Fire River Gold Corp. produces excellent gold results from geological re-assessment work at Nixon Fork Gold Mine, Alaska
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- Geological re-assessment work 30% complete; resource update Fall 2010
- Significant Previously Undisclosed Results:
- 1.8 opt (61 g/t) Au over 13 ft (4.0 m) in hole N08U007
- 2.9 opt (99 g/t) Au over 1.3 ft (0.4 m) and 1.2 opt (41 g/t) Au
over 12.5 ft (3.8 m) in hole N08U017
- 2.4 opt (84 g/t) Au over 1.6 ft (0.5 m) in hole in hole N08U018
- 4.1 opt (140 g/t) Au over 15.1 ft (4.6 m), including 21.4 opt (729
g/t) Au over 2.0 ft (0.6 m) in hole N08U011 re-assay
- Results pending for 90 more holes
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VANCOUVER, March 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Fire River Gold Corp. (TSX-V: FAU, OTCQX: FVGCF, FSE: FWR) ("FAU" or the "Company") is pleased to announce bonanza gold results from its ongoing geological re-evaluation program for the Nixon Fork Gold Mine Project in Alaska. In the years 2007 to 2008, the former operator drilled 9400 metres in 110 holes, the results of which have never been previously disclosed to the public. All holes were drilled after the last mining campaign and are thus available for inclusion into an updated resource estimate, scheduled for release in the Fall of 2010. This news release covers the first 20 holes drilled in 2008, as shown in Table 1. Results for the remaining 90 holes will be released over the next few months as re-logging work is performed and intercept grades are verified through re-assaying select intervals.
To view maps and tables attached to this news release, please visit: http://www.firerivergold.com/s/NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=390474
Table 1: Complete List of Drillhole Intercepts for 20 Holes Drilled in
2008
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Width Width Au Au
Hole # From To (ft) (m) (opt) (g/t) Location
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N08U002 242.8 243.3 1.6 0.5 0.1 3.3 Southern Cross
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N08U002 222.5 223.1 2.0 0.6 0.1 3.1 Southern Cross
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N08U003 235.3 238.7 11.2 3.4 0.3 11.2 Southern Cross
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N08U006 83.8 85 3.9 1.2 0.2 6.41 3300 Zone
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N08U007 91 95 13.1 4.0 1.8 60.9 3300 Zone
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N08U008 79.5 83 11.5 3.5 0.2 6.8 3300 Zone
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N08U011 71.6 74.3 8.9 2.7 0.4 14.3 3300 Zone
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N08U012 78.3 83.8 18.0 5.5 0.6 21.9 3300 Zone
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N08U012 76 77.2 3.9 1.2 0.1 3.8 3300 Zone
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N08U013 87 88.8 5.9 1.8 0.1 3.5 3300 Zone
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N08U014 83.8 86 7.2 2.2 0.4 13.1 3300 Zone
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N08U016 83.4 84 2.0 0.6 0.1 4.0 3300 Zone
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N08U016 84.9 86.1 3.9 1.2 0.1 3.1 3300 Zone
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N08U016 33.5 34 1.6 0.5 0.1 3.0 3300 Zone
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N08U017 26.4 26.8 1.3 0.4 2.9 99.0 3300 Zone
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N08U017 21.5 25.3 12.5 3.8 1.2 40.9 3300 Zone
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N08U017 35.2 37.5 7.5 2.3 0.7 24.9 3300 Zone
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N08U017 28 29.1 3.6 1.1 0.2 5.7 3300 Zone
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N08U017 32.2 32.8 2.0 0.6 0.1 4.0 3300 Zone
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N08U018 48.8 50 3.9 1.2 4.5 153.0 3300 Zone
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N08U018 19.5 20.5 3.3 1 2.7 93.0 3300 Zone
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N08U018 39 39.5 1.6 0.5 2.5 84.5 3300 Zone
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N08U018 44 44.8 2.6 0.8 0.8 25.8 3300 Zone
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N08U018 35.8 36.8 3.3 1 0.1 3.5 3300 Zone
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N08U018 46.2 46.8 2.0 0.6 0.1 3.1 3300 Zone
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N08U019 28.7 29.3 2.0 0.6 0.3 11.1 3300 Zone
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No significant intercepts were reported in holes N08U001, 004, 005, 009,
010, and 015.
The Nixon Fork Mine
The Nixon Fork Gold Mine, located near McGrath, Alaska, is a former producer with two recent campaigns of mining, detailed in Table 2.
Table 2: Production History of the Nixon Fork Gold Mine's Most Recent
Mining Campaigns
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Grade Mined
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Tonnes
Mining Period Mined Au (g/t) Au (opt) Au (g) Au (oz)
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1995 to 1999 122,381 42.0 1.22 5,136,118 165,130
2007 (6 mos) 18,105 17.1 0.50 309,635 9,955
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Total 140,486 38.8 1.13 5,445,753 175,085
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Recovered Recovered
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Tonnes
Mining Period Mined Au (g) Au (oz) Cu (kg) Cu (lbs)
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1995 to 1999 122,381 4,284,473 137,749 952,544 2,100,000
2007 (6 mos) 18,105 210,726 6,775 35,672 78,644
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Total 140,486 5,445,753 175,085 988,216 2,178,644
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The property has an operating gravity and flotation mill, two underground mines, 85 person camp, 2.7 MW power plant, 1200 m airstrip, and is fully permitted and bonded.
"We are in a very unique and advantageous situation at Nixon Fork", says Harry Barr, President and CEO of Fire River Gold, "The former owners have done all the heavy lifting and set up the operation with excellent facilities including permitting. Our task is to demonstrate that the Nixon Fork Gold Mine can be economically viable once again."
The Deposits
The deposit is a gold-rich copper silver skarn typical of other skarn systems found throughout the world. At Nixon Fork, the higher grades are found in steeply plunging pipe-like bodies which are oxidized to depths of up to 350 metres below the surface. Oxidization of the system has resulted both in secondary copper and gold, with high grades and a nuggety distribution.
Figure 1 shows approximately 1200 drill holes on a long section that define the Crystal and Mystery ore bodies. Intercepts of greater than 3 g/t are highlighted as well as projections of the mineralized zones. The Southern Cross is a prospective exploration target between the two mines that is largely unexplored.
Figure 1: Long Section of the Crystal and Mystery Ore Bodies
The Geologic Re-assessment Program
The re-assessment work is being led by Larry Hillesland, Manager of Geology (see March 2, 2010 press release). Mr. Hillesland manages a staff of six site geologists who are re-logging and re-assaying select critical mineralized intercepts from the property's approximately 73,000 metres of historic drill core.
Inconsistencies in the historic core logging have compromised the usefulness of the data. Re-logging the core with consistent rock identification and coding is critical to generating an accurate geologic model for the orebody. This work is estimated to be 30% complete. All drill hole intercepts reported in this release are in unmined areas and will be incorporated into an updated resource estimate, scheduled for completion by Fall 2010.
Included in this total is 9400 m of underground drilling in 110 holes that was completed in 2007 and 2008 by the last operator. These holes were intended to further define mineralized zones, testing for extensions of the 3300 ore zone as well as the Southern Cross zone between the Mystery and Crystal Mines, and to provide assistance with grade control.
"Results to-date from our current re-sampling and evaluation program have met, and in some cases, exceeded our expectations and have identified very promising grades amenable to mining." commented Larry Hillesland, Manager of Geology.
Quality Control
Because the 2007 and 2008 results were not formerly reported, a careful review of all quality control and quality assurance procedures used by the former operator was initiated. Assay certificates were verified with the digital database and the results from blank and certified standards were compiled. This review shows more than an adequate number of certified standards had been used along with numerous blanks and duplicates.
Five different gold standards were used in 2008 that ranged from 1.02 to 30.04 grams per tonne. These are commercial standards produced by Rock Labs. A total of 49 standards were submitted for this program. Acceptable values for standards form a range that lies between two standard deviations below the average and two standard deviations above the average.
During 2008, 22 of the submitted standards fell outside the acceptable limits. Of those 22 standards 17 were low to marginally low and generally within 3 standard deviations of the mean. Five of those standards reported values that were higher than the accepted limits. All blank samples submitted were in acceptable ranges and the duplicate samples showed typical variability for this type of gold system. FAU will replace the standards for ongoing assessment work.
Table 2 shows a list of significant intercepts for 28 holes of the 2008 drill program conducted by the last operator. Due diligence field duplicate check assays yielded significant results from 8 of the 28 drill holes. A total of 80 samples and 4 standard reference samples were checked against the 2008 results. This table generally lists any sample greater than 3 g/t Au, regardless of thickness. These results have exploration significance. Note that the widths of the intercepts are not necessarily the true width of the zone.
Fire River Gold's re-sampling program of drill core from the 2008 drilling at Nixon Fork was essentially a modified field duplicate exercise. The remaining half-cores were fully analyzed except in rare cases where quarter-cores were used. Sampling of core-duplicates as compared to pulp-duplicates can produce a high degree of variability in the results due to the "nugget effect" of gold mineralization that occurs at Nixon Fork.
Every effort was made to replicate the previous sample intervals unless a previous sample crossed a lithological or mineralized boundary. In these cases the new 2010 samples were terminated at such boundaries.
The differences in lengths of the intervals may account for some of the variability in gold grades. In general, the assays agree fairly well, especially for a comparison of field duplicate samples in a high-grade, coarse gold system.
Table 3: A Comparison of the Original to Check Assays for the 2008
Drilling.
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ORIGINAL ASSAYS CHECK ASSAYS
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Hole From To Length Au From To Length Au
Number meters meters meters g/t meters meters meters g/t
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Intercept Averages from about 1 to 10 gm
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N08U001 231.6 239.6 8.0 1.63 231.6 239.2 7.6 0.76
N08U003 235.3 238.7 3.4 11.23 234.7 239.3 4.6 6.31
Global
comparison 11.4 4.49 12.2 2.85
of Intercepts
(1 to 10 gm)
Intercept Averages from 10 to 30 gm
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N08U012 78.3 83.8 5.5 21.88 78.3 83.8 5.5 15.82
including 79.2 80.6 1.4 44.95 79.2 79.9 0.7 43.20
N08U017 35.2 37.5 2.3 24.85 34.6 37.5 2.9 18.68
Global
Comparison 7.8 22.76 8.4 16.12
of Intercepts
(10 to 30 gm)
Intercept Averages greater than 30 gm
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N08U011 71.60 76.20 4.6 8.67 71.6 76.2 4.6 139.97
including 73.20 74.30 1.1 30.05 72.6 73.2 0.6 729.00
73.2 74.7 1.5 106.00
N08U017 21.50 29.10 7.6 26.77 21.5 28.9 7.4 34.97
including 22.10 23.40 1.3 79.95 22.3 23.4 1.1 108.50
26.40 26.80 0.4 98.95 26.3 26.8 0.5 104.00
Global
comparison 12.2 19.92 12.2 73.99
of Intercepts
(greater than 30 gm)
Proposed 2010 Drill Program
A 20,000 m drill program is planned to begin in Spring 2010, 8,000 metres of which will be on surface to and 12,000 metres of which will be done underground in both the Crystal and Mystery Mines to confirm continuity of mineralization and extend mineralized zones.
The property has numerous additional exploration prospects on surface, as shown in Figure 2. The two existing mines are marked as squares in the upper left section of the drawing. The stars on the map indicate exploration prospects that have been identified by diamond drilling, trench sampling, and outcrops. The company plans to explore these with 8,000 metres of surface drilling beginning in Spring 2010. Management believes that there is the potential to not only expand resources in the existing mines, but to identify completely new zones for mining.
Figure 2: Mines and Prospects on the Nixon Fork Mine Property Claim
The geological resource assessment work will be carried on through the year and, coupled with results from the 2010 drill program; a resource will be estimated for the property and released in the Fall of 2010. A mine plan will be prepared and a production decision will be made for the resumption of underground mining by the end of 2010.
The project is being managed by Richard Goodwin, P.Eng., VP Mining for Fire River Gold and the Qualified Person for this news release.
About Fire River Gold Corp.
Fire River Gold Corp. is a junior exploration/development company focused on developing advanced stage gold projects in North America. The company's team of professionals, includes dedicate senior management, geologists, engineers, corporate finance, investor relations experts, corporate management, public company administrators and regulatory and government affairs specialists. Fire River Gold is publicly traded in Canada on the TSX Venture Exchange (FAU), in Germany on the Frankfurt Exchange (FWR) and on the United States' OTCQX exchange (FVGCF).
On behalf of Fire River Gold Corp.
Harry Barr
President & C.E.O.
Certain information regarding the Company including management's assessment of future plans and operations, may constitute forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws and necessarily involve risks associated with mining exploration and development, volatility of prices, currency fluctuations, imprecision of resource estimates, environmental and permitting risks, access to labour and services, competition from other companies and ability to access sufficient capital. As a consequence, actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. A feasibility study has not been completed and there is no certainty the disclosed targets will be reached nor that the proposed operations will be economically viable. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of accuracy of this release.
SOURCE Fire River Gold Corp.
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