COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho, April 13, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New Jersey Mining Company (OTCQB:NJMC) (“NJMC” or the “Company”) today provided an update on its efforts to expand the open pit at its 100-percent owned Golden Chest Mine project in north Idaho.
In 2016, NJMC identified a mineable open pit directly above the main Golden Chest portal. The Company began pit excavation and began ore shipments to its New Jersey Mill in late-2016.
NJMC seeks to expand the open pit from its initial “starter pit” design of 13,000 tonnes. In addition to blast hole assay analysis and comprehensive modeling, the Company has commenced a trenching program to test the viability of pit expansion. An initial trench, on strike to the north and about 50 meters from the pit wall, revealed two narrow high-grade veins assaying 17.2 grams per tonne (gpt) gold over 0.4 meters and 22.4 gpt gold across 0.2 meters.
Video of the trenching, along with recent blasting and mining of the 1075 and 1072 benches, can be viewed in the photo gallery on the NJMC website at www.newjerseymining.com.
Modern exploration, including nearly 30,000 meters of drilling, reveals seven northwest-trending ore shoots at Golden Chest that demonstrate strong periodicity, consistent width and spacing, along the Idaho Fault. The open pit is located at the surface expression of the Golden Chest Shoot, just northeast of the Skookum Shoot, the location of the new underground development. Besides testing to expand the current open pit, NJMC plans to trench at or near the surface expression of other ore shoots to determine the possibility of other mineable open pits along the Idaho Fault.
NJMC President John Swallow stated, “These initial results are very encouraging. The trenching program supports our goal of expanding the current open pit and extending overall mine life at the Golden Chest. Trenching and blast hole assaying will also help us refine our working hypothesis that the individual ore shoots may extend from their respective surface expressions to the underground development and untested areas beneath them. Extensive past drilling by NJMC and Marathon Gold in 2011 and 2012 supports this theory and we believe the potential for vertical continuity may occur at the Skookum and Golden Chest shoots and also in the historically mined shoots to the north.”
About New Jersey Mining Company
New Jersey Mining Company is headquartered in north Idaho, where it is currently in production at its Golden Chest Mine. It is deploying its mining and milling expertise to build a portfolio of advanced-stage assets with near-term cash flow potential and leverage to higher gold prices.
- NJMC owns and operates the Golden Chest Mine project where open pit mining is underway and underground mining is expected to resume early this year.
- NJMC also holds a 50-percent interest in the fully-permitted Butte Highlands Gold Project.
- NJMC built and is majority owner and operator of the New Jersey Mill, a 360-tonne per day flotation mill and cyanide leach plant.
Company assets were developed with more than $50-million of investment dollars from New Jersey and other companies. Management owns more than 17-percent of NJMC stock and has participated in prior financings and made purchases in the open market.
The Company’s common stock trades on the OTC-QB Market under the symbol “NJMC.” For more information on New Jersey Mining Company go to www.newjerseymining.com.
