WINNEMUCCA, Nev., Aug. 02, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Paramount Gold Nevada Corp. (NYSE American:PZG) (“Paramount”) announced today that assay results from five new holes drilled at the Grassy Mountain Project confirm the consistency of both the grade and thickness of the gold mineralization for economic underground mining and will likely enhance the mineable mineralized material. The 30-hole drill program is part of a Preliminary Feasibility Study (“PFS”) which Paramount is undertaking for construction and operation of an underground mine to exploit the high-grade gold core at its Grassy Mountain Project located on private ground in eastern Oregon.
The PFS drilling is primarily designed to convert underground measured and indicated resources to proven and probable reserves. Furthermore, the drilling has acquired material for additional metallurgical testing and geotechnical data, which are required to optimize precious metal recovery processes and to characterize the rock to determine the best mining method. Previous extensive met testing has demonstrated that a simple gravity process followed by leaching obtains excellent recoveries of both gold and silver. The PFS will also establish the parameters of a mining and milling operation, define capital and operating costs, and advance the project through the permitting process with the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”), Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (“DOGAMI”) and the local agencies of Malheur County. The PFS is scheduled for completion in early 2018.
The five holes announced today were drilled to better define both the high-grade zone which will be targeted for underground mining and the lower grade envelope, some of which could be incorporated within the PFS mine plan. All five holes reported good widths of higher-grade material suitable for underground mining. Highlights of these intercepts are as follows: Hole GM17-16 returned 49 meters of 2.91 g/T Au; GM17-17 reported 24.7 meters of 5.42 g/T Au; GM17-20 assayed 35 metres of 4.53g/T Au; GM17-21 cut 25.6 meters of 3.07 g/T Au; and GM17-22 reported 35.1 meters of 5.37 g/T Au. For the full assay results, see the table below.
Paramount CEO, Glen van Treek commented: “We are very pleased with these drill results which fully support our goal of developing a profitable underground mine at Grassy Mountain. All aspects of the PFS and permitting process remain on track thanks in part to the outstanding co-operation of the regulators.”
The tables below provide detailed assay results, objectives and observations for each drill hole:
| ID | Purpose | Depth (ft.) | Depth (m) | Az. | Dip | Specific objective | Observations |
| GM17-16 | Resource & Piezometer | 923 | 281.3 | 352 | -65 | Define high grade continuity &piezometer installation | Intersected the high-grade core zones as expected |
| GM17-17 | Resource | 929.5 | 283.3 | 337 | -60 | Define high grade lateral limit NW from hole Cal-008 | Intersected grades better than predicted by block model |
| GM17-20 | Resource & Piezometer | 856 | 260.9 | 350 | -80 | Infill & resource confirmation, piezometer for water monitoring | Intersected excellent widths of higher grade mineralization between two previous holes |
| GM17-21 | Resource & Piezometer | 832 | 253.6 | 154 | -70 | Infill & resource confirmation, piezometer for water monitoring | Returned a long intercept of mid-grade material containing sections of targeted higher-grade core zone. |
| GM17-22 | Resource | 953.5 | 290.6 | 338 | -63 | Infill & resource confirmation | Intersected an outstanding length of 82 m @ 3.58 Au g/T |
| Hole-ID | Type | From | To | Width | Width | Au | Ag | |
| (ft.) | (ft.) | (ft.) | (m.) | (g/T) | (g/T) | |||
| GM17-16 | Core & RC | 25 | 833 | 808 | 246 | 1.28 | 5.5 | |
| Including | 295 | 833 | 538 | 164.0 | 1.70 | 7.6 | ||
| Including | 672 | 833 | 161 | 49.1 | 2.91 | 7.8 | ||
| Including | 672 | 727 | 55 | 16.8 | 2.89 | 8.7 | ||
| Including | 769 | 784 | 15 | 4.6 | 4.65 | 6.3 | ||
| Including | 807 | 828 | 21 | 6.4 | 7.09 | 14.4 | ||
| GM17-17 | Core & RC | 200 | 921 | 721 | 219.8 | 1.85 | 8.7 | |
| Including | 544 | 581 | 37 | 11.3 | 3.28 | 38.9 | ||
| Including | 705 | 786 | 81 | 24.7 | 5.42 | 14.3 | ||
| Including | 831 | 876 | 45 | 13.7 | 3.59 | 6.0 | ||
| GM17-20 | Core & RC | 275 | 750 | 475 | 144.8 | 1.89 | 7.6 | |
| Including | 280 | 694 | 114 | 34.7 | 1.78 | 11.8 | ||
| including | 611 | 726 | 115 | 35 | 4.53 | 8.9 | ||
| Including | 657 | 726 | 69 | 21.0 | 6.38 | 9.1 | ||
| GM17-21 | Core & RC | 165 | 719 | 554 | 168.9 | 1.49 | 5.8 | |
| Including | 560 | 702 | 142 | 43.3 | 2.74 | 7.9 | ||
| 560 | 644 | 84 | 25.6 | 3.07 | 8.5 | |||
| 595 | 611 | 16 | 5.5 | 5.46 | 12.9 | |||
| 669 | 702 | 33 | 10.1 | 3.35 | 8.2 | |||
| GM17-22 | Core & RC | 220 | 862 | 642 | 195.7 | 2.02 | 8.1 | |
| Including | 522 | 792 | 270 | 82.3 | 3.58 | 12.2 | ||
| Including | 552 | 627 | 75 | 22.7 | 2.42 | 12.8 | ||
| Including | 677 | 792 | 115 | 35.1 | 5.37 | 10.8 |
Drill hole intercepts are believed to approximate true width. See the map below for location of the drill holes.
Permitting/Pre-Feasibility Update
Work is proceeding on schedule on multiple fronts. Paramount’s staff and environmental consultants are completing the Grassy Mountain Mine Plan of Operation (“POO”) which is expected to be filed with the BLM in the coming weeks. Once filed, the BLM has 30 days to accept the POO or request additional information if needed. Upon acceptance, the BLM will then, initiate the Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) using its selected consulting firm HDR Inc.
Nearly a tonne of material acquired by Paramount’s drilling is being tested at SGS Inc.’s lab facilities in Canada to define its metallurgical properties and to determine the most appropriate ore processing methods. Samples will also be used to establish tailing stability and characterization.
MDA of Reno, Nevada has started to incorporate geological sections created by Paramount staff into a 3-D geological model which will be used for resource estimation.
Drilling of deep monitoring water wells is set to start in August. Data from this program will be used to model underground water flows, if any, in the vicinity of the proposed mine, and to characterize the chemistry of the water.
Figure 1. Location of newly reported drill holes
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NI 43-101 Disclosure
Exploration activities at Grassy Mountain are being conducted by personnel of Paramount subsidiary Calico Resources USA Corp. under the supervision of Michael F. McGinnis, Project Manager. Mr. McGinnis is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved this release. An ongoing quality control/quality assurance protocol is being employed for the program including blank, duplicate and reference standards in every batch of assays.
About Paramount Gold Nevada Corp.
Paramount Gold Nevada is a U.S. based precious metals exploration company. Paramount has a high ratio of ounces of gold in mineral inventory to shares outstanding, providing its shareholders with exceptional leverage to the gold price. For our mineral inventory, click here.
Paramount holds a 100% working interest in the Grassy Mountain Gold Project which consists of approximately 9,300 acres located on private and BLM land in Malheur County, Oregon. The Grassy Mountain project contains a gold-silver deposit (100% located on private land) for which a Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) has been prepared and key permitting milestones accomplished. For the PEA, click here. Additionally, Paramount owns a 100% interest in the Sleeper Gold Project located in Northern Nevada. The Sleeper Gold Project, which includes the former producing Sleeper mine, totals 2,322 unpatented mining claims (approximately 60 square miles or 15,500 hectares).
Paramount’s strategy is to create shareholder value through exploring and developing its mineral properties and to realize this value for its shareholders in three ways: by selling its assets to established producers; entering into joint ventures with producers for construction and operation; or constructing and operating mines for its own account.
