VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 19, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nevada Sunrise Gold Corporation ("Nevada Sunrise" or the "Company") (TSX-V: NEV ) is pleased to announce that Pilot Gold Inc. ("Pilot Gold") (TSX: PLG ) has reported results from an initial metallurgical program designed to address the amenability of high-grade mineralization from the Secret Canyon host rock to produce a high-grade concentrate at the Kinsley Mountain project ("Kinsley Mountain", or the "Property"). Kinsley Mountain is a joint venture between Pilot Gold and Nevada Sunrise. Pilot Gold holds a 79.1 per cent interest in Kinsley Mountain, and Nevada Sunrise, through a wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, holds a 20.9 per cent interest.
Pilot Gold reports that the initial metallurgical test results demonstrate that high-grade sulphide mineralization from the Western Flank zone can produce a high-grade concentrate with excellent gold recoveries, at potentially low capital and operating costs.
Summary Highlights:
| Composite | Overall Au Recovery 1 (%) | Concentrate Grade (g/t) | Flotation Recovery (%) | Calculated Feed Grade (g/t) |
| KMMC-1 | 89.0 | 98.6 | 87.9 | 4.23 |
| KMMC-2 | 95.0 | 312.0 | 82.2 | 20.3 |
| KMMC-3 | 93.2 | 152.0 | 89.6 | 8.42 |
| KMMC-4 | 93.8 | 199.0 | 76.0 | 11.4 |
| 1 Overall recovery is the total of the gold recovered into flotation concentrate plus gold leached from the final tails | ||||
At Kinsley Mountain, initial geochemical analyses of mineralized intercepts, including characterization of carbon and sulfur, ICP analysis and determination of the solubility of gold in cyanide demonstrated that the concentration of gold relative to sulfur is high relative to other sediment-hosted, Carlin-style gold deposits. As well, petrographic work showed that pyrite, within which the gold is believed to be resident, is relatively crystalline, dense (non-porous) and that there is a very small quantity of sulfides that are <20 microns. These data and observations demonstrate potential for producing a high-grade flotation concentrate, which could then be evaluated for direct sale to commercial smelters or potentially to any one of several Nevada mine operators who can process refractory concentrates via roasting or autoclaving, for final recovery of the gold.
Four samples representing a range of gold grades from 4.23 to 20.3 g/t gold and a range of cyanide solubility levels were subjected to rougher and scavenger flotation testing over a range of conditions including variations in grind size, followed by cyanidation of the flotation tails. Combined concentrate recoveries ranged from a low of 76% to a high of 89.6%. Combined with cyanidation of the flotation tails, the total recovery increased to 89.0% to 95.0%. The concentrate grades ranged from a low of 98.6 g/t gold to a high of 312 g/t gold, with gold recovery to concentrate highest in the higher-grade and less oxidized samples.
Secret Canyon gold mineralization at Kinsley Mountain, unlike more typical Carlin-style deposits, is unique in several aspects:
1. The sulfides at Secret Canyon are crystalline, dense (not porous) and the lack of sulfides <20 microns make them prime candidates for flotation.
2. The total sulfide sulfur content of Secret Canyon material averages about 1.0%, which is low for a typical Nevada refractory resource, indicating that flotation concentration ratios can be high and consistently produce high grade concentrates.
3. The ratio of gold, in grams/tonne - to sulfide sulfur, in percent (Ratio: Au/S) is very high, ranging from 7.8 to 19.2 for the four Master Composites. Since refractory gold treatment facility capital and operating cost are most affected by sulfide sulfur content, the low sulfide sulfur feed grade and the high ratio of Au/S are very favourable indicators for:
a. Low capital cost facilities for on-site treatment,
b. Low relative operating cost for concentrate treatment whether processed on or off-site by other commercial entities.
4. Concentrate grade ranged from 98.6 to 312 g/t gold. At a US$1,200 gold price, the contained value of these concentrates range from $3,800 - $12,000 per tonne. Therefore, cost for on-site processing or shipping and processing concentrate at a commercial smelter or a local Nevada refractory treatment facility would only represent a small portion of the overall concentrate value.
Concentrates were assayed for deleterious elements and were found to contain arsenic and antimony. Arsenic in the concentrate tested ranged from 0.69% to 1.22% and averaged 1.01% while antimony in the concentrate tested ranged from 0.022% to 1.58% and averaged 0.60%. While arsenic and antimony are elevated, the levels would not preclude direct sale to a smelter, sale to a concentrate blender or to a typical Nevada refractory ore processing facility.
The program was carried out at Hazen Research, Inc. in Golden, Colorado under the direction of consulting metallurgist Gary Simmons. Mr. Simmons has more than 35 years of experience with mining companies in project management, process development, mill operations, design engineering, research and development and corporate due diligence. He played key roles with Fronteer Gold on the Long Canyon and Northumberland projects, and was Senior Technical Director, Metallurgy and Technology for Newmont Mining Corporation.
Gary Simmons, of GL Simmons Consulting, LLC (B.S. Extractive Metallurgy), a Qualified Professional with the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America and Pilot Gold consultant, is the Qualified Person, within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), who has overseen the collection and verification of the data for this release and has reviewed and approved this release's content. Mr. Simmons is independent of Pilot Gold and Nevada Sunrise. Metallurgical testing was conducted at Hazen Research, Inc. in Denver, Colorado.
John R. Kerr, P.Eng., is the Company's designated Qualified Person for this news release and has reviewed and validated that the information contained in the release is accurate.
About Kinsley Mountain
Kinsley Mountain hosts near-surface mineralization similar to other Carlin-style, sediment-hosted gold systems. The Property consists of 469 unpatented claims on U.S. Bureau of Land Management land plus 6 leased patents totalling 9,520 acres (3,853 hectares) and hosts a past-producing mine with an extensive exploration database and numerous, untested gold targets.
Kinsley Mountain is an early-stage exploration project and does not contain any mineral resource estimates as defined by NI 43-101. The potential quantities and grades disclosed herein are conceptual in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource for the targets disclosed herein. It is uncertain if further exploration will result in these targets being delineated as a mineral resource.
For further information about Kinsley Mountain please refer to a technical report entitled "Technical Report on the Kinsley Project, Elko County, Nevada, U.S.A." , effective February 15, 2012 and dated March 26, 2012, prepared by Michael M. Gustin, CPG of Mine Development Associates and Moira Smith, Ph.D., P.Geo. and Kent Samuelson of Pilot Gold, filed on May 9, 2012 under Nevada Sunrise's Issuer Profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and also available for viewing on Nevada Sunrise's website at www.nevadasunrise.ca
About Nevada Sunrise
Nevada Sunrise is a junior gold exploration company with a strong technical team based in Vancouver, BC, Canada, that holds interests in three exploration projects in Nevada, USA. Our three key assets include Kinsley Mountain near Wendover, the Golden Arrow project near Tonopah, and the recently-acquired Roulette property (formerly known as the Grulla property) near Ely, Nevada.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
All statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking information" with respect to Nevada Sunrise Gold Corporation ("Nevada Sunrise") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, including statements that address future mineral production, reserve potential, exploration drilling, the future price of gold, potential quantity and/or grade of minerals, potential size of a mineralized zone, potential expansion of mineralization, the timing and results of future resource estimates, or other study, proposed exploration and development of our exploration properties and the estimation of mineral resources. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intends", "believe", "potential", and similar expressions, or describes a "goal", or variation of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "should", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievement of Nevada Sunrise to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information.
Such factors include, among others, risks related to the interpretation and actual results of historical production at Kinsley Mountain, reliance on technical information provided by third parties on any of our exploration properties, including access to historical information on the Kinsley Mountain property as well as specific historical data associated with and drill results from the property, information from Pilot Gold Inc., current exploration and development activities; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; current economic conditions; future prices of commodities; possible variations in grade or recovery rates; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; the failure of contracted parties to perform; failure of Pilot Gold Inc. to complete anticipated work programs; labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals, financing or in the completion of exploration, the amenability of mineralization to produce a high-grade concentrate (as there can be no assurances as to the results of the metallurgical testing and no inferences should be drawn therefrom), the accuracy of any metallurgical testing completed to date, successful resolution of disputes (if any) and anticipated costs and expenditures. Many assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of Nevada Sunrise and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct, as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis for the Year Ended September 30, 2014, which is available under Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com .
Although Nevada Sunrise has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Nevada Sunrise disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
Forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and accordingly are subject to change after such date. Except as otherwise indicated by Nevada Sunrise, these statements do not reflect the potential impact of any non-recurring or other special items or of any dispositions, monetizations, mergers, acquisitions, other business combinations or other transactions that may be announced or that may occur after the date hereof. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to get a better understanding of our operating environment. Nevada Sunrise does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that are included in this document, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of accuracy of this release. The Securities of Nevada Sunrise Gold Corporation have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to the account or benefit of any U.S. person.
For Further Information Contact: Warren Stanyer President and Chief Executive Officer Telephone: (604) 428-8028 Facsimile: (604) 689-5528 Email:
