Western Pacific Details Remaining Historic Gold Resources at Mineral Gulch Project
VANCOUVER, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Western Pacific Resources Corp. (WRP - TSXV) is pleased to announce that after a detailed review of the internal historic production and reserve / resource statistics for its Mineral Gulch project (formerly Pegasus Gold's Black Pine Mine) it is able to quantify the remaining historic gold resources at the project, as defined by Pegasus in 1996. Western acquired the project and the remaining gold resources through low cost staking in 2009.
For year-end 1996, Pegasus's internal production / reserve reconciliation reports document 32,984,600 tons of 0.0127 opt gold (29.9Mt @ 0.44g/t Au) for a total of 418,904 contained ounces of gold identified and drilled in anomalies outside the designed pits used for reserve definition. Mining activity at the Black Pine Mine ceased in 1997 as the price of gold plunged below $300 per ounce. The bulk of this mineralized material was not mined and is believed to be still in place within the greater Mineral Gulch project area.
Additionally, the end of year reconciliation defined close to 2 million tons of reserves remaining within the NE Tallman and C/D Pits grading 0.014 to 0.017 opt Au (1.8Mt @ 0.49 to 0.59 g/t Au), for total contained gold of 32,405 ounces.
Pegasus also defined 1,685,000 tons of 0.030 opt gold containing 50,550 ounces of gold (1.53Mt @ 1.03g/t Au) in 1992 in an anomaly known as the A Basin. These ounces were subsequently removed from the mineral inventory because the anomaly was partially covered by waste material extracted from the A Pit.
The cut off grade used to calculate the reserves was approximately 0.008 opt Au (0.25g/t Au).
--------------------------------------------------------- Tons Tonnes Au opt g/t Contained Material Au Ounces Type ------------------------------------------------------------------------- NE Tallman Pit Proven reserves 1,531,810 1,389,635 0.017 0.59 26,041 Oxide C/D Pit Proven reserves 454,518 412,332 0.014 0.49 6,364 Oxide Reserve Area Anomalies Proven reserves 32,984,600 29,923,125 0.0127 0.44 418,904 Oxide A Basin 1,685,000 1,528,606 0.030 1.03 50,550 Oxide -------------------------------------------------------------------------
At the time of the original reports by Pegasus, this material was categorized as reserves because the infrastructure was in place to extract the ore. Currently, the figures do not conform to the category of Reserves as defined in NI43-101 standards because all of the infrastructure and processing plant have been removed and they are being treated as historical resources. While Western Pacific believes that the exploration work, QA/QC and production reconciliation carried out by Pegasus was of high quality, a Qualified Person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources, Western Pacific is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources, and the historical estimate should not be relied upon.
On Going Exploration at Mineral Gulch
Regional reconnaissance sampling and pit wall sampling and mapping continue during the 2010 field season. Thus far, all pits have returned gold assays from certain rock chip and channel samples in excess of 2 grams/ton, as reported in past news releases. Gravity and magnetic surveys were recently completed to aid in defining mineralized structures and possible intrusive features. Interpretation of this new geophysical data is in progress. The original Noranda soil data set shows open contours to the north, west and south of survey boundaries. Additional soil lines will be run to complete this data set during the 2010 field season.
The drilling permit application forms have now been filed with the proper authorities. The Phase 1 drilling program consists of 33 holes placed over a large area of the property and strategically located to test mineralized structures defined by historic soil values and newly received pit wall sample assays. Field reviews with the agency representatives were conducted in late August and the permitting process has been initiated.
Infrastructure
The Mineral Gulch project is located along easily accessed, improved roads approximately five miles from US Interstate I-84 in Cassia County, Idaho. Power and water access is readily available.
Qualified Person
Curt Everson, MSc, PGeo, is Western Pacific's Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101, and has prepared or supervised the preparation of the disclosure of any scientific and technical information contained in this news release.
About Western Pacific
Western Pacific is a gold explorer focused on acquiring advanced-stage projects in the western United States, and has the right combination of exploration and financial professionals to succeed in making a world class gold discovery. For more information, please visit our website at www.westernpacificresources.com.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Warwick Smith, Chief Executive Officer
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
SOURCE Western Pacific Resources Corp.
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