VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - April 3, 2017) - Northern Empire Resources Corp. (TSX VENTURE:NM) (the "Company" or "Northern Empire") is pleased to announce the completion of an NI 43-101 resource estimate on the Sterling property, located in Nye County, Nevada (the "Sterling Project") owned by Sterling Gold Mining Corporation ("SGMC"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Imperial Metals Corporation ("Imperial Metals"). The Company has previously announced entering into a letter of intent with SGMC to acquire the Sterling Project (for further details please refer to the Company's news release dated February 15, 2017).
Michael G. Allen, President, CEO and Director of the Company stated, "The resource estimate is the first step to creating value on the Sterling Project. Going forward, Northern Empire plans to complete the previously announced transaction with Imperial Metals and immediately launch into an aggressive exploration program to expand the known resources on the property and test for new discoveries. The Sterling Project deposit is permitted for production and the Company will be compiling data and completing engineering studies prior to a production decision. The Sterling Project will have the benefits of being a high-grade, heap leachable gold deposit with existing infrastructure in place, located in Nevada."
| Sterling Project Inferred Resource Summary Effective March 29, 2017 | ||||
| Deposit | Tonnes | g/t Au |
In Place Au Oz |
Cutoff (g/t Au) |
| Sterling Pit Constrained* | 1,958,000 | 3.67 | 231,000 | 1.0 |
| Sterling Extension* | 350,000 | 3.38 | 38,000 | 1.7 |
| Daisy Pit Constrained | 2,556,000 | 2.12 | 174,000 | 1.0 |
| Secret Pass Pit Constrained | 3,534,000 | 1.65 | 188,000 | 1.0 |
| SNA Pit Constrained | 1,510,000 | 1.61 | 78,000 | 1.0 |
| Total | 9,908,000 | 2.23 | 709,000 | |
| 1. | *Denotes resources that are calculated based on CN soluble assays. | |
| 2. | Sterling Open Pit definition: Theoretical surface pit constrained resource. | |
| 3. | Sterling Extension definition: Resource remaining below theoretical surface pit. | |
| 4. | CIM definitions are followed for classification of Mineral Resource. | |
| 5. | Mineral Resource has been estimated using a gold price of US$1,200 per ounce and a US$2.31 per tonne mining cost. | |
| 6. | Totals may not represent the sum of the parts due to rounding. | |
| 7. | The Mineral Resource estimate has been prepared by Derek Loveday, P. Geo., of Norwest Corporation in conformity with CIM "Estimation of Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserves Best Practices" guidelines and are reported in accordance with the Canadian Securities Administrators NI 43-101. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. | |
| 8. | This Inferred Resource estimate is "In Place" and does not include gold recovery from a downstream processing operation. |
These resources are based on drilling and assaying completed by Imperial Metals and other previous operators on the property. Five separate open pits and two underground mines were operated on the property, as recently as 2015.
About the Sterling Project
The Sterling property is located approximately 100 miles NW of Las Vegas on the eastern flank of the Bare Mountains within the Walker Lane trend. The mine is accessed via highway I-95 and gravel roads.
The Sterling mine has previously operated as both an open pit and underground operation. Production records show that from 1980 to 2000 mining on the Sterling orebodies produced 194,996 oz gold ("Au") at an average grade of 7.44 g/t Au. Recoveries have averaged 88% without milling.
The Bureau of Land Management has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact ("FONSI") and approved the next phase of mining at Sterling. This permit was issued on May 12, 2016 and has an indefinite term.
To achieve the FONSI, Imperial Metals created designs for the new pits and heap leach facilities that Northern Empire will be able to use going forward;
Imperial Metals ceased underground mining of a separate orebody in 2015. Processing facilities, mine offices and staff are on site and are currently being used to rinse heaps from prior operations.
About Northern Empire
On February 15, 2017, Northern Empire announced that it entered into a letter of intent with Sterling Gold Mining Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Imperial Metals Corporation ("Imperial Metals") (TSX:III) to acquire a 100% interest in the Sterling property, located in Nye County, Nevada, and certain royalty rights for claims located in Nevada and California. The Sterling project is a fully permitted gold project with exceptional exploration potential and represents a unique opportunity for Northern Empire to rapidly transition from a grass roots explorer to developer.
Authors and Qualified Persons Statement
The 2017 resource estimate was prepared by Norwest Corporation in accordance with requirements of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101). Technical work, analysis and findings were completed by Derek Loveday, P.Geo., Allan Turner, P.Geol., and Sean Ennis, P.Eng. Each person is an independent "Qualified Person" as defined by NI 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the information in this news release relevant to the portion of the Letter Report for which they are responsible. Norwest has reviewed and verified the data disclosed in this news release to conform to CIM "Estimation of Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserves Best Practices" guidelines and to NI 43-101. Northern Empire will file a NI 43-101 Technical Report in support of the technical disclosures made in this news release on SEDAR within 45 days.
Michael G. Allen, P.Geo, President and CEO of Northern Empire, and a non-independent Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has also reviewed the information contained in this news release and has verified the data.
