venture earning a 70% interest, with Roxmark holding the remaining 30%.

In the Tenacity zone, drilling has defined open-pit style mineralization over a strike length of about 400 metres and the companies are now testing for higher-grade mineralization that could be amenable to mining from a ramp below the potential pit workings.

The joint-venture partners expect to complete a National Instrument 43-101 compliant resource estimate in the fourth quarter of 2009.

At presstime Premier Gold was trading at $1.97 per share with a 52-week trading range of $1.05-$3.14 per share and 78.1 million shares outstanding.

Roxmark was trading at 12¢ per share with a 52-week trading range of 3¢-19¢ per share and 151.9 million shares outstanding.