COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho, Dec. 3, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New Jersey Mining Company (OTCBB: NJMC ) ("NJMC" or the "Company") today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement for the acquisition of Idaho Champion Resources, LLC ("ICR") for 5 million restricted shares of NJMC common stock. IRC is member managed by John Swallow and Art Glover, NJMC's President and VP Exploration respectively, and Lew Walde and Martin Lanphere – of Timberline Drilling, Inc.
The primary asset of ICR is an exclusive exploration and mining lease on the McKinley Project, which covers several historic mines and prospects including the McKinley Mine, Ibex Mine, and Big Easy Mine, on approximately 4,250 acres of private land located in central Idaho near the town of Lucille in the Simpson Mining District, approximately six miles north of Riggins. As part of the proposed acquisition NJMC will receive all rights and agreements, intellectual property, historic and recent due diligence, surveys, and maps owned by ICR, along with a 12-month option to purchase the historic McKinley Mine, located on 62 acres within the overall land package.
NJMC CEO Del Steiner stated, "We are fortunate to acquire a project of this caliber, thoroughly vetted by the members of IRC prior to their association with NJMC. Similar to our Golden Chest property, the McKinley property supports our business plan with small-scale production opportunities while also providing large-scale exploration potential for the longer term (by NJMC or by a joint-venture partner)."
The Lucille area is widely considered to be the source of coarse gold found in the extensive historic placer operations of the area. NJMC Senior Geologist Art Glover commented, "To demonstrate the potential of these systems and why I've been interested in this particular project for years, the McKinley project covers an area of alteration/mineralization that can be classified as an orogenic gold model also known as quartz, carbonate vein deposits. According to Dube' and Gosselin, for the Geologic Survey of Canada, this deposit type has produced about 13-percent of total world gold production and there are 103 known deposits of this type worldwide containing at least 1-million ounces of gold. Among that group there are 41 containing more than 3-million ounces of gold including 11 deposits containing at least 8-million ounces of gold."
The property was explored by Hunt Energy and Kennecott in the late-1970s and 1980s.
The McKinley Mine
The historic McKinley Mine has four levels and approximately 3900 feet of underground workings that remain in good condition. The area was first worked in 1891 with intermittent activity over following decades until World War II when all non-strategic hard-rock mining ceased by Executive Order L-208. At the time of shutdown, there was a small mill on site as well as underground tracks, ore shoots, and a tramway - ready for production.
Historic underground sampling data from the McKinley Mine area indicates significant high-grade gold, with a continuous 60-foot channel containing 0.18 opt Au including a 10-foot zone containing 0.75 opt Au. Other highlights include a 5-foot channel containing 2.77 opt Au, an 8-foot channel containing 0.228 opt Au, a 7-foot channel containing 0.34 opt Au, and a 2-foot channel containing 0.62 opt Au, among others.
Of the 61 underground samples collected by ICR, 18 contained more than 0.10 opt Au with multiple zones of high-grade mineralization identified. Highlights included a 5-foot channel containing 5.52 opt Au, a 1-foot channel containing 1.9 opt Au and several 3-foot channels ranging from 0.2 to 0.52 opt Au. Composite sampling highlights ranged from 0.14 opt Au up to 3.46 opt Au.
ICR has conducted a ground magnetic survey, approximately 1.5 miles wide and 3.5 miles long, across the McKinley property. The survey appears to represent the mineralization at the McKinley Mine while indicating several potential target areas along the known trend, which includes several historic mines and prospects, including the Ibex and Big Easy mines.
If the acquisition closes NJMC will assume ICR's option to purchase the McKinley Mine. The terms of the option allow for an additional year to conduct further due diligence prior to any payments being made. The option calls for a purchase price of $285,000 to be paid over a five-year period with 10-percent due upon exercise.
The Ibex Mine
The Ibex Mine is approximately 4500 feet south/southwest of the McKinley Mine, and within the same mineralized trend. Sampling was not conducted at the Ibex, however visible gold was observed in several localities including within the vein exposed in the main adit. The main working consists of approximately 300 feet of horizontal development with several other shallow workings scattered across the area.
The Big Easy Mine
The Big Easy Mine is approximately 3 miles South of the McKinley Mine and appears to be within the same type of alteration/mineralization, possibly on strike. It also includes multiple levels of underground workings with at least 1200 feet of development, and possibly more, as not all of the workings are accessible. The zone appears to be more than 150 feet wide at this point, containing multiple quartz carbonate veins with surrounding pyrite mineralized rock.
ICR took 9 composite style reconnaissance samples from the underground workings and a grab sample of liberated large pyrite crystals lying on the surface. Three of the underground samples contained 0.11, 0.12, and 0.15 opt Au, each from a different level. The surface pyrite sample contained 3.56 opt Au.
All assay work conducted by ICR was performed by ALS Chemex.
About Idaho Champion Resources
Idaho Champion Resources was specifically formed to identify, conduct due diligence, and evaluate the economic feasibility of potential small scale/high grade production projects within the state of Idaho. ICR has identified and evaluated a number of potential prospects within central and northern Idaho.
About New Jersey Mining Company
New Jersey Mining Company (NJMC) recently introduced a new management team which is implementing a new strategic plan, building upon its strong asset base and focused on generating cash flow from its mill and small-scale production opportunities.
NJMC is located in the Silver Valley mining region of North Idaho where it built and owns a fully-permitted 360 tonne per day flotation mill and concentrate leach plant. The mill underwent a $3.2-million expansion in 2011 in exchange for a guaranteed milling agreement. The Company is guaranteed 3,000 tonnes of ore per month plus all unused and excess capacity.
The Company also owns a 47.88-percent interest in the Golden Chest Joint Venture, which controls the Golden Chest Mine, a historical gold producer with more than 12,000 feet of underground workings. Since 2003, more than $6-million has been spent on exploration, drilling, and development at the Golden Chest Mine, including more than $5-million by Marathon Gold since 2010. The Golden Chest Joint Venture recently optioned a portion of the Golden Chest Mine to Juniper Resources, a mine development and production company that recently completed a drill program to evaluate the production potential of the Skookum Shoot portion of the mine.
The Company trades on the OTC Markets under the symbol "NJMC".
Forward Looking Statements
This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended that are intended to be covered by the safe harbor created by such sections. Such statements are based on good faith assumptions that New Jersey Mining Company believes are reasonable but which are subject to a wide range of uncertainties and business risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed, projected or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those anticipated are discussed in New Jersey Mining Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For more information on New Jersey Mining Company, please contact: Del Steiner, CEO Email:
